Egg Cups To Go

Somewhere between a crustless quiche and a Spanish tortilla, Breakfast Egg Cups are a simple make-ahead meal for the morning.  They even freeze well so you can make a double batch for the week.

A lot of us who need to use our brains for anything during the day agree that breakfast must include a lean protein and some tasty low-carb ingredients.  Because you can make them ahead, reheat them in a microwave or pack them for a commute, Breakfast Egg Cups are a pure solution and really nice if portion size or calorie conscious eating is on the menu. 

There are as many filling variations as there are omelette ideas.  If you are really determined about calories this fall, you can substitute all or part of the whole eggs in this recipe with egg whites and stick with vegetables like spinach, zucchini, mushrooms and asparagus and meats like Canadian bacon rather then the higher carb/fat options.  You can use low fat cheeses or cottage/ricotta cheese as well. 

At other times, you might like combinations like potato-chorizo-manchego cheese, asparagus-blue cheese-bacon or smoked gouda-mushroom-sausage. It almost sounds like party fare.  In fact, if you bake a batch in mini-muffin tins rather than the regular muffin pans here, you have a very nice hot hors d’oeuvre for last minutes guests.

Breakfast Egg Cups
Makes 6 cups, one serving equals 2 egg cups
Ingredients
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup cooked chopped vegetables (zucchini, spinach, asparagus, potatoes)
optional: up to 2 tablespoons extra cheese (blue, cheddar, swiss, havarti, smoked gouda, goat cheese) and/or 2 tablespoons cooked diced bacon, chorizo sausage, Canadian bacon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Lightly spray muffin tins with oil. (You may use lightly sprayed paper liners.) 
2. Break eggs into a small mixing bowl and mix well.  
3. Add remaining ingredients and spoon into 6 muffin tins.  Fill any empty cups 1/4 full with water to prevent burning.)
4. Bake 15 minutes, until eggs are set.  As with quiche, you can remove them to cook when the centers are still a little loose.

These are easy to take along as is or packed in a warm roll.