Solve dinner dilemma with breakfast

It’s generally accepted that breakfast is our most important meal, yet most of us gobble it down in a couple of minutes or eat it on the run.

So let’s slow down and enjoy our breakfast — for dinner.

But let’s face it. Planning a week’s worth of meals, even for the most organized parents, is a difficult task. When my children were little and I was a single working mom, I found that making breakfast foods instead of a traditional dinner were a quick and healthy way to provide some of our evening meals.

Check out gobreakfastarians.org, and you’ll find that breakfast for dinner is on the rise.

The recipes below take no more than 30 minutes total. To save more time, measure all the ingredients and place them in small storage bags. Tape a note with the name of the ingredient on the bag, then refrigerate or keep on the counter until it’s time to make the recipe.

To make sure these dishes would be popular with kids and parents, I invited my grandchildren Ashley and Zack, along with their friends, Danielle, Shay, Julia and Connor, to a breakfast for dinner. My husband and daughter Kellie were the adult taste-testers.

All agreed that breakfast for dinner was a great idea. Grandson Zack, 12, a comedian in waiting, suggested they come back the next morning for dinner. He said he thought hot wings and fries would be just fine.

Enjoy these recipes; we certainly did.

Farmer’s Country Breakfast

Makes 4 servings. Total time 30 minutes.

“Home Style Cooking,” by Taste of Home (Reiman Media Group, Inc.)

6 eggs

1/3 cup 2 percent milk

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 ounces bulk pork sausage

1 1/2 cups frozen cubed hash brown potatoes, thawed

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Whisk eggs, milk, parsley and salt; set aside. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; remove and drain. In the same skillet, cook potatoes and onions 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Return sausage to the pan.

Add egg mixture; cook and stir until almost set. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted

Berry Breakfast Pizzas

Makes 4 pizzas. Total time 25 minutes.

“The Ultimate Quick & Healthy Book,” by Better Homes and Gardens (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

I couldn’t find the pita bread rounds called for in this recipe. In place of the pita rounds, I used Brownberry Multigrain Sandwich Thins I found at Giant Eagle. The package contains eight 4-inch round sliced sandwich rounds (leftover rounds are good toasted). You could make the berry topping ahead; cover and chill for 2 to 8 hours.

1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 teaspoons

4 teaspoons cornstarch

Dash salt

1/2 cup water

2 cups mixed fresh berries (blueberries, raspberries and/or blackberries), divided

1 teaspoon butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted

1 teaspoon orange peel, finely shredded

4 ounces reduced-fat Neufchatel cream cheese

2 tablespoons orange marmalade

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 pita bread rounds, split

Powdered sugar, optional

In a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in the water. Stir in 1/2 cup of the berries. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup of the berries and 1 teaspoon butter, stirring until butter is melted. Gently stir in orange peel.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and orange marmalade. Beat with an electric mixer on low- to medium speed until smooth. In a small bowl stir together the remaining 2 teaspoons granulated sugar and cardamom.

Toast the split pita rounds. Brush pita rounds with 2 tablespoons melted butter; sprinkle with the sugar-cardamom mixture. Spread cream cheese mixture over the split pita rounds. Spread berry topping over cream cheese mixture. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup berries. If desired sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Protein-Packed Pancakes

Makes 12 servings. Total time 15 minutes.

Incredibleegg.org.

6 eggs

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (scoop flour into measuring cup then level off )

2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat eggs, ricotta cheese, flour, oil or butter, baking powder, salt and vanilla in large bowl until blended.

Preheat lightly greased large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-heat until hot. Spoon 1/4 cup of batter (1 tablespoon for silver dollar size) into skillet; Cook until golden brown, turning once.

To freeze, cool pancakes on wire rack. Freeze in single layer up to 1 month.

Serve with syrup, fresh fruit, preserves or nuts.