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Welcome back to my 5-part freezer cooking series (as seen on the Whole30 blog this past Fall)! In case you missed it, check out the first post for everything you need to know before getting started! For each post from here on out, I’ll be sharing an original recipe from yours truly, and also showing you how you can adapt one of the recipes from the New York Times #1 bestseller, The Whole30. In this post, I'm tackling the most important meal of the day -- BREAKFAST!
For me, weekend mornings are days of straight-up breakfast feasts. From egg scrambles to dippy eggs and various veggie hashes, I have plenty of time to cook up something awesome that will fuel me until lunch time. Weekdays are a different story altogether. I usually boil ten hard boiled eggs on a Sunday, grab two on my way out the door, and eat them once I get to work. But can I just say, day in and day out, hard boiled eggs can get a bit boring.
So, this week, I’ll be sharing two recipes ideal for Grab-and-Go Breakfasts -- for those days you just can’t look at another hard boiled egg. Consider these recipes for your January Whole30 week two meal prep!
Veggie Egg Muffins
[Whole30 - Paleo - Gluten Free - Grain Free - Dairy Free]
First up, Veggie Egg Muffins! These cute little guys are loaded with veggies and wrapped in a salty piece of prosciutto, and they freeze very well. If you eat two for breakfast along with some fruit, this recipe has you covered for 2 weeks of work days. Just please, pay attention when I say, DO NOT skip the step where I tell you to grease the muffin tins. “Prosciutto has plenty of fat,” she thought… “There’s no way these will stick,” she thought. Think again!
Ingredients:
12 Eggs
10 slices of prosciutto, cut in half
2 large poblano peppers, finely chopped
4 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large sweet potato, skin-on, diced
1 Tbsp hot sauce
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
Olive oil or coconut oil
Instructions:
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with olive oil, then spread diced sweet potatoes into a single layer. Spray sweet potatoes with olive oil and season with salt and seasonings of choice (I like chipotle chili powder).
- While sweet potatoes are baking, heat 2 tsp cooking oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté poblano peppers and onions until they start to soften, then add chopped spinach, cooking until it is just wilted. Once the potatoes are fork-tender (bake for about 10 minutes), add them to the skillet along with the other veggies.
- To prepare the muffin tins, brush tins with melted coconut oil or olive oil (DO NOT SKIP this step), then line each cup with a half slice of prosciutto.
- In a large bowl, whisk 12 eggs, then season with ½ tsp salt and pepper. Add veggie mixture and combine. Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop egg/veggie mixture into prosciutto-lined muffin tins.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min or until set. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then remove from muffin tins using a butter knife or a spoon.
Freezing Instructions:
- Arrange muffins on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet, then allow them to cool completely in the refrigerator.
- Place cookie sheet in freezer until the outside of muffins is frozen solid.
- Portion out into zip-top bags, removing all air, then store in the freezer.
To Serve:
- Place egg muffins in the refrigerator the night before, and in the morning, they should be ready to go! Microwave for 30-45 seconds or eat them cold.
- To prepare from frozen, wrap 2 egg muffins in a paper towel, then microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds or until heated through.
Whole30 Breakfast Sausage
Now, for today’s recipe from The Whole30 -- You may have tried the recipe for Breakfast Sausage from pg 208. If not, you should check it out -- this stuff is delicious. You can use whatever type of meat you prefer and mix up the spices to your heart’s content. Now let’s make this recipe freezer-friendly!
Instructions:
Prepare sausage recipe as listed on pg 208 of The Whole 30.
Freezing Instructions:
You can freeze this sausage using 4 different methods:
- Cooked patties: Cook the sausage per instructions in The Whole 30. After draining on a paper towel, remove the patties to a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Allow the sausage to cool completely in the refrigerator before splitting into zip-top bags, removing air, and freezing.
- Raw patties: After you have portioned the sausage into patties, arrange them on a wax paper-lined baking sheet, then freeze until the outside of each sausage is frozen solid. Store in a zip-top bag or in an airtight plastic container with waxed paper in-between the layers.
- Cooked crumbles: Skip the step of forming the sausage into patties and instead, cook sausage in a skillet, breaking it up with a spatula, until all is browned. Portion out into zip-top bags and allow to cool completely in refrigerator before transferring to the freezer. Remember to remove the air from the bag!
- Raw Bulk: If you have a recipe that calls for sausage, you may want to freeze it in 1 lb portions (or whatever your recipe calls for). Place sausage mixture into a zip-top bag, remove as much air as possible, then freeze.
To Serve:
Cooked patties: Thaw overnight then reheat in a skillet or microwave until warm (15-30 seconds). Wrap frozen patties in a paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds - 1 minute.
Raw patties: Allow to thaw or thaw in microwave, then cook in skillet over medium-high heat.
Cooked crumbles: Allow to thaw then use in recipes as desired.
Raw Bulk: Allow to thaw then cook for use in recipes as desired.
And there you have it! Breakfast of Whole30 champions.
Keep an eye out for the next post in the series, Crock Pot Freezer Meals!