Breakfast for Dinner

We eat home alot. And by "alot," I mean around 90% of the time. It's a combination of a few things. Picky kid diets. 90/10 rule for my husband and I (90% of our diets are healthy/10% are less so). But mostly, we eat at home, because I like to cook.

Full personal disclosure -- I don't like left-overs. And, I crave variety in my diet (we don't have pre-scheduled "taco nights" or "spaghetti nights") As a result, I have to be creative in my menus. I don't plan our week of dinners, but I do stock staples in my pantry, refrigerator and freezer, and I do have seasonal favorite meals that I make often.

Dinner usually comes together in one of two ways:

1) In the morning (or evening before), while perusing Pinterest, favorite blogs, food sites, etc, something will catch my eye. A recipe. An image of a platter of food. That's all it takes. A simple inspiration becomes the foundation of the evening's menu. Or.....

2) I open the freezer in the morning. Sort through the staples of chicken breasts, steak, ground turkey and sausage. The index of recipes in my head begins turning, and a menu is quickly determined.

On Monday evening, I took ground turkey out of the freezer. Placed it in the fridge to thaw for Tuesday's dinner -- with no plan in mind. Ground turkey is great for burgers, meatloaf, tacos, chili. Perfect for dinner or seasoned appropriately with eggs for breakfast. Tuesday's dinner came together with that thought in mind. Breakfast for dinner! But, perhaps not the standard breakfast that you would enjoy on a busy weekday morning. The type of breakfast, best prepared on a lazy weekend morning or for dinner, served with a nice white wine.

BRETT'S SPECIAL (inspired by the original Joe's Special)

20 oz. ground turkey
5 eggs, lightly beaten (I used 3 eggs and 2 egg whites)
1/2 lb chopped pancetta
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
bag of baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup grated parmesan
a couple of tablespoons of olive oil
grated nutmeg
salt/pepper to taste

ONE: Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Add pancetta and cook until pieces are crisp and oil has been rendered out.
TWO: Remove the cooked pancetta and place on a dish, lined with paper towel, to absorb any excess oil.
THREE: With the heat still on (and the oil, still in the pan), add onions and garlic and cook until soft. About 5 minutes.

FOUR: Once the onions and garlic have softened, add the ground turkey and sprinkle the ingredients in the pan with salt. Cook until the turkey is barely pink.
FIVE: Add the spinach, and carefully stir into the other ingredients in the pan, until wilted and heated through.

SIX: Add the eggs and continue to blend the ingredients until the turkey is fully cooked and the eggs are slightly wet, but not too wet.
SEVEN: Add the parmesan cheese and the crispy pancetta back into the pan. Combine with the other ingredients.
EIGHT: Taste for seasoning and add salt/pepper to your liking.

This was sooooo good. I could almost be convinced to eat it once a week. But don't hold me to it.