School has been in session for a little bit now, and we are finally settling in on a routine. With three kids, mornings are very busy, and afternoons are just as wild with all three of them playing soccer. I am always on the look out for easy breakfasts and dinners to make. Schwan's wanted to know if I wanted to sample several of their breakfast and dinner items and feature a school week long menu. I couldn't pass this one up, since perhaps it would make these two eating times a bit less hectic for us!
The first day we had the Mini Pancakes for breakfast and the Chicken Alfredo Bianco Flatbread Thin Crust Pizza for dinner.
You really couldn't get any easier on fixing these pancakes. I took six out of the box and put them in the microwave for about 30 seconds. My kids then poured a little syrup on their plate and picked up the pancakes with their fingers and dipped them. No fork needed. These are even on Schwan's
LiveSmart menu with standards for fat, calories and sodium. I didn't tell the boys, and they never knew they were eating a low fat version! By the way, my oldest ate 12 at one time, and the littlest two at six a piece. These came in a box of 60, so we did get a few days out of them for the boys.
LiveSmart menu with standards for fat, calories and sodium. I didn't tell the boys, and they never knew they were eating a low fat version! By the way, my oldest ate 12 at one time, and the littlest two at six a piece. These came in a box of 60, so we did get a few days out of them for the boys.
The thin crust pizza has grilled white meat chicken, roasted red peppers, black olives, spinach,
mozzarella and parmesan cheese, creamy alfredo sauce and a savory herb
blend. We went to the oven for this one. It cooked in just about 11 minutes in my oven on 425 degrees. I was a little bit worried that they boys wouldn't like this because of the peppers and black olives. I was right about that part, but after I convinced them to pick those off, they loved it. Very cheesy and a nice light crust. I may also note that it was a great way to get some spinach in them as they ate that without even thinking of picking it off!
On Tuesday we went with the TOASTWICH® Bacon, Egg & Cheese for breakfast, and the Lasagna Roll Ups for supper.
Oh boy, now these TOASTWICHs were a hit. As you would assume from the name, they have bacon, scrambled eggs, and cheese all mixed together in a great pastry. We love bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, so I had a feeling these would go quick. These took a time or two for me to get them perfect without browning too much. For us to get the really nice flaky brown crust, and for the center to be hot, I toasted each one three times on the lowest setting. I think you just have to play around with your own toaster to get it right.
On Wednesday we had the English Muffin breakfast sandwich for breakfast and Italian Style Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast for dinner. Only one of my kids like English muffins, which is my middle son, so it was only the two of us and my husband who tried these. (Although my youngest did eat the sausage and egg off of one sandwich) To cook these, you first heat the sausage and egg in the microwave without the English muffin for about 45 seconds. Then you put your sandwich back together and cook it for another minute. We really liked the sandwiches, but I thought the muffin got a little soggy on my son, who is a slow eater. I checked to see what others were saying on the site, and someone suggested putting the muffin in the toaster. Although it took a little more effort, we did like it a little better this way. However, my husband grabbed one for his lunch, and said he liked it just fine in the microwave, and he would just heat it up at work. So he did!!! So not just a quick meal for the the kids but also the husband!
Chicken is one of my families favorite foods. We love to try out different recipes. I have never ever attempted a stuffed chicken breast from scratch before and I don't think my boys have ever had it before. I lined my cookie sheet with foil because let's face it, who wants to scrub a pan! I just tossed the frozen pieces on the pan and cooked them for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. I paired these up with macaroni and cheese and a salad. My kids would really eat mac and cheese with every dinner if I let them! I didn't tell them that the chicken had cheese inside it. I just told them to cut it up. They said it reminded them of stuffed crust pizza. Kids, what they think of. They were pretty tasty too, with all that cheese and sun dried tomatoes mixed inside. They had a little bit of herbs and panko crumbs on top to make a great tasting crust.
Thursday gave us the Blueberry Muffin Starters and the Beef Pot Pies.
I will tell you that I have made cookies from pre made dough balls, but I have never ever saw muffins that come that way. Even though this breakfast took the most baking time of all of them, it certainly was easy to make them. You just spray your pan and drop one of the little muffin balls as I call them, or pucks as they call them in the pan. This was a treat to make these like this. No more dripping batter on the sides or tops of the pan that end up in a burnt mess. Ours took about 26 minutes to bake at 375 degrees.
The beef pot pies were my husband and I's favorite. We couldn't sell them to the kids, pot pies have never been for them. So they had some leftover chicken from the night before! Oh well, what a shame, because these things are the best pot pies ever, and I don't usually eat pot pies because I don't like them. The box comes with four individually boxed pies and you just open one end of the box and cook it in the microwave without taking it out. Make sure that your pot pie is facing up or you will one heck of a mess I bet. I experienced with microwave times on these too. I cooked the first one at five minutes, but thought that it could have went longer. The next one I heated for six minutes, and I think that was too long maybe because it bubbles over into the microwave. The next two I did at 5 and a half minutes and it didn't spill over. There is a ton of beef in these and the crust is so perfect that I found myself eating it just plain before the vegetables! I thought the vegetables were a little to crisp for me, that is why I cooked it longer. I think thought that that is how they are supposed to be and maybe that is why I liked these better than other versions that have more "smooshy" vegetables.
On Friday, the last day on the menu we had Baked Cinnamon French Toast sticks and Six Cheese Tortellini.
This was my kids favorite day. They almost ate the whole box in one sitting. I actually made their first "helping" in the oven and they only took about 8 minutes at 375 degrees. After they scarfed down that bunch, we were running short on time and I decided to see how they did in the microwave. That only took 45 seconds and the kids were just as happy with the quick way. They loved that the french toast sticks were so thick. We noticed that they actually looked like someone had cut up bread and prepared them. Other brands have more of a crispy outside and they really don't taste like homemade french toast at all. These actually did!
Ricotta, Swiss, Fontina, Asiago, Romano and Parmesan cheeses, oh yes, I think we fell in love with these torts. These cheesy bites of deliciousness only took about five minutes in boiling water. I served them with a side of spaghetti sauce because the kids love spaghetti sauce. We had a salad and garlic bread. Although I have to admit several torts were lost before the meal even started because I love them plain as well.......................
Thank you to Schwan's for my samples used in this review. My opinions are my own and honest.
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