Breakfast | RecipeTin Eats

Homemade Pork Sausage Patties

Nagi — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0000

These sausage patties are your favourite pork sausage in patty form. It’s so easy – just pork mince (ground pork) mixed with a simple spice blend! Serve for dinner with garlic rice or roast potatoes with steamed greens. Then enjoy for breakfast with eggs!

Homemade sausage patties

This is just a great, quick way to use pork mince to make something really tasty that’s a little bit different to the usual. (That’s ground pork, to Americans reading this!)

Essentially, it’s the flavour of your favourite classic pork sausages, cooked up in patty form. Some might identify with these as breakfast sausage patties. It’s similar to the sausage patties I use in my homemade Sausage and Egg Not-McMuffins. But the spice blend is a little bolder, because these are intended for eating plain rather than in breakfast burger form which gets an extra helping hand from cheese and egg.

They are very, very tasty. And I particularly love that there’s no chopping involved, not even mincing garlic. Just crack open your spice jars!

What you need

Here’s what you need to make these pork sausage patties. Pork is the best meat to use because it’s the softest and juiciest. However, the spice blend goes well with chicken and turkey too.

Pork – The fattier your meat, the juicier your patties will be. Having said that, you will see in the video how ridiculously juicy my patties are, and I made this with ordinary pork mince purchased from the grocery store!
Sage powder – This is the secret ingredient! It’s got an earthy, herbaceous flavour and rarely do you see it used in the quantities we’re using in today’s recipe: 1 whole teaspoon for 500g/1lb of pork. It’s the spice that separates this blend from any other generic spice mix, and makes it distinctly “pork sausage” flavoured!
Other spices – Nothing unusual here, just all my usual suspects. Thyme, garlic and onion powder, black pepper (an assertive amount!), salt and a touch of sugar.

No breadcrumbs, no egg. Today’s patties are 100% meat, as all sausages should be. Boo to fillers!

How to make homemade pork sausage patties

Surprise! Guess who’s in today’s recipe video.

Mix the pork and spices together well. Use your hands, there’s just no better way to ensure all the spices mix through properly! Using your hands also binds the meat together better which ensures your patties don’t fall apart when cooking.
Form patties – Make 8 patties, pressing together firmly. Make them about 1cm / 0.4″ thick. This is the ideal thickness so they cook through relatively quickly and evenly while the surface goes a lovely golden brown.
Too thick = overcooked outer band and risk of overly brown surface. Too thin = cooks through too quickly before you get colour on the surface.
DENT to prevent doming! Make a shallow dent in the middle of the pattie (just one side) using the back your 2 fingers. This anticipates the doming that happens when you cook patties, so these patties come out flat instead and makes it easier to brown the surface easily.
Don’t even think about pressing the patties flat – you’ll squeeze all the tasty meat juices out!
Cook patties on medium high for 2 minutes on each side until deep golden. Drain on paper towels then serve!

How I serve sausage patties

Serve for dinner with a starch, greens and a squirt of ketchup! There is absolutely no need to get fancy with the sauce.

Here are some combination suggestions:

With garlic rice or roast potatoes, and steamed greens drizzled with dressing (I used French Dressing in the photos today but if you’re in a rush, use my Everyday Dressing)
With potato and gravy
In burger form. Jam 2 patties between bread or in long rolls with lettuce, cheese, onion, pickles and – yup, you guessed it, a squirt of ketchup!

And as for breakfast:

With a fried or scrambled eggs and toast
Breakfast burgers! Egg, bacon, pan fried tomato slices or mushrooms and cheese, piled on a soft roll. Yes yes yes!
Homemade Sausage and Egg McMuffin – See separate recipe here.

I’m sure I’m missing some obvious, excellent ways to serve homemade sausage patties. Share your suggestions below! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

My debut recipe video starring yours truly! Just dabbling…..

Homemade sausage patties

Recipe video above. This is your favourite pork sausage in patty form. It's so easy – just pork mince (ground pork) mixed with a spice blend. Great to make ahead and freeze, then cook up on demand.

Serve for dinner with garlic rice and steamed green beans tossed with French Dressing. O make burgers! Also great for breakfast with scrambled eggs on toast. (I'd still use ketchup )

Course Breakfast, Mains

Cuisine Western

Keyword homemade sausage patties, pork patties

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Servings patties

Calories 199cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Sausage patties:

500g/ 1 lb pork mince (ground pork) (sub chicken, turkey)
1 tsp dried ground sage (secret ingredient! Note 1)
1/2 tsp dried thyme , crushed with fingers (Note 2)
1 tsp onion powder (sub more garlic powder)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (sub more onion powder)
1 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp cooking / kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp table salt)
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

Cooking & serving:

2 tbsp olive oil
Ketchup for serving

Instructions

Make patties – Place sausage pattie ingredients in a bowl and mix well with your hands. Divide into 8 and form 1 cm / 0.4" thick patties. Make a shallow dent in the middle of the surface – this prevents the patties from doming as they cook.
Cook 4 minutes – Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large non stick pan over medium high heat. Cook half the patties for 2 minutes on each side until golden. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Heat remaining oil and cook remaining patties.
Serve with ketchup! (See recipe card intro for serving ideas)

Notes

1. Dried sage is the secret spice that makes this so good! Don’t have it? Substitute with 1/2 tsp paprika + 1/4 tsp cumin + 1/4 tsp extra garlic powder. Different flavour but still very tasty, makes up for missing sage.

2. Thyme – Roughly crush it with your fingers so it becomes a little more powdery coaxes more flavour out of it.

3. Leftovers – Cooked leftovers can be kept for 3 days in the fridge. Uncooked raw patties will keep for as long as the raw pork will, or in the freezer for 3 months (thaw then cook per recipe). Freeze in a single layer on trays then stack in an airtight container. Else, put paper between each one (I can’t be bothered which is why I freeze on trays first!).

Nutrition per pattie.

Nutrition

Life of Dozer

Multiple cameos in today’s recipe video!

The post Homemade Pork Sausage Patties appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Waffles

Nagi — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Waffles are easy – same ingredients as pancakes, just different ratios so they’re crispy outside, soft and fluffy inside. You can make this waffle recipe right now, though if you make the batter the night before they’re even better!

Which is better: pancakes or waffles??

Pancakes are great. But waffles are better. Because they have maple syrup and butter catching pockets. And they’re crispy. Whereas pancakes get soggy when they absorb maple syrup.

You can also make multiple waffles in one go with a waffle maker, whereas pancakes are made one at a time. Though I do acknowledge that pancakes don’t require any special tools – unlike waffles for which you need a waffle maker.

But if you take the need for a waffle maker out of the equation, for me, it’s a no brainer. Waffles for the win, every day!!!

Just on waffle makers….

Yes, you need a waffle maker to make waffles. There’s no way around that, sadly! Waffle makers – or waffle irons – cook the waffle when batter or dough* is placed between hot plates that have grids that create the indentations.

However, not all waffle makers are created equal. Better quality ones (read: pricier) will yield thicker waffles with a crispier crust that’s evenly golden (I’ve got this one – a bit of an investment for people serious about waffles). More economical ones are not quite as crispy – like my Kmart one. But I am still very happy with my Kmart waffles made with this waffle batter!

* Dough? Yes! Real Belgium waffles are made with a yeast-dough, not a batter, cooked in a waffle iron. They are magnificent! A recipe for another day.

What you need for waffles

Seriously, just the same ingredients as pancakes. Just different ratios so it cooks up crispy.

Flour – Just plain / all purpose flour. You can substitute the flour and baking powder with self raising flour (which has baking powder built in) and it works fine, but it is not quite as soft inside. That’s just the case with anything you make using self raising flour rather than flour + baking powder.
Baking powder – On baking powder, if yours has sat unused in the back of your pantry for months and months, check it is still alive else you may end up with dense waffles!
Sugar – Caster/superfine sugar is safest because it’s smaller grains so you know it will easily dissolve. However, regular/granulated sugar is fine to use too.
Eggs – At room temperature, so they incorporate easily into the batter. Use large eggs which are ~55g / 2 oz each, an industry standard so the eggs will be labelled “large eggs” on the carton. More on eggs for baking here.
Milk – Full fat please! Lower fat in light milk will make the inside of the waffles drier. Warm it slightly so it’s not fridge cold, else it can bring down the temperature of the batter too much and cause the butter to solidify when mixed through. Just use the microwave (30 seconds) or stove.
Butter – For flavour! Melt then cool slightly so it’s not piping hot.
Salt – Just a touch, to bring out the flavours. This is good general practice for all (well, most!) sweet baking recipes.
Vanilla – For flavour!

How to make waffles

For the tastiest waffles with extra soft insides, make the batter the night before and rest overnight. Or, at least 2 hours. Makes the flour grain swell because it absorbs the liquid. Bonus: handy. Wake up to freshly cooked waffles!

Whisk dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Just whisk to mix them up.
Whisk in wet – put the milk, eggs and vanilla in first and whisk to combine. Once incorporated, add the butter then whisk until lump free.
Batter – The batter is thicker than a pancake batter (which should be thin enough to spread in a pan) but thinner than a muffin batter (which semi-mounds in muffin tins).
Recommended overnight or 2 hr resting – for the tastiest waffles, rest the batter overnight in the fridge or for at least 2 hours. This makes the flour grains absorb the liquid so it makes the inside of the waffles softer. And if you rest overnight, the batter develops more flavour – in the same way overnight bread and pizza dough does!

Fill waffle maker – Preheat a waffle iron until hot (see below for settings note). You won’t need oil if your waffle iron is non-stick, as is standard. Then use a ladle to fill with batter, just until the iron is covered. Don’t get greedy – it will leak out the sides!
Cook until the exterior is golden. In a quality waffle iron, this might take 3 1/2 minutes. In a more economical one, it can take 6 minutes plus. (See above for quality v economical waffle irons). The faster it cooks, the more moist the inside is!
Remove from the waffle iron using a butter knife of similar, then serve immediately while they are hot and crisp. (They soften as they cool).

* Waffle maker settings – my Breville Waffle Pro has setting options. I use heat setting 3 of 5, “Classic” option (as opposed to Belgium, buttermilk, chocolate etc), with the colour dial set midway between Light and Dark. My Kmart waffle maker has no options.

Waffle toppings

You really don’t need anything more than maple syrup or honey plus a pat of butter. Though I do recommend making sure your butter is at room temperature so it melts as intended even if your waffles are not piping-hot out of the waffle maker when it hits your plate.

Nobody likes un-melted ice-cold rock-hard butter on their waffles!

As for other topping suggestions: icing sugar/powdered sugar for dusting plus whipped cream and strawberries are my indulgence / pretty plate toppings of choice, extensively pictured through this post. 😇

Some more ideas for you: other fresh fruit (especially berries), any kind of fruit sauce (think – strawberry, blueberry), fruit compotes, jam, lemon curd, passionfruit curd, chocolate or caramel sauce, melted Nutella, ice cream (absolutely, why not!), creme fraiche, marscapone, double cream or yogurt (a lightly sweetened vanilla one would be lovely).

So many options! Share what you top yours with so you can inspire me and others! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Really great waffles

Recipe video above. This is a no-fuss waffle batter recipe that makes really great waffles that are delightfully crispy on the outside and delicately soft on the inside. Make them right now, or make the batter the night before for waffles with even softer insides – see Note 1!

You need a waffle maker – see note 2 for my thoughts on economical v premium.

Makes 9-10 with my good waffle maker (thicker, bigger), 12-14 with my Kmart waffle maker (which I still love!).

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Western

Keyword waffle recipe, waffles

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 2 25

Servings

Calories 268cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Waffle batter:

2 1/4 cup flour , plain / all purpose
2 1/2 tbsp caster sugar / superfine sugar (sub granulated / ordinary sugar)
Pinch cooking / kosher salt
4 tsp baking powder (if yours is old, check it's still good)
1 1/3 cup milk , full fat, slightly warmed (not piping hot)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
4 large eggs , at room temperature (what this means)
150g / 11 tbsp unsalted butter , melted and slightly cooled (not piping hot)

Topping options:

Butter , softened (strongly recommended!)
Maple syrup (strongly recommended!), or honey
Icing sugar / powdered sugar , for dusting
Strawberries, other fruit , whipped cream, melted chocolate, jams, fruit compotes, creme fraiche, strawberry sauce, blueberry or other sauce, ice cream

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Whisk dry – Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to mix.
Whisk in wet – Add milk, eggs and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Add melted butter then whisk until lump free. The batter should be pourable but thick – slightly thinner than pancakes.
Recommended resting (Note 1) – Cover then refrigerate overnight, or for at least 2 hours. Softer insides, better flavour. Else, proceed immediately with cooking.
Preheat a waffle maker (Note 2, inc setting options). A non stick one will not need oil, plus there is butter in the batter.
Cooking – Use a ladle to pour batter in to just cover the iron. Don't get greedy – it will leak out the sides! Cook until golden and crisp – my good waffle iron takes 3 1/2 minutes, my Kmart one takes 6 minutes.
Serving – Transfer onto plates and serve as you go, with desired toppings. Or, put on a rack and keep warm in a preheated 70°C/150°F oven while you continue cooking!

Notes

1. Resting – Waffle recipe is great made immediately. But batter resting for 2+ hours makes the flour absorb the liquid so the inside of the waffles is even softer and airier. And with overnight resting, the batter develops flavour so the waffle is tastier (like overnight bread and pizza doughs). In any case, making the batter the evening before is super handy – wake up to fresh waffles!

2. A better waffle iron will make better waffles that are thicker with a crispier, more evenly golden exterior and softer more moist insides. With this waffle batter, you will still have really great waffles made with an economical waffle iron (I have a Kmart one). But you’ll make exceptional waffles with a quality one! (I also have the Breville Waffle Pro). I have two waffle makers because cooking is my job. But if it weren’t, I’d be perfectly happy with just my Kmart one.

Waffle maker setting – my Breville Waffle Pro has setting options. I use heat setting 3 of 5, “Classic” option (as opposed to Belgium, buttermilk, chocolate etc), with the colour dial set midway between Light and Dark. My Kmart waffle maker has no options.

3. Storage – Waffles lose crispiness as they cool but will keep for 3 – 4 days in the fridge. Sometimes I reheat in the toaster, other times in the oven. I’m not very fussy!

Nutrition per waffle, assuming 10 waffles (thick waffles with my good waffle maker). For 14 waffles (Kmart), it is 191 calories each.

Nutrition

More breakfast beauties

Pancakes – fluffy, quick, no fail

Ricotta Pancakes

Ham and cheese omelette

Extra Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes

Up-and-go breakfast muffins!

Crumpet recipe

Bacon & Egg Breakfast Muffins

Croque Monsieur – the ultimate ham & cheese sandwich!

Breakfast

Life of Dozer

Currently in Mudgee, a regional town 3 1/2 hours from Sydney, for a Readers’ Festival! We will be at the local book store The Book Nest on Saturday 19th August from 1.30 to 2.30 to sign books and chat all things food. Then on Sunday Dozer and I are hosting a long lazy lunch at the Blue Wren Farm restaurant, a beautiful working farm and vineyard on the outskirts of Mudgee. Looking forward to it!

I have no cute photos of Dozer in the streets of this quaint country town because it’s raining today. This is what he’s been doing in the hotel room pretty much since we got here – staring at the ducks outside. 😂

The post Waffles appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Ham and cheese omelette

Nagi — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 05:29:04 +0000

I’ve updated the way I make omelettes. This “scrambled egg” approach is easier and yields a better result without having to worry about raw egg in the middle. Today’s omelette recipe is filled with ham and cheese. Sauté your ham first!

Ham and cheese omelette

I used to cook omelettes using the technique whereby you lift the edge then tilt the pan to allow the raw egg to run underneath. While that method works fine, it does have a tendency for the risk of raw egg in the middle unless you take the omelette to slightly golden on the surface. While perfectly acceptable to me and in every day diners, this is a no-go zone in the high-end culinary world. The surface of omelettes should not even have a hint of golden colour and the surface should be swirl-free. Like this:

French omelette (plain, nothing inside). Notice how the surface is blemish free, not golden, and smooth!

That’s a French omelette, by the way. It’s usually folded in 3, like above, or shaped like an almond rather than half moon. The inside is a little more fluffy than creamy like mine, and there is a little more technique behind it. If you want it, ask me for it! Maybe I should get our French Chef JB to teach you how to make it – would you like that?

As for today’s omelette, it’s a homestyle one and much more rustic looking. But nevertheless as good as you’ll get at any respectable breakfast bistro around town!

What you need to make an omelette

All you need to make the omelette itself is eggs, a pinch of salt and butter or oil for cooking. On the matter of cream or milk – see below!

Do you add cream, milk or water to omelettes? A splash of cream (or milk) is said to make omelettes a little creamier. But in all honesty, the cooking technique makes much more of a difference. No one will ever know if you do or do not include cream. Whereas everybody will know if your omelette is dry and rubbery!!

For me personally, I can’t break the habit so I add cream if I have it, and milk if I don’t.

A note on salt – Eggs, bizarrely, can only take the smallest amount of salt. Even 1/8 teaspoon of salt for 3 eggs makes it too salty – even without ham and cheese. For my egg sandwiches filling, I only use 1/8 teaspoon salt across 6 whole eggs! So for a 3 egg omelette, you only need a pinch of salt.

Butter vs oil – Butter wins every time for flavour! Oil works fine and you can get away with using less. But it doesn’t add to flavour unless you use a really good extra virgin olive oil.

Ham and cheese for omelette

Today’s omelette is stuffed with ham and cheese. For convenience, I used pre-chopped ham (I like that they are a bit meatier than using sliced ham). If you use sliced ham, just chop it into batons or tear into strips.

As for the cheese, I always shred my own because it melts easier than store-bought shredded which is coated with anti-caking agents. Store-bought is also cut thicker which means it takes longer to melt in omelettes.

Use a flavoured melting cheese, like colby (I use this), gruyere, tasty, cheddar, Monterey Jack. Mozzarella melts great but doesn’t have as much flavour so you might want to add a sprinkle of parmesan or pinch of salt on the cheese itself.

Other things to put in omelettes

I’m shameless – I’ll put virtually anything in an omelette. Here are some suggestions – obvious and less obvious!

Garlic mushrooms – see Mushroom Omelette recipe
Prosciutto asparagus (in the egg white omelette) – excellent low calorie filling option
Grilled marinated vegetables or antipasto type things (leftovers from Wednesday’s Antipasto Chickpea Salad!) – chopped
Pizza toppings – pepperoni/salami, capsicum/bell peppers, onion, cheese
Leftover quesadilla fillings
Dinner leftovers – like spaghetti bolognese (I’d add cheese), meatballs (chop them). Good enough for jaffles, good enough for omelettes! Even stir fries will work – Chinese omelettes are a real thing!

Mushroom omelette

Egg white omelette with prosciutto asparagus

Grilled marinated vegetables

It’s gotta be non-stick!

Whatever size pan you use, be sure it has a good non-stick coating. Eggs are the world’s best natural food glue!

Pan size – The thickness of your omelette will be determined by the size of your omelette pan. I use a 24cm / 9 1/2″ Tefal non-stick pan measured from rim to rim, and this is the size measure the pan is sold as. It has a curved edge, so the flat base of this pan measures 18cm / 7 1/4″ in diameter. This is the size the omelette comes out.

A smaller omelette pan will make a thicker omelette that will take a little longer to cook through. A larger pan will make a thinner omelette. The other thing with a larger omelette is that it can be a little trickier to fold in half, but nothing a little confidence and quick flick of the wrist can manage!

How to make a ham and cheese omelette

I always sauté the ham first, not only to give it a little flavour but also because the warm ham helps the cheese melt faster so you don’t have to worry about over-cooking the omelette to get oozy cheese. Nobody wants to cut into an omelette only to find the cheese inside is not melted!!

Whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt and cream or milk (if using). Whisk well until fully combined and a bit foamy – takes me about 10 seconds with a mini whisk.
Tools – Use a non stick 24cm/9.5″ wide pan, or thereabouts (18cm/7 1/4″ flat base). You will need at least 1 rubber spatula for cooking, though 2 will make your omelette folding life a whole lot easier!

Sauté ham – Melt a tiny dab of butter in the pan over medium heat. Once foaming, swirl/spread then, using a rubber spatula (which we need for the omelette), cook the ham just for a minute or two until it is warmed through. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Medium low to medium heat – Return the pan to the stove and melt the remaining butter until foaming. We want the stove on moderate heat – which might be medium low or low for you, depending on the strength of your stove and the size of the stove ring you are using. We don’t want it too high else you’ll have to deal with the surface burning before the inside cooks through. Too low, and the omelette takes so long to cook it kind of turns rubbery. We need to find the happy medium!

Semi-scrambled your eggs! Give the eggs a quick whisk then pour into the pan. Leave it for 15 seconds or until you see the edges just start to set. Then, using the rubber spatula, start making long, leisurely strokes, scraping the cooked eggs off the base to allow the uncooked egg to run, until the eggs are partially cooked.
GOAL – The eggs should be still raw enough to spread like jam across the base of the skillet, but not raw enough that the eggs run when you tilt the pan.
TIP – If at any point you feel like the eggs are cooking too fast, just remove the skillet off the stove!
Spread the custardy semi-scrambled eggs across the base of the skillet and roughly smooth the surface. Tidy the edges, if you you feel so inclined. (I feel inclined).

Top – Sprinkle half the omelette with the cheese, then the warmed ham (this helps melt the cheese).
Fold – Ensure the naked side of the omelette is not stuck by running the rubber spatula around the edge (it won’t be, because you are using a good non-stick pan!). Then using 2 rubber spatulas, fold the omelette over.

Optional tidy – At this point, sometimes I may push the edges in to make them nice and tidy. Other times, I see the ooze of cheese and think that’s the prettiest sight in the world, why on earth would anyone push that inside to hide it??!
Slide (or flip) out – Checking again to ensure the omelette is not stuck to the pan. Then either slide the omelette out like a normal person or be a bit cheffy and flip it out onto the plate. I show both in the video. Then EAT!

If I serve with toast, I like to put my omelette ON the toast

I cannot believe I wrote so much about the humble omelette. Sometimes I even amaze myself at how much I have to say about any type of food!

I’m sorry if I overwhelmed you. And feel free to keep making omelettes as you have been all your life. I get it. If you’re happy with your omelette game, don’t change it! In fact, share your tips!! Bring on the Omelette Debate! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Ham and cheese omelette

Recipe video above. This "scrambled egg" method is a great, easy way to make omelettes that are soft and custardy inside without worries about raw egg in the middle. Essentially, you make soft scrambled eggs, then spread (like jam) across the pan so it sets into an omelette. Fill, fold, serve!

Makes 1 omelette, a filling meal for one.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Western

Keyword ham and cheese omelette, How to make an omelette, Omelette

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Servings

Calories 595cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

3 large eggs , ~55g/2oz each (fridge cold fine)
Pinch of salt (that's all you need)
1 tbsp cream (or milk), optional (Note 1)

Cooking / add-ins

1 tbsp/ 15 g unsalted butter (or 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil)
1/3 cup chopped ham (I use store bought, Note 2)
1/3 – 1/2 cup shredded colby cheese , use box grater (or cheddar, tasty, gruyere, Monterey Jack – Note 3)

Serving (optional, pictured)

1 stem chive , finely chopped
Garlic butter roasted mushrooms
Roasted cherry tomatoes (on vine, Note 4)
Toast

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Heat control – If at any stage your omelette is cooking too fast, remove the pan off the stove to let it cool down and lower the heat.
Whisk the eggs, salt and cream in a bowl for 10 seconds until slightly foamy.
Warm ham – Melt 1/3 of the butter in a 24cm/9.5" non-stick pan (or thereabouts, Note 5) over medium heat until foamy. Swirl/spread to coat the base, then cook ham using a rubber spatula for 90 seconds until warmed through. Remove into bowl.
Semi-scramble eggs – Melt and swirl remaining butter in the pan. Give the eggs a quick whisk then pour into the pan. Leave for 15 seconds or until the very edges set, then do long leisurely strokes around and across the pan to scrape up cooked egg and let the raw egg run onto the base. Continue for 30 seconds or so until the egg is partially cooked. GOAL: wet enough to spread like jam, but not so wet that the egg runs when you tilt the pan.
Spread the egg evenly across the pan (no need to be meticulous). Top half with cheese, then ham. (By this time, the omelette should be almost cooked through but still shiny/custardy on the surface).
Loosen the naked side then fold over using 2 rubber spatulas. Leave in the pan for another 30 seconds to melt the cheese and finish cooking inside.
Serve – Slide or flip onto a plate and serve! Sprinkle with chives if desired.

Notes

1. Cream or milk is said to make omelettes more creamy (as well as adding a bit of extra bulk). But honestly, the right cooking method makes much more of a difference. Cook an omelette well, and no one can tell if you’ve included cream or not – I’ve done a blind test. However, I still add it out of habit!

2. Ham – I like the ham bits to have a bit of chunk to them. If using thin slices, chop into small strips or tear with hands.

3. Cheese – Any melting cheese works fine here, I like Colby as a great all-rounder I use for many things. Mozzarella melts great but doesn’t have flavour like other cheeses so either add a sprinkle of parmesan or pinch of salt on the cheese.

Shred your own cheese to be sure it melts. Store bought pre-shredded is thicker cut and has anti-caking agent on it so it doesn’t melt as well. It has a place in life for convenience, but omelettes is not one of them!

4. Roasted cherry tomatoes – Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast 15 minutes at 200°C/400°F (180°C fan) until a bit wrinkly (I do this for the last 15 minutes with mushrooms).

5. Skillet size –

6. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge or freezer for 3 months.

Nutrition per omelette. This is filling, even without toast!

Nutrition

More egg life essentials

Shirred Eggs (Baked Eggs with Spinach & Mushrooms)

Egg Recipes

Life of Dozer

Dozer’s favourite spot is under the dining table (no prizes for guessing why). So sometimes, if I want a cuddle, that’s where I’ve gotta go!

The post Ham and cheese omelette appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Up-and-go breakfast muffins!

Nagi — Fri, 19 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Healthy muffins that are actually delicious! A copy-cat of the raspberry bran muffins from Sydney’s beloved Bowan Island Bakery, these breakfast muffins are a nutritious, convenient breakfast option that’s far better for you than take-away on the way to school or work.

Up-and-go Breakfast Muffins

Being a savoury gal, I’ve always been partial to savoury muffins for breakfast (proof here, here and here). But a breakfast muffin with a sweet slant has been on my list for a while. I’m talking about the type that doesn’t make you feel like you’re eating cake for breakfast, a muffin that is just sweet enough but still good for you and good to eat.

So here it is!

Why these muffins are better for you

Low fat – just 1 1/4 tsp coconut oil per muffin
Refined-sugar free
Lightly sweetened – Just 2 teaspoons honey per muffin
Extra dietary fibre – keeps your insides….err….moving, shall we say ☺️ as well as keeping you full for longer and stabilising your blood sugars.
Convenient – Grab and go! No need to reheat, eat on the move.
Long shelf life – These last for 4 to 5 days, and are freezable.
Easy to make – One-bowl batter mixed with just a wooden spoon
Add-ins of choice – dried fruit and nuts, oats, fruit, choc chips!

Ingredients in breakfast muffins

Here’s what you need to make these breakfast muffins. Add-ins are flexible – see below for suggestions.

The key ingredient in this for goodness and flavour is wheat germ. Good-for-you extra fibre that gives these muffins a fabulous nutty flavour and lovely warm brown colour!

Dry ingredients

Wheat germ (sub wheat bran) – The good-for-you extra fibre boost! Found in either the cereal aisle, health food section or flour aisle or grocery stores. While both wheat germ and wheat bran work, I think wheat germ is nicer. It has lovely nutty flavour because it’s the seed inside wheat kernels. Whereas wheat germ is the exterior of wheat kernels so it gives the muffins a slightly earthier flavour. Both have similar nutrition characteristics – high in dietary fibre as well as other nutrients. Better for you than plain flour!
Wholewheat / wholemeal flour – In keeping with the better-for-you spirit of these muffins, I’ve opted for wholemeal rather than plain white flour. It has more nutrients because it’s less processed, plus it enhances the nutty flavour of these muffins.
Baking powder AND baking soda (bi-carbonate) – These both make things rise but baking soda is 3x as strong and they each have different rising characteristics. For this recipe, using a combination of both delivers the muffin top shape and crumb texture I want.
The baking soda can be substituted with more baking powder but the crumb is not quite as soft. See recipe card notes for quantity.
Cinnamon – For flavour!
Salt – Brings out the other flavours in the muffins, doesn’t make it salty!

Wet ingredients

Honey or maple syrup – For sweetening! We only use 1/2 cup across 12 muffins which equates to 2 teaspoons per muffin. See commentary below on why honey is better for you than sugar.
Coconut oil – This is the fat in the muffins. I like to use unrefined / virgin coconut oil which adds a lovely very subtle coconut flavour into the muffins. By no means would anyone call these “coconut muffins”! Use the type that is firm like butter and needs to be melted to mix into batters, rather than the pourable type.
Note: There is also refined coconut oil which is stripped of all coconut oil and aroma. This and other oils will work in this recipe but will not add flavour. If you opt for another oil, I’d suggest doubling the vanilla and adding extra cinnamon.
Yogurt and milk – This is the wet in the batter. Using yogurt serves two purposes. Firstly, it has acid in it which gives the baking soda a rising kick start. Sometimes I use a teaspoon of vinegar in recipes to serve the same purpose, like in my Magic Stay-Moist Apple Muffins.
Secondly, yogurt is not as watery as milk. So it adds wetness to batters without making it as loose which means less flour needed = muffin more moist!
Egg – Just one, to hold the muffins together. Using only 1 egg makes a massive difference to the moistness of the crumb of muffins as the more egg you use, the sturdier but drier the crumb gets.
Vanilla – For flavour.

Why is honey better than sugar?

Because honey is:

sweeter than sugar so you can use less in recipes;
lower GI so your blood sugar levels won’t spike as quickly – which keeps you feeling full for longer; and
more nutritious than sugar which is “empty calories”. That is, sugar literally just contains sugar and nothing else! Honey contains nutrients such as amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and minerals.

Add-ins of choice!

I’ve used raspberries in these because they were on special. However, you really can add any add-ins you want. See suggestions below.

Add-in options:

Raspberries or blueberries, other berries – 250g/8oz, 2 heaped cups
Chopped fruit like apple, pears, cherries, grapes. (Not overly juicy fruit like oranges, peaches etc as they will leech too much liquid into the batter)
Dried fruit – sultanas, apricots, cranberries, apple, mango – anything goes!
Nuts and seeds
Chocolate chips – I mean, the rest of the muffin is healthy. So this tips the scales back to neutral? 😈

How to make breakfast muffins

It’s as easy as 1-2-3:

Mix wet ingredients
Mix in dry ingredients
Fill muffin holes and bake!

I like to reserve some raspberries to decorate the top, but this entirely optional – for visual purposes only. I know some people prefer more INSIDE the muffins!

Whisk wet – Melt the coconut oil in a microwavable bowl. Then whisk in all the wet ingredients: egg, yogurt, milk, honey and vanilla.
Mix in dry ingredients – Scatter across the surface (incorporates easier) then whisk in. Once you can no longer see flour, stop! Don’t get too enthusiastic with mixing as it will make the muffins tough.
Add-ins – Fold through the raspberries or whatever add-ins you’re using.
Divide between 12 holes. I used liners but it’s not essential, you could just spray with oil.
Top with reserved raspberries, if using.
Bake for 25 minutes at 190°C / 375°F (170°C fan) or until golden brown on the surface. Cool then devour!

Other matters of Up-and-Go Breakfast Muffins

Breakfast on the run – I’ve named these breakfast muffins as such because they are a great grab-and-go breakfast that doesn’t need heating and can be literally eaten on the run. More filling and less sweet than than muesli bars which I personally consider to be more suitable for a snack rather than breakfast.

Storage – These will keep for 4 to 5 days without going stale because they are more moist than typical muffins thanks to the coconut oil and yogurt. If it’s hot where you are, best to keep them in the fridge, otherwise just keep them in the pantry in an airtight container. They will also freeze for 3 months.

And with that, I think I’ve said all I need to on the matter of these breakfast muffins! Just to reiterate, these are less sweet than your usual muffins. To me, they are the perfect sweetness to have as breakfast without feeling like you’re being naughty and eating cake. And they are just sweet enough to have as a morning tea treat. In fact, people who often find Western cakes and cookies too sweet will probably find these the perfect level of sweetness.

Hope you give them a go! Love to know what add-ins you use if you do. – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Up-and-go breakfast muffins!

Recipe video above. No more dry, bland healthy muffins. These are healthy – but delicious!! Just 1 1/4 tsp of oil and 2 tsp honey per muffin, lower fat than usual sweet-treat muffins, refined sugar free and contain extra dietary fibre.

Great for breakfast because it's not sweet like cake. But also morning tea – they are just sweet enough for me. Stays fresh for days.

Course Breakfast, Snacks

Cuisine Baking

Keyword bran muffins, Breakfast Muffins, healthy muffins

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Cooling 15

Servings

Calories 217cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Wet:

1/3 cup coconut oil , virgin or unrefined (normal oil also works but not as tasty, Note 1)
1 large egg , at room temperature (~55g/2oz)
2/3 cup milk , at room temperature – full fat best (low fat and non-dairy ok too)
1/3 cup yogurt , plain/unsweetened
1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Dry:

1 1/4 cups wheat germ (best) OR 1 1/4 cups (80g) wheat bran (Note 2)
1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour (sub ordinary flour – Note 3)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp baking powder (Note 4)
1 tsp baking soda , sifted if lumpy (or 3 tsp extra baking powder) – Note 4

Add ins – CHOOSE ONE:

250g / 8 oz raspberries , 18 set aside and cut in half to decorate top if desired
2 cups diced fresh fruit (not watery) – like apples, pears
1 1/4 cups dried fruit, nuts, choc chips etc

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 190°C / 375°F (170°C fan). Line a 12 hole standard muffin tin with muffin cases OR spray generously with oil.
Whisk wet – Place coconut oil in a microwave proof bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds on high or until melted. Add remaining Wet ingredients, whisk until smooth.
Mix in Dry – Sprinkle the Dry ingredients across the surface in the order listed. Mix just until combined.
Raspberries – Gently stir in the whole raspberries or other add-ins of choice.
Fill muffin tin – Divide batter between the 12 holes using an ice cream scoop. Decorate top with halved raspberries.
Bake 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Notes

1. Coconut oil – Better for you than butter and ordinary oil, with the added benefit of subtle tasty coconut flavour! Virgin & unrefined coconut oil has coconut flavour (because they are not processed, so better for you) and has a texture like firm butter so needs to be melted to mix in. Makes these muffins tastier!

Refined coconut oil does not have coconut flavour and is pourable like ordinary oil – can be used in this recipe too.

Ordinary oil can be substituted but will reduce flavour in the muffins. Butter can also be substituted and will give them lovely flavour but muffin will not be quite as moist inside.

2. Wheat germ is the seed inside wheat kernels and has a lovely nutty flavour. Find it in the cereal or health food aisle of grocery stores. Wheat bran can also be used but the flavour is a bit earthier and less nutty. I’d use something sweeter than raspberries to balance this out – like dried fruit.

Both wheat germ and wheat bran have similar good-for-your dietary characteristics (see in post for more info!).

3. Wholemeal flour (aka wholewheat flour) makes the muffins softer and has more flavour than plain/all-purpose flour (but you can use plain flour, maybe double the vanilla and add extra cinnamon!)

4. Baking powder and baking soda (bi-carbonate) – These have different rising qualities and this combination gives these muffins the best shape, in my opinion. However, you can use just baking powder if you want – use 4 teaspoons in total.

Storage – 4 to 5 days in an airtight container. Fridge is best though pantry also fine if it’s not too warm where you are. Freezer 3 months.

Nutrition per muffin.

Nutrition

Life of Dozer

While I’m in Melbourne for the Good Food & Wine Show, Dozer is with the golden retriever boarder and apparently not showing any signs of separation anxiety. Hmmph!

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