Ham Cups of AWESOMENESS.....

HAM CUP OF AWESOMENESS!

If you look closely and listen carefully, you can see the light shining down on it and angels singing,
AH-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!....yeah, i'm pretty sure that's what i hear.

Today’s recipe started with my friend Emily. She found a recipe that was simply a piece of ham placed in a muffin tin, with an egg cracked into it, little salt, little pepper, and a little parmesan cheese. Me, being me, needed more, so after some experimentation I came up with “Ham Cups of AWESOMENESS”. Ironically, today I’m actually using turkey, ….it’s what I have in the fridge....and I'm only making 1.    You can use any deli meat that you like, but, “Deli Meat Cups of AWESOMENESS” just doesn’t have the same feel…..i think it’s the number of syllables (you know you just said the name again in your mind while mentally clapping along counting syllables….or maybe that was just me….but I digress….)

One thing I find really important in any recipe, is flexibility. Ham Cups of AWESOMENESS is a great example of a very flexible recipe. You can remove just about any ingredient (except probably the egg) or add just about anything to it, and it works. For future FYI, all recipes will have a variation section and a tips section that go specifically with that recipe. I will also list the brand I’m using in parentheses, so that you know where my nutritional information is coming from. Be aware that nutritional values will change, usually only a little though, depending on the different brands you use.

Nutritional info:
Calories: 255      Fat:12      Protein: 18.5      Sugars: 5      Fiber: 1ish

Prep time: 10 mins Cook Time: 18-22 mins.

Ingredients: 

1 Reduced Fat Croissant
2 slices of thin sliced deli meat [today I’m using turkey] (Hillshire Farms Turkey)
1 wedge spreadable Light Cheese (Laughing cow Light Garlic and Herb)
1.5 TBSP sautéed peppers and onions
1 TBSP spinach (again you can do frozen, but I prefer fresh that I wilt in the microwave, or throw in while sautéing veggies, it just tastes better to me)
.25 oz Fat Free Feta (Trader Joe’s)
.25 oz reduced fat cheese shreds (Weight Watchers)
1 Egg
Dash of Salt, Pepper, ground mustard, or whatever other spices you like.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Spray nonstick spray into the container you will be using. Take 1 RF Croissant and press into the cup making a crust. (You can use a muffin tin if you don't have the little ramekin, i've found though that it works better with the jumbo muffin tin, or this lovely glass ramekin i got from target for $.99.  Yes, it is oven safe, up to 450 degrees.)

3. Place meat on top of the croissant, making it into a bowl shape. 

4. Spread wedge of cheese around the bottom of your bowl shaped meat 

5. Sprinkle, peppers, onions, spinach, feta, and shredded cheese on top of this. 

Peppers, onions, and spinach.

See, it's just a little sprinkle of Feta.

And a little sprinkle of cheese!

6. Crack egg on top of the above ingredients. Season with pepper, salt, and ground mustard. 

7. Place in oven and bake 18 mins. if you like your egg a little runny, 20-22 if you like a firmer egg.

8. Eat! (and hopefully enjoy!)

I had mine with a side of cherry tomatoes, mainly b/c i'm addicted to them, and I will use any excuse to eat them, and a clementine......they are soooooooooooo stinkin' good right now!

Variations:

1. You can use any meat you like, ham, turkey, chicken, turkey bacon (which I usually pre-cook in the microwave and crumble it), or sausage crumbles.  You can also change out the spreadable cheese.  Laughing Cow has a lot of flavors, the Garlic and Herb happens to be my favorite of the one's I've tried.  I've also tried cream cheese, but it can be a little bland if you don't add some seasoning.

2. My dad doesn’t like his egg looking like an eyeball, so for him, I whip the egg with a little milk and pour it in.

3. You can add anything you want to the cup (before baking), or on top once it’s out of the oven. Some ideas, slasa, picco, avocado, sour cream, nonfat plain greek yogurt mixed with some ranch powder, fresh tomatoes…..just use your imagination.

Tips:

1. You might be thinking, this will take awhile to make, but it actually doesn’t. There have been many mornings I roll out of bed, throw one together in about 5 mins, and put it in the oven while I shower.

2. I do 2 different things when it comes to sautéed veggies. If I know I’m going to make several things that week that will use veggies, I’ll make a good sized batch and store it in a bowl and use what I need across the week. For times when I don’t foresee using much, I’ll just pull out my bag from the freezer and pull out a few strips, chop and sauté. I also keep a box of chicken broth (the kind with a pour spout that is re-sealable) in the fridge, and use that, instead of oil, to sauté the veggies. 

Aren't they cute little pepper pieces, and my super cute little frying pan......CUTENESS!!!!

3. You can actually make a couple at a time, they do refrigerate pretty well.

4. The RF croissants come 8 to a tube, which for me is a lot to go through in 1 week. So I place one rectangle (which is 2 croissants) on a piece of press and seal, fold the press and seal over it (so the rectangle is basically sandwiched between 2 pieces of press and seal), roll it up and store in the freezer. Then when I go to bed, I just pull out a little pack and put it in the fridge. I’ve even pulled them out the same day and left it on the counter, and usually within 20 mins, it’s thawed. 

Just in case you need a visual aid....b/c i usually do, here it is sandwiched between the press and seal.

And now, rolled up, ready to freeze!