Eating While on the Road - Breakfast (Egg over easy)

Dear Readers,

Post number 4

I am bringing you another egg preparation today. I had no idea that I could prepare eggs in the microwave that taste as good as pan cooked/fired eggs in half the time. I miss a little bit of the nutty flavors of browning butter, but I don't loose the butter flavor in the preparation below. As ever, thanks for continuing to follow me on this journey of microwave meals, nutritional eating, and budgeting while on the road. I hope that these posts have some value for you, I feel that I am a little late to the microwave meal bandwagon. 

• Egg "Over easy" (Butter, Salt, Pepper, Egg)

First the goods:

If you remember my itemized grocery list from my budgeting post you would have seen:
- A dozen organic cage free eggs (Eggland's best) at $3.99 (about $0.33 per egg).
- Salted Butter from grass-fed cow's milk (Finlandia) at $2.99 ($0.37/oz or $0.19/tablespoon).

- Salt and Pepper grinders from the dollar store cost $1 each., or you can find complimentary packets at hot food counters.

The tools:

• Microwave
• Microwave safe glass or ceramic plate
• Utensils: Fork, Knife

Simple Microwave Egg "Over Easy" 

The application:
(Important tip, don't put your container in the center of the microwave, off-set it for best results)

1. Cut a quarter tablespoon of butter into your microwave-safe dish*
2. Melt the butter in the Microwave for 30 seconds until the solid has become a liquid
• Times may vary, I have access to a 900W Magic Chef machine
3. Spread the melted butter to coat the plate
4. Crack 1 egg on to your buttered plate 
5. **DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!**Gently poke a hole in to the top of the membrane that surrounds the yolk** DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!** If you skip this step your egg will explode in the microwave. 
• Puncturing the membrane allows heat/gas to escape during the microwave process, I usually poke two holes.
• The albumen (egg white) will cook more quickly than the yolk (the yellow)
6. Add salt and pepper** to your preference.
7. Microwave the egg for 25 seconds, I like to shift the egg around a bit for more even cooking.
• You might hear some crackle or popping sounds, this is fine.
8. Microwave egg for another 20 seconds, I like to add an 8th of a tablespoon of butter to the top of the yolk at this point (you could also substitute olive oil instead of butter or skip this step)
9.  Microwave for another a final 15 seconds

 At this point any further cooking is to your preference
** - You could add these at a later point in the process, but the way typed above is fast and simple.

Reminders:
Let the plate/egg cool before you eat! Remember that the eggs (and all microwaved food) will continue to cook a bit after you've taken them out of the microwave. With that in mind, thee eggs might look a little loose immediately after the 55 seconds of cooking, but will firm-up some after sitting to cool. Additionally, my plate is never too hot to handle, but you may want a towel or t-shirt to remove the bowl to your eating surface. Lastly, if you've shifted your eggs during the cooking process they shouldn't stick to your plate at all.

Additions:
Dress/serve with your favorite additions: salsa for "south-western"egg, avocado, cucumber and tomato, crumbly blue cheese or what-ever.

I am going to include the nutritional facts, as I did in the previous post, for continuity and convenience. Microwaving your food does less damage to your food compared to stove top methods, and as a result less/fewer nutrients is/are lost in the process. Eggland's Best eggs raw are 60 calories per serving, 6 grams of protein, 1 gram of saturated fat, 3 grams of unsaturated fat (1 poly- 2 mono-), approximately 20 - 40% of your daily value of Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Riboflavin (B2), Vitamin B12, Biotin, Pantothnic Acid (B5), Iodine, Selenium, Molybdenum, and Choline, and 57% of your daily value of cholesterol. They also contain 125 mg of Omega 3 fatty acids and 200 mcg of Lutein.

For a complete picture I am including my calculations of Finlandia's salted grass-fed cow's milk butter.  At 1 quarter tablespoon there are 25 calories, 2.75 grams of Fat (1.5 from saturated fats and no trans fats), 7.5 mg of cholesterol (only about 2 and quarter percent of your daily value), 20 mg of sodium, 0 carbohydrates, 0 sugars, 0 Protein, and no valuable vitamins/minerals [daily values based on 2000 calorie diet].

At $0.33 for two eggs, $0.05 for a quarter tablespoon of butter, negligible amount of salt/pepper, the cost of your plate, and 55 seconds of cooking time you have a cheap delicious fast breakfast!

Thanks for reading,

Joe

*Try to avoid plastic as much as you can. Microwave-safe plastic doesn't mean that it's good for you, it means that it will not destroy your microwave, it might destroy you long term.

Links:
Here are some links of people who videoed themselves following a similar process
Simple Microwave Over Easy Egg
Terrible video, turn down your speaker volume
This guy is hard to watch, but the information is quite good (he uses bacon fat instead of butter)
14 Egg Hacks (I've cued the video to 38 seconds in)