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Eggs Make the World Go Oval

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blue-clouds-cupI love breakfast.  Why you may ask?  And even if you aren’t asking, I am going to tell you.  I love eggs, which I also eat for dinner.  It’s ever so loverly (a word stolen from Eliza in My Fair Lady) to be an adult and eat breakfast food for dinner as often as I want.

Eggs & Ham with a Twist is a triple hitter recipe.   This fluffy egg dish can be served as a main dish for a light lunch or dinner, as well as for breakfast.   The ingredients are nicely balanced, so no one flavor is overpowering.

If your world contains a traditionally boring breakfast eater—the person who orders ham and eggs every single time they go out to breakfast FOR YEARS and they are older than twelve—this may be the perfect recipe to soothingly ease them into a wee change.  I am not worried I have alienated the boring breakfast eaters, because it’s unlikely they read food blogs.  But just in case, I am moving along now.

The first time I made this recipe, I didn’t have a clue what role the cottage cheese would play.  Oh my goodness was I surprised!   We are talking fluffy fluffy fluffy.  Think pseudo-soufflé without the tension and bother.   One word of warning, it would be wise to down play the amount of salt when you initially prepare it.  The salt content of the ham can skew the salt taste balance.

Every time I make this recipe the devil flies around my head, lands on my shoulder and whispers in my ear, hey be a little wild and crazy, take a chance, add some zing to the white sauce.   I flush with temptation. My heart drums a call to adventure.  Thankfully every time I brush the bothersome imp off my shoulder.  Like a good girl I dutifully serve the dish with a plain white sauce, which is the best choice.  The dish’s flavors are distinct, but delicate.  The plain white sauce’s job is to increase the soft silky texture experience on the tongue.  It plays a part in the drama like frosting on a cake, it’s an alluring bennie—a two for one deal.

Egg Ham Bake With A Twist

 Ingredients
  • 1 pound COTTAGE CHEESE, small curd
  • 4 tablespoons BUTTER, softened
  • 1 cup COOKED HAM, diced
  • ½ cup GREEN ONIONS, chopped
  • 6 EGGS, beaten
  • 1 cup GRUYERE CHEESE, shredded
  • SALT & PEPPER, to taste
  • WHITE SAUCE
  • 4 tablespoons BUTTER
  • 4 tablespoons FLOUR
  • 2 cups MILK or substitute half n half for richer sauce
  • SALT to taste
 Instructions
  1. To make sauce:
  2. ) Melt butter in sauce pan
  3. ) Add flour, mixing constantly & cooking for a minute
  4. ) Slowly stir in milk
  5. ) Stir constantly until thicken, add salt
  6. ) In a bowl work the cottage cheese into the softened butter
  7. ) Mix in ham, gruyere cheese & green onions
  8. ) Salt and pepper the eggs and fold into the cottage cheese mixture
  9. ) Pour into 11/2-2 qt buttered baking dish
  10. ) Set the baking dish into another pan and pour hot water in outer pan 1 to 1½ inches high around inner baking dish
  11. ) Bake for 1 hour until set at 350 degrees F
  12. ) Serve with White Sauce. Serves 4

Comments

  1. I love eggs, and although I often have a hard-boiled egg for breakfast, I’m not a big breakfast eater. I do like the whole breakfast for dinner bit, though, and we often have that. This would be perfect! Good stuff — thanks.

    Reply

    • I wasn’t a big breakfast eater either, until I had babies. Then you had to have at least some toast and juice when you were carrying your special cargo. But I don’t want a heavy breakfast even now, until it’s late morning.

      Reply

  2. I love eggs for dinner, too, and this egg dish is a very special one with all of that cheese and white sauce. Now that’s an egg bake! Very well-written post, and you’re right — it’s great to be an adult so you can make breakfast for dinner any time! Wonderful sounding recipe!

    Reply

    • Let’s hear it for CHEESE! When I was growing up, I wasn’t much of a cheese eater. THEN I discovered that velveta is not a good representative for cheese. Ick.

      Reply

    • Okay so we are on—in agreement. You bring muffins or scones. I will bring this and a pot of tea. Now we need to get someone to bring a fruit salad and we are ready to rock!

      Reply

    • I was on a farm in Oregon this past weekend. Fresh chicken eggs were scrambled—too dry for me—but everyone else liked them. AND ducks eggs in the pancake dough. Plus we had bacon, sausage, hash browns
      and juice—a full farm breakfast. It was awesome.

      Reply

  6. i love breakfast and this is loverly. I love that song, too! I am really bad about breakfast during the week, but often have brinner and weekends are perfect for brunch! Now I’m hungry! thanks, Carol!

    Reply

    • Hey Hey I am glad someone was with me with ‘loverly’ It is quite appropriate that it was another I love breakfast food person.

      Reply

  8. I don’t make a big breakfast every day – rarely, in fact. I like it on special days when we aren’t working and it’s usually late and becomes brunch. Your egg ham bake sounds like something I need to try soon!

    Reply

    • What I would really really like is the Ultimate steak and eggs breakfast you posted that you made for your husband! That sounded awesomely wonderful!

      Reply

    • As I mentioned in my post I was MOST surprised how the cottage cheese made the dish so fluffy. I normally have cottage cheese on hand, so it was one of those serendipitous moments.

      Reply

  10. Carol, this sounds absolutely WONderful. I must try this one soon. I’m loving the cottage cheese and the Gruyere. And yes, I’m one of those egg lovers. Thursday night I had hash browns topped with a sunnyside up egg and it was scrumptious in all it’s simplicity.

    Reply

    • You sound like you play baseball in the same sandlot as I do. Egg and potato of some sort is my go to meal on many a night. And heaven help you if you overcook the eggs. Lol

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    • Me either. It’s weird but I have two unrelated close family members who are allergic to eggs. It’s hard to have them over for breakfast. And I am glad that is not my problem.

      Reply

  14. Now this is different! I love seeing new ways to cook eggs (because I love them!), and what you have given us here is definitely a new way to cook eggs! Cottage cheese in eggs? That’s quite a surprise, but after reading through the recipe, you’re right – it makes a souffle without the hassle of making a souffle. Ingenious! I’ve got to give this one a try, but you know my little devil will always be able to convince me to add a little spice to the white sauce. 🙂

    Reply

    • I would expect nothing else from your Little Devil—who produces delightful results by the way. So he need to have free rein.

      Reply

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