Second Chance to Dream: July 2012

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

25 Make Ahead Back to School Breakfast Ideas

Back to School is coming and I need help getting organized and prepared. If you need help getting organized check out Back to School Organization and then My Back to School Organization. In My Back to School Organization I share how I took the ideas from Back to School Organization and applied the ideas to my home. I then did a post on Sandwich-less Lunches which I am really looking forward to getting started on. I feel I have some variety in there and they should be much healthier than Banquet meals.

My next big dilemma that I needed to work on was BREAKFAST. The most important meal of the day and usually the one that gets skipped. I want to be intentional this year so I went on a search to try and find some breakfasts that I could make ahead and freeze. I found 21 Make Ahead breakfast's that I could freeze with 4 that would be very quick to make the night before or in the morning. I don't know about you but we get sick of toast and peanut butter everyday so we need to shake it up! Here are my finds:

Sausage Pancake Bites

One of my very favorite McDonalds breakfast item is the McGriddle. I rarely have them because the calorie count is so high. I going to make these and try them. Yum!!!

Mix pancake batter as directed and add cooked sausage crumbles. Spray mini muffin tin with Pam and full with pancake batter. Sprinkle the extra sausage on top and bake at 350 for 13 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with butter and syrup. Enjoy these delicious bites!

Egg McMuffin
The classic Egg McMuffin. Like these too.

Bacon Egg Cups
NO Carbs. Score! although my bacon will be cooked more.

put bacon strips in muffin tin and then add whipped eggs with a little cheese about 3/4 full. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30-35 min. YUM!!!

Sausage Egg McMuffin
Like these as well. You could even substitute a biscuit for the English muffin.

Silver Dollar Pancake Sandwich
Ok, I can't say like these too on every recipe, that wouldn't be very good blog writing. I think I'd like these better if they had the little pieces of sweet in them like the McGriddle.
Silver Dollar Pancake and Sausage Sandwiches

Silver Dollar Pancake and Sausage Sandwiches

Breakfast Burritos
I have made and froze breakfast burritos for years. These are good.

Baked Egg in Ham Cup

I could never eat the egg prepared this way, but that's the beauty of being able to cook it anyway you like it. My sons would probably love it.

Bird's Nest Breakfast Cup
I want to try these. I love crispy hash browns.

Shredded hash browns pressed into muffin tin; salt and pepper to taste, add shredded cheese, bake in oiled muffin tin for 15 mins at 425. Reduce heat to 350 add egg and bacon pieces and some cheese on top bake 15 to 18 additional mins.

Breakfast Quiches
You could also cook these with out the rolls if you didn't want the carbs. Pillsbury might not like it.

Muffuleta Quiche Cups

I don't think I'd add the salami and olives but I love spinach and eggs and tomatoes together. My boys wouldn't touch it but if you're making a dozen of them you could use custom make 3or 4 for each person..

Mini Frittata
These are nice to use up any veggie left overs on hand.

Egg Muffins
No carbs, lots of protein

egg muffins. zero carbs. Pinner says: "i have these for breakfast every morning. so easy and yummy!"

Breakfast Pizza

I used to make these all the time, years ago. We loved them. Gotta get back on these. We would have them for supper.

Sausage Casserole
I have made these and froze them. Really good. No carbs.

Bacon Pancakes
These look fun! I think kids would really like them.

Breakfast Quesadilla
I love quesadillas but I've never had a breakfast one. Probably similar to breakfast burritos.

No Bake Easy Chocolate Chip Granola Bar

These look yummy. They would be a grab and go breakfast. I will probably add a scoop or two of protein powder to the dry ingredients.

Chewy Granola Bar

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

I LOVE muffins! I rarely make them. But if I made them and froze them, I'd eat them a lot. Check these out. Don't they say fall! mmm.... muffin and a good coffee.

Magic Muffin

Here's some more muffins with a healthier twist. I'm going to add protein powder in my dry ingredients so that we have that extra protein.

Apple Sandwiches

I know this isn't a make and freeze meal but you could whip these up pretty quick. And they are GREAT! I shared this link in my Beach and Boating snacks post.

Apple/Granola/Peanut Butter sandwich! Looks so good!

Banana Roll Ups
This also couldn't be made and froze. My boys wouldn't eat a whole wheat tortilla so we will use a flour one. But you could whip those up the night before or in the morning.

Make your Own Oatmeal Packets
This is a great idea and better than the store bought ones.

Make Your Own Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt
This is another great idea. You could make it up the night before so it's ready for the morning. I love them stored in the 1/2 pint jars.

Let's make this a GREAT school year!! Even if you don't have school kids these would be great for you as well. If you enjoyed this post why don't you subscribe via Facebook, RSS Feed or Email so you don't miss anything.

If you need some "Back to School" help check out these other blog posts:

Back to School Organization

My Back to School Organization

Sandwich-less Lunches

Freezer Slow Cooker Meals

Back to School Clothing Checklist

Monday, July 30, 2012

Happy Birthday Carissa!! + Free Birthday Printable

Today is my 2nd daughter Carissa's Birthday

We are very proud of her and her accomplishments as a wife and nurse, cosmetologist and massage therapist.

(You get to see a picture of her husband Luke too)

In honor of her birthday I have a free printable.

You can download it below.

Download print here:

Looking forward to celebrating you this weekend!!

Praying for Our Children Week 4

Hi Everyone!

I hope you've had a great week. I can't believe how fast summer is going! We are already almost done with July. I'm trying to learn to savor each and every moment. How are you doing with praying daily? I'm plugging along. I did better this week than last week. But not perfect. Onward and upward we shall go.

"If you want that splendid power in prayer, you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ." C. H. Spurgeon

If you need the past weeks prayers you can find them here:

Week 1 here

Week 2 here

Week 3 here

Here is a copy of the calendar. You can download a copy of it here:

This week we are focusing on the 4th week of prayers.

Feeling Loved & Accepted

I pray that _____________________ feel loved and accepted. Penetrate their heart with your love right now and help them to fully understand how far-reaching and complete it is. Your word says you loved us so much that your sent your son to die for us. John 3:16
Deliver ______________ from any lies of the enemy that may have been planted in their mind to cause them to doubt that Jesus said, :As the Father love Me, I also have loved you; abide in my love. Lord, help ________ to abide in your love .John 15:9-10
Cause _________ to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for in you do we trust. Psalms 143:8 Manifest your love to this child in a real way today and help them to receive it.
Allow _____________ to be rooted and established in love. Give them power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep your love is. Let him know this love that surpasses all understanding, that he may be completely filled with your grace. Ephesians.3:17,18
God, bless ________________ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:3-6

Instilling the Desire to Learn

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 May ___________ never be a fool and turn away from learning, but rather may they turn to you for the knowledge they need.
I say to _________ according to your word, "Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge." Proverbs 23:12
Lord give _____________ understanding in all things. 2 Timothy 2:7. Lord, enable ___________ to experience the joy of learning more about you and your world.
A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. Lord please help_________________ to increase learning.
Help ________________ to take firm hold of instruction. Do not let go,keep them for this is your life. Proverbs 4:13

Rejecting Sexual Immorality

Do not let sin reign in _____________ body so that they obey its evil desires. Do not allow them to use the parts of their body as instruments of wickedness, but prompt them to offer their body to you as an instrument of righteousness. Romans 6:12-12
Create in ____________ a pure heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within them. Give them joy and a spirit that is willing to obey you. Psalms 51:10-12
Equip _________ to control their body and live in holiness and honor- not in passionate lust like the example so often set by people who do not know you. 1 Thessalonians 4:4-5
Teach ___________ how to take every one of his thoughts captive and make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5
As _______________ enters into romantic relationships, remind them that , above all else, they must guard their heart, for it affects everything they do. Proverbs 4:23

Walking in Repentance

Lord, bring to light any hidden sins so they can be confessed, repented of, and forgiven. Your word says, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Psalms 32:1
My ______________ pray see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:24 May ___________ not live in guilt and condemnation, but rather dwell with a clear conscience.
Create in __________ a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within __________. Do not cast _________ away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from them. Restore to __________ the joy of your salvation and renew a steadfast spirit within them. Psalm 51;2, 10-12
Never let _______________ cover their sins because he will not prosper, but if __________ confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Proverbs 28:13
Help ______________ repent that their sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19

Living Free of Forgiveness

Lord, your word says, "He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does no know where he is going because the darkness has blinded their eyes. 1 John 2:10-11 Show ________ where they are walking in the darkness of un-forgiveness.
I pray that _____________ will love their enemies, bless those who curse them, do good to those who hate them, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute them, so that they may enjoy all your blessings. Matthew 5:44-45
Don't allow ___________ to harbor resentment, bitterness, and anger, but rather help them to turn these feelings over to you immediately whenever they creep in.
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from ______________. Help ____________ to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave your. Ephesians 4:31-32
If ________________ forgives men their trespasses, you Heavenly Father will also forgive_________ Matthew 6:14 Help _____________ to forgive whoever needs forgiven.

Learning to Speak Life

Let the words of __________________ mouth and the meditation of ___________________ heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Psalm 19:14
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. Help ____________ bring forth good things from his lips. Matthew 12:36-37
Keep ____________ from being snared by the words of their mouth. You've promised that "whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles" Proverbs 21:23.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21 May they speak life and not death.
He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he opens wide his lips shall have destruction. Proverbs 13:3 God guard _____________ mouth as well as mine.

Living Free From Fear

Your word says, " I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." Psalms34:4 I pray that you will hear me and deliver ______ from any fear that threatens to overtake them.
You have not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
Flood ___________________ with your love and wash away all fear and doubt.
Give _____________ a mind so sound that they can recognize any false evidence the devil presents to _____________ and identify it as having no basis in reality.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts our fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. God perfect your love in __________________ I John 4:8
Fear not _____________ for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen ______________, yes, I will help ________________ I will uphold ______________ with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

The resources I used for this blog post were from these 3 books.

"Prayer can never be in excess." C. H. Spurgeon

Do you have any good advice on how you incorporate praying for your children? If so please leave a comment and share those with me.

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Friday, July 27, 2012

Back to School Sandwich-less Lunch Ideas

Back to School is coming! If you need help organizing check out these two posts Back to School Organization and then this post My Back to School Organization. In the My Back to School Organization I share how I took the ideas from Back to School Organization and applied it to my home.

Today I want to focus on Sandwich-less Lunch ideas. In my Beach & Boating Snack Ideas post I shared how my family does not like sandwiches. The school that my twins go to is a charter school and they do not have a hot lunch program, so every single school day we have to pack lunches. Wait, one day a week they can buy pizza but for the other 144 days we have to pack lunches. This causes a dilemma in our family since sandwiches aren't an option. In the middle school/high school they do have microwaves that are available to use but nothing that takes over 3 min. to cook. The under 3 min. rule knocks out any tv dinners, etc. since they take more than 3 min. and they are so full of preservatives anyway. I have been pinning away some recipes that I think would make some good lunch ideas and I will share them here with you. I want somethings I can make ahead and freeze in portion sizes. Here are some of my pinned ideas.

Stuffed Crust Pizza Snacks

Don't these look good? I think my sons would like them and they could be
made ahead and frozen.

Cupcake Molded Pizzas

The blog I found say these are better than Bagel Bites. I bet! These would be freezable as well.

Mini Deep Dish BBQ Pizza

One of my twins would love these, the other wouldn't touch them. But again they could be made ahead and froze.

Corn Dog Mini Muffins

My boys love corn dogs but I don't buy them often because of all the fat. These could also be made and froze.

Ham and Cheese Pockets

These look good for some variety. I'd even love these for my lunch.

Taco Wontons

These look interesting. I haven't had these but I have had the Lasagna Wontons.

Lasagna Wontons

I Love these! Easy and good.

Buffalo Chicken Pastries

Mini Chicken Pot Pie

What a great idea! I think these would be perfect to make and freeze.

Taco Dip in a Cup

Now this couldn't be made and froze and you couldn't use cups but could use Rubbermaid containers. I think it would be a great variation and easy!

I'm going on a cooking spree next week. I want to make a batch of everything but the taco dip and get them in the freezer. Schools a coming! I want to be ready.

Do you have any sandwich-less lunch ideas?

UPDATE:
I found a few more ideas I wanted to add that I think my boys would like.

Meatloaf in a Muffin Tin
My boys like meatloaf. These would be great protein for them and you can cook ahead and freeze.

Meatloaf- great idea for individual sized portions. So fun!

Pizza Crescent Rolls
Another variation on pizza, just to shake it up a bit.

BBQ Chicken Pizzas
These look really good! I love BBQ Chicken pizza.

Tamale Cups
We love Mexican food so this will be a great addition to our rotation.

Macaroni & Cheese Muffins
Ingenious! What a great idea. Easy to make & freeze.

Pizza Quesadillas

Another variation of the pizza theme.

Pizza Quesadillas | The Girl Who Ate Everything

Cheese Quesadillas
You could add chicken if you kids like it.

Chick-fil-a Nuggets with Honey Mustard Sauce

OK, I'm not going to lie, these look like a lot of work to me but I love Chick-fil-a so I'm gonna give them a try.

Mini Spaghetti Cups

I have had several questions on how to keep food hot if there is no microwave available. That isn't an issue we have so I did a search on Google and came up with this:

How to Keep School Lunches Warm

www.ehow.com
INSULATED THERMOS. An insulated thermos can easily keep foods, such as soups, stews, chili, and even pasta, warm for a few hours. Before placing the food in the thermos, it is best to fill the thermos with boiling water and let it stand for a few minutes. Then, drain it and put the food it. This will temper the thermos and help keep the food warm for a longer period of time. Once closed, the thermos should remain closed until lunchtime. This works very well. Check out the links below (in the additional resources section) for some excellent products designed to keep food warm.

INSULATED LUNCH BOX. Although typically not as good as an insulated thermos, an insulated lunch box (or bag) is another way to keep foods warm for a few hours. Unlike a thermos, larger foods, such as chicken nuggets, can fit in one of these. Wrapping the hot foods in tin foil inside of the insulated lunch box will provide some addition insulation. Check out the links below (in the additional resources section) for some excellent products designed to keep food warm.

Hope this helps some of you!

$1.00 off any 3 Campbell's Healthy Request soups: