Mini Breakfast Quiches

Science has been telling us for years (ya know, because me and science are tight) how important it is to eat a good breakfast in the morning, but for a lot of people that's difficult for a number of reasons. A major one being that you just don't have the time, period.

When I was pregnant with my first baby, my doctor told me in order to curb the rapid weigh-gain I was experiencing, I needed to replace my standard breakfast of fruit and yogurt (I was trying to be so good!), with something protein-rich likes eggs and bacon or sausage. Seriously? (I think that was actually my exact response) While I really didn't mind cooking in the mornings, I was working full-time at a job that required me to wake up at an insane hour (4:30am!) and there was noooo way I was going to be whipping up an omelet before heading out the door. I needed something I could grab and go, and then heat up like 4 or 5 hours later when the normal people of the world were eating breakfast. I toyed around with breakfast casseroles that I could cut up and freeze, but those were far from healthy. So I came up with a little egg/cheese/veggie mixture that I baked in muffin tins. It was lean, protein rich, and included some vegetables which I otherwise wouldn't be eating in the morning hours. It worked so great. I just keep them in a container in my fridge, or even froze them, and grabbed one as I headed out the door. These are great for kids in the mornings, or to take to work, or just to have at home for breakfast or a healthy snack.

This is the combo I've been making lately, but these are sooo flexible. You can switch up everything. I really love them with bacon (isn't everything better with bacon?), and they're awesome with red peppers, green chilis, and pepper jack cheese. Play around with everything from the cheese to the add-ins to the egg-ratio, and find a combo you like. If you come up with a good one, come back and share!

Mini Breakfast Quiches

4 eggs
1 C egg substitute*
3/4 C shredded low-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 C cottage cheese
5 oz frozen spinach (that's half a standard frozen box)
1/3 C roasted red peppers, diced (jarred, or make your own)
1 oz finely diced ham, canadian bacon, or crumbled bacon (about 1/4-1/3 C)
1/4 C finely diced onions
1/4 t kosher salt
1/8 t black pepper
1/2 t hot sauce
hot sauce

foil muffin tin liners

*1/4 egg substitute = 1 whole egg, so if you're using all eggs, or some eggs and some egg whites, you can adjust accordingly.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

Thaw spinach (you can nuke it in the microwave) and squeeze out all the liquid. Putting it in a clean kitchen towl and ringing the heck out of it works well. After it's drained of all the liquid, give it a rough chop.

In a bowl, combine all ingredients and stir well.

Place foil cupcake liners in the muffin tins and spray with cooking spray. Don't forget this step! And yes, they really do need to be the foil ones. If you have a silicone muffin pan, those work great and you don't need to line them. My silicone pan makes them taste like soap, so I don't go there. As you're dividing the egg mixture into the muffin cups make sure to keep stirring it so all of the ingredients are well-dispersed. My pan takes about 1/4 C in each hole and it fills them up perfectly. You want them to fill right up to the top.


Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. The tops should be just barely set on top. Over-baked eggs get tough and spongy so don't do that! They'll puff up while baking and then sink down when cooled. You can store them in an airtight container in the fridge, or freeze them. When reheating in the microwave, make sure to take off the foil liner! And if you're reheating from frozen, I try to take them out the night before so they can thaw in the fridge. Then when you microwave them, set them on a folded paper towel to drain excess moisture.


Eat them alone, or for a well-rounded breakfast crumble on top of a piece of whole grain toast along with a glass of milk and a piece of fruit. Makes 12.


Nutritional information for 1 mini-quiche:

83 Calories, 7.5 g Protien, 3 g fat
2 Weight Watchers Points
Southbeach Diet Phase 1

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