Cheese-y Egg Muffins
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I don’t often post something that’s already on someone else’s blog, but I’m making an exception for this one (Kalyn’s Kitchen). There are a couple of reasons for that, the first being that these are amazingly awesome little breakfast bites. I’ll get to the second reason later. I’m not done talking about how good these are, and for a person who gets very excited to wake up in the morning and have breakfast already made, I can’t even begin to tell you happy I am to have them sitting in my fridge right now.
Basically, what we have here are little omelet-like muffins which you can fill however you like. Kalyn recommends green onions and cheese as the basic starting point and I whole-heartedly agree. To some I added crispy cooked bacon to others some chopped ham. I’ve also added leftover veggies like asparagus and zucchini and am thinking to maybe chop some little tomatoes in next time too. Needless to say, anything you can think to put in your favorite omelet will be great inside these “muffins”. And not only are these delicious, but they keep in the refrigerator for at least a week (I haven’t tested longer than that), and they’re great if you find yourself dashing out of the house early and eating breakfast in the car or at the office.
But it was a rough and rocky road for me to get to that photo up there, let me tell you, which brings me to the second reason that I’m posting these when you could just get the recipe from Kalyn’s blog. She used a silicone muffin pan to make hers, and recommended that if you use a standard metal muffin pan, you should use paper liners, which didn't really appeal to me. Nor did purchasing a silicone muffin pan. So I tried baking them in my nonstick metal pan, but this is how they turned out...
The bottoms were all brown and shriveled (which is, I'm sure, why Kalyn suggested using the paper liners. They still tasted awesome, but I wanted mine to look as purdy as hers, so I decided to try again, reducing the oven temperature, thinking maybe this would correct the problem. But alas, it was a no-go. Still with the over-done bottoms. Grrrrr.
Game On!!! I would make beautiful egg muffins or die trying! So I rolled up my sleeves, got out my big roasting pan and filled it with really hot water. Into this I set my muffin pan, which I figured would insulate those little muffin bottoms from the heat of the oven and possibly fix this ugly muffin problem.
Oh yeah. Those little egg muffin bottoms came out as soft and luscious as, well, beautiful little egg muffins should be. And, man, I do believe they tasted even better than previous batches.
So that, my friends, is the story of these impossibly delicious little breakfast bites and how you, too, can make them in your metal muffin pan without brown, shriveled bottoms. Life is good. Here’s the recipe…
Cheese-y Egg Muffins
Click here for a printable recipe
Recipe adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Makes 1 dozen egg muffins
Note: If using a nonstick metal muffin pan, spray it with nonstick cooking spray before filling and then place it in a larger roasting or baking pan filled partly with very hot water. Place in the oven and bake as directed. The egg muffins popped right out without a problem. If you don't have Spike seasoning, substitute, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
12 eggs (use 15 eggs for a silicone muffin pan)
3 tablespoons of milk or cream
1-2 tsp. Spike seasoning or any type of seasoning blend that's good with eggs
1-2 cups grated cheddar cheese (or a blend of cheddar/Jack cheese)
Optional, but highly recommended, 3 green onions diced small
Optional: chopped veggies such as blanched broccoli, red pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, etc. (Using veggies will reduce the fat content)
Optional: diced bacon, Canadian bacon, ham, or crumbled cooked turkey sausage
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Use regular or silicone muffin pan, 12 muffin size. If using silicone pan, spray with nonstick spray. If using regular muffin pan, put two paper liners into each slot, then spray liner with nonstick spray. (see note above).
In the bottom of the muffin cups layer the cheese, diced meat, if using, vegetables, if using, and green onions. You want the muffin cups to be about 2/3 full, with just enough room to pour a little egg around the other ingredients. Break eggs into large measuring bowl with pour spout, add seasonings and beat well.
Pour the egg mixtures into each muffin cup until it is 3/4 full and bake 25-35 minutes until muffins have risen and are slightly browned and set.
Muffins will keep more than a week in the refrigerator. Egg muffins can be frozen and reheated, but they're best when they are just refrigerated. For best results, thaw in refrigerator before reheating. Microwave on high about 2 minutes to reheat.
UPDATE: While my method works quite well for keeping your egg muffins from shriveling, here's another method that works even better... reduce the oven temp (350 degrees) and reduce the cooking time (to about 15 minutes). Let them sit in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing them to cool. No more shriveled bottoms.
