BLT Poached Eggs with Avocado Hollandaise

This is kind of a spur-of-the-moment post, as I actually just made this dish the day before yesterday. I say "spur-of-the-moment" because usually I spend weeks or months working on a post. Making and remaking a recipe so I can take and retake photos. Rearranging the pictures in the post. And then, I usually spend a couple of weeks looking at the photos daily, deciding if I want to share them.

Things sure have changed since I first started the blog 😂 

This dish is so tasty though, I couldn't wait to share it. It's pretty darn easy and fool-proof for how delicious it is. You won't believe how simple it is to make the Avocado Hollandaise, I think it's 100 times easier than real Hollandaise! I also like the flavor better than the real stuff, but I digress. Let's talk about this dish and my inspiration for it! 

Recipe Redux: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Happy Monday friends! I promised in January that I was going to share this recipe soon, and then... I went on break. However, I'm back, it's spring, and it's time to talk about chocolate and banana. Only one of the best foodie combinations ever, if you ask me. Next to chocolate and peanut butter, and maybe peanut butter and banana, of course 😂  I enjoy a good banana bread on its own but when you add chocolate, it just takes it to another level! 🍌🍫

Pesto Stuffed Shells

It's the first recipe of 2017! Yipee!

11 days into the new year and I'm finally getting around to posting about what I do best- FOOD! This recipe is a keeper, I'm telling you. Perfect for a frigid winter day full of ice and snow which I know a lot of us are dealing with right now. We only got about 2-3 inches last week and most of it melted on Monday. Today's temperature is supposed to be a lot warmer though (thank goodness!) because it's been a week of temperatures in the teens. Brrr! But I guess our snow is nothing compared to what's been going on in my former home of Oregon. They are getting more snow than I've ever remembered them getting, and we never got much snow when I was growing up. A snow day here or there, but not this much! In my mind, it's the perfect weather for staying in and popping a carb-a-licious casserole into the oven for dinner ☃️

Arancini with Homemade Marinara

I have opened my blog several times since Sunday, with the intention to write a recipe. Each time, I sat there, staring at the screen, searching for the words that will not come. Everything I started to write didn't sound appropriate. It felt... meaningless. 

On Monday, I was reading the latest post on one of the blogs I follow, Pinch of Yum. Lindsay practically took the words from my mouth on how she was feeling. Right now, after the worst mass shooting in US history, I feel empty. Why does this keep happening? Everyone and their mother has an opinion. Most of the opinions I don't want to hear. If you can't muster the empathy to feel for the victims, people who were in that building, relatives who've lost someone that meant everything to them... I don't even know what to say to you. Here in my small corner of Kentucky, people are pretty judgmental about the fact that this shooting happened at a gay club. I overheard a lady at the grocery store in front of me in line tell the cashier that at least it was "a bunch of gay people" that died. 

April, Abbreviated: 2016

It's May, you guys. How is it May? Almost half the year is gone already! On the plus side... it will be summer soon. Outside, the trees all have leaves or are actively growing new ones, the weeds have bloomed, the wasps are out *grumbles*, and we are on the cusp of humidity here in NE Kentucky. Yes, it is currently that short, maybe 2-week period we have here where the weather is warm and sunny, but the humidity is low. Because when the humidity kicks in, whew, it's tough to be outside in the afternoon. The garden is growing by leaps and bounds, to my delight. It also appears our bees have decided to stay. What I can I say? April kicked ass. Let's summarize the whirlwind that was last month-

Naan Pizzas with Chicken, Asparagus, & Egg

Yes. You want this. Right now. For breakfast. For lunch today. For dinner tonight. Eat it for every meal! One bite and you'll be in love :-)

I love flatbread pizza. Does it get any easier? I love homemade pizza dough just as much as the next person, but there's something to be said about a meal that's ready in minutes vs. a meal you had to plan all day. And these pizzas really did take just minutes. I used leftover rotisserie chicken, because, hello, it's me. I seem to always have rotisserie chicken in my fridge. Pair chicken with leftover roasted asparagus from the night before, and pretty much the only work you will have to do will be making a couple of sunny-up eggs.

Chicken with Creamy Dijon Mushroom Sauce

I love a good saucy chicken. 

BUT- it must be done correctly. For one, it must be cooked properly. Overcooked, dry chicken takes me back to my college sorority days when the cooks would serve us dry, flavorless, season-less chicken. The kind where you chew, and you chew, and you chew. There's no end reward. You end up with a dry, ball of mush that you eventually force down your throat with a large gulp of water.

And then you never want to eat chicken again.

25 Rice Recipes

Rice. I love rice. It's a simple, affordable, and versatile grain product that's very familiar to most Americans. You can fry it, and come up with fried rice or even pan-fried rice cakes. You can bake it inside stuffed peppers, or casseroles loaded with veggies. You can serve it with a saucy stir fry with the sole intention of using it to soak up that sauce. One of my favorite ways to eat rice? In a bowl with a little soy sauce drizzled over it. Simple. Yet delicious. I credit rice with helping our budget when we first moved to Kentucky. Due to its low price, I added rice to a ton of dishes and served it often in our first years in the bluegrass state. We still eat a lot of it, even though things are much different these days. I wish I could get the hubby to enjoy brown rice, but you can't win all the battles :-)

Shrimp Pad Thai

It's the first recipe post of 2016! Yahoo!

You guys. Do you know how many Asian recipes I posted last year? 

This is embarrassing...

It was 2. Yep, you read that right. A Ginger-Soy Glazed Mahi Mahi in January of last year and a Shrimp and Broccoli Lo Mein in March. This is just crazy to me. When I was first learning to cook, Asian was my mainstay. But last year was a bonafide melee of Mexican and Italian. That just has to change. 

Salmon, Gouda, & Fried Egg Sandwiches

Happy Tuesday morning y'all!

I'm here posting again on Tuesday (after I posted on Monday) because I don't think I'm going to be back to the blog until Friday. The hubby and I have a super-busy week.

Isn't it always like that around the holidays?

As I mentioned previously (actually, quite a while ago), the hubby and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year. Which means a lot more work than usual. Haha. Usually we are just grabbing a couple of things and heading out the hubby's sister's house. Not this year. So, the hubby and I will be cleaning house today, with tomorrow being a prep day for the holiday. We also have to babysit our niece and our nephews tomorrow before doing the prep work, which will add a extra kick of pressure tomorrow.  I figure, as long as the turkey is defrosted, the Clam Dip is made, and the Pecan Pie is done, I should feel ready for the holiday.

Should being the key word there :-)

Apple Pie Cookies

It's 5 am.

I'm up early, because the rest of the day is kind of busy. Yesterday, a girlfriend asked if I wanted to meet at the local Mexican restaurant for margaritas and lunch. Not the kind of girl to turn down tequila, I said hell yeah! Which means the hubby and I need to get out of the house and to the gym early today. 

So, yeah, it's 5 am on Friday, one of my bigger post days, and I'm just staring at multiple recipe posts I've got finished and ready to go. I can't pick one. I can't even think of what I'm going to write. One of those kind of days.

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Ah, Eggs Benedict. A brunch time classic. And one of a handful of recipes that the hubby is an expert at. There are a 2 recipes that I can always remember the hubby having made, since the beginning of our relationship. One is this Broccoli Rigatoni that I shared in February, but the other is Eggs Benedict. Classic Eggs Bene, I mean. The hubs has been making it practically since Day 1. Granted, on Day 1, I told the hubby I hated Hollandaise and Canadian Bacon and ate my "Eggs Benedict" basically as an Egg McMuffin. As in, English Muffin, Egg, and slice of American Cheese. LOL. I can't imagine how that made him feel. Preparing a gourmet breakfast for a girl you had just begun dating, only to have her turn it into America's favorite fast breakfast. Sigh. 

I'm lucky he still agreed to marry me :)

Zucchini "Crab" Cakes

-with homemade tarter sauce

You've heard of them. Perhaps you've even had them. It's hard to find someone who either hasn't heard of Zucchini "Crab" Cakes or, hasn't tried them. However, you may not have heard the one tip that takes these little cakes over the top.

What is it?

Kiwi Lime Pie

Recently, I've been watching "Friends" on Netflix. As in, going through the entire series from start to finish. Comfort bingeing, if you will. Anyhoo, I got the fantastic idea to create recipes from the show. Like Salmon en Croute, which Monica makes for Rachel to serve Joshua. Or Phoebe's Chocolate Chip Cookies. Granted, Phoebe's Chocolate Chip Cookies are Nestle's Tollhouse's, so I'll have to do some playing around there. But first, Monica's Kiwi Lime Pie- 

Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad

- with poached egg

Last week, the hubby and I were picking up a few items at our big box warehouse. Just our usual fare- coffee creamer, huge jars of dill pickles (if the hubby eats any more dill pickles, I swear, he will become a dill pickle), tortillas, cheese, etc. The normal stuff. Anyways, we were smack in the middle of mundane, moving our way through the seafood, when I saw smoked salmon on a sale for a reasonable price. I consider $10 a reasonable price for a filet of smoked salmon, whereas it's normally around $20. I've only got 10 gazillion recipes stuffed in my back pocket for smoked salmon, so I grabbed up that fishy fare as fast as I could. And now, I'm wishing I'd picked up more!

Eggs Poached in Marinara with Arugula

Happy Friday folks! I've got a great, brunch-y recipe for you today. Perfect for a late Saturday morning meal with your significant other. Or for dinner. We have breakfast-like meals for dinner quite a bit. Eggs, Bacon, and Toast is one of the easiest dinners to pull together at the drop of a hat. It's also a meal the hubby can fix when I don't feel like cooking :) Mwhahaha. But I digress. 

Oven-Baked Eggplant with Alfredo Sauce

Happy Friday! We've all made it to another weekend, thank goodness. I've got a lovely vegetarian recipe for everyone today, one that will definitely not have you asking, "Where's the meat?". I was experimenting with this recipe last week, and the hubby loved it to so much he didn't mind me experimenting with it this week. As a result, I was able to get the recipe exactly where I wanted it.

You may have noticed I've been cooking a lot of vegetarian meals lately. Or meals with lots of vegetables and little meat. The hubby has been having a lot of stomach related issues lately that have caused us to reevaluate what I feed him. We've also been doing a lot of research on organic and sustainable farming. Research that includes horrific information on hormones, antibiotics, and horrible living conditions for commercially farm-raised animals. As a result of all this, we are drastically changing what we eat. Call me crazy, but I've committed to not buying anymore meat from the supermarket. We are going to use up what I have in the freezer, and then go semi-vegetarian. Meaning, if we can get our hands on some locally raised meat we'll take it, but if we can't, then we just can't. Meat will become a once-in-awhile luxury vs something we eat every day. We are going to hit up the farmer's market every Saturday for local produce. The hubby has also starting juicing in the morning for breakfast, eating homemade salads for lunch, and cutting out processed food. Where he was sick as a dog and in-and-out of urgent care 2 weeks ago, he's feeling almost 100% since he's changed his diet. He goes through phases with his diet, so I'm hoping he really sticks to it this time!

I talked about this recipe last week. I was planning on making Eggplant Parmesan, but the hubby was having stomach distress. Tomato sauce never helps anyone with tummy problems. So I switched out marinara for Alfredo. My sauce turned out perfectly this week with the correct butter/flour ratios. I used mostly almond milk to make my sauce, but I did finish it off with a touch of cream to give it a little richness. Breading the eggplant is one of the easiest and most delicious ways I've prepared it.

I like to dip the eggplant rounds in egg, dredge them through a combination of panko and corn meal, and then bake them in the oven till they are crispy and browned. I whole-heartedly believe that even a picky eater would eat eggplant in this manner. It's that good!

To get the hubby his daily veggies, I served a salad on the side. Chopped green leaf lettuce, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, cucumber, goat cheese, and homemade poppyseed dressing. It was a perfectly light accompaniment to the eggplant.

One side note- I thoroughly enjoy leaving the skin on my veggies. If you do not share my fixation, you can, by all means, peel your eggplant. I will add that there are tons of vitamins and nutrients in the skin, though. Your mom would tell you to eat it. Just as mine always told me to eat my potato skins!

Does anyone have fun plans for the weekend? I don't know about fun, but I'll be remedying my hummingbird situation here at the homestead. I've only got 1 feeder at this time, being a newbie with the hummingbirds. I'm quickly learning that the nectar I make goes bad very fast. It's been getting cloudy after only 1 day in our heat. I was outside yesterday morning to retrieve the feeder so I could clean it and refill it. I was taking it off the stand when there was a very loud buzz over my shoulder. I slightly turned to see the hummingbird. He did not seem pleased, LOL. I took the flower part off the feeder and set it on my porch, so I could go empty the chamber in the ditch on the side of the house. When I turned around again, the hummingbird was on the porch, perched on the flowers. I was immediately filled with angst as I was taking his nectar and he wouldn't get any for a couple of hours. I've now decided that we must have 2 feeders so I can immediately put out a new one when I clean the old one. I just can't have those hummers mad at me :)

Have a great weekend friends!

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

1 large eggplant, sliced into rounds

2-3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup panko

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 1/4 cup almond milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/3 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

garnish: minced parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with cookie spray. Set aside.

2. Dip an eggplant round in egg, shaking off any excess. Combine panko and cornmeal. Dredge eggplant through panko mixture. Press crumbs into the eggplant. Place round on cookie sheet. Repeat with all eggplant rounds.

3. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. Flip all the rounds over and bake for another 10 minutes. Turn oven off and turn broiler on. Keeping an eye on rounds, pull the eggplant when all the rounds are browned and crispy. Set aside to slightly cool.

4. Make the Alfredo sauce- melt butter in a large skillet. Add flour, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Combine almond milk and cream. Add about 1/4 cup of almond milk mixture to skillet. Whisk constantly. Mixture will clump together, and this is normal. Cook for 1 minute (you are trying to cook out any raw flour taste). In slow additions, keep adding milk mixture until milk is completely incorporated. Add salt and pepper. Turn heat off and add cheese to skillet. Whisk until cheese is melted and incorporated.

5. To serve, place egg plant rounds on a plate. Drizzle Alfredo sauce over rounds. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

Helpful links:

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

The Healing Properties of Juicing

Advance Sustainable Agriculture

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Treasure Box Tuesdays

Spinach and Mushroom Frittata with Fresh Thyme

Frittatas are like summer's soup. They are cheap to make, low-fuss, and you can toss whatever you want in them. Really. Anything. Some leftover stir-fry veggies taking up room in your fridge? Throw em' in! Leftover rotisserie chicken? Sure! Chopped bacon or ham? Perfect frittata fodder! I've found with frittatas it really is as easy as mixing your ingredients with egg, pouring the mixture in a skillet, and then popping the skillet in the oven for a quick bake. If you keep an eye on how long you bake your frittata, they are practically foolproof. And as for that leftover chopped bacon- I just happened to have a couple of tablespoons leftover that I sprinkled over the top of my frittata, but that would be a totally optional call. This recipe can stand on its own, with or without the bacon.

Frittatas are just one of the amazing things you can make with egg. I like the frittata, which is similar to a quiche but without the trouble of making a crust. They make a lovely light meal, all you have to serve on the side is a light salad or some fruit. If you have family members with large appetites, you could serve this with bacon and English muffins as a breakfast for dinner. Or heck, just make this for breakfast. I'm not much of a morning cook, so we make this for dinner.

The recipe I used called for ground thyme so, of course, I swapped that out for garden fresh thyme. I love the smell of fresh thyme. Actually, you'd be hard-pressed to find an herb I don't like the smell of.  It's pretty normal for me to walk by my herb garden, grab a mint leaf, and rub it between my fingers just to enjoy the scent. Mmmmm. These were the first of the thyme sprigs I've harvested, and I was not disappointed. I don't know what I'm going to do this winter when I don't have fresh herbs anymore. I'm going to be really sad, I'll tell you that much. And cranky from having to spend money on them :)

This recipe makes a fairly large frittata. I'd say it would serve 6 people with large portions, 8 if you are serving this with side dishes. Normally, I quite enjoy eating leftover frittata cold. However, I don't always put spinach in my concoctions. I found I wasn't overly thrilled with the texture of the spinach in the frittata when it was cold. I'd recommend covering the frittata with a damp paper towel, and gently heating it back up in the microwave if you are eating it the next day. 

Wanting to re-purpose some leftover frittata? I didn't get a chance to experiment with this frittata, but I was inspired by an idea for the leftovers I read about online. Fried rice! Take some leftover rice, chop up your leftover frittata, and toss it with the rice. Easy, peasy fried rice. Something I plan on experimenting with sooner rather than later.

Happy Friday! And start of a 3-day weekend for most people. We're due for a gorgeous weekend here. Sunny, but not too hot. No rain. No humidity. I'm most excited. The hubby has to work nights all weekend, so we won't be doing much. I am going to Columbus on Sunday with a girlfriend for a girl's day. Brunch and shopping at an outdoor mall. And Memorial Day sales? Yes, please! As for today, I'm going to be baking Mixed Berry Cupcakes, which I'm hoping I can get baked and photographed in time to post on Monday. I've actually got a couple of desserts on tap for soon, including Chocolate Malts with Caramel Cream, and Dark Chocolate and Fresh Mint Cookies. Heck yeah!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone! Stay safe :)

Ingredients (serves 6-8):

1 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

3 sprigs fresh thyme, minced

3 cups spinach, roughly chopped

10 eggs

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 strip bacon, crumbled (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add onions. Sauté 2-3 minutes. Add garlic to the pan. Sauté 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and thyme. Sauté for 5 more minutes. Add spinach to the pan, sauté for 1 minute or just until wilted. Remove from heat, and allow to cool a few minutes. 

3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, salt, pepper, and feta cheese. Whisk briskly to combine. Add slightly cooled vegetable mixture to egg mixture, stir. 

4. Wipe skillet out with a paper towel. Spray liberally with cooking spray, you don't want your frittata to stick to the pan. Place skillet over medium heat, and allow pan to heat. 

5. When warm, pour egg mixture into pan. Sprinkle bacon over pan. Place in oven, and bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or just until the center of the frittata is set and doesn't jiggle anymore. 

Remove from oven, slice into sections, and serve immediately.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Food Reference.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Treasure Box Tuesdays

Pecan Pie Cake

Pecan pie is good.

Cake is good.

Therefore, shouldn't taking the two and combining them into one delicious confection be twice as good? 

Yes, yes it is.

This is a cake among cakes. So freakin' good. I do realize pecan pie is poplar during the winter, holiday months, but cake is popular year round. I felt no shame "pecan-ing out" this spring. The cake is rich and moist, with layers of custard and toasted nuts. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you'll think you've died and gone to heaven. 

This is a bit of a labor intensive cake. I made it for my mother-in-law's birthday a couple of weeks ago, and I did not know what I was getting myself into. My MIL (much like the hubby's aunt) didn't have a preference on cake, and asked for a surprise. Both her and the hubby have an affinity for Pecan Pie, and I'd had this recipe under my hat for over a year. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to try it. Well, my MIL was ALL about it when I suggested it. I set about to make it the day before her birthday, until I realized I probably wouldn't be constructing the cake till the next day. The custard layer really should sit overnight in the fridge before you use it in the layers. So I made the custard, and into the fridge it went. The custard layer worked perfectly in construction the next day. I then turned my focus to the cakes, realizing I was going to need 3 bowls and to separate a lot of eggs. I hate separating eggs. Somehow, someway I always get egg yolk in my whites. Never fear, I managed to separate with ease this day. 

The egg whites are separated in this case, and whipped up. Like meringue. The egg whites are folded into the cake batter at the end, I believe to add levity to the cake. It's very important to have absolutely no yolk in your whites, or your egg whites aren't going to stiffen properly. Which means your cake won't rise. Which spells disaster! 

Ok, I'm being a little dramatic. But seriously, don't get yolk in your whites.

As I was preparing the cake, I noticed a little note in the recipe. It said you should never make pecan pie on a rainy or overcast day. What?? I'd never heard that before. It's apparently an old Southern adage. Indeed, this recipe is adapted from a Southern Living recipe. Well. I wanted to know why. Upon googling this perplexity, I was able to find... nothing. No reason that you should avoid making pecan pie on a rainy day except that you just should. Consequently, I've relegated that adage into the category of old wives' tales. 

So, there you go. Pecan Pie Cake. It sounds and looks decadent, and it totally is. Who cares if it's not Thanksgiving? Get down with your bad self anyway!

Happy Hump Day!

Ingredients:

Custard-

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup dark corn syrup

1/3 cup cornstarch

4 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups half-n-half

1/8 tsp salt

3 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cake-

3 cups pecans, toasted and finely chopped

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

5 eggs, separated

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

corn syrup

Directions:

1. Prepare the custard- combine dark brown sugar through salt in a COLD saucepan. Whisk until smooth. Turn heat on, and bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Whisk CONSTANTLY. Cook 1 minute or until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat, whisk in the butter and vanilla until smooth and melted, then press a piece of wax paper over the top of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. When mixture has cooled, chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. 

2. Prepare the cakes- Preheat oven to 350º. Completely coat 3 (9 inch) round cake pans with cooking spray. Distribute the 3 cups of pecans evenly into the 3 pans, shaking to coat the bottoms and sides of pan.

3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and shortening until fluffy. Beat in sugar. Beat in egg yolks. Beat in vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Add flour mixture slowly to butter mixture, alternating with buttermilk. Repeat until flour mixture and buttermilk are completely mixed in.

4. In another bowl, beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold egg whites into batter. Distribute batter among the 3 pans.

5. Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn cakes out to a cooling rack. Brush cakes with corn syrup (I recommend putting a piece of wax paper under your cooling rack). Cool completely before constructing cake.

6. Construct cake- Spread half of custard on one cake, pecan side up. Place 2nd layer of cake, pecan side up, on top of custard. Smooth on remainder of custard. Place remaining cake, pecan side up, on top of remainder of filling. 

7. Slice cake, and serve with whip cream or vanilla ice cream.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Southern Living.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesdays

Homemade Egg McMuffins

The Egg McMuffin. The breakfast sandwich. The everlasting combination of English muffin, egg, cheese, and bacon or sausage (depending on your preference). I, myself, am a sausage girl, but the hubby is parked firmly on the bacon side. He's also a big fan of McDonald's, but at this stage in our lives, it's just not healthy to eat there often. I've been making the hubby breakfast burritos to freeze, but I've also been getting the impression he was needing some variety.

I think homemade Egg McMuffins was one of the first pins and/or ideas I pinned on Pinterest. That was over a year ago. Today seemed like a good day to seize the opportunity to experiment. The basic idea is to the bake eggs in a muffin tin or ramekin to ensure they are the perfect round shape for an English muffin. After studying my jumbo muffin pan, I came to the conclusion that the base of the pan is no bigger than my regular muffin pan. I opted to bake my eggs in these ramekins instead.

And the ramekins worked perfectly. The eggs were perfectly cooked and they slid right out of the ramekins (the ramekins were coated with cooking spray). I wish I'd tried this recipe before! It was super easy, pretty fast, and now the hubby's stocked up on breakfast sandwiches and burritos. Wife score! I wrapped these up to freeze, but by all means, assemble these for immediate consumption.

Happy Hump Day everyone! I hope you are having a fabulous, if cold, week :)

Ingredients (makes 4 sandwiches):

4- eggs
Salt and pepper
4- whole wheat English muffins
4- strips of thick cut bacon (double if you are using regular bacon), halved
4- thin slices of cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Coat 4 ramekins with cooking spray, set ramekins on a cookie sheet for easy access. Break 1 egg into each ramekin, slightly scramble it with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until egg is set. Remove from oven, set aside.
2. Cut English muffins in half. Using a toaster, toast each half until golden brown. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Remove from pan, place on a paper towel to dry.
4. Assemble the muffins. Place 1 egg on each muffin. Egg should slide out of ramekin, if it sticks a little, run a knife around the edge to loosen. Place a piece of cheese and 2 bacon slices on top of the egg. Place remaining English muffin half on top of bacon. Serve immediately, or wrap sandwiches in aluminum foil to freeze.