(Welcome to Breakfast Briefs. If you’re like me, you find yourself rushing out the door hungry and undercaffeinated many a morning, the inevitable result of which is $6 spent on a bad egg sandwich and coffee fit only for war criminals. In these posts, I’m going to share my tips and tricks for getting to work fed without adding more than 5 or 10 minutes to your morning routine.)
It’s been a while since I did a Breakfast Briefs post, but that’s because it’s been a while since I’ve done anything interesting for breakfast. It’s been a lot of yogurt and bananas at my desk, and it’s been getting old.
I saw some version of these muffins on a blog I can’t remember and had been meaning to try them for a while, so I finally went out, bought a muffin tin and some of those little paper muffin cups, and put on my breakfast hat (a jaunty fedora).
Baked goods are great for breakfast as you can just grab and go, but if I eat something sweet like a regular muffin for breakfast, I usually find myself hungry an hour later. Not so with these babies, which are basically an egg sandwich in muffin form.
And they’ve got green stuff in them, so they’ve got to be healthy, right?
The recipe here is an adaptation of several I’ve seen out on the interwebs. There’s a fair amount of wiggle room in ingredients, I’d imagine, but try to keep the egg-flour-baking soda-cottage cheese ratio roughly the same. If you are a meat lover, you could definitely add bacon. Other ideas include bell pepper, tomatoes, or fresh herbs. I used scallions because I had some around, but any onion will do.
These muffins do tend to stick to the paper quite a bit. If you’ve got some spray olive oil or the like, greasing them up is probably a good idea. Popping one in the microwave for 30 seconds before eating also makes it easier to peel and warm to boot, but they are certainly good cold as well.
Savory Eggy Muffiny Breakfast Things
1/2 pound mushrooms,cleaned and sliced
1 bunch spinach, rinsed, and chopped
1/4 cup scallions, rinsed and sliced
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
5 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup cheddar, grated
1. Saute scallions in a small amount of olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
2. Add spinach. The spinach needs a little water in the pan to steam. If you just washed it, the water on the leaves will be enough. If it’s had a chance to drain, add two tablespoons of water.
3. Meanwhile, combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, cottage cheese, and cheddar. Stir to combine.
4. When the shrooms/spinach are cooked, let them cool, then add them to the mix. If there is a ton of water left in the pan, you may want to drain some off first.
5. Grease muffin cups if desired. Fill cups with batter until almost full. (This recipe makes about 8-12 muffins depending on size.)
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until tops are nicely browned and/or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
This sounds spectacular. What herbs do you recommend to add along. Also, how long are these good for? Meaning, if I bake eggy muffins on Monday, are they good for Tuesday or Wednesday??
peacenhugs
AE
Good questions:
They keep for about a week, but definitely should be put in the fridge.
As for herbs, thyme, parsley, and oregano would all be good…
Kevin,
I read this post as I am planning to attend a breakfast-food “smorgasbord,” this weekend. One more thing to add to our list!
I’ll be putting the last of my basil and oregano in them.
cheers,
Shana
Just tried this with potatoes, leeks, and carrots, substituting ricotta for the cottage cheese…delicious!
Kevin, tell me about the cottage cheese – does it compensate for something (like apple sauce can do for fats in some baked goods), or add a certain flavor or texture? I’ve never seen it included in a baking recipe before and am a little wary. Don’t get me wrong, I love the stuff, but I’m really easily put off by odd textures (I honestly can’t eat a banana. Yes, you may snicker at that).
I believe that it substitutes for fats here, but there’s no odd texture. The final result is a lot like a popover.
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