Bacon & Egg Muffins

I make these muffins regularly and store them in my freezer for portable breakfasts. I freeze them in the muffin tin and then pop them out and put them into a zip top plastic bag.

Bacon & Egg Muffins

Makes 24 muffins

• 8 slices bacon (about 7 ounces, uncooked), cooked until crisp, crumbled finely 
• 10 eggs, divided
• 4.25 ounces all-purpose flour (1 cup)
• 4 ounces whole wheat flour (1 cup)
• 4.85 ounces yellow cornmeal (1 cup)
• 1.7 ounces sugar (2 tablespoons)
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder (optional; adds savory note and boosts cheese flavor)
• 1 ounce cheese powder (such as Vermont, optional)
• 16 ounces milk
• 3.5 ounces olive or avocado oil
• 5 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Hard cook 6 eggs. Peel and chop.
2. Preheat oven to 400.
3. Brush twelve muffin cups with oil or bacon drippings. 
4. In a medium bowl stir together flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, mustard, pepper, and cheese powder. 
5. In a separate bowl combine milk, oil, and remaining 4 eggs; stir into flour mixture. 
6. Fold in chopped eggs, bacon, and cheese. Scoop into muffin cups.
7. Bake 15 to 17 minutes, until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. To loosen muffins from pan, run a small metal spatula or table knife around edges of muffins; remove from pans. 

Farm Box Delivery - 12/13/2017

Here’s what I received from Farm Fresh to You (FFTY) on 12/13/2017, and my menu plan built from that list, based on the planning methods mentioned in this post.

Produce	Recipe
Broccoli	I think I am going to try Broccoli Cooked Forever and use it either as a pasta sauce or on a pizza (I have sourdough pizza dough in my freezer). I only have one bunch of broccoli, so I will halve the recipe.
Orange sweet potatoes	I love sweet potatoes cubed and roasted with smoked paprika as a side dish for nearly any kind of meat. They are also a perfect vegetarian duo with black beans (enchiladas, tacos, "burrito bowls”).
Baby bok choy	These will be perfect for my near-weekly tofu stir fry (ever changing, depending on the vegetables I have on hand) served over rice or rice noodles. I usually just do a basic sauce of soy sauce, fish or oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, and cornstarch, but this week I think I will try something new: Ottolenghi’s Black Pepper Tofu.
Red cabbage	This intriguing salad caught my eye since I have all of the ingredients already (except for creme fraiche, but it says I can substitute yogurt), thanks to this produce delivery. It’s a small head, but I will probably only use about half of it in the salad. For the rest, I am thinking of braising with miso, carrots, maybe a beet, using Mark Bittman’s technique that I love for all kinds of sturdy vegetables.
Nantes carrots (nice cute little ones, with greens attached)	Some will get braised as mentioned in #4, some will get eaten raw (by Joe; I can’t eat raw carrots) in salads. Ever since I realized I could cook carrot tops, I always save them and add them to any other greens I am cooking for the week. See #8.
Red butter lettuce	Oh my, one of my favorite lettuces. So tender and delicious! Last week I made a cilantro vinaigrette that will be lovely on this, along with some crumbled goat cheese.
Flat leaf parsley	See #4. Also, whenever I have parsley on hand, I like adding some to all kinds of dishes for extra freshness. It never goes to waste.
Rainbow chard	You may notice a Food52 theme this week, and that’s because I am a member of their Facebook Cookbook Club and we are cooking through Genius Recipes this month. I have been a fan of theirs for years; they are one of my go-to online recipe sources. This week’s produce box contents are nudging me in the direction of Herb Jam with Olives and Lemon. I know it sounds sort of odd, but it appeals to me because I can use the chart, beet greens and carrot tops, and add some leftover cilantro and whatever parsley (#7) hasn’t gone into other dishes. And also, because I think the end product will be versatile. Side dish, pasta sauce, pizza topping, filo filling (I have a half box of filo in the freezer leftover from samosas); the options seem endless.
Red beets, with greens	Beets are a staple in produce boxes and luckily we both love them, cooked all kinds of ways. Even raw, grated, in slaw-like salads. When they arrive, I always remove the greens (and store them with other greens, like chard or carrot tops), since I have read that keeps them fresher longer. And speaking of salads, see #4. That takes care of the beets. As for the greens, I will throw them in with the chard. See #8.
10. Celery	I have let the last few celery deliveries stack up on me, so I know it’s time for Marcella Hazan’s Braised Celery, which uses 2 pounds in one go!

Farm Box Delivery - 11/15/2017

Here’s what I received from Farm Fresh to You (FFTY) on 11/15/2017, and my menu plan built from that list, based on the planning methods mentioned in this post.

Produce	Recipe
Baby broccoli	This will probably end up being a Thanksgiving side dish. Gotta have something a little plain and green on the table. Or maybe not. In any case, broccoli never has trouble getting eaten in our house..
Orange sweet potatoes	Leek and goat cheese quiche with sweet potato crust I had an idea about using the leek and sweet potatoes in a tart of quiche so started Googling around. This recipe caught my eye because shredded sweet potatoes are used for the crust, while the leeks (plus goat cheese, always a winner for me) go inside. Sold! I think I will modify the recipe to be more milk and fewer eggs, though, just because I prefer my quiche to me less frittata-like. This ended up being tasty, but not a repeater. The quiche filling ran out through the crust (luckily I had the tart pan on a sheet pan!), even though the crust was blind baked for 30 minutes. And even though it was well-baked, the crust had a disappointing soft texture.
Bok choy	I am definitely making Grilled Pork Loin Gochujang Marinade with a pork loin I got at Costco (came in a two-pack, so I will double the marinade and freeze one loin), and bok choy simply sauteed with sesame seeds and ginger will make a nice side dish
Leek (1 GIANT leek)	See #2
Rainbow carrots	I roasted a pound of curry carrots to go with some Indian food the other night, so I don’t think I will plan anything specific for these carrots. They are nice to have on hand as a staple.
Green leaf lettuce	As always, will be prepped for salad for work lunches and dinner accompaniment
Fennel	When the first fennel arrives, I can never resist making this: Tuna, Fennel, & Lemon Salad. There are a few ripe Meyer lemons on the tree, so the timing is perfect
Rainbow chard	Butternut squash & chard lasagna. I prefer my vegetarian lasagna to have bechamel instead of ricotta, so I will probably do a hybrid of the this and this recipe. I have lasagna noodles in the freezer that I need to use up, made from the leftover pasta after I made sweet potato ravioli a couple of weeks ago. I loved this, but Joe has decided he can only eat butternut squash and/or pumpkin once a year. I told him we will be discussing this further. :|
Butternut squash	See #8

Farm Box Delivery 11/1/2017

Here’s what I received from Farm Fresh to You (FFTY) on 11/1/2017, and my menu plan built from that list, based on the planning methods mentioned in this post.

Produce	Recipe
Baby broccoli	Garlicky Roasted Broccoli is my favorite way to use broccoli as a side dish. Pureeing the garlic with oil keeps it from burning in the hot oven and distributes the flavor throughout the entire dish.
Orange sweet potatoes	I did not end up making pumpkin ravioli last week. Instead, I held onto that pumpkin and will double up on #7 this week (the pumpkins being delivered are quite small (under 3 pounds), so perfect size to make 2 stuffed pumpkins at once). So, since I do still want to make some ravioli, I will make make Mark Bittman’s recipe for sweet potato pansotti (which are basically ravioli). I love sweet potatoes in savory applications (I have never understood using it as a side dish while adding sugar and marshmallows). This recipe involves Parmesan, eggs, and salt & pepper in the filling, then gets served with a browned butter and sage sauce.
Celery	A kitchen staple that gets used in so many things. Always like to have this stashed in the fridge. I think it keeps the longest wrapped in foil.
Cilantro	Food 52’s Green Sauce (substituting cilantro for parsley) because it’s a great way to use up an excess and it freezes well. Think of it like pesto. It goes with so many things!
Nantes carrots	In the hopes that it will be soup weather soon, I will make some form of pasta e fagioli (Tuscan bean soup), which welcomes all kinds of produce including any greens on hand, carrots, celery. Last time I made this in my InstantPot, which worked well.
Romaine lettuce	Will be prepped for salad for work lunches and dinner accompaniment
Sugar pie pumpkin	Definitely this: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pumpkin-stuffed-with-everything-good-361169 I have never made this but my dear friend Samantha has brought it to group meals and it’s delicious! It’s not in the recipe, but Samantha always adds greens, so the kale will go in here.
Yellow onions	Always happy to receive onions in the farm box, since they are a kitchen staple.
Green kale	No kale in the last box, so Joe will be happy to see its return this week. See #7.

Farm Box Menu Plan - October 18, 2017

Here’s what I received from Farm Fresh to You (FFTY) on 10/18/2017, and my menu plan built from that list, based on the planning methods mentioned in this post.

Produce	Recipe
Green cabbage	Simply Spiced Spring Cabbage (yeah, I know it’s fall) from Made in India. This will make a great side dish with a yet to be determined something else.
Baby bok choy	Sautéed tofu with oyster sauce and cilantro from The Sunset Cookbook. I found this one by searching Eat Your Books for cilantro main dishes. The headnote says, “To gussy up this recipe, double the sauce and add bok choy.” Ok, it’s a plan! I already have tofu on hand.
Celery	Used in red beans and rice, egg salad, stir fry, etc. Oh, also these delicious rolls.
Cilantro	See #2
Collard greens	Collard greens were a learning experience for me when we first started getting farm boxes. It took me awhile to get used to their bitter taste and to find recipes that I liked. I learned that I greatly prefer them in long cooked recipes (soups) or with lots of other strongly-flavored ingredients. I will probably add these to red beans and rice with kielbasa or andouille (whichever is on sale), since I haven’t made that since last winter. I have cobbled together a few recipes for this, but it gets made in the Instant Pot. This always makes a ton so I have plenty to make into freezer lunches to bring to work. Yay! Leftovers!
King Richard leeks	I’ve never heard of this particular leek variety, but they sound very grand. This calls for one of the very first recipes I made when we started getting produce delivered (way back in...2012?): Potato leek soup. It’s a very simple soup that ends up tasting like way more than the sum of its parts. I use the recipe from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, which is similar to this one. The keys to amped up flavor are to not peel the potatoes (dice them very small), use homemade chicken broth, saute the leeks in butter for much longer than the recipe says, and add lots of pepper. And then puree only partly (I use a stick blender) so it has a  robust texture.
Nantes carrots	Curry roasted carrots make a really nice side dish with all kinds of things. To be paired with #1 and a roasted pork loin.
Red leaf lettuce	I always clean and tear lettuce right away and store in the salad spinner for ready-to-go salads throughout the week.
Red potatoes	See #6
Sugar pie squash	This depends on the size of the squash that gets delivered, but my tentative plan is to make it into ravioli.
Zucchini	I will add these to #7 for more green veg in that meal.
12. Carrot greens	Last week’s carrots came with big, beautiful tops that seemed like a waste to throw out. I can’t eat carrots raw (they make my throat feel funny), so I am assuming their greens are the same. Most of the recipes I found use them raw, but I saw lots of references to adding them soups and cooking with other greens in a simple saute. So, I will give that a try.