Butler’s Pantry’s Bridget Bitza on breakfast hacks

Bridget Bitza is an accomplished culinary professional whose role at St. Louis catering mainstay Butler’s Pantry includes helping people conceptualize the meals that will mark some of the most important occasions of their lives. And even she struggles with what to do for breakfast in her own home.

“I think breakfast is hard—whether you have kids or not—because you always think you’ll have more time than you do, but then you turn on the news and see that traffic is backed up on I-270,” says Bitza. “So you end up just grabbing a protein shake or bar, or even just a cup of coffee, and then you’re starving by 10 a.m.”

Bitza understands the disconnect between what we want our weekday breakfasts to look like and the realities of daily life that prevent us from making that happen. Work commutes, school schedules and the desire to sleep in until the very last minute all conspire to prevent us from whipping up a gourmet feast on a Monday at 7 a.m. However, Bitza insists that, with a little planning and minimal effort, we can get closer to the ideal than we think. Here are her tips, as well as a sample Monday-through-Friday menu that will help you get your day off to a good start. 

Plan ahead. While Bitza has become a meal planner and prepper herself, she understands that not everyone operates this way. Still, she encourages people to plan one or two breakfasts for the week so you can add what you need for them to your grocery lists, or make extra portions of certain items you’re already cooking throughout the week to use in your breakfast. “You don’t need to spend all day on Sunday prepping food,” Bitza says. “If you’re planning on BLTs for dinner one night, fry an extra piece of bacon to have cooked and ready to go for a quick breakfast addition during the week.”

Double your recipes. “Making French toast on Sunday?  Double up and put some in the freezer to warm up in an air fryer throughout the week,” says Bitza.  She also suggests Making two quiches instead of one, then slicing and freezing them separately for a quick breakfast in the morning.

Find inspiration from a fridge cleanout. Bitza suggests looking through your refrigerator to assess whether anything is getting ready to go bad or if you have any extra vegetables or ham lunch meat. A lot of these things can get thrown into an egg casserole that, like quiche, can be cooled, sliced and frozen individually for easy reheating. 

Do the work while you’re asleep. Bitza loves overnight oats or chia pudding, which are extremely easy to make and can be stored in the refrigerator for an on-the-go, wholesome breakfast. 

Commit to grocery shopping once-a-week. There was a point in her life when Bitza could go to the grocery store multiple times per week, but now, doing so takes too much time and is too expensive. “I used to go to the store three or four times a week and would end up spending $100 each time because I was just aimlessly pulling stuff from shelves,” says Bitza. “I needed to get a handle on it because I needed a budget, and I needed direction to not feel overwhelmed.” By planning out what you need, then executing on that list, it will save you time and money, Bitza insists. She’s found that keeping a running grocery list on her phone’s notes app is helpful in staying on top of what she needs.

Bridget Bitza’s sample weekday breakfast plan:

• Monday: Egg rollups. Bitza always has eggs and tortillas on hand. For a quick breakfast in the morning she says to crack an egg in a pan, cook the one side, flip, top with cheese of choice and a tortilla.  Once the other side of the egg is cooked, flip to warm the other side of the tortilla and roll up. 
• Tuesday: Made-ahead pancakes. On weeks where she’s made pancakes the weekend prior, Bitza makes sure to double her recipe, freeze some and then pop them in the air fryer for a quick weekday breakfast. 
• Wednesday: Breakfast sandwiches or burritos. These are great examples of dishes that Bitza makes in advance, freezes, and air fries before walking out the door. 
• Thursday: Banana nut muffins, and quiche, both made in advance and pulled from the freezer. 
• Friday: Crunchy French toast. Bitza always has cereal left in the bottom of the bag that needs to get used. One creative solution is to use the cereal to coat French toast; after dipping bread in custard, she coats it in Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Rice Krispies for a special touch. This is another dish that can be made in advance, frozen, and thrown in the air fryer to reheat.

Courtesy of Bridget Bitza

Courtesy of Bridget Bitza

Recipe: Crunchy French Toast

Bitza has found a creative solution to the crushed up cereal that always ends up at the bottom of the box: a delicious, crowd pleasing French toast. Whether enjoying it for a special weekend treat or reheating it from frozen for a grab-and-go breakfast, this whimsical dish is guaranteed to get your morning off to a delicious start. 

Ingredients:

• Loaf of Brioche or Challah Bread
• 4 large eggs
• 2/3 cup of milk
• 2 Tbsp. of sugar
• ¼ tsp. of cardamom
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 cups of your favorite cereal crushed up (rice crispy, cinnamon toast crunch, frosted flakes)
• 3 Tbsp. of butter

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Melt butter over medium heat in a non-stick pan. 
3. Make custard: In a separate bowl mix the eggs, milk, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, cardamom and salt until completely mixed.  Soak bread in custard mixture.
4. Coat in crushed up cereal.
5. Brown your coated bread in the butter. 
6. Once golden brown, transfer to a sheet pan.  Bake for 10 minutes or until the rest of the bread has been cooked on the stove-top.
7. Serve with maple syrup.