Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups

A little over a month ago, I saw these delicious little breakfast delights on Pinterest and knew they were a "must pin".  The recipe comes from The Girl Who Ate Everything originally, and is so perfect, you do not need to adjust a thing.  They are amazing!

NOTE:  This recipe is for 6, but you just can make as many or as few as you want.  You just select your quantity, and then you need that many pieces of bacon, bread, and eggs...

Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon, uncooked
6 slices of bread (I've had great success with whole wheat white bread.)
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese (I've varied the type of cheese, and I never measure it...)
6 eggs
salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Spray the cups of a muffin tin with cooking spray.

Cook your bacon in a frying pan for about 5 minutes, so that it is partially cooked, but not crispy.  Transfer to a paper towel lined plate when finished.

While the bacon cooks, cut out circles  in each piece of bread using a cookie cutter or a drinking glass turned upside down.

Here's where it gets a little tricky.  I have the best results when I push the bread into the muffin cups to shape them gently, but then I take them back out.  Wrap the bacon around the muffin cup, and then replace the shaped bread inside the bacon.  I kind of shimmy the bacon up a little and shape the bread to the inside of the bacon on the sides and into the bottom of the tin.

When you've got your cups ready, sprinkle cheese on top of the bread.  Then, crack one egg over each piece of bread.  I do this over the sink, with the muffin tin just to my right.  You may not want to use all of the egg white, so it's easier to crack the egg and let a little of the white run out into the sink and then pour the egg into the cup.  You can use the whole white, but it sometimes bubbles over the bacon when you do that.

Bake until eggs are cooked through to your liking and the bacon is crispy.  We've found 15 minutes is perfect if you don't use the full white and you like your eggs with a little bit of run in the yolk.  Run a knife around the outside of the bacon in the muffin cups, and pop them out.  I use a fork on one side, gently sliding between the bacon and the tin, and a knife on the other side to pull them out...

Salt & pepper for seasoning, and enjoy!  We love these.  They are the perfect breakfast bite!

Bread & Butter Pickles

My Grandma Howard used to make Bread & Butter pickles, and my mom used to love them.  But, unfortunately, my Grandma Howard died well before her time...  So, my mom hadn't had those pickles since 1980.  She recently found a cookbook that belonged to my Grandma, and lo & behold....  There was one dirty, well-worn page that just happened to be a recipe for Bread & Butter pickles.  She came to visit me, and we made them to see if they were the same.  Success!  The pickles are delicious!

Ingredients
1 1/2 c salt
1 gallon water
8 medium-to-large cucumbers, sliced thin
1/4 of a white onion, chopped
1/2 c of chopped bell peppers
5 c cider vinegar
5 c sugar
2 Tbsp mustard seed
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Instructions
Combine the salt and water to make a brine...  I needed two large mixing bowls to hold all of this.  Add the cucumber slices and chopped onion and bell peppers to the brine mix and let stand 3 hours.  Drain.

Combine the vinegar, sugar, and spices in a large stock pot or preserving kettle and bring the mixture to a rolling boil.

Add the drained cucumbers and heat thoroughly, but do not boil the pickles.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the pickles into sterilized pint jars while they are still very hot.  Pack them in very tight and use a ladle to spoon the liquid into the jars to fill.  Seal at once, and allow to cool to room temperature.