Bacon & Egg Cupcakes

My husband emailed the link to this recipe while I was working. A quick glance at the link, I thought he really wanted me to bake him cupcakes. When I got home that night, I pulled up the link and went to the website and realized what it really was. I attempted this two ways.

Bacon and Egg Cupcakes Ingredients:

- 12 eggs (one per cupcake hole)- You can omit the yolks if you want all egg whites 

- bacon (approximately 1 ½ - 2 strips per cupcake)

- cheese (shredded or crumbled – use your favorite, mine is the  Mexican blended cheese from Costco)

- chopped herbs (thyme, chives, rosemary, dill – anything you like, I like the Zaatar Rub, recipe below)

- salt and pepper (pinches each, per cupcake)

How to Make Them:

Preheat your oven to 400° whilst cooking the bacon until half cooked. It should look brown but NOT crispy. That comes later.

Grab a muffin tin, grease it or spray with PAM cooking spray. Remove bacon and lay them on a paper napkin to soak up the grease. Begin lining each muffin cup with 1.5-2 strips of bacon. Wrap the bacon along the sides of each cupcake hole, so that it resembles a lining. We found that round bacon bought at a deli makes a huge difference for ease of lining. Be careful of the heat!

Crack an egg into the delicious looking bacon. Resist the urge to eat the bacon. Season with salt and pepper. If you don’t like sunny side up eggs, you can stab the yolk with a knife prior to baking so that the yolk won’t come out runny.

Sprinkle some cheese and finely chopped herbs onto the top if you would like.

Cook for 15 minutes for sunny side up eggs and about 17 minutes for a little less runny.

Remove from oven and allow cooling for a minute or two. Two of these self-contained breakfast vessels make for one sturdy serving.

Inspired by:

http://lifedesignerz.com/2012/08/20/bacon-egg-cupcakes-the-best-of-any-world/#comments

For a quicker way:

You can use microwavable bacon. Just line a mini cupcake or regular cupcake pan with the bacon, crack the eggs, top with your favorite toppings and bake for 15 minutes. Saves you the hassle of cooking the bacon prior in a pan.

Zaatar Rub – THE EVERYTHING RUB:

http://neighborchicks.blogspot.com/2012/12/zaatar-rub-everything-seasoning.html

Here's an easy, savory-tart rub that's great as a seasoning for Grilled Meatball, Halloumi, and Baby Squash Skewers or to use with eggs, grilled chicken breasts, lamb chops, steak, or veggies (just brush them first with oil, then coat with the rub).

Ingredients:

·    1/4 cup chopped fresh thyme leaves

·    2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves

·    1 tablespoon sesame seeds

·    1 tablespoon ground sumac*

·    1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

2. You can also throw everything in a food processor to give it some extra chops!

3. *Find sumac, an edible, tart dried berry, in the spice aisle or at worldspice.com or Super King Markets in Claremont, CA.

By Julia Lee, Sunset Magazine
JUNE 2012

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-zaatar-rub-50400000121923/