Powerful Protein, In Portable Muffins

I plan out our week’s dinners on the weekend; I’ll figure out the menu, and then shop accordingly. Depending on our schedule, I cook some of the more labor-intensive meals on Sunday, and then refrigerate or freeze for use later in the week.

It occurred to me one day that I never do this for breakfasts. Breakfast fare on school mornings has to be quick and easy, which means that our default choices fit the bill, sure, but sometimes I worry about these grab-and-go meals being filling enough to last the kids until lunchtime. One of my kids doesn’t get to eat at school until well after noon, and we’re usually having breakfast at 6:30 a.m.! So how could I plan a hearty breakfast that wouldn’t require any complicated morning preparation?

The answer was found on one of my favorite food blogs, and meant I had to dust off my muffin tins: Cheesy egg muffins! Please see the full ingredients and instructions by visiting the link.

The beauty of this item is twofold. First, the basic recipe is foolproof and can be modified to fit every palate (and available ingredients); and second, they can be made ahead and then refrigerated. One Sunday night I set to work.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Mix up a dozen eggs (I used a mix of eggs and replacers) and set aside. Layer your muffin cups with whatever goes with cheese (um, that would be just about anything). I experimented with different concoctions, and the ones my kids liked best contain crumbled turkey sausage, chopped spinach, green onions, and a generous heap of low-fat Mexican shredded cheese blend. Fill each cup about 2/3 full with dry ingredients, then pour in beaten eggs to about 3/4 fullness. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until set and starting to brown.

Reheat or eat them cold; one muffin for kids, two for adults. They’re full of protein and totally portable! These will last for a week in the fridge (longer if you freeze them)… but ours didn’t last more than a few days with my little muffin fiends.

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