Breakfast For Dinner

We eat a lot of breakfast food in our household. We mean, A LOT. For us, breakfast food can be eaten at any meal, including snacks and dessert. One of favorite ways to eat breakfast food is to have it for dinner. Having breakfast for dinner allows you to make the dishes that you normally do not have time for in the mornings. We usually make some sort of baked egg dish and something sweet, like pancakes, french toast or cinnamon rolls.

This meal includes a baked omelet that we saw Giada De Laurentiis make on her show and some almond ricotta pancakes that Sarah made up.

Baked Omelet
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 pound turkey breakfast sausage  links (casings removed)
8 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 red pepper, chopped
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 cup sharp white cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Butter an 8×8 baking dish.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion, salt and pepper and cook until golden brown. Add the turkey sausage and cook, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until cooked through 5 to 6 minutes.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl with the milk, red pepper, parsley, salt and pepper, and 1/2 cup of the cheese.

Combine the cooked sausage and onion mixture with the eggs and pour into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Almond Ricotta Pancakes with Strawberries
Prep time : 30 minutes
Serves: 4 (4 pancakes each)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups pancakes mix (we always buy Krusteaz Wheat & Honey)
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons almond extract
Butter for the pan
Pure maple syrup
Fresh strawberries, sliced

Directions
Preheat the oven to 200°F. Heat a griddle to medium heat. Mix the water, pancake mix, ricotta and almond extract in a bowl with a wire whisk. Butter the hot griddle. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to drop the batter onto the hot griddle. This way all the pancakes come out to the same size. Once you start to see bubbles around the edges, flip the pancake over with a metal spatula.

The first side should be golden brown. Cook for a couple minutes on the second side, until it’s golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Place the pancakes on a baking sheet in the warm oven as you go to keep warm until all the pancakes are done. Serve with the real maple syrup and sliced strawberries.

This whole meal was so, so yummy! We couldn’t stop saying “mmmmm…yummm!” with every single bite! It was ridiculous! The pancakes were soft, fluffy and sweet, and the strawberries made the perfect companion for those little beauties! They were  a nice change from our standard blueberry pancakes. (Which are always a favorite!) Let’s just say that stack of pancakes did not stand a chance against the Eickelbergs. The baked omelet was fluffy and had the perfect amount of saltiness to counter the sweet pancakes. It definitely made it’s way into our list of regular breakfast dishes!

Do you ever eat breakfast for supper? If so, what’s your favorite thing to make?