I suppose I should feel bad about slowly and surely taking away the cooking reins from my husband on weekends—and a part of me does—but then another part of me goes, “But weekends are when you get to do decadent glorious breakfasts! The kind that make you glad that you work out all week!” Oh me, when that voice starts in, the guilt goes away bit by bit. Because that voice is right.

Case in point: raspberry crisp. That’s right, I totally give you permission to make raspberry crisp for breakfast. It’s not cloyingly sweet like a dessert. I am of the opinion that it’s just sweet enough and the fresh berries give that tart zing from going too over the top. Another plus: it makes your kitchen smell awesome.

We ate ours with a dollop of plain Balkan yogurt, the thick rich stuff that makes you wonder why people pay for Yoplait and such like.

In order to give mad props, I once again raided Smitten Kitchen for this; only Deb used apricots and I have yet to become an apricot fan. The recipe makes enough for four people if you use a smaller Pyrex dish. And I bet if you do make it for overnight guests, they may want to live with your permanently.

Last night’s dinner was a variation (a word I seem to favor, I’m noticing) on Salisbury steak. I think I ate enough TV dinners as a kid to remember Salisbury steak if not fondly, then without total loathing. And I only ever wanted the brownie anyway.

I made these with ground turkey, of course. I realize that I use a very loose weird system when it comes to meat and other proteins but it seems to be working fine. I’ve been reading On Food And Cooking by Harold McGee as bedtime material and aside from the usual caveats regarding fish, I am going to try to work more of that into our diet. Turkey, chicken and pork are all well and good but I think the LSC and I would benefit from an influx of seafood into our bellies.

Also, this is sort of a cheater recipe again. I realize—to my stark and utter horror—that it has shades of commonality with Sandra Lee. I will try to be better but sometimes Sunday night you want easy. Easy enough so you can watch season 3 of Dexter with your husband.

Breakfast Raspberry Crisp

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 pound raspberries

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon flour

Grated fresh nutmeg, a pinch

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons, 2 ounces) butter, melted

6 tablespoons turbinado or regular sugar (turbinado, also sold as Sugar in the Raw, gives an excellent crunch)

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or a mixture of whole wheat and all-purpose flour)

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Prepare fruit: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pull apart apricots at their seam, remove pits, and tear them one more time into quarters, placing them in a small baking dish (one that holds two to three cups is ideal). Stir in sugar, flour and pinch of nutmeg.

Make topping: Melt butter and stir in sugar, then oats, then flour, salt and almonds until large clumps form. Sprinkle mixture over the fruit. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes and serve warm.

Hamburger Steak with Gravy

adapted from Southern Living magazine

2 honey-wheat or whole-wheat bread slices

1 pound ground turkey

1 lightly beaten egg

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 (1.2-oz.) envelope brown gravy mix

1 1/2 cups water

1 tbl. canola oil

Process bread slices in a food processor 10 seconds or until finely chopped. Place crumbs in a large bowl; add turkey, egg, garlic, salt and pepper. Gently combine until blended. Shape into 4 (4-inch) patties. Whisk together gravy mix and water; set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Cook patties 2 minutes on each side or just until browned. Remove from skillet. Sitr in prepared gravy and bring to a simmer. Return patties to skillet and spoon gravy over each patty. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through.