MONDAY

Baked Eggs with Spinach & Bacon

We love eggs.  Plain & simple.  A wonderful breakfast for sure but eggs can also make an impressive & satisfying dinner {in a short amount of time}.

Quick, easy & satisfying was what we needed tonight.  The children were out of school today in honor of the Martin Luther King holiday & I managed to overbook the day…why do I do that?  I started dinner much later than I had planned so a few adjustments were necessary to this evening’s scheduled entrée.  I did not have time to prepare the potatoes & brussel sprouts so I needed to come up with a Plan B for the baked eggs.  What did I have on hand…a french baguette, fresh spinach & a wonderful new jar of tomato & rosemary preserves that I picked up from the San Francisco Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning…

With that inventory, here is what we enjoyed for dinner this evening…

Baked Eggs with Bacon & Spinach

• 4 slices applewood-smoked bacon
• 10-12 ounces baby spinach leaves
• 8,  1-inch thick slices from a sweet french baguette
• 6 tablespoons McEvoy Ranch Tomato Rosemary Preserves {or substitute with a rich tomato sauce}
• 4 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat & transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.  Pour off drippings from skillet, reserving drippings.
3. Add spinach to skillet and toss over medium heat for 1 minute or until wilted.  Transfer spinach to a strainer set over a bowl to drain.
4. Brush four 2-cup ramekins with reserved bacon drippings.
5. Coat each baguette slice with some of the Tomato Preserves {or tomato sauce} and place 1-2 slices at the bottom of each ramekin, sauced side up.
6. Divide spinach equally among the ramekins, placing on top of bread slices.
7. Tear bacon into pieces and add to each ramekin {one bacon slice per ramekin}.
8. Using the back of a spoon, press a well into the center of the ingredients in each ramekin.  Gently crack 1 egg into the well in each ramekin, keeping yolk in tact.
9. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of cream over each egg.  Season with salt & pepper.
10. Bake eggs until whites are just set but yolks are still runny, 13-15 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve immediately.

*Special equipment:  4, 2-cup capacity ramekins*

And the finished baked egg…

An entire dinner…proteins, green vegetable, bread…all in one adorable little ramekin.  You can really play with this recipe {adding cheese, spices, different sauces}…let me know what you create!  We will definitely be having this again…it sure would make an impressive brunch dish!

{This recipe is an adaptation of one found at Epicurious.com}

On a completely random note…I have been working on a home DIY project {which I will share soon} that left me with some extra chalkboard paint.  So I decided to take an old, large picture frame and paint the glass with the chalkboard paint.  Take a look at our new dinner menu board for the kitchen…now, everyone knows what’s for dinner!