Those of you who have been around this blog a while know that I have quite a collection of "egg bite" recipes. I think at last count there are at least 40 variations on the blog. Some of my favorites are the egg foo young, cheeseburger, pizza bites. I bake them 24 at a time in mini muffin tins and heat them up in a toaster oven or microwave throughout the week for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I have even made them for parties as an appetizer to rave reviews and cleared platters. Baking them gives them a toasty, yummy edge that I love but 24 at a time is a commitment so when I saw this little gadget: the Hamilton Beach Electric Egg Bites Maker I thought I would give it a whirl. I liked the single-serving idea and that this would give me an option for a different texture. These "egg bites" are more like the Starbucks sous vide bites, sort of like little soufflés.
The gadget works sort of like a double boiler, with a lower well you add water to and a top tray with two small non-stick wells to hold your egg mixture (look for the max fill-line inside the wells.) There isn’t an on/off button, you just add the water and your egg mixture and plug it in when you are ready. There is a green light that turns on when it’s plugged in. It turns off when the egg bites are ready which is basically when the water in the bottom well is evaporated and the "Egg Bites" are done. Let them cool a bit and then pop them out onto a plate.
Verdict: Delicious. I was impressed. It's a great protein-packed breakfast option, softer than my traditional egg bites so even better for those early bariatric surgery post-ops, and pretty darn close to the Starbucks version for lovers of those pricey little suckers (around $4.45 for 2) so if you do love the Bux version this machine pays for itself pretty quickly.
The instruction manual comes with a few basic recipes but like my baked versions the possibilities are endless and you can really customize your egg bites — adding cooked meats, cheeses, and veggies. They would be a great place to use up dinner leftovers. I had a tiny bit of egg mixture leftover probably because I added a few too many pieces of cooked sausage, feta cheese crumbles, and roasted red pepper that took up a little more space (old Archimedes' principle at play) so it may take a little experimenting to get the perfect recipe.
I am looking forward to several taste tests. Yum!
If you have one of these gadgets or get one let me know what recipe creations you come up with. Oh, by the way, the machine comes in this sunny yellow (which sort of reminded me of an egg) or a pretty teal too.