Breakfast for dinner

When all else fails and you can’t think of what else to have for dinner, go with breakfast.

I’ve had this blueberry pancake recipe sitting on my kitchen table for at least a month now. I clipped it from a 2009 Cooking Light magazine that a co-worker gave me when she was cleaning out her pantry.

I really liked the weight of these pancakes. And I shoved as many blueberries into them as I could, not just a mere 2 tablespoons. Then I topped my pancakes with a ton of strawberries. (I'd take a picture, but although they were tasty, they weren't pretty. Had some flipping problems.)

Blueberry pancakes

2.25 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)

2.38 ounces whole-wheat flour (about 1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup vanilla fat-free yogurt

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup fresh blueberries

Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 5 ingredients (through nutmeg) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Combine yogurt and next 4 ingredients (through eggs) in a small bowl; add to flour mixture, stirring until smooth.

Pour about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto a hot nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet. Top each pancake with 2 tablespoons blueberries. Cook 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 2 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.

Yield: 4 servings (2 pancakes per serving)

I had to improvise a bit with the ingredients. One carton of my vanilla yogurt was frozen, so I subbed a bit of strawberry-banana (ate the rest with dinner). And in typing the ingredients, I realized I put in an extra 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Might explain why the pancakes were really fluffy.

My new favorite breakfast

I'm not much of a cook, but I love to bake. I was in the mood for coffee cake a few weeks ago, so browsed the web for some ideas. I found this on www.foodnetwork.com and have really enjoyed it. I've made it several times, and it's great for breakfast.

I add more apple than the recipe calls for, usually about 2 cups. The more, the better.

I've been playing around with the streusel recipe. I thought the streusel topping had too much flour. And not enough butter. So I've been adding another tablespoon or two of butter. And I've also thrown in a bit of brown sugar, a handful of oats and some walnuts.

The original recipe suggests vanilla ice cream as an accompaniment, but I prefer a tall glass of ice cold milk.

Quick Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Serves: 8 servings (well, it depends on how big you slice the cake)

For the cake

1 1/2 cups flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable shortening, melted

1 1/2 cups chopped Granny Smith apples (2 to 3 apples)

Streusel topping

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Sift flour and measure then sift together with the other dry ingredients. Beat the egg, then add the milk and melted shortening. Pour the wet into the dry then add the raw apples and mix well. Pour into a well greased 8-inch square pan. Mix together the streusel ingredients and sprinkle over the top of the batter. Bake at 400 about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.