Breakfast Egg Sandwiches - - Yes, Please!

In order to stay ahead of the game, I love to prep meals in advance.  The beauty is you can make enough to freeze extra portions freeing up your time during the busy work week.  One of my favorites is doing various riffs on egg sandwiches for breakfast.  There are countless iterations of these and I think there might be more blog entries for making egg sandwiches than there are eggs in the world!

But seriously, there are only a few rules you need to follow in order to get these to turn out.  And if you are like me, I love breakfast.  The fact that the ingredients can be changed up to make them fit your family's preferences, dietary restrictions, or whatever they are craving just makes them all the more fun.  So they are a perfect go to for a picky family that has everything from vegetarians to meat lovers....

Scramble Those Eggs!
Of all the renditions I've read, the consensus seems to be that if you are going to freeze these for future use, you are better off scrambling the eggs instead of just cracking them into the wells.  The short explanation is that you can better control the overall doneness of the eggs this way which makes for a more consistent result.  I use one egg per sandwich I am making and add just a little bit of skim milk to even out the consistency.

Butter, Baby!
If you aren't going to use the silicone muffin cups, then you definitely need to butter your muffin pan.  Not cooking spray, actual butter.  For someone who likes to do things quickly in the kitchen, it is a supreme pain to spend time coating each little well but you will thank me when it comes time to remove them from the pan.  And as an added bonus, I think it adds to the crispy browned flavor on the bottom of each egg cup.


Season Like You Mean It!
One of the things you will hear from me over and over again is season your food!  Probably one of the easiest things you can do to make your food taste more like restaurant fare is to season your food properly and thoroughly. That means seasoning each layer as you assemble them.  Eggs aren't particularly flavorful so don't be afraid of the pepper and herbs to get all the flavor-packed punch you are looking for.  That also goes for the English muffins I use.  You would be amazed at how big of a difference it makes to sprinkle the muffins with S&P - - even if you don't lightly butter them to cut down on the fat.

Variations To Try:
I haven't found a version of these I didn't like., but here are some of my most successful (and tasty!) versions.
- Italian Sausage, Spinach & Mushroom (w/Colby Jack)
- Canadian Bacon, Smoked Gouda & Chive
- Bacon, Onion and Bell Pepper (w/Cheddar)
[I did warn you that cheese was a food group to me, right?!]

Like I said, the different combinations are limitless and these are the perfect way to use up extra eggs you have (instead of always hard boiling them!) as well as some goodies from the fridge -- think left over chicken breast, roasted potatoes, even grilled steak from the night before would be good in these if you dice it up and add some herbs.

Time To Bake!
Once you have the ingredients all set in the muffin tin (only fill them about 2/3rds of the way), use a spoon to ensure that all the ingredients are evenly distributed.  Try and cut your ingredients around the same size so the heavier items don't sink to the bottom.  You want to get bites of all of the toppings throughout the muffin.  Then, you just bake them off at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Keep an eye on them and remove them when they are slightly browned and firmed up.  I find when I use the spinach it tends to be more watery and needs a bit more time to firm up, so every combination is a little different.

Canadian Bacon, Chive & Gouda 

Assembly! 
Putting these together is pretty straightforward once you have the eggs baked off.  Just take a muffin (I prefer mine untoasted) and place one of the eggs on top.  Add any extra cheese (if desired) and top with the second half of the muffin.  You will want to wait at least 15 minutes after they come out of the oven so that the steam doesn't condense and make your muffins soggy.  Plan to eat at least one or two of them while you are prepping.  It is just inevitable - so embrace it! :)

Wrap It Up! 

Wrapped and ready for freezing! 

To keep these sandwiches fresh and ready for when you are, just wrap each one in aluminum foil and place them in ziplock bags that are labeled with the varieties so you know which kind you are reaching for.  I like to take them out and put them in the fridge the night before so they thaw.  Then all you need to do is preheat your oven to 350 and let it reheat while you get ready for work, drink your coffee or do whatever it is you need to do in the morning.  After about 25 minutes you have a perfectly warmed tasty egg sandwich.  If it is frozen, it takes much longer to heat up so I don't recommend that option.

Finished product (minus a little quality control!)

Of course, if you want a super speedy breakfast they do reheat in the microwave, just be sure to take them out of the foil first! (An important tip I keep repeating to my hungry husband each time I make these!) They turn out ok - - a little rubbery in my opinion, and the english muffin doesn't get toasted but rather warms through instead.  Still not a bad option for a quick breakfast on the go!




I hope you enjoy checking out this recipe and if you give these a shot please tell me what combinations you have tried.  I'm always looking for new and fun variations.

Get Crackin'!