Did anyone get any rest over the Holidays? While I can say yeah, it was a relaxing time for me occasionally, no, I really don’t feel rested. We did a lot more with hosting family at our house during the 2013 holiday season and I tried to squeeze in some general home clutter maintenance at the same time. As they say, we all need a vacation from the vacation! Not exactly the best way to welcome the New Year, but hey – it’s real!
Speaking of the New Year, this is the time you tend to see more talk of getting back into better eating habits, losing weight, and all the usual usual-ness that comes with it. So we’re taking a break just this once to get into that particular swing of things. Cuz this recipe is healthy! Toot your YAY horns! *toot toot*
Yes, there’s bacon, but this recipe was still surprisingly healthy looking at Southern Living’s nutrition breakdown.
See – starting the year right indeed with bacon and healthfulness. I always knew the two were compatible.
One reason the recipe is pretty healthy is the addition of a few egg whites only to the six whole eggs called for. Taking out those four yolks makes a surprisingly big difference. If you want to halve the recipe, which makes 12 muffin-sized soufflés, just use three whole eggs and two egg whites.
Use low-fat milk to keep the healthiness in mind. We used 2%, but you could use 1% as well. Use skim at your own risk. I tend to believe at least a little fat in the milk makes these little breakfast treats taste better.
This is a topping of sorts for the soufflés: diced and cooked bacon pieces, a little grated ginger and green onions. Really simple combination, but this mixture gives it all a really nice kick of flavor.
We filled each cup to about 1/2 an inch from the top of the muffin cups.
This is probably a good time to confess that we added about 3/4 cup of shredded cheese to the recipe. We know you’re not surprised. We actually put it in the egg mixture, but in hindsight it would be better to put a very small sprinkle of the cheese on top of the bacon mixture after it’s added to each cup.
Each muffin well gets a nice, generous amount of the bacon mixture, but sprinkle it on sparingly at first and add more as needed so you do make sure there’s enough for each soufflé.
Our soufflés needed a little longer baking time than the recipe called for. You just want them to be nice and set, especially in the middle of each.
These are super cute for breakfast or brunch with friends, maybe with some toast and fresh fruit, coffee and all the other usual suspects. The eggs have that scrambled consistency, but the bacon mixture added on top adds some wow factor flavor. These are really easy to make; the most work is probably from cooking the bacon prior to assembling everything. These would be great made a little ahead that morning and reheated briefly in the oven before serving. Enjoy and Happy New Year!
Muffin-Cup Soufflés
from Southern Living Magazine, January 2014
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: about 25-35 minutes Level: Easy Makes: 12 soufflés
- 6 cooked bacon slices, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 large eggs
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 cup low-fat milk
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 12 paper baking cups
- Vegetable cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper baking cups in a 12-cup muffin pan and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Stir together the 6 cooked, chopped bacon slices, chopped green onions and the ginger. Pepper to taste. Set aside.
Whisk together the 6 large eggs, 4 large egg whites, the milk and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Divide egg mixture evenly among each muffin cup, about 1/3 cup each. Top each with the bacon mixture. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until tops begin to brown. Cool for a few minutes on a wire rack and serve.
Notes:
Again, if you decide to use shredded cheese, sprinkle about a tablespoon or slightly more on top of each muffin cup after adding the bacon mixture. Proceed as directed with baking.
After cooling and deflating a little, the recipe as is would probably serve six if you accompany it with toast, scones, fruit, etc., counting on two per person. You can find nutritional info on this recipe here.