With our school year is coming to an end, summer is literally just around the corner. Summer on the 45th parallel is so spectacular that our house almost turns into a Bed & Breakfast June-October with all of the visitors that come to see us.

Of course it must be our hospitality that brings people to our home each year, and not just the great views. Right?  Yep, gotta be the hospitality. So with all the company we are blessed with, I try to cook things that are quick, easy, and delicious so that I can get out of the kitchen, and spend time with our guests.

Omelette muffins are great for feeding the masses because they can be made ahead of time, and are chock full of good breakfast stuff. They make a great casual breakfast with a cup of coffee, and dish of fruit.

Oftentimes, I’ll whip up a batch omelette muffins for my family when I know that we will be having an especially hectic week. Dinners can be non-existent delayed due to multiple sports or school events, and believe me when I tell you–you don’t want to be cooped up in a car with 4 hungry, cranky kids. When I have omelette muffins on hand, I know I can pack in some quick nutrition on the go, and the kids will be satiated.  Win-win!

You’ll need: a little olive oil, some eggs, milk, vegetables to shred, kosher salt, ground white pepper, baking powder, all-purpose flour, cheddar cheese, garlic, and diced ham.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F), then spray a 12-cup muffin tin with baking spray. If you’re fresh out of baking spray, grease and then flour the muffin-cups. (Cupcake wrappers will stick to the muffins.)

Place a box grate on a layer of paper towel. Grate the vegetables through the large holes of the grater. Set aside form a moment so that the paper towel will absorb some of the moisture released from the vegetables.  I almost always use a carrot and part of a zucchini because they cook completely, and blend well with the rest of the muffin.

Peel and mince the garlic.  Pretend that I took a picture of that step and inserted it here.

Heat the olive oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat, until hot. (About 1 minute.)

Cook and stir the the shredded veggies and garlic in the warm oil until they are soft, but not browned. (About 3-5 minutes.)

Transfer the softened garlic and vegetable mixture to a small bowl to cool while preparing the muffin batter.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl, then pour the milk into the eggs.  Whisk the eggs into the milk until fluffy and blended.

Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: please grate your own cheese. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in, among other things, celluose. Celluose = wood pulp. Wood pulp adds fiber, but does not allow the cheese to melt as well. And I’m not a big fan of wood pulp omelettes.

Dump in the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and white pepper. Kosher salt is my salt of choice for savory applications because it blends well, and I can use less of it. I also use white pepper because it has a milder flavor than black pepper.  I wouldn’t want my boys to accuse me of trying to feed them something that was “too spicy.”  If your intended audience isn’t concerned about “spicy” pepper, than black pepper is a fine substitute.

Fold in the vegetable mixture and the ham.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups–a large scoop works beautifully! The cups should be 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the muffins are cooked through, and very lightly browned around the edges.  The tops of the muffins will spring back when pressed.  Allow to cool in the pan for 2 minutes before serving, or transferring to a wire rack to completely cool.

Take a look at all the hearty goodness packed into one omelette muffin! Seriously good stuff.  Make these muffins for your house guests. Or your family. Or for yourself. Or for you neighbors. Or…just make them soon!

And feel free to change up the meat/veggie/cheese combination to suit your own tastes. I’ve added a few suggestions in the printable recipe.

As a Side Note:  After I’ve shredded what zucchini I need for the recipe, I go ahead and shred the rest of it.

Then I put it in a freezer bag before popping it in the freezer for later use in zucchini bread or something.

Omelette Muffins

http://comfortablydomestic.com

Makes 12 standard muffins

1 ½ tsp. olive oil (more if needed)

½ C. raw vegetables, shredded

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

6 eggs

½ C. milk

1 C. cheddar cheese, shredded

1 C. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. ground white pepper

1 C. ham, cubed (OR 2/3 C. crisp cooked, crumbled bacon, OR browned & crumbled sausage)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Spray a 12-cup muffin pan well with baking spray.
2. Peel (if necessary) and shred raw vegetables. Vegetables with a high water content (like zucchini should be blotted dry with a paper towel after shredding.)
3. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat until very warm.
4. Sautee shredded vegetables, and minced garlic in the warm oil. Cook and stir veggies for about 3-5 minutes, or until they soften, but are not browned.
5. Remove softened vegetables to a bowl to cool.
6. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk until fluffy.
7. Stir in the cheese.
8. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper until just combined.
9. Stir in the ham (or other desired meat.)
10. Use a large scoop to portion batter into the prepared muffin cups. The cups should be about ¾ full of batter.
11. Bake in a preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, or until muffins are cooked through, and very lightly browned around the edges. (The tops of muffins should spring back when pressed.)
12. Serve warm, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

Notes:  I like using ham as opposed to breakfast meats because the muffins don’t get greasy. If you use cooked bacon or sausage, be sure to blot well with a paper towel to remove excess grease before adding to the muffin batter.

Carrots always make up half of my vegetable mixture. Zucchini is a nice compliment to the carrots, and gives a punch of green.

Chilled muffins can be warmed by microwaving for 20-30 seconds on high. Or, if frozen, thaw muffins overnight in the refrigerator to be re-heated in the morning.