If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, than why do so many people skip it or claim to have no time for it? Maybe it’s because they (and maybe you?) are eating the same things each morning; let it be cereal, oatmeal, fruit, a shake, or toast, it’s really time to change it up and get creative! My all-time favorite food category is brunch and if you want to get even more specific, I just adore eggs… scrambled, poached, sunny-side up and fried too. But wait! I’ve just discovered a new technique that’s even better and healthier than all of these options. Can you guess what it is?  

Baked eggs!!!! You can literally toss an egg into or onto anything and bake it for 20 minutes and wallah… the ante is upped! Oh! And this technique is not just for breakfast alone… think outside the box and drop an egg atop your next homemade pizza, baked potato, burger, or salad. It does wonders for the taste and the presentation too. And it’s an easy way to get more protein and Vitamin E into your diet. I am dying to get some baby chicks but since Andy and I rent our love shack, we can’t have them just yet. But until then, I’m thankful and envious of my girlfriends who wake up to fresh eggs on a daily basis… even if they do have to clean poop off of them first!

Today, I’m sharing four of my favorite recipes that involve (insert dun dun dun…) you guessed it! Eggs! Like I was saying before, it’s fun to toss an egg into a vegetable and then let them roast and slow cook together. I tried this with a tomato yesterday and I was impressed on what a “fire roasted” quality the egg took on. You can also toss an egg on top of portobello mushrooms, or in peppers, or squash, or in avocados and bake for an easy peesy meal. While I was showering yesterday morning, I literally had my breakfast baking in the oven, ready when I was!

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Fire Roasted Tomato with a Baked Egg- serves one or two 

Ingredients:

-1 large tomato (I used a Roma)

-1 egg

-basil

-salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400.

2. Remove the stem and some of the insides of the tomato as you would to a pumpkin.

 

3. Crack the egg and pour into the tomato. Then add the basil on top.

 

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the egg is white on top and fluffy, not slimy.

5. Remove and let cool. When you cut the tomato, the egg with split, creating an open-face appeal. Enjoy! Fresh, fast and clean!

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Spaghetti Squash Carbonara- serves two 

Ingredients:

-1 spaghetti squash, de-seeded and cut in half

-2 cups mushrooms

-8 cloves of garlic

-6 shallots

-1/2 cup white white

-1 egg

-cherry tomatoes (from my garden!)

-olive oil

-salt and pepper

-basil, scallions for garnish (from my garden too!)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450.

2. Slice the spaghetti squash in half and de-seed. Drizzle some olive oil, salt and pepper on the squash and pace cut-side down on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes or until soft.

 

3. Chop up the garlic, shallots and mushrooms and place them in a sauté pan with some olive oil. Stir well. When the shallots begin to brown, add the white wine and continue stirring. Set aside.

 

4. In a small pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add an egg. Wait 2 minutes until the egg is poached.

5. Scoop the spaghetti out of the squash shell, and add that and the veggie mixture into a large bowl.

6. Add the poached egg on top and the cherry tomatoes, scallions and basil as a garnish. Mangia!

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Avocado Baked with Eggs- serves one or two 

Ingredients:

-1 avocado, sliced length wise

-2 eggs

-cilantro

-hot sauce

-salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425.

2. Slice your avocado, remove the pit and place on a sheet tray with some foil. Scoop out some of the avocado if it looks too small for an egg to fit in there.

3. Crack an egg in each half and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. I baked mine for 20 minutes and they came out over medium.

  

4. Season as desired and enjoy!

 

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Breakfast Pizza- serves one 

Ingredients:

-small handful of pizza dough

-1/2 avocado, mashed

-2 eggs, to your liking

-tomato

-cilantro, chopped

-salt and pepper

-olive oil

Directions:

1. Start by rolling out the dough (if it’s not pre-made) with plenty of flour.

 

2. In a cast iron pan, get the temperature to medium-high and drizzle some olive oil. When the pan is warm, place the dough on top. It will take about 5 minutes to get both sides crispy so flip often.

  

3. Using half an avocado and some cilantro, mash them together in a bowl with some salt and pepper.

 

4. Cook your eggs. I made mine sunny-side up.

5. Then place the cooked pizza dough on a plate and spread the avocado mixture on top.

 

6. Place the eggs on next and garnish with the tomatoes and extra cilantro. YUM!

 

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Now for books! You’ve probably heard of the Thomas Cromwell Trilogy of books by author Hilary Mantel called Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, that have been made into a play on Broadway and a TV show on PBS. Last year, I tried to read the second book, not knowing it was part of a trilogy and I just wasn’t all that into it. But my friend (and a published author) Polly gave me a copy of Wolf Hall for my birthday and halfway through, I can say I’m hooked and will re-read the second book when I am finished with this one.

I will say I have read ALOT of books on the reign of Henry VIII and I love how Mantel writes in the voice and perspective of Cromwell, who was a devious opportunist and idealist, a scoundrel, and one of the most disliked and feared men of England during this period of time. I have yet to see the PBS shows (because I don’t and won’t ever have cable) so I’ll have to wait for it via Netflix.