Egg Muffins for Breakfast

I first made this recipe back in 2012, when Bill was following the South Beach Diet plan (these are suitable for Phase One). Recently he requested them for breakfast, which is fine by me! A half an hour of prep, throw them in the oven, and his breakfast is made for the next twelve days! You can’t beat that!

The original recipe, Egg Muffins Recipe with Ham, Cheese, and Green Bell Pepper (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free), can be found at Kalyn’s Kitchen, which is a great resource for low-carb recipes.

I have somewhat modified the recipe to suit Bill’s tastes. This is my version:

Egg Muffins with Ham, Cheese, Mushroom, and Spinach

Makes 12 muffins. I use a brownie pan that makes individual brownies. I think they are a little larger than your regular size muffin tins. Because of this, I add an extra egg. If you are using muffin tins, you might want to use only 12 eggs, not 13.

Ingredients:
• 1 heaping cup finely diced lean ham (no sugar-cured, no smoked)
• 2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese (sometimes I add other cheeses to the mix, the cheddar is the predominant)
• ½ cup finely chopped spinach
• 1 can mushrooms, chopped (or equivalent amount fresh mushrooms, sauted lightly)
• 13 eggs, beaten well
• ½ teaspoon Spike seasoning
• Salt & pepper to taste (or not)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin cups with nonstick spray.

Dice ham, spinach, and mushrooms (cook mushrooms if needed/desired). Layer in the muffin cups the ham, cheese, spinach, and mushrooms.

Break eggs into large cup with pour spout. Beat eggs, Add seasonings, blend well. Pour eggs into the muffin cups, slowly, carefully. I pour some egg into each cup, let it settle, then come back to it and add more. If you get some too full, you can always take a small spoon and scoop from one cup to the other as needed. Take a small fork and gently, very gently, stir or poke around in each cup to help distribute the ingredients.

Bake 25 – 30 minutes, or until the egg mixture is set and starting to brown slightly.

I cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then remove them to cool further on a baking rack.

Of course, if you are going to eat them right away, there’s no need to cool them!

Since Bill eats 1 per morning, I keep a week’s worth in the fridge and I freeze the rest. He likes his cold, so I don’t worry about microwaving them. The original recipe mentions that the frozen ones release liquid when microwaved, but I suspect the easiest way to resolve that is to thaw them in the fridge the day before you need them. If you reheat them too long in the microwave, they get rubbery. Start with 20 or 30 seconds and add more as needed.

You can vary the recipe however you like, adding different meats, cheeses, greens, spices. I’ve learned not to so, as Bill invariably notices any changes I make and comments negatively. So I guess I should just learn not to change up a good thing, right?!