Vegetable Egg Cups

As part of the free clean eating and exercise challenge group I am doing this week, I decided to include some new recipes from the FIXATE Cookbook in my meal plan for the week.  There are SO many quick and healthy recipes in the FIXATE Cookbook that I've been wanting to try, and my challenge group this week was JUST the excuse I needed to make it happen!  :)

Today marks day 1 of my clean eating and exercise challenge.  This morning for breakfast, I made Vegetable Egg Cups for the first time and found a new favorite breakfast to add to my meal rotation!!  This was such a quick and delicious breakfast recipe - seriously so easy to make!  And kid friendly!  My toddler ate as many I did (2 egg cups each) and even wanted more!  Of course, there weren't any more since I only made as many as I thought we would eat - I didn't want there to be any leftovers if we didn't like it.  Ha!  Can anyone else relate to that?!?

Now that I know we like Vegetable Egg Cups, I can make extra next time!!  These would make a great grab-and-go breakfast, and extra egg cups could be stored in the fridge (or freezer) and then reheated in the microwave.  They are also really versatile - I'm excited to experiment with different veggie combinations the next time I make this!!

Today, I made a total of four Vegetable Egg Cups, including (1) two plain egg cups for my toddler (he doesn't like anything other than seasonings added to his eggs!), seasoned with garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and (2) two veggie egg cups with onions and green peppers, seasoned with salt and pepper (pictured at right).  I used a frozen veggie blend in the veggie egg cups, and they took twice as long to cook compared to the plain egg cups (30 minutes vs. 15 minutes).  We had fresh fruit on the side (watermelon!!).  Great, healthy breakfast.  Original recipe for the Vegetable Egg Cups is included below!

Vegetable Egg Cups

Ingredients:

• Non-stick cooking spray or non-stick baking cups
• 12 large eggs
• Sea salt (or Himalayan salt) and ground black pepper, to taste (optional)
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped veggies
• 12 Tbsp salsa

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. Lightly coat a twelve-cup muffin tin with spray or place non-stick backing cups in muffin tin. 
3. Place eggs in a large bowl; whisk to blend. 
4. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
5. Add veggies; mix well. 
6. Evenly pour egg mixture into muffin cups. 
7. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cups comes out clean. The tops of the egg cups should be firm to the touch.
8. Top each egg cup with 1 Tbsp salsa.

Tips and Other Notes:

• You can experiment with all sorts of veggie and seasoning combinations.  My toddler likes garlic powder added to his; you could also add minced garlic.  Good veggie combinations include: (1) Chopped mushrooms, chopped bell peppers, and chopped onions, (2) Chopped broccoli florets and shredded carrots (3) Chopped red, green, and yellow bell peppers (4) Chopped bell peppers with chopped onions, (5) Spinach and chopped mushrooms.

• You could saute your veggies before adding them in with the whisked eggs.  

• Shred the veggies you use to make the veggie egg cups more kid-friendly.

• To keep this recipe clean, make sure you use a clean salsa!  In our household, we love Mateo's salsa!  Clean and delicious.

• Store extra egg cups in an airtight container in the fridge for no longer than 4 days. You can also store these individually in the freezer! To thaw, remove from the freezer the night before and store in the refrigerator. Then just pop it in the microwave in the morning until warm.

Below is a video of Autumn Calabrese, author of the FIXATE cookbook, demonstrating how she likes to make her Mini Vegetable Egg Cups.

Have you made Vegetable Egg Cups before?  If so, what's your favorite veggie combination?!?

I would love to hear!

<3 Deise