Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Muffins

YUM! What's better than a big, delicious, full breakfast? Well, miniaturize it into muffins and it's not quite as high in calories! I think these would freeze well and then just pop them into the microwave and enjoy a tasty breakfast in a hurry! Homemade convenient food. A friend and I were talking through good 'ol FB about food- surprise, surprise!! I wondered what a regular blueberry muffin recipe would be like if you switched the blueberries for eggs, bacon and chunks of cheese and modified it a little. To my surprise, it was more delicious than I thought it would be. You could leave out some of the sugar but I love the salty/sweet combination so I left it in.

Thanks, Mary R., for your help in figuring these things out and for the idea of mixing the eggs on top rather then leave them whole. I think it would fun to try these in a LARGE muffin pan with a whole egg and see how they turn out!! These regular-sized muffins cannot hold a whole egg! LOL :)

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Muffins

Muffin batter:
2 cups flour
2 T - 1/3 cup sugar (depending on if you like the salty sweet combination)
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted (or 1/4 cup oil)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, cubed
4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

Topping for muffins:
3 eggs
course salt
pepper
shredded or thinly sliced cheddar, about 2-4 oz 

-Makes about 18 muffins

If bacon needs cooked, start by cooking it in either a frying pan, or in a jelly roll (Large Stoneware Bar Pan) in the oven till crispy. Cube cheddar if needed.

Preheat oven to 425'

1.Mix the dry ingredients for muffin batter in a large mixing bowl, add the milk and butter and mix till just combined. (Batter will still be lumpy). Add cubed cheese and bacon. Mix evenly.  

2. Line muffin pan with paper liners. Fill 1/2 full with batter. Bake for 10 minutes.

3. Remove from oven, leaving oven on.  

4. In a small bowl, beat 3 eggs very well. Spoon about 1/2 - 1  1/2 tablespoonfuls of beaten egg over each baked muffin, trying not to spill over the paper liner. Lightly sprinkle with course salt and pepper.

5. Bake muffins till eggs are done, or about 8-10 minutes. Watch them!

6. Remove muffins from oven. Top with shredded or thinly sliced cheese. Allow to sit until cheese is melted. Serve while still warm!

For visual learners follow along with the photos or.... if you just want to be tempted to make them! :)

I LOVE cooking bacon in my stoneware Bar Pan. (Pampered Chef of course!) I usually cook it at 400' for about 15 minutes. Save the bacon grease in a covered jar in the fridge for frying up eggs! (I didn't say this was a healthy way to cook them, but it's delicious and adds great flavor! You don't need much to add flavor either!)

Crispy, perfect bacon. You don't want chewy pieces in your muffins. Nope. Just not good.

Chop it up till it's about 1/2''.

Thickly slice cheese, then cut it into 1/2'' strips.



Cut it again the other way and you have cubes! (duh, I know... I just thought you'd like looking at Tillamook Cheddar cheese.... ha ha)

                            

Mix in cheese! Mmmm



Mix in bacon. Use a Medium Scoop to fill muffins 1/2 full.



Don't fill muffin liners any fuller than this... this was even a little too much in this picture. Remember they expand and you will be adding eggs, which expand too! Bake.



Add thinly sliced cheese, or shredded cheese and let sit till the cheese is all melty and gooey.



Enjoy!

Chicken Penne Alfredo with Bacon and Broccoli

Here's our latest favorite! My husband claims this is in my top 10 best recipes and I made it up! Sweet! If you pair this with a fresh Spinach Strawberry Salad, it's a perfect meal of comfort and healthy!

1. Start by boiling water for the pasta. For this recipe, use 1 box of Barilla Penne pasta. Cook till tender (al dente- as directed by the package). Drain and set aside in a large pot or bowl, keeping warm with a lid on.

Meanwhile;

2. Cook 4 pieces of bacon in a large frying pan, reserving bacon grease. (Cover with splatter screen to make it less messy!) Cool on paper towels or paper napkins. Cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces and add to the pasta pot.

3. Cut 3-4 chicken breasts in bite sized pieces and fry in the bacon grease with seasoning of your choice. I use Pampered Chef's Sun-Dried Tomato Seasoning Mix and Johnny's Seasoning. Add salt if necessary. Cook until lightly browned. Add chicken to the pasta pot, leaving a little grease in the frying pan.

4.  In the pan from the chicken, saute' 4-6 cloves of freshly pressed garlic. This only takes about 30 seconds. Watch it carefully so that it doesn't burn. Use this pan to make the sauce next.

5. To make the sauce: Melt 1/4 cup butter in the frying pan or in a saucepan on medium heat. Take pan off heat and stir in 1/2 cup flour. Slowly pour in 1 pint of cream (heavy cream is richer, 1/2 & 1/2 is good, milk might work but I'd call it low-fat). Return to stove. Stir until it's well combined and then thickened. Once it's a thick sauce, add 1 cup sour cream or 4 oz. cream cheese (for a richer sauce), then pour in the amount of milk you like for how thick you want the sauce. I think I use about 1 1/2-2 cups of 2% milk. Remember that it's better to use less to start with. You can always add more later to thin the sauce. Add salt (to taste, about 1 teaspoon) and a spinkle of pepper. Cook a few minutes longer until it's the consistency you want. Add to the pasta pot.

6. Either between cooking the above things or after, steam 1-2 heads of broccoli. Add to the pasta pot, of course!

7. Stir the pasta pot and serve with a delicious salad! Out kids love this recipe so hopefully yours will too! I used 6 cloves and it wasn't too spicy. Next time I may use more!

*Note: You could also bake this once it's cooked and mixed or keep it warm in an oven-safe pan on low heat.

**Also, I normally add about 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan to my alfredo sauce and that would be wonderful with it. I just didn't have any and it was still loved by all without it! :)