Gadget Grub for Breakfast
Breakfast is almost more fun to make than it is to eat with these two gadgets that make egg bites and breakfast sandwiches.
An air fryer and a crock pot are two indispensable cooking gadgets that you can do without, but the culinary world is a whole lot richer with them in it. Once, the same could be said about a microwave, but the microwave oven became elevated way beyond gadget status in the '80s to the point where few households today are without one. Aisles upon aisles of products at your neighborhood grocer are dedicated to foodstuffs cooked in virtually no other fashion. Does anyone make Jiffy-Pop Popcorn anymore? Only around a campfire.
These are two gadgets that I wanted to post recipes for. And while these two recipes could be made by other means, the gadgets I have for them make food preparation simpler and a little more fun.
Egg Bites
It seems Starbucks gets some credit for making this on-the-run breakfast delectable so popular, called an Egg Bite. And while you can make these in a small muffin pan in your oven, they won't be as light or as fluffy as what this little appliance will yield. That's because the egg bites via this gadget technically are not baked, but steamed and cooked sous vide style.
The recipe is deceptively simple and to be truthful, I was dubious the dish was going to come out right.
The Egg Bite Maker
One bite and I was cured of all doubt. This is a copycat recipe I found on the web and the secret ingredient is the cottage cheese.
The Egg Bite Maker unit comes with one large silicon egg bite cup, about the circumference of an English muffin. To make Starbucks' style of egg bites, you'll use the four smaller silicon cups that also come with the unit.
The Egg McMuffin
Introduced in 1972, fast food breakfast was never the same. Every other burger joint, and soon thereafter, every fast food of any sort, jumped on the breakfast bandwagon with their own portable breakfast signature item. But the Egg McMuffin became iconic.
The Breakfast Sandwich Maker
There might be other brands out there, but it seems Hamilton Beach owns the market for these nifty little breakfast sandwich makers. And it makes a perfect Egg McMuffin, but you can control the ingredients. We prefer white cheddar cheese and whole wheat muffins. So, this gadget outshines the iconic fast food breakfast sandwich at home where we truly can “have it your way.”
Gadget Grub for Breakfast - Egg Bites
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup shredded Gruyere & Swiss cheese (like, Private Selection Alpine Blend)
- 2 tbsp small curd cottage cheese (like, Breakstone)
- 1 tbsp bacon bits (like, Hormel Real Bacon Bits)
- 1/8 tsp onion powder
- pinch fine sea salt
- 2-3 grinds of freshly cracked black pepper
- butter flavored non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a small food processor. Blend all ingredients on high for one minute.
- Pour one small Egg Bite Maker silicon cup of cold water into the Egg Bite Maker.
- Lightly spray the four small silicon egg cups with the non-stick spray and place in the Egg Bite Maker.
- Fill the four cups with the egg batter ¾ full.
- Firmly latch the lid, plug in the Egg Bite Maker and cook for 12 minutes.
- Remove each cup with tongs and turn out the egg bites onto a plate.
- This recipe will make eight small egg bites, or two large.
Gadget Grub for Breakfast - Breakfast Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 4 cracker-cut size cheddar or white cheddar cheese squares (like, Cracker Barrel)
- 2 whole wheat English Muffins (like, Thomas' English Muffins)
- 4 slices Canadian Bacon (like, Boar's Head or Hormel)
- pinch fine sea salt
- 1-2 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
- butter flavored non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)
Instructions
- Plug in the Sandwich Maker and allow it to fully pre-heat. The green light will come on when the unit is ready.
- In the meantime, push the prongs of a fork all around the edge of each English Muffin to separate the top from the bottom.
- Place the bottoms of the English Muffins in the lower levels of the sandwich maker. Put two cracker cuts of cheese on top of each muffin, then two slices of Canadian Bacon.
- Close the lower level of each side of the sandwich maker.
- Spray a bit of non-stick spray on the surface of each upper level, then crack in an egg into each side.
- Using a fork, pierce the yolk of each egg three times, then season with salt and pepper.
- Place the tops of the English Muffins on top of each egg, then close the lid of the unit.
- Press the timing button ten times to read 4.5 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, the sandwiches are hot and ready, and the eggs will be fully cooked.
- Open the top of the sandwich maker, and pull out the "wings" of the upper level that separates the upper and lower levels. This will drop the egg and the top of the English Muffin onto the bottom of the sandwich.
- Remove each sandwich with a non-stick spatula to a serving plate. They will be very hot, so wait a couple of minutes before biting into one.
