Have a Merry Morning! Bacon, Eggs & Hash Brown Cups

This year was the first year that Steve and I spent Christmas (eve, morning and day) together! And given that this would be the first of many, we wanted to create some of our own traditions - including a delicious Christmas morning breakfast. I had been looking through lots of food blogs, websites and magazines when I finally came across the perfect recipe for us in the Inspired Magazine: Bacon, Eggs and Hash Brown Cups.

For us this was the perfect recipe because it allowed us to only make as many as we would want - many Christmas morning breakfast recipes would serve 6-8 people and although we do love food, we knew that a dish that large would go to waste.

I have been very impressed with the recipes that we had tried to date from the Inspired Magazine so I felt comfortable marking this as our go-to Christmas morning tradition breakfast (no pressure!).

Here are all of the ingredients that you will need for this recipe:

Ramekins (we used three - 2 for Steve and 1 for me)
1 tablespoon melted butter
3 cups Compliments Hash Brown Fried Potatoes (thawed)
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 Compliments Large Eggs, whites only, whisked
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper (each)


Filling
6 slices Compliments Naturally Smoked Bacon
1 small red pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded Sensations by Compliments Aged 5 Years Canadian Cheddar Cheese
6 Compliments Large Eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper (each)

 And here is how you will bring it all together:

1.	Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). In a bowl, combine butter, hash browns, green onions, egg whites, salt and pepper and mix well.
2.	Evenly divide hash brown mixture among a large 6-cup, non-stick muffin tin or six 6-oz (175 g) ramekins. Firmly press mixture into bottoms and up sides of each cup. Bake on bottom rack of oven until golden, about 15 min. Set aside to cool.
3.	In a non-stick skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crispy, about 5 min. Transfer bacon to a paper towel–lined plate and discard all but 1 tbsp (15 mL) of bacon fat. Add red pepper to skillet and cook until softened, about 4 min. Remove from heat and crumble bacon into skillet. Divide red pepper mixture evenly among muffin cups.
4.	Sprinkle egg cups with cheese and then crack 1 egg into each cup. Bake until whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 10 min. (Add 1 to 2 min. for firm yolks.) Season with salt and pepper. Use a knife to remove potato cups from pan and serve immediately.

I also appreciated that the online recipe for this dish suggests some tips to help with the preparation:

• Make ahead: Prepare steps 1 and 2 the night before, cover and refrigerate. Bring cups to room temperature before proceeding with step 3.

This dish was amazing and was the perfect Christmas morning breakfast! We are looking forward to making it for many more Christmases to come!


Give this recipe a try anytime you have a special occasion - it would also be great for brunch!


Bon appetite & enjoy!