Egg 'McMuffin'

I call these Egg 'McMuffins', but they're really more like omelette muffins, or a crustless quiche, or maybe even more like mini frittatas. 


I made these one morning for Pete and a few of his buddies a while ago when they came down for a Saturday morning in Laguna. That morning, Pete and I took an early Saturday morning stroll and walked down to the market to get some groceries for breakfast. Peter got a call on his cell phone and the next thing I heard, he was saying, "Sure, Meg's about to make breakfast- come on down!" Suddenly, my menu changed and I had to get back and throw a feast together fast! I had never made these before, but it was the easiest way to throw together a bunch of breakfasts for a bunch of boys with about NO times notice. They were such a hit that I have loved making them ever since then. This week, these little egg muffins made their debut as our St Patricks Day pots of gold :) 


Besides the fact that they are fun and fast for breakfast, they are also great because you can use ANY ingredients that you would normally like in an omelette or quiche. PLUS, they are awesome to keep in the fridge and reheat for an instant breakfast on a work morning. That's what we have been doing all week; Pete has just been loving these quick healthy little 'omelettes'. 


Recipe (for a large (6 muffin) sized muffin pan): 

• 10 Eggs
• 1 cup Skim Milk, or fat free Half & Half
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheese (I use low moisture part skim Mozzarella, but Cheddar, Gruyere, or Swish would be good too)
• Toppings (I use 2 Bell Peppers- 1 red & 1 green, 1 diced Yellow Onion, for the boys I added 8 oz. lean Sausage, I just used the veggies for Peter and I and it was great too!)
• *Optional 1/2 teaspoon Salt

Directions: 

1. (*If using sausage or bacon, cook that in your pan first.)
2. Heat some Canola oil in a sautee pan and cook your diced onion and bell peppers for a few minutes. 
3. Whisk your eggs and milk together (you can add a little salt here too. If you are using a breakfast meat though, those are usually pretty salty already; also cheese adds a little salt to it as well)
4. Spray your muffin tins with nonstick spray.
5. Divide your sauteed veggies and/or meat evenly between the muffin tins. 
6. Ladle the eggs into each muffin tin over the fillings
7. Sprinkle a little cheese on top of the egg
8. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes. 

Bake until they puff and golden on top:

Look at how beautiful and golden they get!

However, they do deflate within minutes of pulling them out of the oven. I've tried using a little baking powder whisked into the egg mixture to make them stay puffed... but that just leaves a funny taste to them. 

Nevertheless, these deflated little omelette muffins are still SO SO yummy and convenient just the way they are. 

I let these cool, then store them in the fridge in a giant ziplock bag. I've been SUPER busy with work and have had a lot of early mornings, so these are great for Pete. He just pulls one out heats it in the microwave and dabs a little tapatio on it. Instant homemade breakfast to go!

Other Ideas: 

• If you have guests staying the night, you can make these ahead of time and cover them in the fridge until the morning when you can bake them off fresh.
• You can toast a whole grain English Muffin and put one of these little egg muffins between it to make a breakfast sandwich.