Thursday evenings at their house was usually reserved for breakfast-for-dinner night: their dad was going to get paid the next day, the parents would take the family grocery shopping, and it was time to get rid of the extra half-empty cereal boxes, toaster waffles, etc. So the kids would be sitting around the table with boxes of cereal, a carton of milk, just chowing down on breakfast-for-dinner.
"Why can't we have breakfast for dinner?" I'd ask Mom when I got home. (This was frequently asked with a slight whine, especially if Mom had cooked fried liver for dinner.)
But no such luck.
These days, it's a little more permissible to have breakfast for dinner. To that end, here are six breakfast recipes to try out for dinner – or for breakfast – including Egg and Cheese Quesadilla,, Pirate Eggs, and Challah French Toast. Enjoy!
Mom and Dad
CINNAMON-APPLE FRENCH TOAST
This vegan recipe, from page 38 of the October 2006 issue of Vegetarian Times, starts off, “Tart apples like Pippin, Empire, Winesap and Granny Smith retain their shapes when cooked, so choose them for this recipe.” Serves 6 in 30 minutes or less.
To view this online, click here.
Apple Topping
4 large tart, firm apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
French Toast
2 cups plain or vanilla soymilk
1/2 cup apple butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
12 slices soft-crust French bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick
To make Topping: Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium-high heat. Saute apples 5 to 7 minutes, or until softened. Reduce heat to medium. Add sugar and cinnamon, and cook 5 to 10 minutes more, or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in lemon juice, and remove from heat.
To make French Toast: Blend soymilk, apple butter, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in blender until smooth. Pour into shallow bowl.
Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Dip bread slices into batter, coating evenly. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Place 2 slices bread on each plate, and divide topping among servings.
Per serving: 273 cal; 6 g protein; 1.5 g total fat (0.5 g sat. fat); 55 g carb; 0 mg chol; 345 mg sodium; 3 g fiber; 25 g sugars
JIFFY CORN MUFFIN MIX PANCAKES
This is from Sara Bir, a senior editor at Simply Recipes. Sara wrote, "I have strong feelings about what makes pancakes good, so it’s surprising that the best cornmeal pancakes I’ve ever had came from a mix. They couldn’t be easier to make, and of course, I found out about them from my mom.
"Mom started making Jiffy corn muffin mix pancakes long after I’d grown up and left home, but she served them a few times when I was around for holidays and visits. Recently, while researching corn pudding—some versions of which rely on Jiffy corn muffin mix—I remembered mom’s pancakes and decided to make them myself."
To read the rest of what Sara wrote, as well as seeing this online, go to https://www.simplyrecipes.com/moms-jiffy-corn-muffin-mix-pancakes-recipe-8384425.
This recipe makes 8 to 10 pancakes.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg
1 (8.5)-ounce box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1/4 cup milk, plus more as needed
Butter and maple syrup or apple butter for serving
Directions
Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter. I do this on the griddle I’ll be using to cook the pancakes (you can brown the butter if you like). Set aside to cool a bit.
Meanwhile, beat an egg (any size will do) in a medium bowl. Add the corn muffin mix and 1/2 cup milk and stir just until combined. Then stir in the melted butter; do not wipe off the griddle or skillet. It’s okay if the mix has some lumps. If it’s quite thick, add a tablespoon or two more milk.
Return the skillet or griddle to the burner and heat over medium heat until a few droplets of water flicked from your hand sizzle and dance on the griddle. For each pancake, pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle. The pancakes are delicate and easier to handle when they are smaller, so resist the temptation to make them larger.
Cook the pancakes for 2 to 3 minutes on the first side, flipping once the edges begin to dry out and bubbles appear in the center. Then cook a few minutes on the other side until lightly golden brown.
Repeat, griddling the pancakes until all of the batter is used up. I find the batter thickens as it sits and I need to add more milk bit by bit as I make my way through the bowl. You’ll probably need to gradually turn the heat down to medium-low as you cook subsequent pancakes. My griddle is very well-seasoned and I don’t grease it in between batches, but you may need to keep your pancakes from sticking.
Serve hot, with whatever accouterments you like.
Simple Tip!
I keep the pancakes warm on a baking sheet in a 180°F oven for up to 30 minutes.
PARISIAN-STYLE SWEET CREPES
This comes from the September 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 37. It begins, "Cafés and brasseries in the French capital sell passersby sweet crêpes slathered in butter, jam, chestnut purée, and (VT favorite) Nutella. The experience is easy to re-create at home for breakfast, Sunday supper, or a snack."
Makes 8 crêpes
To view this online, go to https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/parisian-style-sweet-crepes/.
Ingredients
Crêpes
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup low-fat milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Fillings (optional)
Nutella
Jam
Butter
Chestnut Purée
Preparation
Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in bowl. Whisk in egg; mixture will be shaggy. Whisk in milk 1/4 cup at a time. Whisk in vanilla. Cover, and chill 30 minutes, or overnight.
Whisk 1/4 to 1/2 cup water into batter to thin. Lightly grease 9-inch nonstick skillet with canola oil. Heat skillet over medium-high heat.
Pour 1/4 cup batter into hot skillet, tilting pan to swirl batter so it coats bottom of pan. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until edges begin to brown and center is dry. Flip; cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more.
Transfer crêpe to plate, and repeat with remaining batter. To serve crêpes: Reheat 1 minute in lightly greased skillet. Spread with desired fillings, fold into quarters, and serve.
PIRATE EGGS
When my sister and I were kids, my mother used to fix this for us on a regular basis, except that she called them Gypsy Eggs. Once my brother came along, though, they became Pirate Eggs. The name stuck. Most people from the Northeastern U.S. tend to call them Eggs-in-a-Hole or some variation of that. But whatever you call them, they're good.
The instructions are for one person. Adjust for the number of people you're feeding.
Ingredients
1-2 eggs
1-2 pieces of bread
margarine for the pan
Directions
Melt the margarine in the pan over medium heat. Take the bread and cut a round hole in the middle. Place bread in pan, then crack the egg and dump onto the bread so that the yolk is in the hole. If you prefer non-runny yolks (my preference), crack the yolk with the corner of a spatula. Cook on the first side for several minutes, then flip over and cook the other side. You can flip it several times until the egg looks cooked. Enjoy!
EGG AND CHEESE QUESADILLA
This recipe is from Ali Slagle in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this yummy recipe, Ali wrote, "With its soft, gooey inside and toasted outside, this egg and cheese quesadilla is as satisfying to eat as it is fun to make. The trick is to use the barely set eggs and melted cheese to secure the fillings to the tortilla, so that when it’s time to flip, the whole quesadilla cleanly moves together. As the tortilla toasts, add another round of cheese and sprinkle some on the perimeter so it melts into a crisp, brown, lacy edge. If you’d like to add chopped vegetables like peppers, onions or kale, sauté them in the butter before adding the eggs."
Ready in 10 minutes; Yield: 1 serving
To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/774974663-egg-and-cheese-quesadilla. While you're at it, if you haven't signed up for The New York Times cooking enewsletter, I highly recommend doing so. Great recipes, guides, and more.
Ingredients
2 large eggs
Salt
1/2 tablespoon unsalted or salted butter
Scant 1/2 cup grated Cheddar or Mexican cheese blend (scant 2 ounces)
1 (8-inch) flour tortilla
Preparation
In a small bowl, beat the eggs and a pinch of salt with a fork until homogenous.
In a medium nonstick skillet — one that snugly fits your tortilla — melt the butter over medium heat. Add the eggs and swirl the pan so the eggs fill the skillet. Using a spatula, pull the eggs in toward the center and, while holding the spatula in place, tilt the pan so that the egg runs to the empty skillet. Repeat this until the surface is nearly set but still shiny, about 1 minute.
Sprinkle evenly with half of the cheese, then top with the tortilla and press to adhere. Put your hand in the middle of the tortilla. Flip the skillet so the tortilla is now on your hand, egg-side up. (Keep your arm away from the hot skillet, but otherwise nothing scary will happen because everything is adhered to the tortilla.) Place the tortilla, egg-side up, back in the skillet.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on one half of the eggs, making sure to sprinkle some on the edge to crisp. Cook over medium until the tortilla is golden brown underneath, just a minute. Fold the tortilla in half, slide onto a plate, sprinkle with salt and cut into wedges.
CHALLAH FRENCH TOAST
This yumminess is from Ina Garten on the Food Network.
Prep Time: 10 minutes, Inactive Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 12 minutes; Total Time: 27 minutes; Level: Easy; Yield: 8 large slices
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
6 extra-large eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half or milk
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon good honey
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large loaf challah or brioche bread
Unsalted butter
Vegetable oil
To serve:
Pure maple syrup
Good raspberry preserves (optional)
Sifted confectioners' sugar (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
In a large shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, orange zest, vanilla, honey, and salt. Slice the challah in 3/4-inch thick slices. Soak as many slices in the egg mixture as possible for 5 minutes, turning once.
Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a very large saute pan over medium heat. Add the soaked bread and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until nicely browned. Place the cooked French toast on a sheet pan and keep it warm in the oven. Fry the remaining soaked bread slices, adding butter and oil as needed, until it's all cooked. Serve hot with maple syrup, raspberry preserves, and/or confectioners' sugar.
