The Conflicted Chef- Eggs Please

Here we go, the first actual posting in my Conflicted Chef series. If you missed the introduction to this series you can reread last weeks post here. Basically, I’m cooking for a family of 5, trying to keep it as healthy as possible, yummy, and meet the needs of everyone in my family. I find myself cooking meals that my southern grandmother would be proud of (wearing pearls and my mother’s beautiful handmade apron) and ones that I whip up while still wearing my running shoes and heart monitor. That’s where the conflicted part comes in.

That’s the nifty blog badge my husband made for this series. Thanks hon! And that beautiful apron, my Momma made that. I wish I could channel her sewing abilities more, but that’s another story. And yes, every morning this is what I look like while cooking. You don’t doubt that do you?

Anyway, this week I decided to start at the beginning. Breakfast. In my house on the weekends breakfast is a big deal because everyone is home. Recently I’ve been in the kitchen pondering what healthy, happy food I can make while waiting for my husband to come in from his run or bike ride. But, I’m usually trying to catch up on some writing or reading too, so if I can make something fairly quick that’s a plus.

Eggs. Quick, easy, and healthy. They are, I promise. Awhile back eggs were getting a bad wrap. But here’s the low down, if you don’t eat fried eggs every morning for breakfast you shouldn’t have a problem. I’m going to hit you with one of my favorite phrases, “everything is good as long as it is in moderation”. I even checked with my little sister, I’ll be doing a lot of that in this series. Her resume reads like this: registered dietician, fitness trainer, personal chef, and triathlete.

Enough, what did I make? Muffin Omelets! Quick, easy, and yummy. I was inspired by this recipe.  Of course, when I went to my fridge I didn’t have all the ingredients. Another confliction, do I go to the store for the fifth time this week or make do with what I have. You already know the answer to that, right? So here’s what I put in my Muffin Omelets this time.

• 5 eggs
• 1 1/2  TBSP egg whites ( I used organic egg whites in a carton that you can find at the store by the real eggs)
• 1 cup 1% milk
• pinch of salt and pepper

Put that all in a bowl and whisk it up.

Next get out

• 8 oz of lean pork sausage ( I love turkey sausage, but pork is what I had this time) 

and cook in a skillet until you see no more pink. Remove and set in a bowl to cool.

Next you chop up:

• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/4 of a large onion.

Throw that in the skillet with a splash of olive oil and sauté until soft, a couple of minutes. Add the pepper and onion to the sausage bowl.

Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray. I used about 1/4 cup of egg mixture per tin, Just make sure they are all about even so they cook at the same time. Then add a spoonful of the sausage mixture to each egg filled tin. At this point you can sprinkle a little low-fat cheese on top of each tin. Here’s a tip from my little sis, “If you don’t need the cheese, don’t add it.” There is plenty of flavor going on here so you don’t have to have it, on the other hand a little sprinkle isn’t going to put you over the edge either. Remember, moderation.

Okay, pop them in a preheated 325 degree oven and bake for about 22 –25 minutes. When a toothpick comes out clean they are done. Place on a cool rack and let them cool before you flip them out.

For breakfast we serve with a fruit salad. But last night we made them for dinner and served with a side salad.

Em plated it up for me, she’s very artistic, while hubby took the pic.

This dish gets 4 out of 5 thumbs up. My Little One can not stand the smell of eggs. So she had salad and left over noodles. Next week I’ll try for that all elusive 5 thumbs!

*you can make a whole bunch of these and freeze. Just pop in the microwave to heat up.

Will your kids eat eggs? What healthy ingredients would you put in your omelet?