Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches

I grew up in Pennsylvania and Dave and met in college there.  In our tiny college town we were lucky to have not one but two(!) Sheetz stores, the gas station equivalent to Amazon, carrying everything from gas to bait, including the MTO (made to order) food that makes Sheetz so awesome.  Frequent study sessions were interrupted by a midnight run for nachos or subs.  And even though I live over 300 miles from the nearest Sheetz (and will make travel plans around being able to stop at that particular Sheetz on the way to and from Pittsburgh), I swear by the joy that is a Schmuffin.  It's my favorite MTO and no matter what time of day, it's the one that I must get every time I go there.  While I've never had an Egg McMuffin, I just love that breakfast sandwich, especially with cheese and bacon (and all the other varied fixin's Sheetz lovingly will top it with).  Now, whenever the craving strikes, we can reach right into the freezer.  These make ahead egg sandwiches are perfect and totally customizable.  If whole wheat English muffins aren't your thing, use a the regular kind. Or a mini bagel.  Choose cheddar instead of American cheese.  Fried egg or scrambled.  Bacon or sausage.  It's like an MTO station in my very own house!  (Minus the other options.  And the touch screen.  And someone else making it for me.  But otherwise, exactly the same.)  In less than 20 minutes, I prepped a dozen sandwiches, wrapped them, labeled and into the freezer they went, ready for a quick pop in the microwave any morning, regardless of how busy we might be.

Individual Shitake Mushroom & Cheese Frittatas

While not a traditional muffin, I love little individual frittatas, or egg muffins as they are sometimes known.  Excellent for a brunch buffet or perfect for making as a batch and saving for a week's worth of healthy breakfasts, these little frittatas are delicious and different.  I usually make them simple with ham and cheese, but when my CSA handed me shitake mushrooms, this version took place, offering a substantial, almost beefy flavor that paired really well with the eggs and ricotta cheese and were a big hit at a muffin brunch I hosted for friends.

Breakfast Pizza

I enjoy making breakfast on a weekend morning, but I'm usually not a fan of making eggs.  I enjoy eggs, but if that's what's headed to the table, I usually have Dave make them.  Leave the pancakes, waffles, and muffins to me.  Or, something a bit more exciting.  Like this breakfast pizza of a crescent roll crust topped with sausage, cheese, hash browns and eggs.  Now this is a breakfast dish I'm happy to get up and make.  Which is exactly what happened last week when I got out of bed before everyone else and put this together for a hearty morning meal.  Filling and delicious, there is no doubt I'll get requests for this in the future

Ham & Swiss Mini Frittatas

I love these things.  This recipe has been in my repertoire for almost a decade. They are perfect breakfast option for a brunch when you have time to prepare or make them in advance (like I did this time for the baby shower) and warm them up before serving.  Ham and Swiss pair wonderfully with the scrambled eggs and scallions are a great addition to eggs.  These are light and fluffy but full of flavor and got rave reviews from the shower guests.  One guest even popped back into the kitchen to snag one on her way out while I was cleaning up!  I expected people to take desserts home, but this appetizer was apparently a big win if people are grabbing one for the road!

This recipe comes from Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals, but I adapted it slightly for the shower.  I used 50% more ingredients, turkey ham instead of ham (because that's what I had), shredded Swiss instead of deli (to allow more melty cheese throughout the small, bite-sized pieces), used scallions instead of chives (because I like the flavor a little better and had them on hand for other recipes), omitted the hot sauce (this time--I think because I forgot) and made them in a mini muffin tin rather than a standard to keep with the bite-sized theme.  It's the first time I made them mini and they were perfect.  I like the slightly browned edge and the burst of ham and cheese flavor you get when you pop it in your mouth.  I've made these with cheddar, broccoli and spinach as well--try any combination you like with your eggs.  To make them standard size, use 2/3 of the ingredients and bake for 10-12 minutes. These frittatas freeze wonderfully and you can reheat them from frozen in the microwave or the oven.   Super easy to make ahead, whip up a batch on Sunday morning, pop them in the freezer and have enough for a quick and healthy breakfast all week long.

Broccoli, Ham and Cheese Quiche with Potato Crust

I have a confession: I don't usually measure when it comes to cooking "food."  For as accurate a science as I know baking is and for the number of measuring tools in my kitchen for the purpose of being precise, when it comes to making a non-pastry-cookie-cupcake-sweet-baked-delicious-yumminess, I throw caution to the wind and just eyeball my ingredients.

Most of the time this works.