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!

Hard Boiled Eggs... There is a secret. For real.

When I found out our CSA was going to come with a dozen eggs each week, I first got excited about making hard boiled eggs, but then realized that was going to be a lot of hard boiled eggs...  Abby and I split a share, and even half is a lot of eggs!  We pretty much just take turns on which one of us takes the eggs.  It doesn't help that Mark pretty much only likes eggs scrambled.  But, this week he's travelling.  So, all the good stuff with eggs and mayonnaise is fair game!


I actually did try to make hard boiled eggs with our first eggs.  And, they were fresh and delicious, but I lost half the white to the shell.  That was a serious bummer, because it meant they were not only half wasted, but they also would make the world's ugliest deviled eggs...  And, it's partially about looks, right?


So, I asked a Chef friend for the secret to keeping the white off the shell, and he said it's all about old eggs...  (Thanks, Chuck Friedhoff!) It never occurred to me that my eggs would be too fresh.  So, I've been sitting on these eggs since 4 weeks now.  Don't worry - farm fresh eggs are good 4-5 weeks from their pack date.


Since I aged them and didn't want them to ruin them, I wondered if there was more to it than just boiling...  That's when I found this site.http://bit.ly/9oqSLH  Man, does she love her eggs.  Which pretty much told me all I needed to know - there is more to it.  


In short - cover your eggs in the pot with cold water and a splash of vinegar.  Put them on the stove, over high heat until the water boils.  When the water boils, turn the heat to low for one minute, and then remove them from the heat.  Cover and let sit for at least 12 minutes.  I went 15.  And, they are the most perfect hard boiled eggs I've ever made!  All results not based on me, but thanks to the tips from both contributions!

The Best Savory Scrambled Eggs

OK, so I realize that they are just scrambled eggs...  But, they really are the tastiest Scrambled Eggs I've ever made, and now I've made them twice.  So, I'm twice as sure that you should make them, too!

1 green garlic, clove and leaves chopped finely
1 green onion, stalks chopped finely
1 Tbsp butter
4 farm-fresh eggs
2 Tbsp skim milk
1 hothouse tomato, diced
1/4 c shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Saute the garlic and onion in a pan with the butter over medium-low heat for at least 5-10 minutes.  Make sure they are not overcooking and turning brown.  You want to cook them low and slow, so remember that the key to these eggs is patience.  The time gives the aromatics the opportunity to really soak through the eggs.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and combine with the skim milk, whisking until they are fluffy.  Add the milk and egg mixture to the garlic, onion, and butter in the pan.  Reduce the heat to the lowest setting.  Cook for at least ten minutes at the lowest setting. 

At the end of the 10 minutes, mix in the cheese and diced tomato, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Serve and enjoy.  Serves 2.

The end.  It's that simple.  But, it's so good!!!