Baked Eggs

I saw this recipe from Ina Garten, my sister's all-time favorite celebrity chef. She uses herbs in her's, but I didn't have any fresh ones in the house. I think this recipe has the potential to be great, but to master it is harder than it looks. This would be an awesome thing for a brunch, but make sure you try it before serving it to anyone. She, I assume, uses the broiler in her oven or stand alone broiler. I use the broiler in my toaster oven because it was able to heat up faster and my oven is electric too, so I figured I wouldn't gain much by using the full-sized oven. I found that it did not cook evenly and that could be the cooking appliance, or something else. Also, I couldn't figure out how you were supposed to know if the eggs were done other than breaking into that beautiful crust that formed. Next time I think I will try putting it in a hot water bath and then put it under the broiler since it was too liquidly on the bottom.
Now that I have throughly convinced you not to make it, let me tell you what I like about this recipe. I love the salty crust that forms on the eggs from the parmesan cheese and salt sprinkled on top. It would have been great with herbs, as Ina suggests. I think this could be a great way to serve well-cooked eggs to the masses at a large family brunch, for example. It is also very fun and cute for everyone to have their own ramekins.

Baked Eggs

Servings: 1

Prep Time: 3 mins
Cook Time: 13 mins
Total Time: 16 mins

Ingredients
2 whole eggs
small sliver of butter
1 tsp milk
1/2 T grated parmesan
salt and pepper, to taste
Optional:
1/8 tsp minced garlic
1/8 tsp fresh minced thyme
1/8 tsp fresh minced rosemary
1/2 T fresh minced parsley

Directions
Preheat broiler on high. Place a rack 6 inches below the broiler.
Place milk and butter in the bottom of a 4 oz ramekin. Place under the broiler until it begins to bubble, about 3 minutes. Carefully remove the ramekin and crack 2 eggs into it. Top with salt, pepper, parmesan and herbs (if desired). Place back under the broiler for 5-10 minutes.
You may need to rotate the dish if the eggs are not cooking evenly. Once removed from the oven they will continue to cook a little. The whites should be throughly cooked while the yolks should be moderately runny. Serve with an english muffin or toast and fresh fruit.

Breakfast Tostada

I've been having a lot of Mexican food this week with all my green chile chicken and that gave me the idea of green chile eggs. So I got some egg whites and mixed in diced green chiles. Egg whites tend to be really boring, but with the green chiles and other fixings they were the perfect healthy breakfast.

Breakfast Tostada

Servings: 1

Prep Time: 3 mins
Cook Time: 7 mins
Total Time: 10 mins

Ingredients
1/3 cup egg whites, I use them from a carton instead of separating them
oil or PAM
1-2 T diced green chiles
1 corn tortilla
1/4 refried black beans
1 slice cheese, I used low-fat provolone
salsa

Directions
Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat. Spray with PAM or use a little oil so the egg doesn't stick. Pour in the egg whites and green chiles.
While the egg cooks spread the black beans on the tortilla and put in the toaster. When the eggs are done place on top of the tortilla and top with a slice of cheese. Put back in the toaster or oven on broil until the cheese starts browning. Top with your favorite salsa.