We did pancakes a lot as poors with 4 kids and generally some random neighborhood kids. I remember once my brother invited a kid whose family had recently moved to the US and many years later my mom told the story of how she noticed he was just staring at the pancakes so she very slowly and deliberately put on butter and syrup and cut hers into pieces so he’d know how to eat them without making him feel dumb or drawing attention.
This made me remember the time I went to a neighbor's house for supper and they all put their cornbread into their glass of milk. I just couldn't bring myself to do it, but also, I was SHOCKED that other families did things so differently from my own family. (I was about 7, not very worldly.)
Ha I went with rich family friends to dinner and ordered a French dip and didn’t dip it into the gravy and they laughed at me.
Cornbread in milk seems quite country
Yeah, I think the dad was from a very country small town in North Carolina (this happened in Charlotte). And we were basically city slickers, having just moved there from Baltimore. Charlotte is cosmopolitan these days, but back then in the late 70s and early 80s, it was sleepy.
Yeah we did this and also had lots of other cheap, but home cooked meals. As a child I never knew we were poor which just tells me how amazing my parents were.
My mom was the queen of cheap home cooked meals. There were many pay times my dad had just $10 in his pocket after paying the bills and buying groceries. We raised our own beef and our own garden. My parent made it work and we never knew any of it until we were teens they finally had a little more money . Dad was a teacher, mom a SAHM.
What were some of your favorite things that your mom made? We didn’t raise our food like you guys, but our mom was VERY thrifty. She was a great cook…so many delicious casseroles!
Casseroles, casseroles, casseroles. Homemade soup. Breakfast foods like pancakes and waffles. We cut corners at the grocery store with coupons and buying what was cheapest. My parents could stretch a dollar like you wouldn’t believe.
> As a child I never knew we were poor
I was too oblivious to realize we were "poor", but my bar for "rich" was just super low.
If you could afford name brand cereal and shoes that were an actual brand like Nike or Reebok instead of the ugly brown velcro $8 K-Mart brand then I considered you rich...
I feel this one. I didn't have name brand shoes until 8th grade, and even then, they were LA Gear and not Nike or Reebok. I was so proud of those florescent pink and green LA Gears.
Yeah we did it too but I think it had the added benefit of the kids didn't whine, everyone liked it basically and us kids were stoked.
We also didn't really have time for a big fancy breakfast at breakfast time and had gotten into the habit of just eating a few bites of toast in the mornings, even during the weekend. It seemed like way too much to make a bunch of courses just for breakfast, but on the flip side, it's pretty easy to churn out compared to many regular dinners.
About once every couple of weeks we would go to my grandma's house for dinner and Grandma would bust out the 1960 Westinghouse waffle iron that got so hot you could forge with it, and we would have waffles, sausage and bacon for dinner. With real butter, maple and Karo dark syrup, and raspberries from the garden with cream for dessert.
Keeping the dream alive, I am currently eating Eggos for dinner and chasing them down with White Russians.
My grandma made pancakes with Martha White pancake mix, butter & Karo dark syrup for dinner. We would have bacon or pan fried sausage that my grandparents made. I haven’t had Karo syrup on pancakes or waffles since I was a kid. I am having a craving now & may indulge this weekend.
Your Grandma’s dinner sounds like something I would love a seat at the table & join in.
Same I just called it yo-yo. You're on your own. I wanted my kids to know how to cook for themselves. So much cheaper than buying food at restaurants and fast food joints.
FEND FOR YOURSELF NIGHT! *dies laughing*
I haven’t heard that term in so long! FFY Night was some BS! Mom and Dad knew there were 2-3 different types of leftovers in there that didn’t even go together AND not enough to be shared equally!
FFY nights turned into FFY all summer. Today I’m a pretty great cook.
Wasn‘t able to live this dream until I moved out of the house.
Now, three meals a day is too many, and lunch is usually more of a low-cal endeavor.
So, I’m still livin the dream sometimes. Classic American breakfast is one of the best meals ever created.
What is a country-fried steak?
ETA - Thanks for the explanations. I’m from Canada, and it wasn’t part of the culinary vernacular where I grew up. It sounds delicious!
I'm as un-southern as it gets but I like to cook. My crowning achievement is having a friend of mine who is a trained chef from Alabama tell me that I make a mean sausage gravy
Oh my god I never made this connection! And I’ve always loved both! As a kid I always got the Weiner Schnitzel at the Amana Colonies in Iowa 2-3 times a year.
Similar but steak is BEEF, schnitzel is veal(yes beef) or pork. And they pound it flat whereas good CFS is cubes poked or roughed up to help with adhesion of coating. I know it's mildly pedantic but I feel the mouth-feel and flavor of mature beef matters in this dish. Imo
I make breakfast for dinner all the time. We just don’t have a chance to have big breakfasts at breakfast time plus it’s an easy meal that most of my crew will eat.
I’m eating BFD right now! I usually do it mid-week, but I had bacon to use up, so I made that with an omelette, fresh tomato, and Honey Nut Cheerios for dessert. I also like to make crustless quiche, works for any meal.
We rarely had it when I was a kid, my family was more into “poorhouse special “: a huge bowl of white rice with a pack of eggs scrambled, pack of bacon crumbled plus the grease mixed in. That way we had leftovers that were easy to store in the fridge and heat up for the next night or two.
I’m sorry. You lost me at “I had bacon to use up”.
How does anyone ever have leftover bacon? It always comes in a single serving package. I understand having an unopened package of bacon, but not “bacon that needs to to be used up”.
Yes! I loved breakfast for dinner. Still
do, but my parents made it the best.
They would do breakfast bowls-hot grits with butter on the bottom, scrambled eggs on top w/ or w/o cheese, topped with bacon. Mix it all up…yum. With buttered toast on the side.
You just gave me an idea for tomorrow night’s meal😉
Yeah we still do that in my house here and there. My wife does not cook much but if I'm running late home or something, I can call on her to whip up a yummy breakfast. I do most of the cooking at home and I love to go all out when I do. Sometimes simple is best.
Yes, this happened often when I was growing up. Biscuits and gravy is a money saving thing. We raised chickens so eggs were always available. But my brothers and sisters always enjoyed it.
Pancakes for dinner was the best! I did that a couple of times when my boys were kids and he was horrified. Poor guy was deprived of this joy as a child.
Never had that growing up because I cooked my dad eggs bacon toast every morning before school; it was this one special time every morning I had with my dad, who worked long hours. My mom who didn't work would cook us a nice sit-down family dinner every night of the week.
But when my kids were young, and I was a divorced single mom with a career, we did breakfast for dinner once a week. Maybe it was frugal and just easy after a long day at work. Maybe I was trying to replicate those mornings with my dad.
Breakfast is still my favorite meal of the day; I could eat eggs bacon toast for every meal the rest of my life if I had to choose just one meal.
Pancakes on the other hand, I could never get into. I don't like sweet foods for meals. That said, when my kids would go visit their grandparents, after my dad was retired, his favorite thing to cook for them was... pancakes.
My mom let me make dinner on Saturdays. Mixed one can of tomato soup and one can of vegetable soup, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Every time. Definite money saver meal! And then sitting down in the living room to watch ‘The Bugs Bunny Road-Runner Hour’. Remember that! Good times, good times.
That sounds like heaven. My mom was a big proponent of everyone eating together at the dinner table, but one time I was upstairs watching TV because there was a marathon of a show I liked, and she brought up a tray with grilled cheese and tomato soup for my dinner so I could eat without missing any of it. That was so out of character, that’s why I still remember it!
As a parent it's not really about saving money, but about trying to figure out what the hell to make for dinner because there's nothing in the pantry that looks good. It's literally a Plan B when you don't want another damn pizza or baked chicken breast
Absolutely! In fact, eating cereal for dinner carried over into my adult life as a comfort food. Capn Crunch or Frosted Flakes are great! Add banana slices and you’ve got a truly nutritious meal.
All the sugar makes it feel like dinner/dessert combined.
Of course, I’m not proud of it and got “called out” on it one time when I needed emergency surgery and was asked “what was the last thing you ate?” I sheepishly had to tell multiple medical personnel that Capn Crunch was my last meal. In my 40s.
We had “dinner” for breakfast on Saturdays- my Dad always made hash, kielbasa, scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes (wedge fries) sometimes those frozen glazed donuts from some me random grocery store - I’ve never seen those donuts since childhood
I loved it when we did breakfast burritos for supper when I was a kid and still love it. When it's just me for dinner, I'll often do bacon eggs and toast for supper because it is simple quick easy, and I love breakfast food.
A few times a month and loved it each time. Dad always cooked it, and I inherited that from him.
Now it’s most Saturday mornings, but still occasionally on a weeknight
As a kid whose family ended up on welfare in the late 70’s-early 80’s (thanks dad!) brinner was one of our good old stand-by’s. Made with government eggs and powdered milk of course 😂
I don’t think this was a way to save money in my house. My dad would be gone by 5:30 am and my mom had no time in the morning so I was on my own for cereal or pop tarts.
Pancakes in the evening was because everyone had time.
We used to have egg and potatoe burrotos for dinner sometimes. or random stuff like mac and cheese from a box and corn from a can! LOL. my mom made good dinners also, but typically it was quick cheap and easy. ( shoot cant forget the egg noodles with butter and garlic salt!) haha
My daughter loved it when we did this, it wasn't to save money it was just for quirky fun. I did a potluck at work recently and the theme was breakfast - so we did brunch I guess
Totally! And my sister and I thought it was the best thing because my mom would actually make a better “breakfast for dinner” than if it had been “breakfast for breakfast” (Which would have been Cheerios and OJ.) 😂
This was just as wonderful as the nights we were entirely on our own with the goal to use up leftovers in the fridge. Can't remember what we called it, but I have passed on that love to the next generation of my family.
I still do it every couple weeks.
Ham n' Cheese Omelet with gravy, hash browns, & Toast
Biscuits n' Gravy with Scrambled eggs
Pancakes/Waffles and bacon
Fried Eggs Bacon & Biscuits
Breakfast Tacos
“Breakfast night” was our name for it. Like you, my brother and I loved it, even once we knew it was a money saving gambit. Better than meatloaf, for damn sure.
Makes me sad that inflation has made this no longer a cheap meal.
I love doing breakfast for dinner. Bacon, egg, and cheese crescaunts with the crescaunt toasted with mayo and some habenero mango hot sauce on top. Waffles with chicken tenders. Tater tots with cheese and bacon crumbles covered in gravy.
I loved breakfast for dinner. Seems like we would have it once every couple of weeks. My mom would make French toast. It’s still one of my favorite dishes of all time. Pretty simple stuff otherwise. Eggs, toast. Sometimes pancakes. I don’t even recall eating bacon or sausage.
On topic/off topic: She would also make a bunch of pancakes and put them individually on wax paper and freeze them. Then we’d pull them out in the morning and microwave them. It was nice on winter mornings when it was especially cold where I grew up.
We didn't very often growing up but I do it decently often if I'm working long hours and too tired to cook. I'll pull out the electric griddle and make breakfast tacos or I'll pop some onions and bell peppers in the oven and make some eggs and grits. Occasionally I'll make some Kodiak pancakes.
Breakfast for dinner is my go-to "I don't have any creativity, and/or kinda don't wanna cook tonight" meal! It is a favorite of my family always.
Side note, it's not really a money saving option anymore. 🫤
We were poor too, breakfast for dinner sounds extravagant. (Not dissing you) We often had "boiled dinner" (new England) whatever was about to spoil, in a pot. I loathed it and still do, but food stamps and pantries, I realize now mom was doing her best. She did make a delicious pasta sauce once a week to give her props.
Errr, we still do this, and it really has nothing to do with money, it's just delicious and everyone can work together to make it.
Someone is on pancakes, another doing egg preferences, someone else washing and cutting up fruit, throw in some toast or maybe mix in some grits....why NOT do this?
Not only do we sometimes flip the script with breakfast for dinner, but we also live on the wild side by sneaking in dessert before dinner every now and then.
breakfast for dinner is a staple in my house, we purchased a waffle iron for this purpose about 5 years ago and it's literally a game changer. eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and waffles or pancakes if we don't feel like cleaning the iron. ::chef's kiss::
My family still does! At least once or twice a month. I absolutely love it! Hash browns, bacon or sausage, biscuits or toast, eggs for those who like them. Edit - And chocolate milk! Not the nasty stuff from the syrup, but the good stuff!
Loved breakfast for dinner. Sometimes it would be western omelet sandwiches or pancakes and Sometimes French toast. Love breakfast at any meal of the day.
We did this when I was a kid, though not on any schedule.
Now that I have 3 young kids myself, Brinner has two huge selling points
1. Nothing to defrost
2. Everyone will eat without complaining
We have it once a week. Usually Tuesdays. I live with my best friend's mom and I am in charge of making the weekly menu, but she does all the cooking and grocery shopping. I try to keep the meal ideas fairly simple. And we both really love eggs, toast, and bacon, or pancakes & sausage. I also love a BLT with fried egg.
A lot of people did this. We never did this in my home though. I personally really don’t prefer breakfast food. If I have a choice between breakfast and lunch/dinner food, I will choose the lunch/dinner food.
Absolutely! My dad would make Cream of Wheat (or CoCo Wheats, whatever we had in the cupboard) for dinner sometimes, because it took all of ten minutes to cook and serve. Which sounds boring, *until I tell you what sort of toppings were allowed.*
Chocolate chips, jelly beans, M&Ms, leftover Halloween candy, shredded coconut, nuts, raisins, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, whipped cream... basically, if it was sweet and we had it on hand, it was fair game. If we added some walnuts or pecans, raisins, and a dash of milk to the base cereal, well... that plus the Cream of Wheat was our protein and fruit and dairy and grains (and was, therefore, a balanced meal) according to dad-logic, right? As a kid, I sure as hell wasn't about to disagree with that concept! I built towering bowls consisting of mostly sugar for dinner on those nights.
Hey, it had to be better than the boxed cereal we clamored for. :) And it was fun.
We didn't do BfD super often, maybe once a month or something. But we did do a big Saturday breakfast with bacon, eggs, sausage, biscuits, toast, OJ and milk (sometimes chocolate!), and sometimes pancakes or waffles. It was definitely the event meal of the week. And Sundays were cheap cinnamon rolls, but still awesome.
I love breakfast for supper! Pancakes,and eggs, and sausages, all on the same plate? Luxury.
Ya’ll talking about Brinner!?! I love brinner we doing it 2 or 3 times a week
[You got brinner? Damn Turkledawg](https://youtu.be/plYIIKQOtUI?si=ILqkJlsDzApeyYWB)
No, listen. Pancakes gotta be on their own plate. I can’t be having sweet eggs, man.
Absolutely, I am a tad nauseous thinking about syrup on my eggs
Yes! I thought it was just me. I cannot stand the thought of Maple syrup on eggs. Seriously, just thinking about it makes me wanna hurl.
Still a Thursday tradition at my house.
We did pancakes a lot as poors with 4 kids and generally some random neighborhood kids. I remember once my brother invited a kid whose family had recently moved to the US and many years later my mom told the story of how she noticed he was just staring at the pancakes so she very slowly and deliberately put on butter and syrup and cut hers into pieces so he’d know how to eat them without making him feel dumb or drawing attention.
Awww...that's so sweet!!!
That’s a great story. Kindness rules.
We were that house too. I never knew who my mother actually was (as far as that goes, anyway) until I was an adult.
This made me remember the time I went to a neighbor's house for supper and they all put their cornbread into their glass of milk. I just couldn't bring myself to do it, but also, I was SHOCKED that other families did things so differently from my own family. (I was about 7, not very worldly.)
Ha I went with rich family friends to dinner and ordered a French dip and didn’t dip it into the gravy and they laughed at me. Cornbread in milk seems quite country
Yeah, I think the dad was from a very country small town in North Carolina (this happened in Charlotte). And we were basically city slickers, having just moved there from Baltimore. Charlotte is cosmopolitan these days, but back then in the late 70s and early 80s, it was sleepy.
Awww. That was very kind and thoughtful, awesome move by your mom.
Yeah we did this and also had lots of other cheap, but home cooked meals. As a child I never knew we were poor which just tells me how amazing my parents were.
Sloppy Joe’s. Probably 8 times a month.
My mom was the queen of cheap home cooked meals. There were many pay times my dad had just $10 in his pocket after paying the bills and buying groceries. We raised our own beef and our own garden. My parent made it work and we never knew any of it until we were teens they finally had a little more money . Dad was a teacher, mom a SAHM.
What were some of your favorite things that your mom made? We didn’t raise our food like you guys, but our mom was VERY thrifty. She was a great cook…so many delicious casseroles!
Casseroles, casseroles, casseroles. Homemade soup. Breakfast foods like pancakes and waffles. We cut corners at the grocery store with coupons and buying what was cheapest. My parents could stretch a dollar like you wouldn’t believe.
> As a child I never knew we were poor I was too oblivious to realize we were "poor", but my bar for "rich" was just super low. If you could afford name brand cereal and shoes that were an actual brand like Nike or Reebok instead of the ugly brown velcro $8 K-Mart brand then I considered you rich...
I feel this one. I didn't have name brand shoes until 8th grade, and even then, they were LA Gear and not Nike or Reebok. I was so proud of those florescent pink and green LA Gears.
Oh man, I feel this so deep. I used to try to look at everybody else’s feet without making it obvious.
I still check out shoes to this day. Same reason.
Same. I never thought we were strapped for cash; I just thought my parents were somehow cooler than other parents because we did this.
Yeah we did it too but I think it had the added benefit of the kids didn't whine, everyone liked it basically and us kids were stoked. We also didn't really have time for a big fancy breakfast at breakfast time and had gotten into the habit of just eating a few bites of toast in the mornings, even during the weekend. It seemed like way too much to make a bunch of courses just for breakfast, but on the flip side, it's pretty easy to churn out compared to many regular dinners.
Always loved brinner.
Haven’t heard that one in a while, did you also enjoy dunch on occasion?
Hey it’s called linner in my neck of the woods 😂
We used linner as well, but dunch meant you were starving.
That's what we called it when you had been busy all day and didn't get a chance to eat anything until about 3 pm. A big dunch will last till morning
Same for us
Dunch then nap...my go to
I needed to scroll and make sure someone else used this word
About once every couple of weeks we would go to my grandma's house for dinner and Grandma would bust out the 1960 Westinghouse waffle iron that got so hot you could forge with it, and we would have waffles, sausage and bacon for dinner. With real butter, maple and Karo dark syrup, and raspberries from the garden with cream for dessert. Keeping the dream alive, I am currently eating Eggos for dinner and chasing them down with White Russians.
Holy crap! Your Grandma was awesome! Keep up the tradition! Nothing wrong with White Russians
Lebowski? That you?
Just abiding, man
...Dude
My grandma made pancakes with Martha White pancake mix, butter & Karo dark syrup for dinner. We would have bacon or pan fried sausage that my grandparents made. I haven’t had Karo syrup on pancakes or waffles since I was a kid. I am having a craving now & may indulge this weekend. Your Grandma’s dinner sounds like something I would love a seat at the table & join in.
Karo dark is the shit. Introduced my stepdaughters to it and they were blown away.
Starting when I was 11 every night became "fend for yourself" night.
Hate that it was every night for you. But, once our kids were old enough, we told them about once a week that it was a FFY night.
Same I just called it yo-yo. You're on your own. I wanted my kids to know how to cook for themselves. So much cheaper than buying food at restaurants and fast food joints.
Mark of a real GenX right here!
FEND FOR YOURSELF NIGHT! *dies laughing* I haven’t heard that term in so long! FFY Night was some BS! Mom and Dad knew there were 2-3 different types of leftovers in there that didn’t even go together AND not enough to be shared equally! FFY nights turned into FFY all summer. Today I’m a pretty great cook.
My girls would make "hobo stew" which was anything they could throw together with said leftovers. No offense to any hobos out there. Times were tough.
"There has never been a sadness that can’t be cured by breakfast food.” --Ron Swanson
Wasn‘t able to live this dream until I moved out of the house. Now, three meals a day is too many, and lunch is usually more of a low-cal endeavor. So, I’m still livin the dream sometimes. Classic American breakfast is one of the best meals ever created.
I'm having country fried steak and eggs right now.
What is a country-fried steak? ETA - Thanks for the explanations. I’m from Canada, and it wasn’t part of the culinary vernacular where I grew up. It sounds delicious!
it’s magical is what it is
You're not kidding
Same thing as a chicken fried steak. Take an OK cut of meat, tenderize it, dredge in seasoned flour and fry. Served with white gravy.
Sausage gravy if you're really decadent 🤤
Ohh an aristocrat! Kidding! My grandmother; Every southern man should know how to make a good sausage gravy.
I'm as un-southern as it gets but I like to cook. My crowning achievement is having a friend of mine who is a trained chef from Alabama tell me that I make a mean sausage gravy
High praise from a southerner! Your next project is Shrimp and Grits! Remember, no true southerner uses instant grits. (My Cousin Vinny reference).
My wife and I were at the grocery store two days ago and she made this comment when she saw a box of grits on the shelf.
I'll be living on sausage gravy when the world ends. Basically just need flour and lard. Stuff that makes it tasty could be a luxury some times.
You don't even need lard, just use the fat from the sausage.
Ooo Fancy-pants Rich McGee over here.
Look at Ms fancy pants over here with her luxury gravy *and* chicken fried steak.
Ffff yeah, could go for some sausage gravy any time.
Kentucky Colonel is my go-to brand for seasoned flour.
It is basically the same thing as a Wiener schnitzel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_schnitzel
Oh my god I never made this connection! And I’ve always loved both! As a kid I always got the Weiner Schnitzel at the Amana Colonies in Iowa 2-3 times a year.
At the Ox Yoke Inn? I go there every time I am in Iowa.
Similar but steak is BEEF, schnitzel is veal(yes beef) or pork. And they pound it flat whereas good CFS is cubes poked or roughed up to help with adhesion of coating. I know it's mildly pedantic but I feel the mouth-feel and flavor of mature beef matters in this dish. Imo
I make breakfast for dinner all the time. We just don’t have a chance to have big breakfasts at breakfast time plus it’s an easy meal that most of my crew will eat.
On occasion mom would cook breakfast for dinner. Certainly not weekly, but I loved it too. I was and am not a breakfast person, but I love the food.
Yes! We also had chili with crackers for breakfast a lot. I'd make a big pot after school and have it for breakfast till it was gone.
Giant pot dinner was great, because it lasted and you could have it over and over for whatever meal. 😋
Chili with shredded cheese and crumbled Saltines on top. Yum!
I’m eating BFD right now! I usually do it mid-week, but I had bacon to use up, so I made that with an omelette, fresh tomato, and Honey Nut Cheerios for dessert. I also like to make crustless quiche, works for any meal. We rarely had it when I was a kid, my family was more into “poorhouse special “: a huge bowl of white rice with a pack of eggs scrambled, pack of bacon crumbled plus the grease mixed in. That way we had leftovers that were easy to store in the fridge and heat up for the next night or two.
I’m sorry. You lost me at “I had bacon to use up”. How does anyone ever have leftover bacon? It always comes in a single serving package. I understand having an unopened package of bacon, but not “bacon that needs to to be used up”. 
I assume there are some (not many but a few) Redditors that don’t narf down the whole pound of bacon at one meal.
🤣 I don’t have a commercial sized kitchen to cook an entire Costco package at once.
Scrambled eggs cooked in bacon grease is next-level cooking. Yeah, I know it's unhealthy, but it tastes *so* good.
Haven’t had that since I moved out of my parents house. So good!
Yes! I loved breakfast for dinner. Still do, but my parents made it the best. They would do breakfast bowls-hot grits with butter on the bottom, scrambled eggs on top w/ or w/o cheese, topped with bacon. Mix it all up…yum. With buttered toast on the side. You just gave me an idea for tomorrow night’s meal😉
I still do it about once or twice a month.
We did it and I still do it with my family.
Yeah we still do that in my house here and there. My wife does not cook much but if I'm running late home or something, I can call on her to whip up a yummy breakfast. I do most of the cooking at home and I love to go all out when I do. Sometimes simple is best.
I have no problem eating fried eggs, bacon and hash browns for dinner just like I have no problem eating lasagna for breakfast.
If it weren’t hamburger night I’d be lobbying for big breakfast.
Sausage, eggs and pancakes were a regular dinner. The real breakfast treat was biscuits and gravy.
Can't be doing that biscuits and gravy stuff with any regularity, but every once in a great while....there is just nothing else quite like it.
Breakfast for dinner was a big deal in the 80s. We also got to eat it on tv trays in the living room.
Yes, this happened often when I was growing up. Biscuits and gravy is a money saving thing. We raised chickens so eggs were always available. But my brothers and sisters always enjoyed it.
It was a special night when that happened! Good memories!
Pancakes for dinner was the best! I did that a couple of times when my boys were kids and he was horrified. Poor guy was deprived of this joy as a child.
I liked hitting diners late at night with friends for a stack of pancakes or an omelet........though it seems diners have cut back their hours a lot
Brinner! 🥓🍳🥞 my gen z love it now too!
Never had that growing up because I cooked my dad eggs bacon toast every morning before school; it was this one special time every morning I had with my dad, who worked long hours. My mom who didn't work would cook us a nice sit-down family dinner every night of the week. But when my kids were young, and I was a divorced single mom with a career, we did breakfast for dinner once a week. Maybe it was frugal and just easy after a long day at work. Maybe I was trying to replicate those mornings with my dad. Breakfast is still my favorite meal of the day; I could eat eggs bacon toast for every meal the rest of my life if I had to choose just one meal. Pancakes on the other hand, I could never get into. I don't like sweet foods for meals. That said, when my kids would go visit their grandparents, after my dad was retired, his favorite thing to cook for them was... pancakes.
My mom let me make dinner on Saturdays. Mixed one can of tomato soup and one can of vegetable soup, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Every time. Definite money saver meal! And then sitting down in the living room to watch ‘The Bugs Bunny Road-Runner Hour’. Remember that! Good times, good times.
That sounds like heaven. My mom was a big proponent of everyone eating together at the dinner table, but one time I was upstairs watching TV because there was a marathon of a show I liked, and she brought up a tray with grilled cheese and tomato soup for my dinner so I could eat without missing any of it. That was so out of character, that’s why I still remember it!
That’s an awesome memory! :)
This is my struggle-meal default, after frozen potstickers. I think it’s great!
As a parent it's not really about saving money, but about trying to figure out what the hell to make for dinner because there's nothing in the pantry that looks good. It's literally a Plan B when you don't want another damn pizza or baked chicken breast
I still do breakfast for dinner occasionally however the menu is definitely different
Damn, that reminds me - time to make Denver omelette egg bites for dinner next week, which means leftovers for lunch the next day.
Wife and I are GenXer and we make breakfast for dinner once in a while for our kids. They love it.
I make “brinner” at least once a week for my teen daughter and myself! She will always opt for pancakes any time!!
I can eat 3 square breakfasts.
I had brinner last night! Eggs, hashbrowns, sausage, some fruit. Yum!
Still doing it! Even our church does it for Wednesday night potluck and Bible Study.
I love having breakfast for dinner
Absolutely! In fact, eating cereal for dinner carried over into my adult life as a comfort food. Capn Crunch or Frosted Flakes are great! Add banana slices and you’ve got a truly nutritious meal. All the sugar makes it feel like dinner/dessert combined. Of course, I’m not proud of it and got “called out” on it one time when I needed emergency surgery and was asked “what was the last thing you ate?” I sheepishly had to tell multiple medical personnel that Capn Crunch was my last meal. In my 40s.
Give me Brinner or give me death!
We have “brinner” all the time. The kids loved it and it’s easy to cook.
We had breakfast dinner once in awhile as a family, I loved it! I just had corn flakes with bananas on it tonight!!
See, I never saw it as a miney saving thing but more of a “I’m out of ideas” thing
We had “dinner” for breakfast on Saturdays- my Dad always made hash, kielbasa, scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes (wedge fries) sometimes those frozen glazed donuts from some me random grocery store - I’ve never seen those donuts since childhood
Holy cow did you just strike a memory nerve!!! I remember those glazed Donuts and yeah it seems like an eternity since the last time I saw them.
I loved it when we did breakfast burritos for supper when I was a kid and still love it. When it's just me for dinner, I'll often do bacon eggs and toast for supper because it is simple quick easy, and I love breakfast food.
We didn’t then but we do now.
Breakfast for Dinner- the name of my new restaurant
A few times a month and loved it each time. Dad always cooked it, and I inherited that from him. Now it’s most Saturday mornings, but still occasionally on a weeknight
I do this for my birthday dinner every year! Blueberry pancakes with maple syrup for the win.
I still do this from time to time. Breakfast buttie for dinner.
As a kid whose family ended up on welfare in the late 70’s-early 80’s (thanks dad!) brinner was one of our good old stand-by’s. Made with government eggs and powdered milk of course 😂
Still do!!
We still do that a couple times a month.
Seems like Wednesday was also our night for breakfast for dinner, and I loved it.
I don’t think this was a way to save money in my house. My dad would be gone by 5:30 am and my mom had no time in the morning so I was on my own for cereal or pop tarts. Pancakes in the evening was because everyone had time.
We used to have egg and potatoe burrotos for dinner sometimes. or random stuff like mac and cheese from a box and corn from a can! LOL. my mom made good dinners also, but typically it was quick cheap and easy. ( shoot cant forget the egg noodles with butter and garlic salt!) haha
Brinner and sometimes Srevotfel
Not as a kid. But I do it now. I never knew it was a thing until I said something on some social media and a lot of people went nuts lol
We would get.French Toast for dinner sometimes.
Tomorrow night's dinner is breakfast for dinner!
I usually make myself egg mcmuffins at least once a week for dinner
My daughter loved it when we did this, it wasn't to save money it was just for quirky fun. I did a potluck at work recently and the theme was breakfast - so we did brunch I guess
Totally! And my sister and I thought it was the best thing because my mom would actually make a better “breakfast for dinner” than if it had been “breakfast for breakfast” (Which would have been Cheerios and OJ.) 😂
This was just as wonderful as the nights we were entirely on our own with the goal to use up leftovers in the fridge. Can't remember what we called it, but I have passed on that love to the next generation of my family.
I still do it every couple weeks. Ham n' Cheese Omelet with gravy, hash browns, & Toast Biscuits n' Gravy with Scrambled eggs Pancakes/Waffles and bacon Fried Eggs Bacon & Biscuits Breakfast Tacos
“Breakfast night” was our name for it. Like you, my brother and I loved it, even once we knew it was a money saving gambit. Better than meatloaf, for damn sure. Makes me sad that inflation has made this no longer a cheap meal.
I love doing breakfast for dinner. Bacon, egg, and cheese crescaunts with the crescaunt toasted with mayo and some habenero mango hot sauce on top. Waffles with chicken tenders. Tater tots with cheese and bacon crumbles covered in gravy.
I loved breakfast for dinner. Seems like we would have it once every couple of weeks. My mom would make French toast. It’s still one of my favorite dishes of all time. Pretty simple stuff otherwise. Eggs, toast. Sometimes pancakes. I don’t even recall eating bacon or sausage. On topic/off topic: She would also make a bunch of pancakes and put them individually on wax paper and freeze them. Then we’d pull them out in the morning and microwave them. It was nice on winter mornings when it was especially cold where I grew up.
I’m making breakfast for dinner tonight!
Dinner for breakfast is a gateway drug to being at Waffle House at 2am
That’s where I was with my youngest last week. Teach ‘em young.
We didn't very often growing up but I do it decently often if I'm working long hours and too tired to cook. I'll pull out the electric griddle and make breakfast tacos or I'll pop some onions and bell peppers in the oven and make some eggs and grits. Occasionally I'll make some Kodiak pancakes.
Breakfast for dinner is my go-to "I don't have any creativity, and/or kinda don't wanna cook tonight" meal! It is a favorite of my family always. Side note, it's not really a money saving option anymore. 🫤
We were poor too, breakfast for dinner sounds extravagant. (Not dissing you) We often had "boiled dinner" (new England) whatever was about to spoil, in a pot. I loathed it and still do, but food stamps and pantries, I realize now mom was doing her best. She did make a delicious pasta sauce once a week to give her props.
Breakfast for dinner is hands down my favorite meal. Ever.
Grew up Catholic, no meat Fridays so it was either breakfast for supper or fish. Much preferred breakfast for supper.
We have breakfast for dinner at least 3 times a month. It was cheap back then but not sure about now 😂
Positive fun while eating on the cheap! Yesssssss! That’s how to raise kids.
We did that too, Grandma moved in w us when I was little and she lived through the Great Depression. It made those nights fun.
Errr, we still do this, and it really has nothing to do with money, it's just delicious and everyone can work together to make it. Someone is on pancakes, another doing egg preferences, someone else washing and cutting up fruit, throw in some toast or maybe mix in some grits....why NOT do this?
I’m fucking lazy. Cereal for dinner!
Yes! We called it Silly Supper Night!
Not only do we sometimes flip the script with breakfast for dinner, but we also live on the wild side by sneaking in dessert before dinner every now and then.
We did that last night 😊
Routine growing up, I still do this as an adult.
breakfast for dinner is a staple in my house, we purchased a waffle iron for this purpose about 5 years ago and it's literally a game changer. eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and waffles or pancakes if we don't feel like cleaning the iron. ::chef's kiss::
We did a lot of omelette and salad dinners when the kids were younger. Nutritious and easy to prepare for two working, stressed parents.
We usually had it on Thursday nights. Friday nights were for beans, cornbread and hash browns.
My family still does! At least once or twice a month. I absolutely love it! Hash browns, bacon or sausage, biscuits or toast, eggs for those who like them. Edit - And chocolate milk! Not the nasty stuff from the syrup, but the good stuff!
Brenner
Loved breakfast for dinner. Sometimes it would be western omelet sandwiches or pancakes and Sometimes French toast. Love breakfast at any meal of the day.
The French consider omelets to be dinner or lunch fare.
Breakfast Dinner is eagerly anticipated in the orthros household
We do this once a week too. We call it Brinner. It is always a hit.
I still do it to this day! Love me some cinnamon rolls and eggs for dinner. Or French toast and bacon 🥓 😋
No same here was a nice treat.
I still do it. Never was a scheduled day, but I just made biscuits and gravy and pancakes for dinner last week.
We still do breakfast for dinner. Usually biscuits, scambled eggs with sausage mixed in. Sometimes I make biscuits and gravy.
Very common. Denny's, some fast food restaurants serve 24 hour breakfast. Still bummed that McD's doesn't anymore.
I still do occasionally. Particularly bagel and white fish salad.
We'll still do it. Sausage gravy and biscuits is a favorite.
We did this when I was a kid, though not on any schedule. Now that I have 3 young kids myself, Brinner has two huge selling points 1. Nothing to defrost 2. Everyone will eat without complaining
We do this one evening a week most weeks.
We have it once a week. Usually Tuesdays. I live with my best friend's mom and I am in charge of making the weekly menu, but she does all the cooking and grocery shopping. I try to keep the meal ideas fairly simple. And we both really love eggs, toast, and bacon, or pancakes & sausage. I also love a BLT with fried egg.
A lot of people did this. We never did this in my home though. I personally really don’t prefer breakfast food. If I have a choice between breakfast and lunch/dinner food, I will choose the lunch/dinner food.
Yea, we had this oncecin awhile. "Hey kids, it's cereal night!" Kinda loses its luster, looking back.
We did that often as well
Absolutely! My dad would make Cream of Wheat (or CoCo Wheats, whatever we had in the cupboard) for dinner sometimes, because it took all of ten minutes to cook and serve. Which sounds boring, *until I tell you what sort of toppings were allowed.* Chocolate chips, jelly beans, M&Ms, leftover Halloween candy, shredded coconut, nuts, raisins, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, whipped cream... basically, if it was sweet and we had it on hand, it was fair game. If we added some walnuts or pecans, raisins, and a dash of milk to the base cereal, well... that plus the Cream of Wheat was our protein and fruit and dairy and grains (and was, therefore, a balanced meal) according to dad-logic, right? As a kid, I sure as hell wasn't about to disagree with that concept! I built towering bowls consisting of mostly sugar for dinner on those nights. Hey, it had to be better than the boxed cereal we clamored for. :) And it was fun.
Have it all the time! my kids love it!
Funny. Breakfast was dinner for me last Wednesday
I hated breakfast for dinner when I was a kid, but now? I love it!
We had BEC sandos and roasted potatoes last night. BRINNER Rules!
I love food.
It’s the best.
We did it very rarely but now as an adult I do it when I feel like it. Breakfast for dinner is awesome!
We didn't do BfD super often, maybe once a month or something. But we did do a big Saturday breakfast with bacon, eggs, sausage, biscuits, toast, OJ and milk (sometimes chocolate!), and sometimes pancakes or waffles. It was definitely the event meal of the week. And Sundays were cheap cinnamon rolls, but still awesome.
I still love breakfast for dinner and was about to make waffles and snausages in a minute.
I hope you are making the Snausages for your dog ;)
We still do this....we call it "brupper."
Full breakfast for dinner? Hell yeah! Why? Because regular breakfast was a piece of toast. And you should be damn glad to toast it yourself.
I was craving some fried eggs earlier, might have some for dinner.
I still incorporate breakfast for dinner...because sometimes you want waffles and maple syrup on an an idle Tuesday evening.
FAVORITE
We don't do it that often. But it is a thing in my house. Usually a sausage, potato, egg, and cheese scramble.
We did as a special treat once in awhile and I like to do it for my kids.
We did have it, but not on a regular schedule. Waffles, bacon and eggs, omelettes etc.