Tag Archives: simple

Ham and Egg Breakfast Sandwich

I am so excited about this sandwich. Not just because it’s delicious, easy to make either for breakfast or on a busy weeknight, and made from things we normally have in our pantry (though all those things are true), but because there is finally an entry under my ‘sandwiches’ category. This brings me one step closer to accomplishing my summer culinary goals. Can I hear a “hoo! ha! fuhubugadz!” from anyone out there in the crowd this morning?

Anyone? Fuhubugadz?

Anyway.

The sandwich is nothing fancy, though you could dress it up with chives or peppers or bacon, but I’m sharing here just in case some poor urchin out there hasn’t tried throwing one together before. And I mean ‘urchin’ in the most affectionate way possible–I’m going for a lovable and pathetic Oliver Twist kind of thing. See, I was once of those poor urchins who hadn’t made a breakfast sandwich before, until one of my sisters stepped in and changed things forever.

I can’t remember which one. Maybe Erica? Maybe Heidi? Anyway, it’s satisfying and perfect and . . . well, technically not really a recipe.

“You know, even though I’m posting this on my blog, let’s be honest–this isn’t really a recipe,” I said mournfully to my husband after tossing it on a plate. “It’s more like . . . an assembly.”

“But assembly meals are my favorite kind!” exclaimed my husband.

Then, because he said exactly the right thing at exactly the right moment, I rewarded him with five schmoochy kisses and a partridge in a pear tree.

So with his support and encouragement, and because this satisfied his man-palate and his man-stomach, here we go!

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

1 English muffin, halved
1 egg
Pat of butter
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 slice Muenster cheese
1-2 thin slices good-quality ham

Don’t harangue me for saying ‘good quality ham’–I’m not trying to pull an Ina Garten on you (though I do love the woman)–it’s just that since the ingredients here are so few, the quality will really make a difference. With that note, we shall proceed.

Halve and toast the English muffin . . .

. . . and spread it with butter on both sides.

Set it aside.

In a non-stick skillet, heat up the pat of butter over medium high heat until fully melted. Crack the egg into the butter, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and turn down the heat to medium.

As the white of the egg begins to set, use a spatula to gently break the yolk in the middle and fold the thin edges of white towards the center to create a round shape. Something like this:

And I almost forgot–toss the slice (or slices) of ham to the skillet, next to the egg.

Take a second to slice up the old block of Muenster. And that “old” was an affectionate term, not an indicator of a potentially moldy situation.

Make the slices on the thin side–we don’t want to drown this thing in cheese.

When the egg is mostly set, turn it over (turn the ham over too) . . .

. . . and place the slice of Muenster on top.

Cook the egg for just another minute or two, until it’s fully cooked and the cheese is melted.

You’ll notice that my one slice of cheese somehow became three slices of cheese. I chalk it up to the Mysterious Ways of the Universe.

Now it’s time to assemble the sandwich: put the egg, cheese and ham between the English muffin halves.

Check out the tasty brown bits on the ham. Oh yes.

Serve!

Seek the opinion of the man at the table.

He takes a bite . . . he chews . . . he ponders . . .

He approves!

Make this sandwich! You will approve too.

And now for something completely different: I was recently reading through my daily blog list, happily perusing Amy’s post on a lovely pasta dish with zucchini and mushrooms. She went on to say that she’d just received a gift from a so-called ‘Fairy Hobmother’ from Appliances Online, and encouraged us to leave a comment on her post since this Fairy might grant us an appliance wish too.

“Who is this Fairy Hobmother person, and why the heck would she send me an appliance?” I asked myself. I followed the link to an online appliance store. “Oh well,” I shrugged, “If they employ a fairy who wants to send me free stuff, I guess I want a juicer.” And I moved on with my life.

When I opened my email on Wednesday, surprise surprise: the Fairy Hobmother has not only decided to send me a juicer, but also says that if any of you all want to leave a comment on this post and make a wish, she may also decide to drop by your digs (figuratively speaking) and send you the appliance you’ve been needin’. Wow. I guess this somehow works out for the appliance company financially . . . but I’m not exactly sure how. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about that. Phew.

Now I can start my day off with Swamp Monster food: blended kale, avocados, carrots, and who knows what else. Maybe a splash of heavy cream, ’cause that’s how I roll.

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Creamed Corn

This Tasty Kitchen recipe (from this blogger) practically jumped off the page at me. As you all know very well, I love anything with heavy cream, and the picture of all those delightful little yellow kernels encased in creaminess was just too much to resist. It only takes about 15 minutes to toss together, with no chopping involved–everything just gets mixed in a pot. And the results . . . oh, man.

I should specify that it only serves 4 if those 4 people eat a ‘normal’ serving and don’t go hog wild like we did. But just to be safe . . . why don’t you go ahead and count on going hog wild.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

½ cup heavy cream
½ cup milk
½ tsp salt
1 TBS sugar
16 oz frozen corn (sweet white corn if possible)
1 TBS butter
1 TBS flour
1/8 tsp black pepper

Pour the cream and milk into a pot . . .

. . . and add the sugar and salt too.

Bring the mixture to a boil, and add the frozen corn.

Bring it to a boil again, stirring occasionally.

Toss in some black pepper while you’re at it.

As the corn heats up, put the butter in a little bowl . . .

. . . and melt it in the microwave. Stir in the tablespoon of flour . . .

. . . and there you have your thickening paste. As soon as the corn/milk mixture is boiling, add the paste to the pot:

Turn down the heat to medium-low, and cook that corn until thick, stirring frequently. This will happen quickly, in only a few minutes.

Voilà! Now this part is important: taste the corn, and add more salt and pepper as needed. I needed more of both.

Without tasting as I go, I would be a lost soul in my own kitchen.

Dig in violently:

Are you witnessing this creaminess, people?

This is the perfect low-effort side dish that also happens to taste gloriously good.

Or is it the other way around? A gloriously good dish that happens to be low-effort?

I guess that depends on your degree of kitchen dedication. Sometimes, mine can be . . . quite low. Hence the primacy of ‘low-effort’ at this particular moment.

This recipe could easily be doubled (or dare I say tripled?) and brought to a potluck, where it will quickly make your enemies your friends and make your frenemies do the jig. Twice. While standing on their heads.

Though I have yet to figure out what exactly a ‘frenemy’ is.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Creamed Corn