And in the morning, I'm making waffles!

We love breakfast in this house. We typically have breakfast food for dinner once a week and more often than that if we have run out of leftovers. Nothing fancy, of course, because it's often a last-minute decision. I'd rather have the fancy breakfast when cooking for other adults or when eating out, anyway. (At good restaurants...not IHOP or Waffle House). We have a few recipes we use all the time and I thought I'd share them. These recipes are simple, dependable, and mouth-pleasing.
Most often, we make these Multigrain Pancakes from Cooking Light. They're very good as they are, but last night I made some substitutions (as I frequently end up doing) that elevated their status for me from trusty, in-a-pinch, comfort meal to special Saturday morning breakfast . Instead of the 2% milk and yogurt it calls for, I used a combination of heavy cream, skim milk, sour cream and yogurt. Obviously, this changes the nutritional content, but I'm not really paying attention to that when we make them. They were so rich and fluffy.
One of my favorite add-ins for this pancake is crumbled cooked sausage, sprinkled onto the pancake after your pour it onto the griddle.
When we make waffles, I use Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. He offers 3 recipes: Overnight Waffles, Rich Buttermilk Waffles, and Quick and Easy Waffles. I recommend them all, but usually return to Quick and Easy waffles. We always substitute wheat flour for half of the all-purpose flour and I sometimes vary the dairy, as in the pancakes. My favorite add-ins for these are, again, the crumbled sausage or toasted coconut.
For something out of the ordinary, but still in the pretty simple category (especially if you have an apple peeler/corer/slicer), I like this baked Apple Pancake from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham. It's a variation of the Dutch baby or German pancake. I make this every fall after we pick our bushels of apples and am always pleased. Here is the recipe:

6 Tbs (3/4 stick) butter
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (McIntoshes are good)
3 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
About 5 Tbs confectioners' sugar (depending on the sweetness of the apples)
3 eggs, room temp
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c milk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet or shallow pan and take off heat. If the handle of the skillet is not ovenproof, wrap it with several layers of foil. Remove 2 tablespoons melted butter and set aside in a small bowl.
Put the apple slices in a large bowl with the lemon juice. Stir the cinnamon into the sugar and sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apple slices. Toss to mix. Put the skillet back on the burner and turn the heat to medium. Add the apples and cook, stirring often, for about 3 or 4 minutes, or until the apples are tender but still hold their shape.
In a separate bowl (or blender, or food processor) combine the eggs, salt, flour, milk, and the reserved 2 tablespoons melted butter. Beat until smooth. Spread the apples evenly over the bottom of the skillet and pour the batter on top. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden and puffy. Turn immediately onto a warm platter so the apples are on top. Dust with a little confectioners' sugar and serve at once.

I wish I had a photo from our last lovely batch of pancakes to post here, as I'm sure that would help to whet your appetite, but I baked them at night when light is terrible in here. This picture is the Apple Pancake right after it's come out of the oven, before being flipped over onto the plate.