Breakfast at Pennington's

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My boys often stare into the pantry & say, "I don't know what to have for breakfast ...
Mom, suggest something!"

So as I begin to name off the usual breakfast choices, I usually manage to mention 
something that they have forgotten about.


We all have our go-to favorites, like cereal or eggs & toast.
Occasionally though, we get on 'kicks' of eating certain things ... 
& we'll eat it everyday til we make ourselves sick of it.
Lately, I'm on a kick of eating grits.

Yep, grits.

And when I casually mentioned that on Facebook, well, let me tell you, 
that was a HOT topic.
Now, it wasn't the grits, in & of themselves, that caused such a stir ... 
no, it was the fact that I like my grits, dare I say, with sugar that caused such a who-do.


Course, anybody who knows anything about anything knows that Southerners 
take their grits seriously.
When we were vacationing in SC, we toured Boone Hall Plantation.
As we were standing in the beautiful dining room, the guide was telling about the foods 
that were commonly eaten at the plantation.
When she mentioned grits, she said it was plain-out a sin to eat grits with sugar!
That put me in my place, no two ways about it.
My mom is a Virginia girl, born & raised, but she married a Hoosier.
That surely must be where I've gotten off track with the grits.


All this got me to thinking about how our food choices, our likes & dislikes, are influenced 
by our heritage & what part of the country we grew up in.
We all eat primarily the same things ... just in various different ways.


I thought I'd share with you some of our breakfast faves ... 
ya know, breakfast at Tiffany's  Pennington's!
Who knows, you may see something 'new' that you'd like to try out at your house.

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• White Rice ~ we love this for breakfast!  

I always have the 'minute' rice on hand.  
Equal parts water & rice ... & pop it in the microwave for 5 minutes.
After the water is absorbed, we sweeten w/white sugar, butter & a wee little bit 
of milk to make it creamy.
Two words: Yummm-O.

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• Grits

These are cooked & served much the same way as the rice.
Follow the microwave directions on the canister.
Sweeten with sugar & add plenty of butter {butter & grits are best friends, ya know}.


A friend shared how she likes her breakfast grits & I think I'm ganna try it ...
serve them salted, with over-easy eggs & toast.
I let you know my verdict ;)

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• French Toast

Quick & easy ... I use 1 egg for every 2 slices of bread.
Beat the egg in a shallow bowl & dip the bread in, coating evenly.
Sometimes I add just a teeny bit of vanilla extract in the egg to add a yummy flavor.
Spray skillet with cooking spray {or oil} & fry over medium heat.
Serve w/warm maple syrup.


Now, my favorite way to eat french toast is to leave off the syrup 
& instead, sprinkle the toast w/a little salt.
I don't know ... it's just something I saw my mom do growing up.

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• Toast

Not much better than the classic breakfast of buttered toast. 
The Pennington twist here came from Garrett ... & oh is it yum.
After buttering the toast, sprinkle it with brown sugar!
I know!


Another way we like toast is topped with Nutella.
If you aren't familiar with Nutella, you must quickly get acquainted!
It's a thick, chocolatety hazelnut spread that is pretty much addicting.
{I've tried the Kroger version & it's just as delicious at a cheaper price.}


My mom often made us cinnamon toast.
She buttered the bread, sprinkled on the cinnamon & sugar, & baked it 
in the oven for 10 minutes or so.


And lastly, another thing I learned from my momma, buttered toast is quite
tasty dipped in chocolate milk.
My kids love this too.
You'll just have to trust me on this one ;)

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• Eggs

We love eggs around here!
Boiled eggs, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, egg salad, deviled eggs, eggnog ... 
you name it, we like it!
Here are some of our faves:
~Eggs fried over-easy

~Fried egg sandwich 
           Fry the egg, yellow cooked through.  Salt & pepper & serve on soft white bread.
           Sometimes we like a bit of mustard & mayo ... kinda tastes like a deviled egg.

~Scrambled eggs
           This is how I make 'em:  beat eggs with fork, adding in milk & a bit of water.
           For 2 eggs, use about 1/4 c. milk & a Tbsp. of water {this makes 'em fluffy}.
           Fry in butter for extra flavor.

~Scrambled egg sandwich
          This is another of my mom's specialties.  
          Follow the same directions above for the eggs.
          The main difference is in the frying technique ... do not break up the egg.
          Let them fry flat, similar to a crepe.
          This way, there is one large piece of egg for the sandwich.
          Dress up the sandwich with mayo, lettuce, & onion ... delish!

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• Breakfast sandwiches

Riley isn't much of a breakfast eater, so a breakfast sandwich often appeals to him.
I buy the bagged sausage patties from Aldi just for this purpose.
Cook in the microwave for 1 minute & put it on toast, bagels, biscuits
or English muffins.
Add a fried egg & a slice of cheese & you've got something better than Mickey D's.
{Bacon is a good choice too.} 

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• Homemade Donuts ~ I am a rock-star mom when I make these!

Use a tube of the small biscuits {not the Grands} for this recipe.
Flatten each biscuit a tiny bit ... you can even cut out the center for donut holes.
Heat canola oil in skillet over medium heat then reduce to low.
Fry biscuits on each side until lightly golden, making sure center is no longer doughy.
While hot, toss in powdered sugar {or cinnamon sugar}.


Here are a few more morning favorites:

• homemade waffles & pancakes {countless ways to add variety here}
  
• biscuits & sausage gravy
• oatmeal {old-fashioned, quick cook, steel-cut}
• cereal
• pop-tarts, toaster strudels & scrambles
• fresh fruit
• breakfast burrito
• bagels with flavored cream cheese

"He that but looketh on a plate of ham & eggs to lust after it hath already committed 

breakfast with it in his heart."  C.S. Lewis

Here's to happy mornings, no matter how you like your breakfast.