The first time that we did Whole30, back in March of 2018, it was a struggle. Every night, after Baby Eddie went to bed, Mark and I would sit in the den together and have a cookie, or a slice of cake, or a bowl of ice cream. At 3pm I would reach my hand into the apothecary jar of Dove chocolate that I keep in my office and grab a piece or two. We both struggled big-time with getting our sugar addiction under control, but when we finally did, it made me pay attention to how much sugar we were actually eating.
It also came back, just as strong as ever, when that Whole30 was over. What can I say- I like to bake, and we like to enjoy the fruits of that labor.
What actually did stick with us after Whole30 was stocking the fridge with a healthy, hearty breakfast item that would tide us over until lunch. It had to be protein-packed and it had to be something that we could grab as we flew out the door. What started as a big egg casserole sliced into squares has morphed over the past year into what we fondly call “egg cups.”
These babies are infinitely customizable. You can mix and match with any meats or veggies you want. You can make them dairy-free if you leave out the cheese, which we do most of the time (I add Parmesan when we have a short work week or a holiday, because that is what qualifies as partying at this stage in life.)
This is how I do it. I preheat my oven to 350 and then start to make my filling. This week, it’s bacon and potato. My favorite bacon is the thick-sliced Kirkland brand bacon from Costco, which we’ve been buying exclusively since we joined Costco. It is the best.
I get my skillet hot while I chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces. Throw it in the pan and let it cook while you chop your potato. You want the potato in small pieces so it will cook quickly. Once the bacon has rendered a lot of it’s fat and is well on it’s way to crispy, throw in the potato.
While the potato cooks in the bacon fat (is there a better phrase in the English language?), crack your eggs into a big mixing bowl. Keep your eye on your skillet and stir the bacon and potato frequently. I’m making two dozen egg cups, so I crack two dozen eggs into a bowl and whisk them with salt and pepper to taste.
When the filling is ready, drain off the majority of the bacon grease and pour the rest of the filling into your egg bowl. Mix the entire thing together. Once everything is uniformly distributed, grab your muffin tin and cooking spray. A word about these egg cups- they will adhere to a muffin tin. Use a liberal amount of cooking spray. I put about 1/4 cup of filling into each muffin well and bake for 17 minutes. Let the fresh egg cups cool completely in the pan before you start your next batch, otherwise they won’t release easily from the pan. They will deflate a bit as they cool.
Boom. Breakfast for the week. In the morning, microwave them for one minute and you’re ready to eat. Mark likes his with salsa, I like mine with a few avocado slices and a side of fruit. He eats about four of them, I have two or three depending upon what I’m having on the side.
Some of my favorite combinations: Ham and potato; Bacon and sun-dried tomato; Ground sausage and green pepper; Mushroom, potato, and onion; Chorizo and cojita cheese; Sweet potato and cheddar cheese; Spinach, bacon, and Parmesan (oh baby!)
1 comment
I might add that I’ve gone to eating 2-3 of these after doing some remedial math in terms of calories (around 200cal/each for the bacon & potato variety). Some days I’ll bring a piece of fruit with me in the mornings especially if I think there’s a good chance I’ll eat a late lunch.
I’d like to emphasize the need to drain off most/all of the rendered bacon fat. The bacon will continue to cook in the muffin tin and too much grease could cause smoke/fire in your oven.
Nerd PSA: Microwave times will vary based on power of your unit. I have to heat mine for 90 seconds at work.