Mini Omeletes, AKA Egg Muffins

These little beauties are called Egg Muffins in my house, but only because I make them in a muffin tin. They are basically mini omelets and they are by no means my creation, just my take on the many versions I've seen floating around on the internet.  They are incredibly easy to make, very versatile, and very easy to adjust to your taste.

I had to play around with these to find something that worked well in my family and in my oven -- the first few batches I made stuck to the sides of the cups, some ended up rubbery, some ended up not completely cooked.  I ended up finding the magic combo that works for me.  Hopefully it'll work for you, too, because they are delicious, easy, and really healthy!

chop, chop, chop

start the layers! zucchini...

tomato...

lots of tomatoes...

green onions...

fill each cup with the eggs...

add a little cheese because you can never go wrong with cheese...

the finished product.

Egg Muffins

Ingredients:

8 eggs
a variety of vegetables -- I used

• 1 medium zucchini
• 3-4 green onions
• 3 Roma tomatoes

1/4 cup shredded cheese (optional, I used Trader Joe's Quattro Formaggio)
salt, to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)
pepper, to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)
seasonings (I used about 1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb), to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325º.
2. Prepare all of your ingredients.  Chop/dice all vegetables to about the size of salsa ingredients.  You want them to be small so you get vegetables in each bite.  For the tomatoes, make sure you also de-seed them.  I chop my green onion very finely so I get the flavor but not big chunks.\
3. Break eggs into a small glass bowl to be sure you don't have a bad egg or have pieces of shell in it and then dump into a large measuring cup with a spout -- it will make it easier to pour into the muffin tin.
4. Mix seasonings into eggs and whisk until everything is blended.
5. Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray.  Put cupcake liners into tin and then spray liners with non-stick spray.  
6. Begin the layering!  Put biggest vegetables at the bottom and fill each cup about 3/4 full.
7. Pour eggs over vegetables until eggs just cover the vegetables.  Depending on the size of your eggs, you may need an extra egg.  
8. Sprinkle cheese on top of eggs.  I used a pinch or two on each, it's really just to add some flavor to the eggs.
9. Bake muffins for about 18 minutes, rotating half way through cooking time.  
10. Let them cool on a wire rack until you can handle them, then remove wrappers.  They are easiest to remove when still warm.
11. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.  You may need to throw a paper towel in with them to keep moisture from gathering.

Now, here's the best part!

Nutritional Info:

12 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		75.3
Total Fat		4.6 g
	Saturated Fat	1.9 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.7 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	1.2 g
Cholesterol		128.2 mg
Sodium		183.9 mg
Potassium		177.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate		2.7 g
	Dietary Fiber	0.7 g
	Sugars	0.5 g
Protein		6.0 g

Croissant & Danish Class

I took a Croissant & Danish workshop this weekend; here are a few of the results...  Now to work on recreating them! Nothing is better than a croissant right out of the oven.

lunch

cream cheese danish

these were gone within a matter of minutes...

Mexican Wedding Cookies (Snowballs)

snowballs

ground pecans

balls

golden brown on the bottom

toss the warm cookies in the powdered sugar once...

then twice...

until it looks like this.

So this post is a bit tardy... Snowballs are generally (at least in my family) made during the holiday season. Because of that we will change the name to Mexican Wedding Cookies, which you can have any time of year.

These cookies go by many names -- Wedding Cookies, Snowballs, Pecan Balls, Russian Tea Cakes, Butter Balls -- the list goes on and on.  The ingredients vary slightly for some, but they are all the same basic cookie made from flour, butter, sugar, and nuts.

For this version, I grind the pecans well in the food processor to help it blend evenly into the batter. I use salted butter for this recipe because of how the salt complements the sweetness of the cookie. Butter and powdered sugar are creamed, vanilla extract added, then the flour and baking powder, and finally the ground pecans are combined.

Ingredients

1 cup (1/2 lb) salted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus more for coating
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 rsp baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Ground pecans in a food processor until similar consistency to flour.
3. In large bowl with hand mixer or in a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add vanilla and blend again until smooth.
5. Sift together flour and baking powder. Add to butter mixture, mixing on low until blended.
6. Stir in pecans until thoroughly incorporated.
7. Using a tablespoon or a small cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough, roll into a ball, and place on cookie sheet (on parchment paper) about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Cookies will spread some, but not too much, so they can be placed somewhat close together. 
8. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.  Place on wire rack.
9. Let cool slightly then toss in powdered sugar until coated. Sugar will become somewhat sticky after the first coating because of the heat of the cookies. Let rest on wire rack for a few minutes and then roll again in powdered sugar. 
10. Cool completely and then place in air tight container. 

We keep our snowballs in the freezer -- you can't beat a cold, buttery, powdery cookie with a big cup of hot coffee.