Serving ALL-DAY, EVERY-DAY

By Rebecca Bradford

Here we are, coming up with all the meals! Anyone wishing to be back filling lunchboxes again? The mental strain to plan, execute and clean-up all the meals can be wearying. Then factor in the unhappy stares when you place the thoughtful, nutritious meal in front of the small humans. Oh the joys of serving food all-day, every-day. Here are some easy ideas to make this season as chef, waitress and bus boy a little more fun and stomach-filling.

Do your kids love waffles? Mine do! They especially love the frozen eggo waffles and that’s a win for easy bake, easy clean. Here are some creative ideas to take the basic eggo and make it extraordinary!

Smack some cheese in the middle and make Eggo-Grilled-Cheese. Tomato soup on the side for healthy and delicious!

Peanut butter and jelly goes with almost anything, including eggo waffles!
Mini PB&J sandwiches pair with fruit for a fabulous, filling meal.

Don’t forget dessert. Toast your waffles and add a scoop of ice cream in-between 2 of them. Roll in sprinkles and either enjoy immediately or freeze for later. Yum!!

I saw this advertised on the Target website and it’s genius! A charcuterie board for family fun can make even the pickiest eater happy. This example is a brunch board and includes hard-boiled eggs, waffles, avocado slices, fruit, cinnamon rolls and bacon. You could do a lunch board with sandwiches cut out in shapes, carrot sticks, ranch dip, fruit, pretzels, hummus, and cheese squares. The possibilities are endless! Get your kids involved and make it together.

FREEZE AHEAD: One of my favorite things to do is to make extra and freeze it for later. Last night my family enjoyed spaghetti with a bag of sauce I cooked weeks ago and put in the freezer. It was so easy to heat up the sauce and cook the noodles. Think about meal ideas that you could double or triple so that next time your life is easy-breezy. You can do this with chili, spaghetti sauce, grilled chicken, homemade lasagnas, soups & stews. I even cut up my bell peppers (either diced or sliced) and freeze them in baggies to use in future recipes. Share your ideas with us – what things do you make ahead and freeze?

Check the Gather Instagram for my story on jazzing up the basic sandwich. Anything to make that staple different is a win. We can all get tired of sandwiches!! Remember that creativity is like a wind, one day it blows and the next day it’s quiet. You don’t have to be master of fun food every single day. It’s okay to enjoy the regular ole’ lunch and then throw in a surprise now and then. Let’s be thankful we have food in the pantry and can feed our families during this unprecedented time. We really are blessed to be chef-at-home mamas for the foreseeable future!