Saturday, January 28, 2012

Bacon Breakfast Muffins

We may talk the talk about eating healthy, but when it comes to breakfast (or "breakfast for dinner") there's nothing better than bacon and eggs. Well, nothing but Bacon Breakfast Muffins!


OMG!!! How could you not be tempted by these little babies?!  I stumbled upon the recipe a while ago on Pinterest. A delightful little blog called We Are That Family had re-blogged a recipe originally by Martha Stewart.  But I tell you what... you don't need a 'recipe' to make this meal.  It's so easy:

Step 1: Spray a muffin tin with Pam or similar baking spray. (be sure to do this and do it well! We didn't have much spray left... it made getting the finished muffins out the pan very hard!)

Step 2: Use a cup (or, if you're like us, a beer tasting glass) to cut circular pieces of bread (wheat makes it healthy! right?).


Step 3: Line the bottom of each muffin with a piece of bread.


Step 4: Add bacon. Here's a hint that makes cutting raw bacon easier.


Step 5: Crack an egg over each ...


Step 6: Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.  Remove from pan and enjoy!

A couple of things to know:

  • Spray! You must coat each muffin bottom with enough cooking spray, otherwise it sticks.
  • At 20 minutes your egg may look undercooked. It is not. It's just "glossy" looking. If you add a few minutes "to be sure" (like we did) it will be overcooked.
  • I think the bacon would look more artisan (like Martha's picture at the top) if you twist the ends before cooking, rather than laying them out flat like we did. 
  • You can customize this recipe in so many ways. Chopped ham and cheese like my Facebook friend Deborah. Maybe throw in some veggies? The possibilities are endless! (Hannah says "no! not vegetables!")
Reviews:

Hannah - My favorite part of the meal was that the bacon was very, very, very crunchy and that made the eggs taste even better because there was one part where it's soft, but there's one part where it's crunchy that tasted really, really good. Something that I didn't like was the bread. I don't know why. I think it was maybe because it was kinda burnt on the outside, but also it was because where the bacon sat to put the egg in it was all mushy. It was like wet.  I rate this meal 4 out of 5 stars.  It's really good, just like my famous Ruffled Eggs

Jason - I thought it was excellent. The eggs was cooked a little too long (see note above). Ended up being a little rubbery, but the combination of the bread and the egg and the bacon was excellent.  I think I might wrap the bacon back inside instead of having it jutting out the sides. 

Tanya - I agree with Jason! The thing about this approach that's better than eggs, toast and bacon on a plate in the traditional way is that the bacon grease actually cooks into and flavors the bread and the egg. Unlike Hannah, I'd love to experiment with veggies in this recipe. Maybe diced zucchini, red peppers, tomatoes... endless possibilities. 

7 comments:

  1. Nice job not wasting a drop of bacon fat! If Congress removed pork lobby subsidies, the country would be more in the red because of the additional years people would draw Social Security (with functioning arteries). Does look delish, though.

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  2. Haha - very true, anon... on all fronts!

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  3. In the interest of squeamish kids (yolk=gross) and health (I know... no fun) I do these with scrambled eggs. If there are 6 muffin cups, I spray each and add chopped onions, peppers, arugala, sometimes fresh herbs, feta, black olives.. you get it. The possibilities are endless... then pour over 6 eggs scrambled in a large measuring cup with a pour spout. Bake similar to yours. They keep in the fridge and make a 30 second microwavable breakfast for the kids. :)

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  4. JLD,

    I have a yolk avoider too! She wasn't home the night we made these, but your scrambled eggs suggestion would probably fly for her. And I'm loving the veggies...

    Your suggestion of keeping 'em in the fridge and then microwaving reminds me of the breakfast burritos we sometimes make. Scrambled eggs (sometimes with veggies, sometimes not) and cheese folded into a flour tortilla. We make a dozen or so, wrap them individually in plastic wrap, then load into a ziploc and pop into the freezer. You can take them out, allow to thaw in fridge, then microwave for 1:30. Yum!

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  5. Let us know what combinations you come up with, Anne!

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  6. IMO, scrambled eggs (with a splash of milk or milk powder) and Mexican seasoning -- or salsa on the side, would be more appealing.

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