The breakfast of muffin-shaped champions.
Written by Annie on September 1st, 2009That title doesn’t work. Cause it sounds like a) I’m saying YOU are muffin-shaped and I would never accuse you of such a thing or b) I’m saying that I’M muffin-shaped and I would never admit that on the blog.
[So. With that being said, we press on.]
What it means is that I did a little breakfast experiment and I was totally thrilled about it. And the breakfast is shaped like a muffin. And I think you’re a champ. So that’s where the combo came from. I thought it would make more sense. Somehow to combine “breakfast,” “muffin,” and “champion” so you would know this would be a delicious recipe.
[I've over-explained at this point.]
Here’s what. I wanted to make a breakfast that was low in carbs, easy to eat on the run, and still awesome. So I figured that I could make little quiche kinda thingys.
[My ability to blog well seems to be spiraling downward. Let's insert a picture.]
Here’s the turkey bacon. I know, Sophie would tan my pork-free hide for using this fake stuff, but I choose turkey bacon. I cooked it up in the oven.
Here’s the bacon, post cook. [And I think it is rude that you noticed IMMEDIATELY the missing piece of bacon and no, I don't know what happened to it. Move along. Nothing to see here.]
So while the bacon cooked, I scrambled the eggs in a bowl. And then I chopped the bacon up. See, I had this picture in my mind of literally, mini-quiches. So I wanted tiny bacon for tiny quiche.
I gathered a handful of other ingredients, just cause I was home alone and when I’m cooking home alone I feel like I’m a big deal chef. [As evidenced by the "dry mustard". Sheesh.] I went ahead and mixed the bacon and cheese into the egg mixture and added those other really important and fancy ingredients. Like salt.
So then I ladled the mixture into a greased muffin tin. And pretty quickly you’ll see the main flaw of this recipe.
See how Mr. Muffin Top Middle is LOADED with goodies and Mr. Muffin Bottom Left is eggy? Yeah. Lesson learned. Next time I make these [and I will because good gracious I loved them] I will portion out the bacon and cheese and then pour the egg mixture over it.
[I'm betting many of you already had that trick in your cooking skillz bag. Now it's in mine, too.]
And by the way, I think each little muffin quiche [that would have been a good blog post title] needs a piece of bacon, crumbled, and one egg scrambled. Cheese to your liking. You, maybe a sprinkling. Me, maybe a cup. I like cheese.
I cooked them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, until a knife came out clean when I tested it.
As you can see, there was a bit of what one might call “EXPANSION!!” They came out okay, but for some reason, spraying the muffin tins didn’t allow these little puppies to come out clean. I don’t know why though. Do you?
But y’all. They were really good. I ate one immediately. Then bagged the rest for breakfast the next few mornings. How cute is that little baggy of breakfast?
But I do feel like I should warn you: apparently this breakfast of choice will give you a bad case of the crazy eye.
[Sigh. I have no shame or discretion when it comes to embarrassing pictures. Sometimes I wish I did.]
So I hope you try this recipe, throw in some of your favorite veggies or other meats, and let me know how it goes.
But don’t say I didn’t warn you about the crazy eye.
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I mostly lurk here but just wanted to say I love your blog. Your recipe looks yummy…I will try it but I stand with Sophie on the bacon : )
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I have a question. Can I come to your house to eat? That sounds great!
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Yum. Looks like something I can fix for my son before he heads out the door to commute to college each day. Thanks.
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PS – You never have to defend your love of cheese. It’s part of your DNA. Just like your brown, crazy eye. Your eyes are brown, right?
Oh, and how do I know about the cheese lovers gene? I was also blessed with the gene. It’s a crucial part of my genetic make-up.
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Eggs in muffin cups are my new love in life…I make a big batch Saturday and eat them all week! NO COOKING!
Put like 1-2 tablespoons of whole wheat flower in your egg mix and they won’t be quite so messy if they puff out over the top.
Ashlin likes to put in Spinach and (don’t gag) cottage cheese! Anyway, they’re yummy!
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Oooooh. I make an egg every day…sometimes a quiche when I am feeling fancy. I’m totally gonna make these. They just look dainty and pretty. And did I mention that they are making my stomach growl? Yep, off to make my normal boring scrambled egg (cause i have no other toppings).
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Mmm – I’ll add some diced bell pepper & onion to mine. I eat in the car on my way to work, so these would be perfect!
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You get the “First Laugh of the Day” award Annie–great fun reading this post!! Can’t wait to try your recipe–it sounds perfect!
Shaunie
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I ate these all the time when I was actually following South Beach (instead of saying “oh, I’m starting South Beach back next week, right after I consume this giant bowl of pasta and pour some sugar down my throat”). Canadian Bacon works well in them, as well as red or green bell peppers. I’ve tried them with asparagus and smoked salmon which wasn’t as tasty (for me). Mine always always always stuck. I’d spray the cups, spray the outside of the muffin tin (a Barefoot Contessa suggestion) and still stuck. I ended up using paper cupcake liners, which can still go in the microwave in hopes of saving my muffin tins. Also, FYI, the egg cups freeze really well.
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Questions, so many questions. First – is that a regular muffin pan? Or are the muffin cups the big kind? And are you saying one egg and one slice of bacon (seriously? turkey bacon?) PER CUP?
I like this idea.
And I shouldn’t mock your turkey bacon. Because if and when I make these, I’ll probably use egg beaters. You know – fake eggs.
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Delish and super simple. I know what I’m going to be eating next week!
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This might totally cancel any healthiness that went into these, but you could roll up some puff pastry dough and cut it into six portions. One for each muffin cup. And then put the cheese and bacon, and then put the egg mixture on top. They will come out pretty and clean, and taste like they came out on a pastry. Thanks for sharing these they look yummy and you could even make them gluten free too!
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Your stated goal, Annie: “I wanted to make a breakfast that was low in carbs, easy to eat on the run, and still awesome.”
The unwritten fine print I see after seeing reading…
1. These looks delicious.
2. These look like they’d take me 9-10 hours to make because I’m a culinary incompetent.
3. Looks like I’m eating the breakfast of rectangular-shaped champions again today: Pop Tarts.
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Yumm! Those look great! I may try them out for us to eat Friday morning as we head out on vacay!
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These look so good! I love the presentation.
I am going to try these.
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I honestly can’t believe that I’m commenting on a cooking post. Keep your eye out for an angel with a trumpet, ’cause the apocalypse is coming, for sure…
These look awesome! But has anyone answered you re: how to keep them from sticking to the pan? As soon as we figure that out, I’m gonna start cooking:)
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Here’s my favorite version of your breakfast:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/mini-frittatas-recipe/index.html
And it’s cute, cause it’s “mini.” Which means you eat more but it looks tinier.
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Yummy!
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mmmm, i’m a turkey bacon fan
thinking about these with spinach in them….
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these look amazing and easy too!! thnx annie!!
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Annie, I just love your blog. I am coming out of lurkdom to tell you so. A couple of points about your post:
1) My mom has crazy eye sometimes too… we call it “Big eye/Little eye” because, well, that’s just what it is
2) I totally made like almost the same thing over the weekend, but a little easier. I had those glass “prep bowls” from Pampered Chef. Crack an egg & beat it inside the bowl, add S&P, microwave for one minute. Perfect size for a quick egg sandwish, OR add bacon and cheese and you have a quick mini quiche! YUM.
3) I happen to heart turkey bacon
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Good grief, girl, you are hilarious! And you’re making me hungry. Can I hire you as my personal chef? I’ll pay you in waffles and/or peanut butter.