Pages

Monday, August 06, 2012

Baking Eggs - a Nice Alternative to Hard-Boiled

I like to take my own food with me just about wherever I go.  If we are heading out for a walk, or going shopping I will put a piece of fruit, or a bar of some kind, or a baggie full of home made trail mix, in my pocket or bag.  The longer I anticipate we will be away from home, the more substantial the snack becomes.  No one likes me when I get hangry!

When we are going to be gone for a few hours in the car, I like to pack a healthy lunch, and take it along in a small cooler. It is often a salad with protein,  or sliced fresh veggies and hummus, some fresh fruit,  and I usually pack a few hard-boiled eggs, too.

But, I am getting a wee bit tired of them and thought I would like a different approach, so instead of hard-boiling my eggs, I decided to bake them. 

I used my silicone muffin cups, setting them inside aluminum cups for a bit of stability and then placed them on a rack on a baking tray... I wanted the heat to be about to surround them and thought this might be the best way.

Then I cracked a fresh egg into each one.



I placed them in the oven for 15 minutes and then removed the pan to a cooling rack and let them rest for 5 minutes...


where they cooled a bit, before turning them out onto a plate.


I was really very happily surprised that they popped out of the silicone cups so easily.  When they cooled completely, I put them in a storage container and placed it in the refrigerator.  Now I will have eggs to enjoy for several outings this week... and I won't have to deal with the shells.

Each baked egg counts as 2P+ on the Weight Watchers plan.  Not much for such a powerhouse of nutrition and long-lasting satisfaction.

If I had a regular muffin tin, I would have placed the silicone muffin cups inside that... so if you have one, be sure to use it.  I think you could coat the insides with a bit on non-stick spray and break the eggs directly into it, if you like... just a bit more cleanup that way, I would think.

And, if you know how you will be using the eggs, you could sprinkle them with salt and pepper, or herbs before you bake them... but I did mine plain.

So, to review my Baked Egg Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  2. Break an egg into each muffin cup.
  3. Place pan in oven and bake eggs for 15 minutes.
  4. Remove pan to cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes.
  5. Slide eggs out of muffin cups onto a plate.
  6. Allow to cool completely before refrigerating.
Do you like eggs?

Do you have any suggestions as to what makes a good take-along lunch for busy days?

5 comments:

  1. My grandmother used to cook eggs this way. I think she called them 'shirred' eggs (not absolutely sure; my memory is failing me...).
    Thanks for the reminder! A great, shell-less alternative to hard boiled (and solving the problem of what to do with the shells when you're out and about!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an interesting way to make eggs. I've never baked them before like this. I recently bought one of those "Eggies" hard-boiled egg makers (kind of gimmicky, I know) but it works SO well!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks interesting. Did the yolks get hard, like a hard boiled egg (I don't like runny).

    Seems easier then the eggies I bought. They were cute, cooked well, but insane to clean.

    ReplyDelete
  4. VERY COOL.
    Ive never tried this before!

    Miz.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have never tried this, but I love this idea!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving me a comment.