Ham & Egg Cups

I have a great-niece who is almost 9-years-old and loves to be in the kitchen. She can be a picky eater at times but there are two sure-fire ways to get her to eat. First, let her help. I have found that the more hands on kids are in the kitchen, the more likely they are to at least try what you're cooking. Second, put it in a muffin tin. We have made many meals into "muffins" and she loves it (and the adults do too!).

Today is a good breakfast or brunch item that can be customized to fit your taste. This was inspired by a dish I saw on Paula Deen's cooking show. This is something you can make very simply or fancy.

You will need for 12 muffins:

12 slices of thinly sliced ham (should be a couple inches bigger than the circle of the tin)
12 large eggs
4 chopped green onions (about a third in each muffin)
kosher or sea salt to taste
pepper to taste
mist of oil  (you can use cooking spray, I prefer to put oil in a bottle and use the mist setting)

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees and mist your muffin tin with the oil. Fit a slice of ham into each muffin, making sure the ham comes up the sides. Put the chopped green onion in the "ham cup". Have a small bowl available to crack each egg into. This way you can make sure you don't end up with tiny pieces of shell in your dish. Crack an egg into the small dish and then carefully pour it into the ham cup on top of the green onion. Continue with each egg individually. Top each one with salt and pepper and bake for 9-12 minutes. The time you cook this is dependent on how firm you would like the yolk. Remove from muffin tin. Serve with fresh fruit.



Note: For young kids, this is a great dish to make with scrambled eggs. Cook until firm, and the kids can pick them up with their hands and enjoy. This is a great place to hide veggies too. Add tomato, spinach, broccoli, anything. Use your imagination. And remember, bring the kids into the kitchen, they make great helpers!