Rockin' Breakfast

My kids think I am a rock star.  Okay, that's not really true.  I'm far from it in their eyes most days.  At 15, 12, and 10, I mostly get eye-rolls.  Anyway! (insert eye-roll back-at-ya here) Breakfast most days is a fix what you can find kind of affair.  They are old enough now, and they mostly prefer the quick stuff; cereal, oatmeal, or chocolate chip Eggos with no syrup.  Not fabulous, but they like it and they are old enough to take care of themselves breakfast-wise.  My kids have always been easy wakers - and generally early-birds, the two youngest get up at 6:00 no matter what.  I make everyone's lunches before school each morning, so I'm up at dark-thirty around in the kitchen to oversee production and consumption. 

My husband, on the other hand has ALWAYS been the breakfast wizard.  When he is home for the morning rush, that man wakes up after some coffee and absolutely rocks mornings.  Talking about Jesus and reading the Word with whatever kids are around, loud praise music, all cheerful-like, and making his famous chocolate pancakes.  Rather sickening in my non-morning blurry-eyed view.  Pretty simple foodwise, I gather, as are most things Dad-made.  He still claims to be the inventor of the use of the pizza cutter to slice pancakes into kid-sized pieces.  I take the cue when I hear him banging in the kitchen that he's got it handled & I make it a point to burrow deeper under the covers.  Anyway, when I do make my way out of the bed the pancakes are gone and kids are really happy.  As far as I can tell these famous pancakes contain storebought pancake mix and massive amounts of hot chocolate mix.  I was wondering where all the hot chocolate was going.  His secret to rocking breakfast?  Sugar.  He believes that a child full of sugar is a happier child and happy children - that's a good thing.  He's never claimed to be much of a nutritionist.

I don't always let the poor children fend for themselves, I do cook eggs, muffins, and the occasional french toast - sometimes.  My in laws have to work themselves to death cooking pounds and pounds of bacon when we visit to make up for the fact that I refuse to cook bacon.  I don't have a problem with bacon itself, I just hate the way it's all greasy, and the way the smell stays in my hair all day, and the nasty mess of it.  About twice a month I get industrious and I mix up a batch of my fabulous chocolate chip waffles which they all love.  But, recently, I served my son a breakfast that truly knocked his socks off.  It's pretty genius if I do say so myself.  100% whole wheat quick oats with milk and nothing else.  Then, when it's in the bowl nice and steamy, I add a scoop of ice cream.  You would've thought he won a gold medal.  Kind of shocking to serve ice cream for breakfast, but it is basically milk, sugar, cream, all the things one might add to oatmeal.  It gives it an amazing creamy flavor.  And that's how I rock breakfast.

Okay, so shown here with a LITTLE more than one scoop, but you get the idea.