Tips: Make-Ahead Morning Meals
Source of Recipe
Tammy Weisberger
Love hosting houseguests but hate getting up at 6 a.m. to whip up a well-rounded breakfast or brunch? Or, maybe you just can't stand the thought of spending all morning in the kitchen after dedicating the entire preceding day to cooking and baking for last night's (phenomenal, we trust!) dinner party. Whatever your reasons for needing simple, quick and delicious breakfast foods, there is no doubt in our minds that they are well-founded and deserving of an astounding array of recipes and tips for fast- as-lightening morning meals!
Night Before Checklist
There are quite a few simple tasks that can be completed the night before to make the morning easier on your pre-coffee brain. The first step is to run through the following checklist; it will help you ensure that everything is poised and ready for early morning action.
The MOST essential: Place all of the food that need thawing in the refrigerator to allow it to properly thaw overnight.
Set the table with plates, flatware, mugs, glasses, napkins and any condiments that can sit out overnight (like fruit, sugar, etc.).
Gather all of the condiments that need refrigeration together and place them on the top shelf of your refrigerator where you will find them easily in the morning.
Place the coffee beans next to the grinder and fill the coffee pot and/or teapot with water.
Arrange any food that should stay frozen until the last minute in the freezer so that it is easily accessible.
If you forget to transfer the frozen foods to the refrigerator for overnight thawing, you will be faced with the added task of thawing come sunrise. Frozen foods can be defrosted in the microwave or in a cool water bath, but for best results (and to be most efficient) let the foods thaw in the refrigerator overnight. To learn more about frozen foods and proper thawing, read Just Freeze It!
Just Heat It!
Once breakfast foods are baked or fried ahead of time, and finally thawed, all that's left to do is reheat! We've arranged a selection of our favorite make-ahead breakfast recipes into categories according to the best methods for their reheating -- this way, you can choose one or two recipes from each category so you can use all of your kitchen's appliances to kick the morning meal-making process into fast-forward!
Method of Cooking Reheating Instructions
Oven
Breakfast Quiches and Casseroles
Quick Breads
Coffeecakes
Cinnamon Rolls Place baked goods in the refrigerator the night before to thaw. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for 40 minutes or until heated through. For cinnamon rolls: Add extra topping before reheating.
Toaster
Pancakes and Waffles
French Toast Sticks Do not thaw. Place individual pieces into a toaster oven. Toast until heated through.
No Heat, or Minimal Heat
Granola Hot Cereal Just add milk, or boiling hot water as needed.
Breakfast breads require special instructions: Let the bread dough rise fully once, and then shape and double-wrap the dough in freezer- safe wrap or foil. When ready to serve: Place the package in the refrigerator overnight to thaw and bake in the morning according to recipe directions. BreadRecipe.com has a plethora of breads perfect for mornings!
Don't forget all the traditional, simple favorites like plain old cereal and milk with fresh fruit and healthful yogurt!
Freeze! You're Under Arrest!
Well, you probably won't be put under arrest but if you don't freeze foods carefully, you may end up wishing you were anywhere but home when breakfast time rolls around. Make sure that frozen foods emerge from the freezer in pristine condition by paying careful attention to the entire freezing process. Begin by letting the food cool before packaging and placing it in the coldest part of your trusty freezer. Use plastic wrap, bags or containers that are freezer-safe, and label all of your frozen foods*. Another trick to successful freezing is to freeze in serving size portions. To read more about successful freezing, visit Just Freeze It!
*Always double-wrap bread products.
Feeding An Army?
Does the number of your houseguests rival the size of a baseball team? Feeding a bunch of hungry mouths is not a problem when you've got our handy-dandy menu for large crowds!
Serves: 10 bright-eyed and bushy-tailed houseguests
Fresh juices
Fresh fruit
Apricot Danish Coffee Cake
Granola
Yogurt and/or milk (to stir granola into)
Coffee and tea
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