Breakfast in a Cup

As you all may know I am a fan of muffin tins. Again, this might be because I was living in an apartment that only had muffing tins... hence the creation of bacon cups and Mini Pies. From experimenting with both of these, I wanted to aid in the consumption of bacon in the morning (not that you really need help to do that....).

There is a little effort in preparation, but the good thing is that you can do some of the work ahead of time, and can mass produce these little cups of glory.

Breakfast in a Cup

Aprox Prep: 30 mins
Aprox Cook: 30 mins
Servings: 6
 
6 strips of Bacon
5 links of Breakfast Sausage
1 Cup Cubed or Shredded Hash browns
5 Eggs
Splash of Milk
1/2 cup Cheese (optional)

Serves: 6

Note about amount: You need one strip of bacon for every cup you want to make. Everything else is relative... You can also leave out the sausage, hash browns and/or the cheese. You can use other meat too... any type of sausage or more bacon.

So first up cook the sausage. Either before or after cut in to small chunks. This is something you can do ahead of time and then refrigerate or freeze. At the same time start cooking up the potatoes. You also might want to spray the muffin pan with some cooking spray. 

In either the old sausage pan or a new pan start cooking the bacon. You are going to cook the bacon till it is just done. Just when it gets to that floppy soft bacon that I hate.... don't worry, if you like crispy bacon it will cook some more in the oven.

Mmmm..... bacon. (don't cut the bacon like this... )

Remove the bacon from the pan and pat dry with a paper towel. Very quickly, as in as soon as your fingers can handle the hot bacon grease, line the edges of each muffin hole with a strip of bacon. Try to press in to the shape of the cup, it will not be perfect, it is ok. When you add the other stuff it will fill out. 

It is ok if the bacon breaks a little.

Once the hash browns are cooked to your likeness (I like them well done) spoon a generous layer in to each cup.

Add two or three sausage pieces to every cup. 

Double up on the pork!

 In a large mixing bowl crack all of the eggs and add 1/4 - 1/3 cup of milk, mix well with a fork or whisk. You want this to be a homogeneous mixture, no eggy lumps. Shortly after mixing, pour egg mixture in to cups, try to keep the egg on the inside of the bacon. It is ok if the egg fills up between the bacon and the pan. Fill up to about the level of the top of the bacon.

Action Shot!!!

The Right is bacon-less (we ran out of bacon :( )

Throw the whole thing in to the oven at 350 degrees. Let it bake for 12-15 minutes or until the egg has just about set. Sprinkle cheese on to top of the cups and return to oven for 4-6 minutes or until melted.

I love Cheese. I love Bacon. I love eggs. I love potatoes. I love Sausage.

The goods.

Remove from pan and enjoy!

Bacon-less cups.

Bacon Morning Cups.

So the next experiment is to use pancake batter instead of egg. This would be for the people who cannot stand eggs (silly people). Anyway, have fun with muffin pans! Enjoy the little cups!