Monday, February 23, 2009

Breakfast--Fast, Filling & Frugal

I love breakfast, but I also love sleeping until the last possible minute. I know I need a good breakfast to function well at work, though, so I've found a hearty sandwich that I can make in about 5 minutes and eat in the car if necessary. Sausage, egg and cheese on an english muffin costs about 50 cents a serving, has 282 calories, 14.5 fat grams, a very respectable 5.5 grams of fiber and 16 grams of protein. I calculated the cost and nutritional info based on the following items:

Aunt Millie's whole grain English muffins .90/6 pack
Banquet brown & serve sausage .90/10 links
eggs 1.69/dozen
8 oz block of Kraft 2% cheddar cheese 1.66

The sausage and english muffins regularly go on sale as part of Meijer's 11/$10 promotion, and we always stock up when they do. Eggs are regular price, and Kroger frequently has their brand of cheese or Kraft available at that price.

Here's my workflow to make a sandwich in 5 minutes:
  • heat small nonstick skillet over medium & spritz with nonstick spray
  • put muffin in toaster
  • put 1 link of sausage in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes on medium
  • crack egg directly into skillet and stir to scramble (I see no need to dirty up an extra bowl for this! I use a small plastic fork so it won't scratch the pan when I stir.)
  • put a lid on the egg and get sausage out of microwave and cheese out of fridge
  • chop or crumble sausage
  • slice or shred cheese if using a block (I use my veggie peeler to shave off a few thin slices. I calculated based on 1/2 oz of cheese.)
  • sprinkle sausage and cheese over egg
  • cover pan and finish cooking until egg is set and cheese is melted
  • remove muffin from toaster, top with egg, and enjoy!
If you're really pressed for time in the mornings, you could make these ahead and just reheat in the microwave. At my local McDonald's, a sausage egg & cheese mcmuffin is $2.19, so you can make these at home for a family of four for less than you'd pay for one! And it really doesn't take any longer to cook these than it does to go through the drive-thru. A homemade mcmuffin also has 1/3 fewer calories, 1/2 the fat, and almost three times more fiber than one from McDonald's. You can view their nutrition info here.

(I really need to work on my food photography skills! Anyone have any tips?)

Visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, and the Tasty Tuesday Blog Party for more great tips and recipes!

13 comments:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

My husband loves it when I make breakfast sanwiches with English muffin. I usually make hot ham & cheese or turkey & cheese.

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...

Yum! This sounds delish and comforting! Thanks for sharing!

Have a great Tuesday!
Sherry

We Eat Cheap said...

Jeri, I've never made one with turkey, but I bet my husband would love it. We'll have to give that a try!

Sarah said...

I do something similar and cook the egg in the microwave - takes me 2 min start to finish!

akawest said...

We love making breakfast sandwiches, too.

Jenn said...

Yours looks better (& probably taste better) than McDonald's McMuffins! lol

Brenda said...

I make these sometimes and they are very satisfying

Lisa@BlessedwithGrace said...

Great!! Love a good breakfast idea.

We Eat Cheap said...

Sarah, I'd love to hear how you cook the egg in the microwave. When I've tried it turned out very rubbery!

Kristen said...

Fabulous! I am constantly looking for healthy, inexpensive and filling breakfasts for on the go & this is perfect. Thanks for sharing!

Kaycee said...

We got one of those egg and muffin toasters for Christmas. I love it and use it almost every morning.

Beki - TheRustedChain said...

We make these for dinner a lot! Yum.

I came here from Forever Wherever.

larin said...

Photo tips:
Keep the background uncluttered, the focus should be on the food.

Tilt the plate so the food takes up the center yet you can still spy the center of a sandwich.

Take several shots, it's digital, you can delete.

See a pretty plate, cup or saucer, at a Goodwill store or Dollar tree, buy it. Think Martha Stewart!

Consider checking out a photography book at the library for more tips and analyze other sites pics for ideas on how to set up the shot.

Lovely site, it's my first time here and I will be back.