Breakfast Pockets

I love the weekends and not solely because it's a day I don't have to be at work.  Weekends are a time when I can sit and enjoy breakfast.  I can dawdle and sip my coffee (extra light with two sugars, thank you very much), watch our three cats frolic, and eat something perhaps a little naughty and delicious.

This breakfast sandwich was delicious and filling.  You can put just about anything you want in it, keeping in mind that you have to leave room enough for the cover without squishing your filling out the sides.

Have favorite omelet ingredients?  It would be terrific in this sandwich!  I've made this pastry crust once before for you (found here) and it's a favorite that I've used many times.  The original recipe for this breakfast sandwich called for premade biscuits that come in the cardboard tube, which is a terrific shortcut.  I just prefer the flakiness of this recipe and the fact that, to me, it tastes less salty.

The recipe I used makes quite a bit of filling and I ended up making another recipe of pastry to use up all the filling.  Fine by me, as this reportedly freezes and reheats well. We have enough for several more breakfasts, so we won't have to wait for the weekend to enjoy this delicious breakfast sandwich.

Breakfast Pockets

Combine in a medium bowl and set aside:
   6 ounces cream cheese, softened
   1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
   couple of good pinches of black pepper
   2/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

In a fry pan put
   2 tablespoons butter
   5 large eggs, plus one egg yolk (save the white for glazing the pastry)

one slice deli ham for each sandwich (or roughly chop and put in with the eggs)

One or two recipes of pastry crust (link above) or
1  (16.3 oz) can refrigerated biscuits flattened and each biscuit spread into a 5-inch circle

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the eggs and yolk.  Cook, without stirring, until eggs begin to set on the bottom.  Draw a spatula across bottom of skillet to form large curds.  Continue cooking until eggs are slightly thickened but still moist.  Remove from heat and let cool.

Spread the cheese mixture over the dough, leaving a border around the edges.  Add a couple of spoonfuls of eggs and ham. If you're using the prepared biscuits, fold dough over in half, pinching ends together.  If using the pastry crust, roll the top out a little larger than the bottom crust (to allow for stretching over the filling), and pinch together.  Use fork tines to press  and seal edges together.  Use a sharp knife to clean up the edges.  (I also put a vent hole in the pastry crust to allow any steam to escape.)

Mix the remaining egg white with a teaspoon of water and using a pastry brush, brush the egg white over the pastry.  Bake in 375*F oven for about 15 minutes or until a beautiful golden brown. 

MY NOTES:  If you decide to add vegetables to this, I would precook them; otherwise I think they may not be cooked enough.

This would have been fantastic with bacon, cooked and crumbled.  Maybe some green pepper.  Or sliced cheese instead of the shredded Cheddar.  I think whatever you choose to use, it would be delicious!

Individual Baked Omelet

One of Ole Sweetie-Pi's favorite breakfasts is omelets.  The one breakfast I least like to make is omelets.  I can never get them to look beautiful.   Frankly, by the time I get done with it, it's a scrambled egg mess.  All the ingredients are there, it's just kind of unattractive, smiles. Sweetie-Pi is aware he is not to comment on presentation; he just dolefully eats what he asked for.

I received an e-newsletter from Allrecipes for Baked Omelet, and I had to immediately investigate. After reading how simple it was, I wasted no time and set out to make our Sunday breakfast.

This recipe is so easy.  You can add just about any ingredient to the basic egg and milk mixture to personalize your omelet. For us, this is a good way to use those tiny bits of vegetables and meat from other cooking projects. I am loathe to waste food, and this offers an opportunity to use them in a new and delicious format.

The original recipe calls for 8 eggs and  to be baked in an 8" x 8" casserole dish, way to much for us, so I eyeballed ingredient amounts for two, and  used my over-sized muffin tins to make individual omelets.  Sweetie-Pi gave his hearty approval.

Individual Baked Omelet for Two

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Generously grease whatever type of casserole or baking dish you are going to use. As I mentioned, I used over-sized muffin tins and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.**

In my four cup mixing cup, I added and then mixed together:

3 eggs
a splash of milk
a small handful of pizza cheese mix
1/4 onion, finely diced
1/4 green pepper, finely diced
3 slices of cooked ham, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon baking powder**

I poured the mixture into the individual cups, about half full. Bake at 350*F for about 30 minutes or until nice and puffy and golden brown.  Run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the muffin cups and use a small spatula to scoop them out.  One of these was more than enough for us, as the cheese seems to make this rich.

**There is one caveat to use the muffin tin ~ the omelet was a bit of a stinker to get out, even though I generously sprayed the cups.  And of course, that left me with an crusty, eggy muffin tin to clean.  I would still make this again; I think the presentation is worth the effort.

The original recipe does not call for baking powder; it is an addition that I've seen with other omelet recipes and is an ingredient I chose to add here.  The baking powder helps to make the eggs fluffier and gives a nice height.

Baked Ham Cups with Eggs and Cheese

I made these for Ole Sweetie-Pi and me not too long ago, and I have to admit I was quite pleased with the results as well as the eye appeal.  For virtually no effort, I prepared a breakfast that would be great for a special occasion or breakfast and brunch guests, with the added benefit of being able to gear the amount to the number of people being served.  I thought of it too late, but this ham and egg breakfast would have been over the top with potato latkes and applesauce served on the side. Next time....

Baked Ham Cups with Eggs and Cheese

Two ham slices per person (I used the prepackaged ham sandwich slices)
One egg per person, per cup
A couple of tablespoons of cheddar (or other) cheese per cup
Other optional ingredients such as diced tomato, chives, diced bell pepper, cayenne, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spray one muffin cup for each serving.  Using two slices of ham for each person, lay the ham slices criss-crossing each other, ruffling the slices into the muffin cup and up the sides to make it fit. 

Crack one egg into each muffin cup.  Top with cheese and other desired toppings.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, though I find that the longer cooking time can tend to make the white too rubbery.

Baked Eggs in Crepe Cups

During the work week, breakfast is primarily a foraging event --toast, coffee, maybe a bowl of frosted cereal (that would be Sweetie-Pi's choice), leftovers from dinner (that would be mine).

But then the weekend happens, and now we can celebrate the meal.

I have a crepe cookbook that my friend Tim gave me about 15 years ago. I've held onto it all this time, have often looked at it, savored some of the recipes. I've even made one or two recipes out of it, years ago. (Hanging my head in embarrassment here.) Not that it's any real excuse, but crepes just seem so fancy to me. I'm so not fancy. But there's a secret part of me wants to be though; it's my inner child. My inner child is fancy. My inner child is tap dancing for attention. Time to acknowledge her and let her out to play, I decided. What could be more elegant or fancy than crepes for breakfast?

And so I turned to my crepes cookbook and rediscovered this recipe. These crepes are thin, delicate, golden. They were so delicious that I ate my "mistakes" without anything in or on them. They would've been splendid with a dollop of jam.

It does take a wee bit of practice to make a crepe. I don't hacrepe pan, just a small Teflon coated fry pan, about six inches in diameter. A little oil (we're not frying!) in a preheated pan, a little batter, a little swirl. Cook over medium heat. Wait a minute. Turn. That's all there is to it. Pretty much, anyway. As I said, it takes a bit of practice to get it right. I read somewhere that the first crepe never comes out perfect; I think my first four crepes weren't as lovely as I wanted.

Basic Crepe Batter

1 1/2 cups milk
3 eggs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine milk, eggs and butter in mixing bowl. (I used a 4 cup measuring cup so I could pour from it when I needed it.) Beat until well combined. Then add the flour and salt, and beat until smooth. This batter is very thin. Refrigerate for about one hour. You could actually make this batter up to a day or two ahead. Just before you going to use it, give it another good stir.

When you and the pan are ready, with one hand hold the pan off the flame, and with your other hand, pour in about an 1/8 cup of batter into your pan. It will probably take a few trials to determine how much batter to use. Swirl and tip the pan so that the batter evenly coats the bottom of the pan. When the crepe looks dry on the top and the edges have lightly browned, loosen the edges with a spatula. Now, if you have asbestos fingertips, you can help the spatula do its job by gently pulling the crepe with it. Or, if you're fortunate enough to have tongs, they work wonderfully. (I have some wooden ones that I bought at a craft fair, and they are just perfect. Metal ones could easily tear these delicate crepes.) Turn the crepe and cook maybe for another 30 seconds on the second side. You can stack these with waxed paper in between each crepe.

Egg Cups

Prepared Crepes (one for each person)

1 egg for each cup

Light cream or half and half

Cooked, crumbled bacon (about 1 tablespoon per serving)

Parmesan cheese

Prepare a muffin pan (not the supersized size muffin pan) by greasing it well. Then take one crepe and line the muffin cup, taking care now to tear it. The crepe is larger than the muffin cup so you'll have to gently fold it in. Break an egg into each crepe-lined cup. Spoon about one tablespoon of cream over the egg. Add one tablespoon of bacon and top that with a good sprinkling of cheese.

Bake in a preheated 325F oven 15 to 25 minutes or until the eggs are done to your liking.

Rave reviews from Sweetie-Pi, and I have to agree. Baked Eggs in Crepe Cups. My fancy inner child is very happy!