Quiche

This recipe is really versatile because you can put any meats, cheeses, or veggies in it that you like. The one pictured below includes carrots, broccoli, ham, Parmesan and cheese blend. Enjoy!

This recipe is really very easy, but I think some people think of quiche as being difficult or finicky, so I included lots of pictures and tips under Marsha's Notes.

Quiche

Ingredients:

• 1 premade frozen pie crust
• 6 eggs
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• two pinches of salt
• dash of pepper
• dash of Everything But the Bagel seasoning
• 1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
• 1/4 cup finely chopped broccoli
• 1/4 cup diced ham
• generous handful of shredded cheese (approximately a cup)
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet (for easy clean up if your quiche overflows and easy transfer to the oven) with either tinfoil, silicone mat, parchment paper, etc.
2. Mix all of your ingredients together (I used a hand-mixer).
3. Place your empty pie crust in the center of your prepared baking sheet and pour all of the filling into the pie crust. Gently stir to evenly distribute your filling ingredients.
4. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and the quiche has just a slight jiggle in the center but the majority of the edge is completely set (nothing should really still look wet or slimy and a knife inserted near the center should come out mostly clean). If the crust or top is browning too much before the center is set, cover with a loose piece of foil (lightly sprayed with non-stick spray because it can stick to the top of the quiche) for the rest of the baking process (I covered mine approximately 10 minutes before the quiche was done cooking).
5. Let cool for 5 minutes or more before slicing. We enjoyed ours served with salsa or hot sauce.

Marsha's Notes:

I baked my quiche on convection for 45 minutes. The center should jiggle a tiny bit, but if it seems wet or sloshy, then it's not done yet. The quiche will set up SOME as it cools, but you want it 90-95% of the way there before removing it from the oven. Waiting for it to be COMPLETELY done in the oven could result in an overbaked final product.

I used a box of frozen finely chopped broccoli, which I microwaved from frozen for about 5 minutes just to get the broccoli apart so I could take the 1/4 cup I needed. The next day I made a second quiche using the second crust, which also used more of the broccoli, this time the broccoli came straight from the fridge. The rest I will use for something else. 

I also used pre-shredded matchstick carrots, which I then just ran a knife through to make the pieces shorter and finer, but I didn't chop them very much.

These are the pie crusts I bought for this recipe.

You could make this in an all-meat version with a couple handfuls of whatever breakfast meat you like. You could also do any veggies you would like in an omelet. I would just make sure that things are cut small enough to soften to your liking during the baking process.

Lastly, I know eggs can puff up when cooking, and when I poured my mixture into my crust, it filled it up to the top, so I baked the quiche on a lined baking tray just to catch any spills, but it actually didn't overflow at all. However, the crust still baked perfectly, so I think I will just keep putting it on a baking sheet for ease of moving the raw quiche to the oven and as a precaution.

Here is what it looks like with the eggs, veggies and seasonings (just so you can kind of see how much of each thing I used).

I have now added the ham and cheeses.

Finally the heavy cream.

After mixing with the hand-mixer, this is what it looks like poured out into the crust. I just made sure to try and gently stir it around to evenly distribute all of the filling ingredients once in the pie shell.

Here it is after 30 minutes, so it was time to cover with foil.

Covered and baked for another 10 minutes before removing from the oven.

Pancake Breakfast Sandwiches

This recipe requires a silicone mold if you want your pancakes and egg patties to be the exact same size, but otherwise is really simple. Plus, the molds I bought are dishwasher safe! Most of this is self-explanitory, but I do go into some details about cook times and proportions for our family of five.

Pancake Breakfast Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• pancake batter
• eggs
• cheese
• meat
• other desired toppings

Directions:

Pancakes: 

1. We used Krusteaz pancake mix. For seven sandwiches, or fourteen individual pancakes, mix 3 cups pancake mix with 2 cups water. I had to add a little additional water until I got the perfect consistency (not too thick that it won't spread, but not too thin so it's runny). I probably added less than 1/4 cup extra water, but more like just a couple extra tablespoons or so. Wisk until smooth, but no longer. Do not overmix batter.
2. Place silicone molds on preheated griddle. Spray the area inside the mold and the grilled surface with a light coating of non-stick spray and immediately pour in 1/4 cup batter. Let cook in mold for 3 minutes before removing mold and flipping pancake to cook the other side.

Egg: 

1. Place silicone mold on preheated griddle. Spray the area inside the mold and the grilled surface with a light coating of non-stick spray and immediately crack one egg directly into the mold or pour in a beaten egg or serving of egg substitute. Season if desired. 
2. Cook for 3 minutes before removing mold and flipping the egg over. According to the internet, once flipped and cooking the second side, soft eggs get 1 additional minute, medium eggs get 2 minutes, and hard eggs get 3 minutes. We did 3 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second side and it worked great for both regular eggs and my diet egg substitute.

Assemble your sandwich with desired meats, cheeses and toppings.

Marsha's Notes:

Not knowing how many pancakes we were going to get, we mixed 3 cups of mix with 2 cups of water and then used 1/4 cup batter in each mold. We ended up with 14 pancakes. Next time, for our family of five, I would probably try only using 2 cups of pancake mix with 1 1/3 cups water and try to stretch it to make ten cakes (or 5 complete sandwiches).

According to my math, at approximately 1/4 cup prepared batter, each small cake is about 90-100 calories. Also, 1/2 cup mix to 1/3 cup water might be the exact amount you need to make a single breakfast sandwich... if my math is right.

I got these silicone molds off Amazon. They come in a 4 pc. set, so with two sets (or eight molds total), we can make all the pancakes and eggs we need for the entire family in just two rounds on the griddle... plus, our griddle can only hold 8 molds at a time anyway.

I am tagging this recipe as "healthy" because you can make an entire sandwich for around or under 400 calories if you are careful, making it a good diet breakfast for me.

1/4 cup batter per pancake is what I get by using my long-handled yellow "cupcake" measuring cup.

Egg Bites (in the Dash Egg Bite Maker)

I am jotting down this recipe really quickly so it's super easy for me to find again. You can do these egg bites in a Dash Egg Bite Maker, or you could easily do them in a pan on the stove or in the oven. I have also heard good things about making egg bites in a pressure cooker, so I might try that next. But the process is really simple. This recipe is for egg bites made with a silicone egg bite mold.

All you need to do is:

1. Preheat your egg bite maker along with a small amount of water to create some steam (approximately one egg-bite-mold's worth of water) with the lid closed. Water does not have to come up the sides of the molds.
1. Oven: Pour a shallow amount of water into an oven-safe pan, preferably one with a lid or use foil to cover the pan and trap the steam.
2. Pot or Pan: Pour a shallow amount of water into a pot or pan and preheat to a gentle simmer with a lid on. (You need the lid to capture the steam.) 
2. Spray your molds with non-stick spray. Eggs can stick even with silicone molds (surprise, surprise!). 
3. Once preheated, carefully place your molds in your maker/pot/pan/oven safe dish.
4. Add your mix-ins (such as cheese, bacon, ham, veggies, etc.) to the molds. I like to prepare the molds directly in the pan/maker that I am cooking the bites in so I don't spill them by trying to move them once they are filled.
5. Pour beaten eggs into each cup until about 3/4 of the way full. 
1. I used Egg Beaters from a carton which are lower calorie, pour really easily, and you don't have to worry about having part of an egg that won't fit in the molds.
6. Cook covered for 10 minutes or until eggs are set in the middle and done. 
1. Oven: Bake at 350 for approximately 15-20 minutes, according to the Internet. (This suggested cooking time could be for larger egg bites made in a muffin pan. Smaller bite molds might require less time. Just keep an eye on them the first time you make them. I would check them at 10 minutes to be safe.)
2. Pot or Pan: Bring your shallow water to a gentle simmer and cook covered for about 10 minutes.

One advantage of the egg bite maker is that it has a metal underside to the lid, and so when the eggs rise up in the cups during the cooking process, they brown slightly on top from contact with the metal. You wouldn't get the same brown crust if you make these in the oven or a pan on the stove, but the cooking process should be very similar.

Avocado Toast

For anyone who wants to jump on the "now trendy" avocado toast bandwagon, here you go! I started making this, not sure if I would like it, and it turned out really good. Then I made it for the rest of the family, CONVINCED that my boys would be too picky to enjoy it, and was completely surprised with everyone... EVERYONE!!!... liked it. So, if you are like I was, and you aren't quite sure how to prepare avocado toast, here is a place to start. Enjoy!

Avocado Toast

Ingredients: (to make toast as pictured)

• 1 slice toast, any bread you like
• 1 slice cheese, any kind you like
• 1 serving breakfast meat (1 used 1-2 slices bacon, but you could totally use sausage or any other meat you like)
• 1 serving lunch meat (optional), I used sundried tomato turkey
• 1 fried egg, cooked to your liking
• 1/2 mashed avocado
• seasoning of your choice (I used "Everything But the Bagel")
• hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. Toast your bread. 
2. Fry your egg. 
3. Mash and season your avocado. 
4. Assemble your toast. I like to do toast, then cheese, bacon, avocado, lunch meat, egg, hot sauce, but you can do it anyway you like.

Marsha's Notes:

• I found that you can just slice your avocado instead of mashing if you prefer that texture, but slices will move around while you are trying to eat your toast and can be messy and make it difficult to eat. 
• The mashed avocado seems to stay in place better for me, and it makes it easy to mix in your seasonings, like salt and pepper... or in my case, Everything But the Bagel. I used a sprinkling of seasoning, maybe 1/2 tsp. 
• I also like to use precooked bacon slices, which I just pop in the microwave for about ten seconds to crisp up. 
• While the toast is hot, I like to put my cheese slice down so it can get warm and a little melty, and then I put the hot bacon on top of the cheese to also help soften and warm the cheese. 
• You can totally put lunch meat on this for extra protein, but you don't have to. You can also add other toppings like veggies or sprouts. These are just the toppings I like that typically we have in our house.
• Avocados can vary in size, so you might find that 1/2 an avocado is too much or too little. Just use the amount you like. For me, if I am the only one eating this, I tend to have it two days in a row so I can just use half the avocado one day, and then the other half the next. I don't mash the second half initially. I just leave the avocado cut in half, still in the skin, and put in a baggie in the fridge. Then, the next day, I just carefully scrape away any brown, oxidized parts of the exposed avocado (like what happens to sliced apples) and then scoop it all out and mash it up.
• Depending on the bread you use, this can be a great low-carb recipe.

Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot

When my mother gave me my Instant Pot, one of the things she said she loved using it for the most was hard boiled eggs. Well, today I tried it for the first time and it turned out great! I did another post on how to make hard boiled eggs on the stove with some extra tips. You can check that out here:  https://1brother2sisters.blogspot.com/2019/11/hard-boiled-egg.html

Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs

Ingredients: 

• 6 raw eggs
• 1 cup water 

Directions: 

1. Place your egg rack in the bottom of your Instant Pot. 
2. Pour in one cup of water. 
3. Place eggs in the holder (mine holds seven), replace the lid to the pot, turn the valve to seal, and pressure cook for 5 minutes on high pressure. 
4. Let the pot sit after cooking for an additional 3 minutes before doing a quick-release for the rest of the pressure. 
5. Place eggs in cold water/ice bath until cooled and ready to peel.

Marsha's Notes: 

The recipe I referenced to do my eggs said you could use the steam rack that comes with most pots, but I had an actual egg rack, so that is what I used. My egg rack limits me to seven eggs at a time, where with the steam rack, the recipe suggested that you could put as many as a dozen eggs in your post to cook at a time. I imagine that I could "over stack" eggs with my egg rack as well and cook a dozen, but so far, I have only tried doing the seven that would fit.

Update:

I made a batch of 18 eggs to take to Easter for decorating this year (2024) and the eggs ended up with that grey ring around the yolks when cut. I read online that the grey is caused by overcooking the eggs slightly, or not cooling them off fast enough. While I did use an ice bath immediately after taking the eggs out of the cooker, I think next time I will cook them a little less and leave them in the ice for like 30 minutes to make sure they are really cold, and hopefully return and report what happens. I cooked them at high pressure for 5 minutes, then slow release for 5 minutes, then quick release and immediately in the ice bath. Next time, I think will try the slow release for only 3 minutes. I will make the change in the above recipe.

Chaffles

Trying to find low-card alternatives, there is some buzz on the Internet right now about "chaffles" or cheese-waffles. They are almost zero carbs because they are made with just three ingredients that don't really contain carbs; cheese, egg, and almond flour. I was so surprised by the texture and just how GOOD they tasted. In the picture, you can see that I made myself a breakfast sandwich-type version. Calorie wise, if you eat both mini-chaffles in one sitting, depending on the type of cheese you use, you are looking at around 300-350 calories. The site I got the recipe from has variations for making all kinds of chaffles, such as chocolate, cinnamon roll, taco, and pizza! I am hoping to try more out.

While you can make this recipe in any kind of waffle iron you have, the mini chaffles are made in the Dash mini-waffle maker (4 inches).

See the original recipe here: https://www.midgetmomma.com/the-best-easy-keto-chaffle-recipe/

Basic Chaffle

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of cheese
• 1 Tablespoon Almond flour

Directions:

1. Heat up your Dash Mini Waffle Maker.
2. In a small bowl mix the egg, and Cheese and almond flour.
3. Pour half of the batter into your mini waffle maker and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then cook the rest of the batter to make a second chaffle.
4. Let cool for 2-3 minutes to let chaffle set up and get crispy.

Pizza Variation-

I tried this a couple of times now and I really like it. Just add a sprinkle of Italian Seasoning and a few mini-pepperonis to the batter. Once cooked, place one slice of fast-melting white cheese between your chaffles (like provolone, mozzarella, etc.), along with some pizza sauce and a few more pepperonis and you have a fun chaffle pizza-sandwich treat!

Baked Egg Cups

After being diagnosed last year as pre-diabetic, I have been trying to find ways to cut carbs. One thing I found in the freezer section that I liked were breakfast sandwiches where the bread was substituted with "egg patties" with a slice of cheese and a turkey sausage patty in the middle, which I actually thought weren't too bad. (I mean, it's still microwaved egg, but I didn't really miss the bread).

Then I also tried the egg frittatas/egg cups from the freezer section and got thinking that I could probably make some at home for far less money and a bit simpler than the breakfast sandwich option! One of my friends makes her own egg cups, so I got pointers from her and gave it a shot. And they turned out GREAT!

Mine are super simple (egg, cheese, bacon, salt and pepper) but she does hers more fancy. I'll give her recipe at the end.

Marsha's Bacon Egg and Cheese Cups

Ingredients:

• 18 eggs
• 8 oz grated sharp cheddar
• 2.1 oz box fully cooked bacon, chopped
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Using a hand mixer, blend all ingredients together. 
2. Distribute evenly between 12 greased muffin cups (or for easier cleanup, use silicone baking cups). 
3. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees. 
4. Allow to cool slightly, then run a knife around the edge of each cup to loosen before removing from pan. 
5. Store in fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.

Marsha's Notes:
You can totally change up anything and everything that you put in your cups. For simplicity's sake, I used the precooked bacon. Also, when preparing, you can fill your muffin cups right up to the very top with egg mixture. They will puff up A LOT, but mine didn't spill over or make a mess in the oven. Just to be safe, I did put a cookie sheet under my pan to catch any mess, but there wasn't any.

It can be hard to get the cheese and bacon evenly distributed between the cups if you add it to the egg mixture all at once and then pour into the cups, so the next time I make these, I think I will fill each up about 1/3-1/2 full of beaten eggs only, then sprinkle my cheese and bacon in each cup individually, and then top off with the rest of the egg mixture.

My friend only uses 12 eggs and gets 24 cups because she lines each tin with a round piece of ham lunch meat (sort of like a cupcake liner), then puts crumbled sausage, spinach, cheese and all kinds of veggies in each cup before topping off with eggs. She also recommended storing the cups on a piece of paper towel to soak up any moisture that they release when cooled and she added just a touch of milk to the egg mixture.

Update: I did try the silicone liners, and the muffins popped out super easy, but any egg that dripped between the liner and the tin was still a bit of a pain to clean up, so I'm not sure it was worth it. Maybe if you have a baking pan that is ENTIRELY made of silicone, that would be the best bet. Also, the liners took up enough additional space in each cup that I could only fit about 14 eggs and 2/3 of the toppings listed here. I also found that it didn't make a lot of difference to put some egg in the bottom, then toppings, then more egg... I think it's just as well to put all the topping in the cups first, then all the egg on top. If I try it and remember, I'll report back.

Hard Boiled Egg

In an attempt to not have to look this up EVERY TIME I hard boil and egg, here you go!

Marsha's Hard Boiled Eggs

Directions:

1. Place desired number of eggs into a pot and cover by an inch of cold water. 
2. Place on stove and bring to a boil. 
3. Instantly turn off heat once it reaches a good boil and cover the pot. 
4. Leave pan on the hot burner and let sit for 11 minutes. 
5. Then remove eggs from pan and dunk into ice water until cooled. Peel and serve.

Marsha's Notes:
Older eggs peel easier than new eggs, so I have been told to use eggs that are at least 2 weeks old.

Here is a fun image I found!