Mini Frittatas

I found this recipe while I was browsing and I thought my husband might really like it.  He loves his eggs!  Omelets are like pizza – everyone seems to want something different on them.  This looks like it would be a fun way to get personalized eggs for everyone in the family, all at once, without having to wait your turn.  What a neat idea! 

~Ness

Mini Frittatas

For a fun and easy morning meal, try these small-scale egg dishes. Baked in individual muffin cups, they ensure that everyone gets the mix-ins they like.

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs

• 1/4 cup half-and-half

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• Assorted mix-ins (such as shredded cheese, diced vegetables, and cooked and chopped bacon, ham, or sausage)

• Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

• Heat your oven to 350º F and coat a 6-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

• 

• Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, and salt in a medium bowl, then evenly distribute the egg mixture among the muffin cups.

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• Add about 2 tablespoons of mix-ins to each cup, then sprinkle on a bit of Parmesan cheese, if you like.
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• Bake the frittatas until they are puffy and the edges are golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. (If necessary, run a butter knife around the edge of each one to loosen them before removing them from the pan.) Makes 6 mini frittatas.

Recipe copied from: Mini Frittatas Recipes | Back to School Eggs & Omelets | FamilyFun | FamilyFun

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Fluffy Scrambled Eggs!

Okay, so it might be obvious to everyone else on the planet, but for me, getting my scrambled eggs light and fluffy is a challenge.

I’ve read all kinds of things which ultimately don’t make sense, but this not only makes some sense, it’s borne itself out the few times I’ve tried it. YMMV, but so far so good for me.

To keep this ketogenic – because I’m on a ketogenic diet and can’t have processed flours, grains, or any other carbohydrates – I’ve done nothing additional with the eggs than what you see here. But, other things could be added; things like garlic, onion, or even artificial sweetener, to change the taste or consistency.

Why do I bring that up?

Because if this holds up the way I hope it will, this could become a bread substitute for me. And therefore any other ketogenic dieters out there.

To be honest, there are already ketogenic bread substitutes out there. Mine is even easier, though it won’t be a “roll” when you’re finished.

Okay, enough ado. Let’s get rolling.

First, take the number of eggs you’d like to have in your meal. I like four (4) generally, but I don’t see why you can’t use more or fewer. Experimentation is the key here.

Next, crack open the eggs carefully. Don’t just smash-and-whip like some horror movie slasher, either; try to open them near the middle. I like to use a butter knife to split them.

Separate the egg yolk and white. I just shift the yolk back and forth from one half of the shell to the other, and the big, gloppy whites fall into the bowl. When nothing else can be removed, go ahead and drop the yolk in too. And, if you wanted, you could also keep them separate, but I’ve not done that. If you do keep them separate, the next step would be to beat them into a nice semi-meringue, to inject as much air as possible, before reintegrating them. I don’t go that far…yet.

Okay, so you have separated yolks and whites, but they’re in the same bowl. Now, add about two tablespoons of heavy cream. You can use half-and-half if you want, but I like the whipping cream. No carbs whatsoever. That’s key…and so is the behavior it provides. Remember, we want fluffy here.

Okay, so now I whisk them together. I like to use a whisk, and I go as fast as I’m able without making a huge mess all over the counter. You could use a hand mixer, but I haven’t tried that yet. When the eggs are smooth and a nice, buttery yellow color with slight traces of foaming in it, I get the pan ready. But, if you’re flavoring with other stuff, this might be a good time to add it to the egg mixture and combine thoroughly before going on. Make sure you end up with foamy, butter-colored eggs (sans the stuff you add, o’course).

I like to use a six- or eight-inch pan, which means the mixture is deeper than in a bigger pan, where it will spread out. You want as small a pan as possible without going Barbie-size. It’s easier to do this if the pan’s diameter isn’t too large.

By getting the pan “ready”, I mean I drop in about a tablespoon of coconut oil, or two tablespoons of butter, or a tablespoon of olive oil, or a tablespoon of lard, or a tablespoon of bacon grease, or… get the idea? Any good, saturated fat will do here. Pick your favorite. This is a ketogenic meal, not some namby-pamby sissy low-fat meal.

Heat the fat of choice to medium, then add the egg mixture. They should sizzle a bit when they hit, but don’t worry if they don’t. Just let it get hotter.

Now…don’t move the eggs. I know the temptation to start stirring is strong, but don’t move them. At all. Let the bottom of the egg solidify before you do anything else. When it has, the reward will be great. And, your options will be greater too.

Once the bottom of the egg has solidified, take a spatula and move the eggs off the edges of the pan. Be careful when doing this – don’t smash them too much. Tip the pan at an angle to let raw egg run down and fill the spot you’ve cleared. Do this all around the edges evenly until only a little of the raw egg is left. Then let it sit again for a bit.

Now, here’s where it gets subjective. I like my eggs to brown just a hair in this context. So, I don’t move them until I hear them searing on the bottom. When I do, I flip them. Use your method of choice for flippage. Mine is to take the whole pan (because it’s small, remember) and just toss the eggs over onto their backs.

At this point, if you’re adding cheese (I like a couple of ounces of cheddar with mine), make sure you’ve prepped it ahead of time (shredding recommended), and layer it all over the surface of your egg patty. If you’re using it for bread, just let the second side brown.

Now, if you’re making a bread sub, you’re done. Let it cook up and then move it to a plate or cooling rack when it’s solid and slightly brown on both sides. Making eggs? Next is add your toppings of choice. I like to integrate things like garlic and scallions beforehand, but keep in mind the amount of moisture you add will impact the result, and I’ve not done enough testing to know how to advise. So far, I only use cheese.

I fold the eggs like an omelet at this point. It’s easy to do because the egg is solid and malleable. So I don’t get tragic folds. I put some more cheese on the outside and let that melt too.

And voila (or, as Internet ignoramuses like to say, wahlah)! Fluffy, light, delicious eggs for use as bread or omelet or just right out of the pan! Top with sour cream, avocado, salsa or whatever the heck you like. The world’s your omelet.

Bon appétit!

Cheesy Egg Bake

I think my husband would make a stop at the Golden Arches for breakfast every day on his way to work if he could.  Because of that, I thought I’d see if I could come up with a way to please his palate and the wallet at the same time.

Here’s my low carb, ketogenic friendly version of a baked breakfast omelet.  Carbs can be added with more control through, say, a piece of toast, an English muffin, some hash browns, a bagel, whatever floats your carbohydrate boat. 

This is for 6 servings.

• 1 pkg Brown ‘n’ Serve sausage links
• 3 pkgs real bacon bits
• 1 8oz pks pre-sliced mushrooms
• ½ purple onion, chopped
• 18 eggs, minus 6 whites
• 2 2cup pkgs shredded Cheddar cheese

First, I take the sausage links, in their frozen state, and chop them – it’s just easier that way.  Toss them into a skillet to heat through.  I add a little coconut oil to get things going.

Once that is cooked, I pour it into a prepared glass 9×13 baking dish that’s been liberally sprayed with cooking spray.

Then I heat up the bacon bits until cooked through, and into the dish they go.

Next, I sauté the mushrooms in the sausage/bacon oils, then add them to the dish.

Here’s what it looks like at this point.

Finally I sauté the onion until it’s nice and softened and add that on top.  Sautéed in sausage, bacon, and mushroom oils.  Mmmm!

Pretty, no?

Next comes one of the packages of cheese.  My husband loves cheese, Cheddar cheese.  Your taste buds may vary and I don’t see why you couldn’t use pretty much any cheese you like, alone or in some kind of wonderful cheesy combination.    I don’t bother with the knuckle buster and trying to shred cheese myself anymore.  It simply isn’t worth it and the pennies you might save get spent in the time lost and scraped knuckles. 

Now for the eggs.  Because we’re trying to make this as low carb as possible, I use whipping cream to mix in with the eggs, and a splash of water.  I don’t use milk.  Sometimes I’ll use half and half if I have that on hand as well.

Now for the 2nd bag of shredded cheese.

Into the oven it goes!

• 325°
• 30-40 min

Ovens vary and I like to leave just a bit of a jiggle since I know that eggs will continue cooking for a few minutes even after you remove them from the heat, and my husband will be using a microwave to reheat it at work.  I check at 30 minutes and adjust accordingly.  I almost never go past 40 minutes.

This is what it looks like when you pull it out of the oven,  Yummy!

I divide it into 6 portions and voilá, my husband has ready-made breakfasts for a week! 

He likes to add a little salsa with his but certainly this recipe is versatile enough that you could add different vegetables or sauces to find the taste you love.  Peppers, chilies, tomatoes, whatever you like in an omelet, the list is pretty much endless. 

All told, it takes me perhaps 20-30 mins to sauté the meat and veggies (depending on how high I cook them), and the oven is preheating while that’s going on, and add the 30-40 mins cook time, and you can have this done in an hour, easy. 

Have fun experimenting!