Breakfast options for the whole family!

eekend breakfasts are special occasions around here. Well, especially Saturday breakfasts... Sundays (other than in winter...) we tend to have more get-up-and-go to our mornings, whether it's to hit the yard or errands or just general chores.

Omelets have been quite popular around here lately, and the lovely omelet pan I received for my most recent birthday has been put to good use, with great results. Omelet variations are easy to accommodate--husband has "the works" (which means all vegetables + light on cheddar cheese), I am *most* vegetables and a wider assortment of cheeses (my latest favorite is a white cheddar made from goat's milk), and Seth is a straight up peppers + cheddar. See, easy (once you get the hang of different bowls with different ingredients).

This morning we employed a further customization of breakfast items... And for all you mothers out there who will proclaim me a bad influence for making every person an item of their choosing, just remember: there are THREE of us. Not four, or five, or more. And I like doing this, so deal. It's how we roll.

Seth wandered through the kitchen as the hash browns were hitting the pan and mused about a pannekoek possibility. Pannekoek is a dish we had while visiting Grandma Kandt in Canada years ago (at a specific pannekoek restaurant), and was an immediate hit: a thick potato pancake with cheese (and meat if you're so inclined; the gevulde pannekoek, if you're into looking it up online, though the description of "Dutch meat-filled pancakes didn't really do it for me). Seth's long been a potato pancake fan, so the idea of cheese being an added ingredient? We'll let's just say he comes by the cheese love honestly!

In another pan, husband's omelet came together nicely...

And in yet another pan, I decided to stray from my original plan to mimic an Israeli egg dish I pinned just yesterday, shakshuka--eggs cooked in a spicy tomato sauce. I took one look at all the glorious asparagus and couldn't help but deviate in that direction. And, I was feeling less saucy, so it really strayed more toward a vegetable hash with eggs.

We enjoyed a lovely morning family interlude, enhanced by warmed sticky buns and fresh squeezed orange juice.

Pannekoek a la Seth
2 cups hash browns, uncooked
2 eggs
1 cup diced sweet peppers (we had red, green, orange and yellow on hand; precooked in the microwave, 2 minutes)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup grated cheese
2 Tbsp. jarred queso (special request this morning by the teen boy, completely optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.

Heat a medium frying pan (an omelet pan works nicely) over medium-high heat and spray with a little non-stick spray. Add the potato mixture all at once and spread out to cover the whole pan.

Let the mixture cook, until lifting the edge slightly, you can see that the bottom is crisping up nicely--about 5-6 minutes depending on the heat. Using a pancake flipper, loosen the whole pannekoek and slide onto a plate, then flip the whole thing back into the pan, uncooked side down. This is not nearly as acrobatic as it sounds. If you use a medium-size pan, you can put it on top of the plate and, using hot pads, flip the plate and pan over that way.

However you do it, return the pan to heat for another 5-6 minutes, and then slide out onto a clean plate and serve. We've sliced a larger pannekoek up between several eaters in the past... today it was all for Seth!

Sher's "shakshuka"
1/2 cup peppers, sliced thinly
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1 cup thinly sliced asparagus spears
2/3 cup halved grape tomatoes
2 eggs

Heat a saute pan over medium heat with a scant drizzle of olive oil. Add the peppers and onions and saute for a minute or two. Add the asparagus and continue to saute, followed a minute later with the tomatoes.

When the vegetables have wilted a bit, create a couple of holes in the vegetables where you can see the bottom of the pan and crack an egg into each hole. Turn the heat down to low and cover the pan until the eggs have cooked to your desired consistency. Put a cover on the pan to get the egg whites cooked properly before the vegetables have turned to mush.

This was very yummy and springtime fresh!

I hope your weekend breakfasts are as yummy as ours... What's your favorite breakfast special?