Egg McMuffins: Conquering the egg

$2.69. That's the amount of money I fork over to McDonald's whenever I feel like having an egg mcmuffin.

$6. The cost of making six egg mcmuffins in my own home. So by simple mathematics...I win. Big time.

I was never intimidated by the idea of toasting an english muffin with cheese on top, or even the ham aspect of it. But the way they cook their eggs...I didn't get it. I avoided it; however, now, I've conquered it.

I found this tip online, and it was spot-on for how to cook these eggs. Let's eat!

Ingredients:

• Eggs
• Cupcake pan
• Non-stick spray

Directions:

• Lightly spray cupcake pan
• Crack eggs and place one egg's yolk/whites into each individual cupcake container in the pan
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes

To assemble egg mcmuffin:

• Lightly butter and toast english muffin
• Add a piece of cheese while muffin is still hot. Let it melt
• Add a slice of breakfast ham (located in the grocery store next to the bacon)
• Add one cooked egg and enjoy!
• These can be wrapped, frozen and microwaved whenever desired

Easy as that! So save your $2.69 and go buy a dozen eggs. Or half a dozen english muffins. Or 24 slices of American cheese. Or give it to your nephew who enjoys counting coins at 2 years old. He's going to be an accountant.

Love and breakfast,

Rachael

Two-Step Eggs

Guys, you have no idea how sick I've been.

So sick. Oh, so sick.

I wasn't sick when I made these. Just for the record. I am a 100% ster-ile cooker. Egg-preparer. Rule-bender. I know this is breaking the rules, and that's not something I'm used to doing. I follow the rules; actually, I create many of them.

But tomorrow's Monday, which means scrambled eggs and fried potatoes are on the menu for breakfast. And after five days of battling a 105 degree temperature and the stomach flu, I'm just not into the other way of making these.

My mom taught me how to make these back in the day. Big surprise, right? She's got so many tricks up her sleeve, it's awe-inspiring. And honestly, Tim's a "mental" kinda' guy. The first time he actually saw how I made these, he insisted it was disgusting. Worst eggs ever. Tossed 'em in the trash. Not interested. Big baby stuff.

My big mistake? Making them when he was awake. God love him, I've been making these two-step eggs without his knowledge for probably a month now. No complaints. Just raving reviews on how I make the best eggs.

These are the best. They really are. This is also a test to see if he reads my blogs. Which he doesn't.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/8 cup milk
• Salt/pepper
• Fresh seasonings (I'm thinking basil). Totally optional.

Directions:

Grab your eggs. 

Crack them and pour both the yolk and whites into a mug (NOT a normal glass cup). Add the milk, salt and pepper, optional seasonings, and stir well with a fork.

Microwave for 90 seconds. Here's a general time table for how long to microwave eggs:

• 1 egg-30 to 45 seconds
• 2 eggs-1 to 1 1/2 minutes
• 4 eggs-2 1/2 to 3 minutes
• 6 eggs-3 1/2 to 4 1/2 minutes
• 8 eggs-4 1/2 to 5 1/2 minutes

Place eggs on desired plate and using fork, gently break up eggs.

Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper. Serve with breakfast potatoes and bacon.

Feel free to make your normal eggs. Get your pans dirty and waste some time when you could be shaving your legs or packing lunches. Or just don't. Because Mondays are hard enough.

Love and ease,
Rachael

Omelettes are easy!

Who knew? I sure didn't. All my life I've been intimidated by the omelette guy at all the buffets. I thought it was complicated, and given my questionable history with eggs, I backed off. I was out of my league.

Until last week. The first words out of Tim's mouth were, "I'd like an omelette, please." I started sweating. And googling. I didn't know what I was doing. I even called my mom, even though it was 4:30 in California. Still, I knew she'd be up.

No answer. She was probably painting Max's toenails. She does that sometimes.

So with all my other options rapidly disappearing, I just guessed. And hoped. And prayed. And went for it.

And it was good...great, even. So I bring you good news — you, too, can make an omelette. Now, you all know I'm not sophisticated at all. I eat lots of hot dogs and I have four cavities from all the Diet Coke I drink. I'm low-key, so I made this omelette low-key.

Let's get started.

Basic egg, cheese and potato omelette

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs 
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese 
• 2 slices of bacon 
• Chives (optional) 
• Olive oil (to cook potatoes with)
• 1/4 cup milk
• Onion
• 2 potatoes, peeled
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

• We're going to start with the potatoes, because they take the longest. Go ahead and make them according to the instructions for my go-to breakfast potatoes. 
• If you want to save time, which I always do, don't boil the potatoes — microwave them! Toss them in there for about 5 minutes then continue with the recipe. They'll be just soft enough.
• Once the potatoes are prepared, set them aside.
• Crack the eggs and whisk them in a bowl. Add the milk and a dash of salt and pepper and the chives. Whisk until well-combined.
• Grab a small pan (this is important!) and put it on the stove on medium heat. 
• You need to have a small pan; otherwise, it's going to spread out and be weird. So be normal and use a small pan.
•  Spray the pan with Pam. If you don't, I promise, it'll stick. And that's just not right.
• Pour the egg mixture into the pan and let it sit on medium heat until the bottom is well cooked and can be easily folded in half. This took mine about 5-7 minutes. The top half will still look gooey, though.
• While that's cooking, go ahead and prepare your bacon however you feel called. Me? Microwaved bacon all the way.
• Make sure the bacon is crispy. When it's done, crumble it up and set aside.
•  Check on your eggs. If the side facing down can be easily lifted, add the cheese, bacon and potatoes and let it sit for a few minutes. 
• After about 2 minutes, fold the omelette in half and let it cook on medium heat for another 2 or 3 minutes. 

This is a beautiful mess of a breakfast. As I mentioned, I'm not classy, so I don't have classy fillings, but I've read about some pretty great ideas. Here are a few:

Mushrooms * feta * bacon * spinach * cut up ham * sausage * ground beef * onion * peppers * cream cheese * sour cream * jelly * hot sauce

I'm sure there are about a million more options, but those are the best I could find. Serve your omelette with some toast and a few extra breakfast potatoes. 

Love and new discoveries,

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Woody's cheesy eggs

Let's just call a spade a spade. These aren't fancy, and they're not complicated. They're just eggs.

Laugh all you want, but I have encountered many people who do not know how to scramble an egg, let alone add other "fixins." I have to humbly admit that it took me some time to learn how to properly scramble an egg. Wanna know who taught me?

Woody. My father-in-law, the saint that he is, took me under his wing and instructed me on how to prepare his cheesy scrambled eggs. I'm convinced the man's mustache is full of secret recipes that are just waiting to come out.

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• Salt
• 1 slice Kraft American cheese
• 1 tbsp Butter
• Chives (optional)

Directions:

• This is all about the heat, people! Don't ignore the directions for what heat to have this cooked at on the stove.
• Throw the tablespoon of butter into a pan on medium low heat (est. 3 on a 10 scale stove)
• Whisk the eggs in  a separate bowl
• Add the milk and whisk until combined
• Add chives (if you plan on using them)
• Add some salt to flavor and whisk again
• Pour egg mixture into pan and keep on low heat (2 or 3)
• Tear the slice of cheese into small pieces and add to the eggs
• Once this melts, it'll change the consistency of the eggs. They'll go from liquidy to thick and stickier. This will also add some to the cooking time, but stick with it!
• Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold the egg continually. That means don't stop.
• For those of you who don't know what folding is, it is definitely not  the same as mixing or stirring. It's moving the egg from the outside in, without flipping it. You have to be gentle with them.
• Fold continually until egg is cooked to your desire
• Serve with breakfast potatoes and bacon 

So there ya' go! The trick is to be patient. These take awhile, but the longer you give them to cook, the better they will taste. All you folks out there who were too ashamed to admit that eggs intimidate you...you're free. Now go make breakfast.

Love and education,
Rachael

Crustless Broccoli and Potato Quiche

Easter is over. We all (hopefully) survived. And I don't know about all you hosts out there, but the thought of spending one more minute in the kitchen nearly killed me. Oh, but this quiche...it solves problems. See, every single morning — at least an hour before my alarm goes off — I hear those three dreaded words whispered in my ear: "Eggs and potatoes?" I find it ironic that I, the person who doesn't have to be into work until noon, wakes up earlier than many people who go into work at 9am.

This quiche temporarily fixed this small glitch in my marriage. Instead of pulling myself out of bed and back into the kitchen, I simply have to mutter the words, "Microwave some quiche." How great is that? Needless to say, I'll be getting my beauty sleep this week. And I need it.

I realize that this looks complicated. Somehow, I made this look much more complicated than it really is. So don't let the 3,987 steps deter you...once you've done it one time, you'll be a pro.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil 
• 2 cups potato, peeled and diced 
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese  
• 1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 4 slices of bacon (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of Italian bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 6 eggs
• Salt and pepper 
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder 
• 1/4 tsp onion powder 
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

• Preheat  oven to 325
• Spray a pie pan with non-stick spray
• Grab a few potatoes, peel then and cut them up into small chunks 
• Pour some olive oil into a pan over medium high heat
• Add the potato chunks and throw in a dash of salt and pepper
• While that's heating up, grab your broccoli. If it's fresh, go ahead and toss it right in with the potatoes. If it's frozen (like mine was), microwave it with a tablespoon of water for about a minute, then toss it in with the potatoes
• We only want to heat the potatoes and broccoli up for about 3 minutes. We're not looking to brown it at all
• Throw the potato/broccoli mixture into the pie pan
• Add the shredded cheese and mix
• If you have decided to add bacon, cook it however you want (I use microwave bacon all the way), crumble it and throw on top of the broccoli/potato/cheese mixture in the pie pan
• In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs
• Add the milk and whisk until combined
• Add garlic/onion powder, some salt and pepper and the nutmeg. Whisk some more.
• Pour the egg mixture over the broccoli/potato mixture in the pie pan.
• Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and evenly top with Parmesan cheese. These two steps will create a bubbly crust.
• Place the pie pan into the oven and cook for about 30 minutes on low, then turn temperature down to 250 and let it sit for about another hour.
• This is the tricky part. The thing I've learned about quiches is that you need to allow it to sit at a lower temperature for a long period of time. There's no one perfect amount of time to cook it. Just keep your eye on it, checking it every 15 minutes or so. Once your fork can come out easily and clean from the middle of the quiche, it's ready.

So this week, I'd like to encourage you to rebel. Don't get up and fix your husband and kids breakfast. Show them the quiche, instruct them on how to use a microwave, and for the love of God, get some sleep.

Love and letting loose,
Rachael

Sourdough breakfast casserole

I have to admit that while I'm definitely a meat and potatoes kinda' girl, I really love carbs. I don't understand why naturally thin people don't eat bread and cheese all day long. I would. Unfortunately, I didn't win the genetic lottery and gained 3 lbs just from writing that last sentence. My favorite kind of bread is, without a doubt, sourdough. I love that it's nice and chewy and is a little tangy. I was definitely spoiled by the sourdough you get in Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. They just don't make it like that in the south, but the incorporation of sourdough into a breakfast casserole is what I would consider to be a teeny tiny miracle. Tim — who is normally extremely picky about leftovers — ate this without one word for the past three mornings. Okay, I changed my mind — that is a miracle.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 slices sourdough bread
• 3 potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 8 oz. block of cream cheese
• 10 eggs
• 1/4 stick butter
• 1 cup of milk
• 3/4 tsp dried mustard
• 8 slices of bacon
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

• Butter a 13x9 baking pan
• Didn't know butter was a verb? It is in this blog.
• Tear the sourdough bread into medium to large-sized chunks
• Throw 'em in the pan
• Top with half the cheddar cheese
• Cut the cream cheese up into small pieces (the smaller the better, because it will melt easier) and place evenly on top of the cheddar cheese.
• Peel the potatoes and using a grater, grate them like you would hashbrowns
• Toss the grated potatoes on top of the cream cheese
• Cook the bacon, crumble it and throw it on top of the grated potatoes
• I don't know about you, but I didn't have the time or inclination to cook the bacon on the stove. I buy the pre-made stuff and just warm it up in the microwave. It's less mess and fewer dishes, so don't judge.
• Crack all the eggs and pour them into a large bowl
• Whisk until smooth
• Add the milk and whisk until combined
• Add the dried mustard and whisk some more
• Add as much salt and pepper as you'd like
• Pour the egg mixture evenly over everything in the 13x9 baking dish
• Top with remaining cheddar cheese
• Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. 
• This can take more or less time depending on your oven and the pan. Just keep an eye on it. You want to be patient with this, because no one likes soggy eggs.
• Once it's cooked thoroughly, take off the tinfoil and bake for another 15-20 minutes to get the top nice and crusty.

Every evening, I'm motivated to get up early and cook my man a hearty breakfast. Realistically, though, it never happens. Ever. Never a chance. But this was amazing because I made it the night before, and my early-rising hubby just had to spoon some on a plate and pop it in the microwave the next morning. I'm telling you guys, this is something special.

Love and miracles,
Rachael