The Bacon's Breakfast Battle

So how does Mr. Bacon and I spend a day off together with only one kid at home?  Baking in the kitchen of course!  Well not every day but we do enjoy cooking with each other.  Lately we've been discussing breakfast ideas for our busy mornings. We do stock our freezer with plenty of homemade pancakes and waffles made from my home made mix.  But we were wanting something with more protein in it and eggs always make a good breakfast.  We were looking to put egg bake into a easy, single serve breakfast.  So we started brainstorming some ideas and we came up with egg bake muffins.

Out came the ingredients!

Egg Bake muffins:
 Eggs
 bacon
 breakfast sausage
 sauteed mushrooms
 cheese
 hash browns
 bread
 salt & pepper
 milk

Lots of great fillings for our egg bake.  That was the easy part!  How to assemble them was where Mr. Bacon and I had differences.  His idea was to layer the ingredients in the muffin pan and then add the scrambled egg over the top. Not bad but I thought it might be better mixing all ingredients in a bowl and pouring them in the pan.  Who's idea was better? We'll find out. We figured we'd  try out different types of egg bake in each muffin cup.  So we got busy mixing.

I mixed up all my ingredients in my bowl, and Mr. Bacon got busy layering.  Each has one egg mixed with milk and seasonings, hash browns, mushrooms, bacon, sausage, and cheese.  Make sure before you put anything into your muffin pan, you grease it well first.

Here they are side by side. They don't look much different right now.

After seeing them side by side, Mr. Bacon did admit he thought mine might turn out better.  So we decided to mix up a few more of the mixed one's since Bacon Bit could eat three all by himself!   During my mixing, I was a bit distracted and I noticed I didn't add in the hash browns.  No problem, we decided it would still make a good experiment for us.  We filled the two middle cups full and decided to only fill the other one 2/3's full to see if that made any difference.

Then there was one lonely cup left.   I decided it might be good to try one like the egg bake recipe I have. I mixed up one egg, a splash of milk, seasonings, bacon, sausage, and about 1./3 of a slice of bread diced up.  Mixed it all together and dumped it in.  Now they are all ready for the oven.

Since we were only trialing out our egg bake muffins we only made up a small 6 cup muffin pan. And to help save on electricity we popped them in our toaster oven to bake them up.

  Bacon Bit thought it was just as fun to watch them get big as Mr. Bacon!  It took them about 25 minutes at 350* to turn golden brown and get fluffy.  Your oven may be a bit different, especially since these were cooked in a toaster oven, so watch them starting around 20 minutes.

They look pretty good!   I found the one's with the hash browns and the bread in them got fluffier than the one's without.

I have to say we were surprised they all popped out of the pan just fine with no sticking. Mr. Bacon was a bit worried that when he layered the hash browns on the bottom of his muffin pan they might stick.

 Here is the 2/3's full muffin with no hash browns in it.  This one we decided to put in the freezer to see how it would taste re-heated.  I'll let you know how that turned out in a a bit.
Wonder how do they look from the inside? Delicious!

Like any good food critiques, we sat down with half a muffin of each to taste test them.  Yes we have quite hot dates huh?!   The verdict is in and the mixed egg muffin tasted the best.  The layered one was good, but you could taste each layer and the hash browns at the bottom seemed too mushy without being mixed together with all the other ingredients.  The muffin with no hash browns wasn't bad, it tasted more like an omelet.  But we both preferred the hash browns added in.  As for the one with the bread, it was just too much bread in it for our taste.

The best thing with these, is you can specialize them to everyone's liking.  All the kids except Bacon Bit think we are poising them when we add mushrooms to anything. So we can leave them out when we make their muffins.  I can't wait to remake these this weekend and let the kids design their own eggs. 

As for that frozen egg muffin, it re-heated perfect!  About a minute in the microwave and you have egg bake for a busy morning.  We waited to try it until Bacon Jr. was home and let him have a say in how it tasted too and he can't wait to have them on busy school mornings. And he's excited to help make them next time too!  And what did Bacon Bit think of them?

Well he ended up eating almost three of them, just like predicted!  I'd say they were successful!

Everything is better with Bacon

Isn't that true? When you know something has bacon in it you just have to try it right?!  I like to think of bacon as the candy of the meat world. Looking  over our meal plan last week I noticed I had breakfast on the list again.  This is fairly standard at our house. But I wanted something different than our usual pancakes or scrambled eggs.  So I opted for a brunch time favorite, the egg bake!  I hadn't made one in a while because there is some planning involved and honestly it's probably not the cheapest meal on our list, but it's delicious! I did manage to convert out the price from when I shopped so you can see just how much this meal costs. So if you want something different for your breakfast night, or just a great start to the day on the weekend this is it.  Oh and it makes for a great Christmas morning meal too.  I love to make this around the holidays or when we're entertaining, not only because of how good it is, but because it makes a lot too.

Ma Bacon's Egg Bake

1 lb breakfast sausage links, cooked and chopped ($1.50 per package)
9 eggs- beaten (at the time cost was $1.12 for 9 eggs)
3 cups milk ( About a 1/3 of a gallon- $.97)
9 slices bread (day old is perfect!) cut into cubes (about 1/2 loaf-$ .75)
2 cups shredded cheese, I use co-jack by any cheddar type is fine (Lucky to find it on sale for $2)
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled ($1.50)
Dash of salt and pepper to taste

Total cost for this meal:  $7.84
Of course this all varies depending on where you live and if you can find things on sale, but not too bad considering it makes a 9x13 pan (cut it into 15 pieces) and for the 6 of us we got both dinner and breakfast out of it.  That was with Bacon Jr. eating 3 full pieces for dinner!  Yes he's going though a growth spurt, I don't even what to know what it will be like to feed 3 teenage boys in a few years!

Back to baking... First take a 9x13 pan and grease it generously.  Next, it's time to get that bacon and sausage cooking!

I love my handy microwave bacon cooker, it saves me so much time!  Once they are cooled cut or crumble them into small pieces and set them aside.  Dig out a large mixing bowl and add your eggs, milk, salt and pepper to it, and beat it until everything is mixed.

Now it's time for the bread.  I used cheap bread for this recipe. Any works well and its a great way to use up that bread that is getting stale or the butts that no one seems to want to eat in this house.  Take the 9 slices and cut them into small cubes.  Add them to the egg mixture.

 Next add in the sausage, bacon and 1.5 cups of the cheese.  Mix this well in the bowl and then dump it into your greased 9x13 pan.  Take the remaining cheese and sprinkle it over the top.

 Now here is where your planning comes in.  The recipe calls for the egg mixture to sit 8 hours to over night in the fridge.  So you need to plan for this. Honestly, I have made this and tossed it in the fridge for 3-4 hours before baking and it turned out just fine. In fact that is what I did the day I made this.  I'm not sure the whole point of leaving it in there that long, but if you have the time to make it up the night before go for it. 

Take it out of the fridge and toss it into a cold oven. No preheating here or you might break your pan if it's glass.  Turn the oven on to 350* and bake for 60 minutes.  The egg bake should be fluffy and nice golden brown on top.  Let it cool for 5-10 minutes on the counter before cutting and serving. 

 The kids when crazy for this.  At first Little boy Bacon wasn't so sure on it.  It had been a while since I had made it last, but even he had a few pieces for dinner. We served it with some toast and fresh fruit.
Made a great dinner meal, and wonderful leftovers the next morning for breakfast  I love it when I can make 2 meals at once!

Is it a pancake or a muffin?

Yet another morning of the 'what are we having for breakfast' debate with the Bacon kids.  One thing I've learned is that none of my kids like cereal!  So the big question today....are we having muffins or pancakes for breakfast?  I replied... BOTH!  Yes I did get shocked and stunned faces, along with a moan (Little Boy Bacon wanted waffles, no I just can't win around here, and I'm not a short order cook!)  But when I mentioned there were chocolate chips involved everyone seemed happy with that answer. 

I found this recipe a while ago on a site I love called Bakerella.  Goodness she has some amazing, yummy looking stuff.  Much I can't make due to the fact I have 4 kids and a husband to take care of.  Many of her recipes involve a lot of detail.  Someday perhaps I'll have time to dawdle in the kitchen, but for now I have 4 hungry mouths to feed.  This recipe was one that wasn't time consuming though.  I have made it before and the muffins don't last in this house.  So give them a try, I bet your family will fall in love with them too!

Maple pancake muffins:

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

2/3 cup buttermilk (or sour milk)

1 egg

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a bowl mix in the first 5 ingredients.  I dump them all in and then take a fork to stir them around.  Set this bowl aside. Now normally I don't use two separate bowls. I'd just mix the wet ingredients and then dump in the dry.  Yes I like to save on how many dishes I need to wash!  But I have found when I make muffins that this is a needed step.  It helps keep the muffins more airy. 

In the next bowl combine the butter milk (you can make sour milk by adding 1 tbsp vinegar to 1 cup milk and letting it sit for a few minutes, it will work the same as buttermilk)  egg, syrup and melted butter.  Mix these well.  Then dump this mixture into your flour mixture.

 Stir just until everything is combined. This is another great tip when making muffins.  Don't over mix your muffin batter or anything you add to it (like chocolate chips, nuts, berries ect) will fall to the bottom and you won't get fluffy muffins.  It's ok to have lumps in the batter, they are suppose to be there! 

 Once it's just mixed, it's time to dump in these!  I think it's every kids dream to eat chocolate for breakfast!  Little Miss Bacon requests these muffins all the time for this very reason!  Gently mix the chocolate chips in the batter, a few turns of the spoon is all you need.  Again you don't want to over mix.

Next place them in your well greased mini muffin tin.

  Save some extra chocolate chips and add them to the tops!

  Bake in a pre-heated 350* oven for about 10 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.  Be careful not to over bake them.  Since they really are pancake batter it won't take as long to bake as normal mini muffins. 

 Here they are!  Let them cool a few minutes on a wire rack.  Enjoy the smell! Ahhhh...
And bat off little fingers trying to eat them.  They need to cool!

 Ooey, gooey, yumminess!  I like them best when they are still a bit warm and the chocolate is still melted a bit.  They taste delicious when they are all cooled too which makes them great for an after school snack too!

Don't want chocolate for breakfast? No problem!! You can leave them out. They taste like pancakes.  Oh and don't forget the syrup!

 Go ahead and bake up a batch for breakfast! 

It can't be that simple, can it?

Fall is my favorite season. I love the cool weather, the changing colors of the leaves, the baked goods....
Especially anything with pumpkin.  Why is it that we save the yummy pumpkin treats just for fall?  I was in the mood to bake morning. 

 Not long ago I came across a recipe for pumpkin muffins that required only 2 ingredients.  I thought this can't work can it?  But I had to try it.  Mr. Bacon was going to visit some old friends and I wanted to send something with so I decided today was the day to give this pumpkin muffin recipe a shot.  And just in case it didn't turn out, I made a batch of pumpkin spice cookies to go along with it!

Simple Pumpkin Muffins
1 spice cake mix

1 - 15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

Yes that's all you need! 

Dump the cake mix into a bowl.  Add the can of pumpkin puree.  Don't add anything else to it. I love this there are no eggs, oil or anything.  Just cake mix and pumpkin. 

Mix it up good either with your mixer or a good ol' spoon.

Fill up your paper lined or greased muffin tins about 2/3 of the way full of batter.

Oh another benefit to this recipe, you can lick the bowl clean!!

 Bake your mini muffins in a preheated oven at 350* for 15-18 minutes or until they spring back when touched.  If you are making big muffins, bake for 20-25 minutes. 

 

 Fresh out of the oven. They smell amazing!!

 Let them cool on a wire rack for a bit, try not to eat any. I dare you! 

They are wonderful.  They don't have as heavy of a feel as a muffin, but more airy like a cake.  They are nice and light. I enjoyed ours with a dusting of powdered sugar.  Mr. Bacon and Bacon Bit approved them right away and I had a hard time packing them up to share.  Good think the mini muffins make 4 dozen, but I have a feeling they won't last until morning!

It's been a Berry Sweet year!

This title seems very fitting for two reasons, one our strawberry garden has blessed us with over 1000 berries this summer (yes Bacon Jr. has been keeping count!) and because July marks Bacon in my Pockets birthday!  It's hard to believe that it has been a year since I started out on this blog journey.  I looked back when I made my first post on July 12th, and I think I'll plan something special for that day!  You'll have to wait and see what I have in store for the big day.  For now, lets focus back on those berries! 


 Three years ago when we started our garden we were blessed with strawberry plants.  Friends of Mr. Bacon's parents were tearing out their strawberry patch and we managed to save them!  They are June bearing only plants (they will only produce berries for about a month in the early summer) which was fine, free is free right?!  To my surprise they transplanted very well and each year we've gotten quite a lot of berries from them.  This year was no exception.  But what to do with them all? Besides eat them of course! Last year I made some yummy strawberry jam with all the berries.  Three batches of it actually, which makes quite a few 8oz jars.  We still have lots left and I wanted to make sure they get eaten so I decided to pass on making more this year.  I have been freezing most of them to use later.  Daily I've been cleaning the berries and cutting off the tops and laying them whole on a baking sheet.  Then I toss them in the freezer for a few hours.   Once they are frozen I've been placing about 80 or so in a bag and food saving them. Why 80? I really don't know but it sounded like a good number!

However, I didn't want to freeze all of them.  So what can I make with strawberries? Shortcake, ice cream topping, strawberry muffins... and pancakes!  We decided to have a pancake night for dinner and I couldn't wait to add these fresh strawberries to them.  I crushed up about a half cup of berries. I just placed them in a container and took out my handy potato masher and started squishing.  Oh word of caution, make sure you're not wearing anything pretty, strawberry juice can get everywhere and it doesn't like to come out of clothes, or so I've heard.

 I mixed up a batch of pancake mix using my trusty homemade mix (you can find it here).  Once it's all mixed up I added in my smashed strawberries and gave it one last mix. 

 Place the batter on a medium heat griddle.  Little Miss Bacon loves 'baby' pancakes so I always make up a bunch for her.  Anything to see that big smile before she takes a bite.  Once they become bubbly on top, flip them over and continue to cook until golden brown.  

 And what would go good with strawberry pancakes?  Strawberry shakes!  I froze some of my homemade yogurt in those fun little cubes I use to make Bacon Bit's food. 

 I tossed them in the blender along with strawberries and about 1/3 cup milk. 

 And to make it creamier, a few scoops of ice cream.  Shhhh.. don't tell anyone, it's my secret ingredient!

 Blend it up until it's smooth and there you have it... delicious strawberry shakes.  Garnish it with some more berries, cool whip if you happen to have some and a straw.  The perfect companion for the strawberry pancakes!  And yes they were as good as they look. So go ahead and make some for yourself! 

Trust me, they won't last long!