Today’s Works For Me Wednesday (WFMW) has a food theme. Shannon asks us to post our best last-minute dinner solution.

I hate to simply repeat, but I’ve already posted my best meal ideas on previous Wednesdays. I’ll broaden the first idea slightly, to offer new material.

1. Breakfast for Dinner.

Pancakes, waffles, French toast, or crepes? Any of these breakfast options can become the main dish during Breakfast for Dinner at the Kroeker house. It all depends on what’s available:

Do we have lots of bread on hand and a fair amount of eggs? Mmm…French toast.

Hm, do we only have a few eggs? Better go with pancakes or waffles.*  

Well, now, did I discover a pretty full carton of eggs and have the hankering to be praised by the family for my amazing culinary skills? Let’s go with crepes.

I posted my Americanized, Ann-icized recipe for crepes several months ago. Crepe-night makes the entire family ecstatic, and is easy, fast, and cheap to prepare. It only takes a few ingredients for the basic crepe, but you do need eggs on hand. The fillings can be savory or sweet (see the comments at the bottom of that post for a discussion about and links to savory options). We prefer sweet (shrug). 

If we happen to have bacon or breakfast sausage on hand, we prepare that for a little added protein, and cut up any fruit we have on hand for fruit salad or a fruit platter.

* Kroeker-kid-approved healthy substitution: We’ve discovered that substituting applesauce for oil in our pancake and waffle recipes works very well. The kids don’t complain of a taste difference, and we eliminate all that fat. The only thing we’ve noticed that’s different is that the inside of the pancake or waffle stays hot longer than if we use oil (go figure!), so the kids blow a little if they’re eating one that’s just off the griddle.

2. Homemade Pizza.

I’ve already posted my thick and chewy, fast and easy pizza dough recipe for WFMW, as well. Sure, you can run out and buy a Boboli crust or always have one on hand. Or you can whip this homemade crust** together in no time. It’s a fast solution that the family loves, and I only knead–sorry–need a few ingredients on hand. After I pat it onto the pan, I just pull out whatever veggies I like for my portion, leftover meats for The Belgian Wonder’s section. The kids just like cheese for their topping, so that’s easy. I try to have a bag of mozzarella in the fridge, but all kinds of cheeses work well. My instructions may seem involved, but I wanted to walk an unsure cook through each step. It’s really easy, after you’ve made it a couple of times.  For me, homemade pizza a great last-minute dinner solution.  

** Kroeker-kid-approved substitution: White flour makes the crust taste more like a restaurant version, but I substitute a lot of wheat, and the kids love it just the same.

For more great dinner solutions, visit this week’s Works For Me Wednesday.

Check out my previous Works For Me Wednesday tips, ideas, and solutions here.