After a long day of rushing the kids to school, working, running errands and after-school activities, the last thing anyone wants to think about is where to find family recipes. Let Laura Keogh and Ceri Marsh serve as your fearless leaders in this quest for survival and sustenance. Together, they developed “The School Year Survival Cookbook,” which features 110 time-saving and kid-friendly recipes for cooking when there just aren’t enough hours in the day.
The book is filled with tips to help you plan ahead for dinner, pack school lunches, handle on-the-go breakfasts and satisfy those after-school snack cravings. Kid-friendly recipes including Yogurt Parfait Popsicles and Turkey, Apple and Cheddar Quesadillas are versatile, quick, fun to make, kid-approved and healthy, too.
Click here for more information or to purchase the book.
Pancake Tacos or Waffle Sandwiches
Marketing is one of those things you need in your back pocket as a parent. And leftovers are what you need in your refrigerator when Monday rolls around. If you make extra waffles or pancakes on the weekend, use the leftovers to dazzle your kids with these breakfast lovelies. We swear they’ll brush their hair faster if you do. (Laura Keogh)
Excerpted from The School Year Survival Cookbook: Healthy Recipes and Sanity-Saving Strategies for Every Family and Every Meal (Even Snacks) by Laura Keogh and Ceri Marsh. Copyright © 2017 Sweet Potato Chronicles. Photography copyright © 2017 Maya Visnyei Photography. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Whole Grain Pancake and Waffle Mix
Makes enough for 4 batches
6 cups Spelt Flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
In a large bowl, sift together the spelt flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry spot and use within 6 months.
Pancakes
Makes 6 to 8 pancakes
2 cups Whole Gain Pancake and Waffle Mix
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1¾ cup milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry mix and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, maple syrup and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Let rest for 10 minutes.
While the batter rests, heat a griddle or large nonstick pan over medium heat. Once hot, coat griddle or pan with nonstick spray (or use butter plus a little vegetable oil to keep the butter from burning). Pour about ¼ cup of batter onto the hot griddle for each pancake. Once large bubbles pop to the surface, after 2 to 3 minutes, flip and cook another 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.
Waffles
Makes about 3 large waffles
1 ½ cups Whole Grain Pancake and Waffle Mix
¾ cup milk
½ cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons oil
Preheat your waffle iron.
Place the dry mix in a large bowl. Add the milk, buttermilk, eggs and oil and stir until just combined. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Coat waffle iron with oil or nonstick spray. Follow the waffle iron’s instructions for cooking, greasing the iron in between batches if needed.
Here are some of our favorite pancake-taco or waffle-sandwich topping combinations:
- Cream cheese with sliced peaches, a drizzle of honey, chopped pecans
- Ricotta cheese with sliced strawberries, a drizzle of honey
- Sliced banana and strawberries, a few dollops of Greek-style yogurt, a sprinkle of cinnamon
- All-natural peanut butter, sliced bananas, a drizzle of honey, a sprinkle of shaved almonds
- All-natural peanut butter, raspberries and coconut
- All-natural almond butter, sliced apples, a drizzle of maple syrup, a sprinkle of cinnamon
