Breakfast at Any Time is Good

Last night Juiceboy was scheduled to make Stir-fried veggies and rice. The only problem was he didn't realize it was brown rice and would take much longer than he had planned. We were all starving at 6:30pm and didn't want to be eating at 7:30 or 8pm, so we started thinking about what to have or do.

I was trying to convince him that it would take that long to cut up all the veggies and get them going, but he wasn't having it. What to do? Make breakfast for dinner!

To start:

Homemade Pancakes
I think pancakes made from scratch are nicer than those out of a box. You can adjust the mix to suit your taste (fluffier? more baking powder. Thinner? More eggs and milk. Etc.)

Sift all dry ingrediants:
1.5 Cups flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Then mix separately:
1 to 2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 C milk (I use 1%)
3 Tablespoons melted butter
dash of vanilla

Mix wet into dry until just mixed. Let the lumps sit. This is one of those times you don't overmix, like muffin baking. And then walk away. Cut up your fruit for toppings, etc. After ten to fifteen minutes (if you have the time, let the batter sit longer in the fridge!), prep your pan.

I like an iron skillet. They hold the heat evenly. Juiceboy likes a well-buttered pan, I like a lightly Pam-sprayed pan. If you're buttering, keep the heat lower and cook the pancakes slowly.

Cook the pancakes as you normally would. Serve with sliced strawberries and fresh blueberries, organic maple syrup (or 100% maple syrup, none of that fake artificially-flavored sugar water!). One of our favorite toppings is a strawberry syrup sold by Safeway, warmed up and over the fruit. Yum.

Ham and Eggs
Food Network just ran a repeat of Rachel Ray's Green Eggs & Ham. However our Ham & Eggs is absolutely nuthin fancy.

One ham steak--like a $1.29 Farmer John ham steak. Throw it in a pan with a little oil or butter (Juiceboy skipped that part and it just made cleanup a little harder). Heat on low till it's carmelized a bit.

Sunnyside up eggs: Two eggs per person. Butter/oil your iron skillet, heat on medium. Get all the eggs cracked in there, salt and pepper them, and then cover the pan with a lid. At this point I lower the heat to medium low and go set the table.

After about four or five minutes the whites on the top of the egg should be set. Slide onto the plate with the ham (that has been sliced into three or four pieces, one per person). And then enjoy with the pancakes and fruit!

Breakfast is great at any time of the day!