Grab and Go, Quick Morning Egg Muffins

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and  I have a quick/easy breakfast dish that may have shown up here before, but I'm not sure what it was called so... here we go! 

Breakfast. I'm not a breakfast person. But I've been trying to be more mindful of not just drinking four cups of coffee in the morning and calling it breakfast. It's not enough. And it makes me cranky. And cranky is bad.

 I think my aversion to breakfast food comes from the TIME it takes. The longer you take eating breakfast, the earlier you have to get out of bed. (See how that works?) And I'm all about the time I get to stay in bed. So, if I skipped breakfast, that meant I could stay in bed while all those crazy breakfast noshers were at the table.

 But that means by noon, everyone else is going strong and I'm about ready to crumple into a ball. So, in the interests of eating breakfast AND staying in bed, I've been looking for easy recipes that can be cooked the night before and then either warmed, or eaten cold. (And not pop tarts or cereals. That does nothing for me, Five minutes later, I'm hungry again. I'd rather have the five cups of coffee.)

So, here is some leftover hamburger meat with orange and red peppers, onions and garlic. You can make your Egg Muffins meatless, too. Just add mushrooms, green onions, red peppers, even olives. Anything you want. But I've found that it helps to sautee whatever it is for a few minutes because they won't thoroughly cook in the oven.

 Sprinkle on cheddar, mozzarella, or any other kind of cheese. These had pepper jack left over from another recipe.
For a single muffin tin, it takes about five eggs. Whisk together with 1/2 cups of milk and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. I also added black pepper in thyme in mine because I like eggs with thyme or rosemary. Sprinkle a little more pepper jack or other cheese on top.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Let cool. Slide a knife around the edges and carefully lift. I was afraid these would stick to the pan but I think the cheese and meat have enough grease that they came out really easily. I made a triple batch and they were just as good the next day, when we took some to a picnic lunch in the park

I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to summer! Our Farmer's Market has opened and I'm feeling the need to cook a lot of fresh food. Or maybe it's the 105F heat. Either way, I can't wait to see what happens in my kitchen in the coming weeks!

Until next time!

Spring Celebrations with Lemon Coconut Muffins

Jan here. How are things going with all of you? Pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea, and let's chat!

I want to tell you about the spring celebrations going on at our house!

First of all, the school year is over, and we now have a college junior and a college senior in the family. The boys are SO looking forward to only working at their jobs rather than working with a full-time academic load.

Second, last week I signed my third contract with Love Inspired!

The working title is "A Home in Deadwood." You'd never guess that this sweet little town nestled in the Black Hills is the notorious Deadwood - scene of Wild Bill Hickok's death, gun fights, Calamity Jane's final resting place, Al Swearingen's "Gem" Saloon and "theater", along with countless tales that have made their way into the folklore of the Old West.

This story has been so much fun to work on, and I'm thrilled I get to share it with you!

Third, the cover for my August release is available!

This one is Levi and Ruthy's story. Isn't the cover fabulous? The book is available for preorder here.

Even with all this celebrating going on, I'm still trying to stay on the Trim Healthy Mama plan.

Can I really celebrate and stick to my healthy eating goals? You betcha.

These muffins are low carb, no sugar, and gluten free.

There is a warning though - since they're made with coconut flour, they taste like coconut. I happen to like coconut, but if you don't, be warned ☺

This recipe is from the Trim Healthy Mama book. I changed the name from the original "Light White Muffins" because I added a healthy dose of lemon (mmmmm!)

Lemon Coconut Muffins

Ingredients:

2/3 cup store bought coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 eggs
8-10 teaspoons Truvia
4 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
4 Tablespoons almond or coconut milk (you can substitute water)
1 teaspoon lemon extract

In a food processor, mix the coconut flour and baking powder until they are smooth and clump-free. 

Add eggs, Truvia, coconut oil, almond or coconut milk, and lemon extract.

Process until all lumps disappear and the mixture is smooth.

It looks a bit like polenta, doesn't it? It's about the same
consistency, too.

Divide the batter evenly between nine prepared muffin cups, and bake at 350° for about 20 minutes.

We ate a couple when they were fresh on Sunday afternoon, but we had the rest for breakfast. I warmed them up and served them with some fresh berries. 

Just the thing for a spring morning, right?

Speaking of spring, we went to Custer State Park on Saturday afternoon after we finished our chores.

We saw a few Bison bulls like these scattered here and there, but the big herd (cows with calves) was hiding somewhere.

And we were welcomed by the official Custer State Park welcoming committee. These burros are semi-wild (they become very friendly if you offer to share an apple with them). They're descendants of burros brought into the Hills by the gold-rush miners in the 1870's.

And we did a little hiking. The views are breathtaking! This is looking south east, across the foothills and the prairie to the Badlands, about fifty miles away.

You can tell we're still early days when it comes to spring. The grass is just beginning to green up.

But we have wild flowers!

How is spring looking at your house?

Fun, Delicious, Fast Breakfast, Well, Kind of!!!!!

Okay, this was a morning exercise that took too long because I wasn't exactly organized.

(Read: Ruthy wrote too long and should have started her breakfast in a cup project EARLIER!!!!)

But these were so stinkin' delicious that I have to share it with you.

Basic ingredients!!!

2 packs of refrigerator Crescent rolls

2 packages of pre-cooked breakfast sausage

8 eggs, whisked, seasoned with salt and pepper

Shredded cheese

Spray muffin pans with baking spray. This DID NOT HELP the clean-up at all, so go ahead and skip this part.  (laughing in upstate!!!)

Lay out crescent roll triangles, form and cut to kind of fit in muffin pans.

Cut up a sausage into each "muffin" cup.  Sprinkle with cheese. Add a dollop of egg mix. (A turkey baster works great for this!!!! My mini-ladle made a mess.)

Top with more cheese.

Bake in 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes. (I'm really not sure about this, and it will depend on your cupcake/muffin pan size. But when the crust is golden brown and the filling/egg is set, you're good!!!

 How beautiful are these breakfasts-in-a-hand????  And they melt-in-your-mouth with the crescent roll dough. Just wonderful and the kids loved them!

The down side?

This pan. Yuck. Even after soaking, it needed scrub-scrub-scrubbing.  But I got it done, most of it, anyway! What's a smidgen of egg or crust here or there?????

:)

The kids loved 'em and the adults enjoyed them as much, so we have a hit on our hands!