Muffin-Tin Egg Frittatas

Finding out I’m starting a new job next week has got me thinking about quick, yet satisfying breakfasts for on-the-go.  I am a breakfast person in general, and it needs to be a hot breakfast (cereal just doesn’t cut it for me – I’ll be hungry an hour later!).  Eggs are an obvious choice, but seeing as how I just found out I have to be at work at 8am (thus leaving the house at 6:30am to commute), I don’t think I’ll be waking up any earlier than I absolutely have to to cook eggs.

My solution is making mini egg frittatas, individually portioned using muffin tins, and keeping them in the freezer.  Then, I can reheat them in the microwave, just like these individual baked oatmeals.   Maybe I’ll even have one frittata and one oatmeal muffin each morning for a really complete breakfast :)

This recipe can be adapted in any way, shape or form you wish, with any ingredients you want.  I used half egg whites, half regular eggs, because adding a full 16 eggs somehow seemed excessive to me.  However, you can easily do this with all whole eggs.   If you want to incorporate more veggies, like bell pepper or onion or zucchini or broccoli or spinach…or…whatever, just make sure to saute them a bit first so they’re not too crunchy or watery in the finished frittatas.  Unless you like them crunchy.    Feel free to change up the type of cheese and/or the type of milk/cream (I used half-and-half and 1% milk, but you can use any combination you want).  It’s all up to you!  Just use whatever you have on hand.  I wrote some suggestions below for different combinations of ingredients, so have fun with it.

The recipe below yields 24 egg “muffins”, but feel free to cut it in half if desired.  You definitely want to fill the muffin tins pretty full before baking.  While in the oven, they rise (almost like mini soufflés), but as soon as you take them out of the oven they fall very quickly, and can end up being pretty flat.  Kind of like disks.  But I promise they’ll still taste good though even they might look a little funny.

Muffin-Tin Egg Frittatas

Yield: 24 “muffins”, Time: 25 min. active, 25 min. inactive

• 8 whole eggs
• 2 cups egg whites (or one 16-ounce container Egg Beaters egg whites)
• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 8 ounces ham, diced in small cubes (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced small
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping (if desired)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chives, chopped
• Several grinds of fresh black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Coat 2 muffin tins with cooking spray.

Whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk and half-and-half until well combined.  Meanwhile, saute the bell pepper (or any other veggies you use) briefly to soften.

Stir in the ham, cheeses, pepper and other remaining ingredients into the egg mixture.  The addition of freshly grated parmesan really adds a nice nutty flavor, so I highly encourage you to use real parmesan (read: not the stuff from the green can).  A block of real parmesan will keep a very long time in your refrigerator, and, since it has way more flavor, you can use less of it than the fake stuff.

Spoon mixture into each muffin tin well, filling at least 3/4 of the way full (the muffins rise like a soufflé, but then fall again, so no worry about over-filling).  Sprinkle with more cheese, if desired.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until set in the center.

Remove from the oven  and flip onto a wire rack to cool (they will get lines on the top from the wire grating, but this ensures the bottoms are not soggy).

Cool for a few minutes, then either serve immediately, or flip over and cool completely on the wire rack, if freezing.

Freeze in gallon freezer bags or Tupperware.  Reheat in the microwave.   I reheat mine at 50% power for 40 seconds then 100% power for 10 seconds (lower heat will reduce the likelihood they get rubbery, but adjust times to your microwave and liking).

Here are some ideas for other combinations that would be tasty:

• Spinach and feta (chop and saute spinach first)
• Crumbled sausage, red peppers, and pepperjack cheese
• Chopped cooked broccoli and cheddar
• Sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese
• Bacon and… anything!

Individual Baked Oatmeal

I have been wanting to try baked oatmeal for a long time, but it wasn’t until I saw these individual baked oatmeals on Pinterest that I actually tried it – it seemed much more reasonable for 2 people to make lots of individual ones than one giant casserole of baked oatmeal, which we probably could not finish.

I don’t normally like oatmeal.  Call me crazy, but the mushy texture kind of makes me want to gag.  The only reason I eat it is because it’s healthy, so thank God I found this recipe which combines the healthfulness of the oatmeal and a much better texture!  Now I can actually enjoy my oatmeal!  The texture is more similar to a muffin: chewy on the top and soft in the center, but they contain no flour at all (so they are also gluten-free).  Plus, if you make a big batch of these babies and freeze them, it actually takes less time to heat one of these up than to make a real bowl of oatmeal!

I modified the original recipe to the ingredients I had on hand (the original recipe calls for applesauce, flaxseed and Stevia, all of which I didn’t have and didn’t miss!).  This seems like a recipe that you could really play with and customize to your likings.  Especially if you want them to be more kid-friendly (add chocolate chips or raisins!  And maybe even more sugar) or more healthy (use the flaxseed like the original recipe or experiment with sugar substitutes).  Here is the recipe that I followed (with pretty fabulous results!):

Individual Baked Oatmeal  originally from Sugar-Free Mom 

Yield: 20 muffins, Time: 20 min. active, 40 min. inactive

Please find the original recipe and ingredient list here.

My modifications:

• Used 1 cup brown sugar, not any Stevia
• Used 1 cup fresh blueberries (but fresh or frozen anything (like cranberries, apples, cherries etc.) would work.  Even raisins or chocolate chips or dried coconut would work, but I would probably use less than 1 cup)
• Added 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Eliminated the flaxseed and applesauce
• I would also suggest increasing the amount of banana if you like banana!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, vanilla and sugar, then stir in all the fruit.

In another bowl, combine the oats, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Dump the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients; stir to mix well.

Pour in the milk and stir until combined.  The mixture will be pretty soupy – and it will seem too wet, but it’s not!

Scoop mixture into paper-lined muffin cups (I sprayed mine with cooking spray too just to make sure they would come out easily) – scoop with a measuring cup and make sure they have an even amount of liquid in each cup.  See how liquidy they look before baking?  It’s weird but they’ll turn out fine, don’t worry!

Bake 35-40 minutes or until the center of each muffin is set. (Mine took 35 min)

Cool and enjoy — or freeze them in gallon freezer bags.

To reheat from frozen, just pop them in the microwave for 30-40 seconds til warmed through.

Day 7: Cranberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Happy Day 7!  Today I am sharing a great recipe for Cranberry Chocolate Chip Muffins, which are perfect to bake ahead and keep on hand during the holidays.  These would be great for Christmas morning or whenever company stops over.  There’s nothing better than muffins fresh out of the oven, but I also don’t like how muffins stored in Tupperware containers tend to get soggy and lose their nice chewy tops.  My solution has been making large batches of muffins and storing them in the freezer.  Reheat for 20-30 seconds in the microwave and they taste as good as new! 

These muffins are very easy to make and feel special with the addition of fresh cranberries, which are deliciously tart.  I used fresh cranberries which had been frozen.  (I thawed them by placing them in a collander and running warm water over for just a few minutes.) 

I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light, by the addition of chocolate chips (I can’t make muffins without chocolate! It’s a problem!), almonds on top for a nice crunch, and swapping some white flour for whole wheat and butter for oil.  Maybe that makes up for adding chocolate??  I hope so because these are delicious and I can’t eat just one!

Fresh Cranberry and Chocolate Chip Muffins (adapted from Cooking Light)

Time: 15 min prep + 18 min baking, Yield: 24 muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 + 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
• 1 cup chocolate chips (dark or semi-sweet)
• 1 + 1/3 cup milk (I used 1%)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
• 2 teaspoons orange zest (I only had clementines so I used them instead)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• Slivered almonds for the tops, if desired

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Stir in the chopped cranberries and chocolate chips.  Make a well in the center of the mixture. 

Combine the milk, butter, oil, zest, vanilla, and eggs in a small bowl.  Add wet ingredients to center well of the dry ingredients, and stir until just moistened.  This process is important in making tender and fluffy muffins – don’t over mix!

Spoon batter into greased muffin tins (I used a 1/3 cup measuring cup to spoon the dough).    Top with sliced/slivered almonds for a nice crunch, if desired.   

Bake for 18 minutes, remove from muffin tin and cool in a wire rack.

Yum!