Breakfast Food...For Dinner?!?

All right food lovers!  It's time for another food related discussion in the new theme day I like to call "FOODIE FRIDAY"!  And, this is a theme day in which you can get involved!

For the past couple of weeks, I've been asking you to submit your recipes to this blog by either posting them here in the comments page, posting them on the Facebook fan page, or by sending in your recipes to my e-mail address which can be found at matthewwturcotte518@gmail.com

Now, because I only started this new blog feature just a couple of weeks ago, I wasn't really expecting to get a whole lot of responses right away, so I had some recipes already lined up just in case.  However, one of my regular readers - Cullen P. of Virginia - immediately sent me a recipe that his mother created that he makes every Christmas, and he thought that it would be a great idea if he submitted it to the blog so that other people could learn how to make them as well.

So, to begin this blog, I'll start by posting the message that Cullen sent me, along with the recipe he submitted.  And, then I'll try to talk about a food related topic linked to the recipe.

But, just fair warning...this blog entry will be a bit on the brief side.  I'm battling a migraine headache as I type this, and my pain meds that I took to stifle the pain haven't quite kicked in yet.  But, you know, sometimes a small blog entry can be a blessing...especially in comparison with the extra long Tuesday Timelines that I'm known for writing.

Okay, so here's Cullen's recipe.  Enjoy!

"Hi, Matt!  Here's a recipe my Mom taught me, and I've been making them every Christmas for my family or friends at work."

SAUSAGE BALLS

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage
3 cups of Bisquik

8 oz. shredded mild cheese

NOTE:  If you don't have Bisquik or Jimmy Dean sausage, any brand name will also work.

First, put the thawed sausage, Bisquik, and cheese in a big bowl, and mush them all together with your hands until it's all in one big mix with no crumbs left.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Pinch off little pieces of mix about the size of a quarter, roll them into balls, and place on an non-greased cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes, then quickly scoop them off the sheet with a spatula or huge spoon and place them in a cloth or in a cloth bowl and let them cool.

Thanks again, Cullen, for the great idea!  You see, everyone...Cullen submitted his recipe, and now it's posted on this blog!  You can have your recipe placed in this space next Friday!  All you have to do is send it!

But you know something?  Cullen's recipe for sausage balls makes me realize one thing.  They can be served for both breakfast and dinner.  I mean, think about it.  Sausage and pancake mix are classic breakfast staples, but you can also have them for dinner as well.  I mean, on Shrove Tuesday, it's practically encouraged to dine on pancakes for dinner that night!

*Though I always cheated and ate waffles instead.  I like waffles much better than pancakes!*

The point is that some of my most favourite things to have for dinner are items that you normally have for breakfast.  And on the flipside, some dinner staples are much better when served at 8:00 in the morning.

Let's start with breakfast items for dinner.  I've already talked about Shrove Tuesday and how pancakes (or waffles) are usually consumed that evening.  And, to be honest with you, I would totally eat waffles any time of the day.  They're just that delicious!  I'll do Belgian waffles, homemade waffles, and I'll literally cut off the arm of anyone who tried to steal my Eggo.

Okay, not really.  Still...L'Eggo My Eggo!

But, there's other breakfast items that are great for dinner.  Another thing I like is French toast (only my family calls French toast 'toasty moakies'...yeah, don't ask.  It's apparently a Turcotte family custom.)

Seriously though, if you avoid putting cinnamon and sugar on the piece of French toast, and instead just dip each piece in ketchup, it can make a really good, filling meal.  Try it sometime!

And, of course, there were times in which I have poured myself a bowl of cereal for dinner, and that was just fine with me.  After all, there were some instances in my college years in which I had nothing but a giant box of Rice Krispies or Corn Flakes.  A bowl of cereal for dinner was all that I could make...and well, it was better than nothing!  Still...if only I had the money in my budget for Corn Pops or Honey Comb.  Those would have hit the spot.

On the flipside, would you like to know what my favourite thing to eat is for breakfast?  It's not a donut, a bagel with cream cheese, or even an omelet.

(Definitely not an omelet, as I can't stand eggs.)

No, my favourite breakfast food is leftover pizza.  Seriously, there's something about pizza that has been in the fridge overnight that makes it much more tasty!  I know that most people see cold pizza as nothing more than a hangover cure, but I see it as being the breakfast of champions.

Another unusual breakfast food that seems to fit more on a dinner table than a breakfast table is chilled fried chicken.  I may be the only one who believes this, but I find fried chicken actually tastes better when it is cold than when it comes right out of the oven...or deep fryer, or however you prepare your chicken.

However, there are some foods that I would not recommend eating cold for breakfast.  McDonald's french fries, for example...they gave me food poisoning when I was six because I let them cool down way too long.  I don't recommend it.

However, I am curious to know some of your favourite non-traditional breakfast/dinner items.  You can send your suggestions AND recipes to me and I'll post them!