{"id":7862,"date":"2015-09-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/togethercounts.com\/get-ready-for-back-to-school-with-katie-workman\/"},"modified":"2015-09-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-09-03T00:00:00","slug":"get-ready-for-back-to-school-with-katie-workman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/togethercounts.com\/es\/get-ready-for-back-to-school-with-katie-workman\/","title":{"rendered":"Get Ready for Back to School with Katie Workman"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Parents greet the end of summer and the beginning of the school year with mixed emotions (the kids\u2019 emotions? Not so mixed). Obviously we\u2019re sad to see summer end, sorry to lose the longer, less structured days. But there\u2019s an energy to back-to-school time, a feeling of a fresh start. As we partner with the nationwide Together Counts\u2122 program, we want to inject some fresh thinking into our weekday cooking, to make dinners that feel exciting, breakfasts that feel like a spirited start to the day and homemade snacks that the kids are going to be really happy to see after school!<\/p>\n

For breakfast, having a package of puff pastry nestled in the freezer means that you can make a beautiful and substantial breakfast tart any day of the week. Puff pastry is one of those ingredients that feels very special, but it\u2019s so convenient and easy to handle. Check out the Puff Pastry Breakfast Egg Tarts<\/a><\/span> recipe for tips on how make the tart base ahead of time, so that weekday mornings can feel very special without setting the alarm too early. And, I can\u2019t imagine my fridge without a couple dozen of eggs, which feature prominently (and adorably, I have to say) in this tart, and in breakfasts several mornings a week. We are a HUGE egg family\u2014eggs are the perfect intersection of high-quality protein, value, flavor and convenience.<\/p>\n

And of course, some boxes of frozen vegetables are a must have for weekday cooking\u2014always ready-to-go, a no-brainer of a shortcut to quick, nutritious family meals. Here, a box of spinach becomes a flavorful layer in the tart AND packs in a ton of fiber, vitamin A, iron and calcium. That\u2019s a lot of nutritional bang for your buck to start the day! The tart gets topped with a hefty sprinkle of shredded cheese, which is another ingredient I can\u2019t imagine not having in the fridge\u2014the convenience factor is amazing, and I couldn\u2019t count the number of dishes that I end up making better with the addition of shredded cheese.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also so nice to have something special to offer the kids and their friends when they get home from those first few days of school, or on a day where there was a test or maybe right before a performance. Homemade blintzes are such a treat, and much easier than you\u2019d think to make\u2014check out my recipe for Fruit and Cheese Blintzes<\/a> and see for yourself. The simple crepe batter has only a handful of ingredients, as does the filling and the sauce. The incredible, versatile egg is featured again in both the crepes and the filling, and the inside of the blintz is stuffed with a creamy, sweet, dairy protein-filled mixture of cottage cheese and sour cream. Many of us love a bowlful of cottage cheese, and certainly think to dollop sour cream on everything from a baked potato to a soup, but do remember that they are also great ingredients in all kinds of recipes. And, the whole thing really comes together with a vibrant sweet-tangy raspberry sauce. Frozen berries are always in season, and whether you grab them for a smoothie, or a fool<\/a><\/span> or this sauce, you\u2019ll be very pleased to have a couple of bags or boxes in the freezer.<\/p>\n

So the summer may be drawing to a close, but you can soften the blow with a great breakfast and a great snack. It\u2019s hard to complain about school with your mouth full!<\/p>\n

Katie Workman is author of <\/em>The Mom 100 Cookbook<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Dinner Solved<\/em><\/a> (August 2015) and creator of <\/em>The Mom 100<\/em><\/a> blog. She\u2019s all about cooking for family and friends and is so excited to be working with the National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA), a partner of the <\/em>Together Counts\u2122<\/em><\/a><\/span> nationwide program that inspires active and healthy living. Katie also sits on the board of City Harvest, New York\u2019s leading food rescue nonprofit, and for the past 24 years has been an active supporter of Share Our Strength, a hunger relief organization dedicated to eradicating childhood hunger.<\/em><\/p>\n

For more meal prepping tips check out these other Together Counts articles!<\/p>\n