Ham and Cheese Cups

I've seen recipes similar to this one over the years and they've intrigued me. Mostly, though, they involve simply cracking an egg into a muffin cup lined with ham or bacon and sometimes topping it with cheese. I am NOT a fan of the whole "runny yolk" deal, though, and I don't like eating the white and yolk separately like that unless it's a hard-boiled egg. Even then I have to have a taste of each with every bite! I'm weird like that. (But when it comes to candy bars like Kit-Kat, Reese's Cups, or Twix I eat each layer separately. Pretty sure I read an article addressing that in Psychiatry Monthly.) At any rate, the Ham and Cheese Cups I made today were fabulous! I made only 6 since I was doing them for my own lunch - plus, I happened to have 6 slices of ham leftover from Sunday night's deli sandwiches. I had a filling lunch and I'll have a nice breakfast in the morning, too!

Ham and Cheese Cups

12 slices deli ham
8 eggs
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 small potatoes, washed and peeled
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper

Spray 12 muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray. Line with one slice of ham. In a large measuring cup or a bowl with a spout for easy pouring, crack the eggs and whisk them together with the yogurt and salt and pepper to taste.

 On a paper towel, shred the potatoes. Use the paper towel to wring out some of the moisture in the potatoes. Place shredded potato in a small microwaveable bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the butter; microwave for about 1 minute, stirring halfway through. Divide the potato between the muffin cups and top with cheese. Pour the egg mixture evenly over each cup.

Bake at 350° for 16-20 minutes, until tops are nicely rounded and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

If I'd had spinach or broccoli or zucchini, I would have used that instead of, or in addition to, the potato. Either way these were delicious and I'll be making them again for sure!

Sunday Night Review 8/5/2012

Last night, for our Sunday night crowd, I made a big batch of beef burritos. I ended up with 20 and every one of them got eaten! There was actually one lone burrito left in the pan when one of our college guys came from UGA Redcoat Band practice - late and hungry! He gladly cleaned the pan out for me. I served them with sour cream, lettuce, diced tomatoes, and salsa, plus tortilla chips. For the salsa, I used jarred, medium heat and blended in a bit of lime juice and cilantro. For dessert, I made Nutella Doughnuts. They were okay, but really need to be made and eaten on the same day. (I baked them Saturday night and filled them Sunday afternoon.)

Though when I make Burrito Casserole for the family I use this basic recipe, I have to stretch it for the crowd on Sundays. This time I used 2 pounds of (lean) beef, onion, garlic, chili peppers (from a friend's garden), chili powder, cumin, pepper, salt, cilantro, vegetarian refried beans, and a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (Ro-Tel). Served over rice with the above-mentioned toppings, they made a pretty hearty meal!

Rice in the pans, cilantro, enchilada sauce, beef feeling, cheddar and pepper-jack cheese, and flour tortillas.

Breakfast Burritos

I love breakfast food! I like it best brought to me on a tray while I sip coffee in bed, but since that's never happened ... I'll take what I can get. These breakfast burritos are really wonderful. You can eat them right away, or freeze them for future use. They can be microwaved straight from the freezer! One minute and your breakfast is served. This recipe is more on the lines of assembly instructions, since you can use whatever your family likes to stuff them.

Breakfast Burritos

First, scramble some eggs! I use this basic recipe, but you make them how you like 'em:

I use about 1 egg per burrito. Five in this case. A dollop of sour cream, a splash of milk, salt and pepper.

Whisk it together really well! Then cook 'em.

You'll need cheese, of course!

This is a mixture of gouda and sharp cheddar. I didn't use all of this - I was shredding for our dinner, too.

From this point, you can use sauteed peppers or onions; cooked bacon, sausage or ham; diced green onions; fresh herbs; anything you like in a burrito!

I used some sausage I got from my granny - It's SO good! I didn't have very much left, sadly, so I limited myself to 3 pieces per burrito.

Starting with the cheese, then eggs, layer your ingredients in the middle of the tortilla (I cup it in my hand to keep them contained), then fold them up!

Now they're ready to eat! Or, to prepare them for the freezer, wrap them in wax paper, then in aluminum foil.

If you feel sure your family will eat them fairly quickly (within a month), skip the aluminum foil and put them in freezer bags. 

To heat them, remove the foil but leave on the wax paper. Place on a plate in the microwave, and heat for 30 seconds. Flip it over, and heat for 30 more seconds. Depending on your appliance, it will probably be done at this point. If the wattage is lower (850 or less) it will need another 30-60 seconds.