What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

We have always talked on my blog about Sunday dinner meals at the parsonage, but I’ve recently been made aware that Sunday breakfast can also pose a real problem. Everyone is rushing around trying to get ready, (or maybe  mom’s the one doing the rushing and everyone else is being pokey) and getting breakfast on the table can be nearly impossible.  Like the Sunday dinner, breakfast has to have some good organization and planning in order to get it accomplished.

Planning ahead is step number one.  Decide what breakfast will consist of.  You decide, Mom.  This is NOT the morning to let everyone put in their order.  Why add more stress to an already busy morning?  The devil would just love to frustrate all family members before you even load up in the car!  You can do a lot to alleviate the problem by deciding the menu.  Make it simple.  Have eggs and bacon or pancakes on Saturday.  Plan something that can be made ahead of time, such as muffins, coffee cake or an egg casserole.

Once the planning is complete, then get it made.  A coffee cake or muffins can be made early in the week and frozen.  An egg casserole or overnight Orange Pecan French toast can be made on Saturday morning and be ready to pop into the oven when you get up on Sunday.

Saturday night preparation

Set a timer for your younger ones.  Tell them when the timer goes off what they are to have accomplished – be dressed, or have bed made.  Then it’s time to come to the breakfast table.  If they’re dawdlers, set the timer to let them know when breakfast needs to be finished so you won’t be late for Sunday school.

A little organization goes a long way to making Sunday morning run smoothly instead of causing you to wish you could crawl back into bed.  Plan ahead and prepare ahead for breakfast.  The same goes for getting dressed.  Make sure the decision of what outfits each one will wear are all made on Saturday so that everything is gathered – all the clothes, socks, both shoes, etc on Saturday evening. No more children running around half naked and screaming because they didn’t want to wear that outfit!  That’s the best way to make everyone hate Sunday morning!

Things won’t always be perfect when you plan ahead, but it will be lots better than if you didn’t!

Sunday morning

Here’s a new coffee cake I tried this weekend from Cooking Light.  It’s very moist and good!    I had overnight guests, so being prepared was helpful so they could eat when they were ready for it and I could get ready and not worry that they were waiting on me.

Buttermilk-Apple Coffee Cake

Cake:
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced & peeled Granny Smith apple
3 tbl brown sugar
1 tbl lemon juice

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbl butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
Cooking spray
2 tbl sliced almonds

Glaze:
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp low-fat buttermilk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  To prepare the cake, combine the first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook for 5 minutes or until syrupy, stirring frequently, and cool.
3.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk.  Combine granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.  Add egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract and almond extracts, beating well.  Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.
4.  Spoon the batter into a 8-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray.  Arrange apple mixture over cake; top with almonds. (I found that the batter was very thin and the apples sunk into the batter when I placed them on) Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Quickly invert cake onto wire rack.  Then invert onto a serving plate.
5.  To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, 1 tsp buttermilk and 1/4 tsp vanilla in a small bowl,stir with a whisk.  Drizzle glaze over cake.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield:  8 servings.  185 Calories, 5 g Fat

That’s my plan.  Tell me, how do you make Sunday mornings run smoothly?
With love,