Recipe: Egg Muffins

Are you ready for the easiest breakfast recipe ever?? Because I'm pretty sure these egg muffins are it!

I got the idea to do egg "muffins" from Pinterest, but I mixed and matched a few recipes to find one that worked for me. I started making them so I had a quick and easy breakfast option, and what's easier than this? Bake, store, and pop one in the microwave whenever you need one!

Ingredients:

• Eggs (enough for one per muffin)
• Chopped up veggies
• Pan spray
• Feta cheese
• Salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and spray down your muffin tin so the eggs don't stick as badly.

For veggies, I chose spinach, broccoli, and mushrooms. I left the spinach whole, and chopped up the mushrooms and broccoli super small. Put a few of your veggies in the sprayed muffin tins (leaving room for the egg!) and sprinkle some salt and pepper over them. After that, crack an egg into each muffin tin, and sprinkle with more salt and pepper. Add a few more veggies, sprinkle with some cheese, and you're set!

After the oven's hot enough, put them in the oven for 20 minutes, and they should be cooked through! I used a sharp knife to cut around the edges of the tin to separate the egg from the tin, even having used the spray. I used a fork to try and pry the egg muffins out, and they all came out smoothly (albeit, with some "scraps" still attached to the sides of the muffin tin).

I used parmesean in this batch instead of feta, but trust me - use the feta! I didn't really notice any flavor from the parmesean, but the feta adds this beautiful little kick to the egg muffins, even if you don't use a lot!

Once they've cooled, I put them together in some Tupperware and store them in the fridge until I need one. In the mornings, I usually microwave them, lightly covered, for 30 seconds, and that heats them all the way through.

Honestly, I've loved having these on hand in the mornings! I like to work out around 6AM, so I wake up around 5:15AM, make some coffee, and eat something before I head out. These are a perfect pre-workout breakfast, because they're small enough to not upset your stomach during the workout, but enough to give you a kick of protein and veggies!

What did I tell you - easy, right? :) Let me know if you try these and like them!

12x12: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

by J.K. Rowling

My mom read this book to me for the first time when I was 11 years old - literally the most perfect age to be reading this book. Since then, this has been my favorite series, my favorite world, and my favorite escape. It feels kind of silly to review this book, but hey - it's my second of my twelve books this year, and if I'm going to review all of them, it seems unfair to leave this one out!

What I Loved:

• Of the series, this may be my favorite book. I love new beginnings, and this book is the epitome of beginnings. It's an introduction to the Wizarding world, full of vivid descriptions of places like the Dursley home, Hogwarts, and Diagon Alley. I love reading about the new world Harry gets freed into - about the new "rules" and all the options now available to him.
• Going to the Harry Potter theme park in Orlando was one of the best things to ever ever ever happen to me, and WHAT I WOULDN'T GIVE to be able to actually enter this world. Going to the theme park was the closest I will ever come... besides reading these books over and over and over again.
• Every time I re-read the books, I find something that I didn't before. It's (dare I say it) magical!
• It's a perfect book and a perfect start to the series. If you disagree, then you can just get the hell out.

What I Wasn't Crazy About:

• I think it's probably the least "shelled out" of the series simply because it's the first book. There are weird little quirks, like McGonagall not thinking that Dumbledore knew it was her at the beginning - you're telling me that she's never turned into a cat to help the Order of the Phoenix in the past twelve years or so? Or that Hagrid's doing magic on Muggles without getting in trouble from the Ministry?
• Psh, I don't even care though.

Would I Recommend This Book?

• This doesn't even deserve a real response. If you're human and have any emotions or imagination, you would love this book and this series.
• Honestly, if you haven't read it yet and you're an adult, I still think it's worth picking up. It's fun, easy to read, and super creative. It brings out the kid in me every time I re-read the books!

12x12: How to Have the Wedding You Want

How to Have the Wedding You Want 

(Not the One Everybody Else Wants You to Have)

by Christine Egan

J and I got this book for Christmas from my parents, and although I offered to let him read it first, it became clear that it was tailored towards women, not men. He's still offered to read it after I'm done (ahem), but to be honest, I read so much out loud to him, he's probably heard most of this book anyway! I read a small tidbit right when I opened the book, and I could tell immediately that I was going to love this book.

What I Loved:

• Everything. Literally everything.
• The book is kind of meant for people who haven't spent their whole lives planning their wedding - who don't really have an idea about what they're doing, but also don't want to be pushed and pulled every which way by our families and friends - who, if we're going to get married, want to have a wedding that represents us. This could not have spoken more to me and J.
• The entire book is basically made up of interviews, melded perfectly into commentary and reads more like a real BOOK rather than a self-help book. It's easy to read, which I really appreciated!
• The book is separated by subject, but each section is filled with examples of what real couples have done to make their weddings about them. There was a couple who did a pot-luck style wedding, where every guest brought a food to the reception. It was super cheap for the couple, and they were relaxed enough to not worry about controlling everything. There was another couple who did a really similar thing, but hated it because they were trying to micro-manage everything! There was a couple who had an evening wedding at their favorite bar, spent all night playing volleyball, and went with all the guests who were still there and awake to a breakfast spot at 4AM. Now, that doesn't sound like it's for me, but it was SO refreshing to realize that couples did all of these weird things that were so them, you know? That we weren't limited to a traditional wedding, and could really do something that was us.
• Along those lines, this book made me SO excited to have a wedding!! It was fun, interesting, and totally non-judgmental about doing weird things that speak to you as a couple instead of trying to make everyone else happy. All that stress I was feeling this past fall? Totally gone, partially thanks to this book!
• Have I mentioned that the author is actually really funny? And a good writer? It was a breath of fresh air. I couldn't put this book down!

What I Wasn't Crazy About:

• I wish it had been geared more towards men as well as women. I think it's something that's bothered me about most wedding things, actually - that it's all geared towards women ("brides"), and kind of forgets about the person they're marrying. J and I want to be equally involved in this process, so I wish this book (and everything else) was more inclusive of him as well. After all, it's not my wedding - it's ours!

Would I Recommend This Book?

• ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY. I may actually re-read this book just for fun. 
• Honestly, I don't think you need to be engaged to enjoy this book - it's interesting, fun, and full of great ideas! It was useful not just to figure out what I liked, but also what I didn't like - which I never would have known if I hadn't heard about the idea in the first place, you know? Like, that bar wedding sounded like a TON of fun, but is it us? Probably not - I'm not a night owl, so the only way I'm staying up is if I'm constantly plied with Starbucks. But breakfast sounds amazing to me, haha. But I never would have even considered that kind of wedding if I hadn't read it about in the first place. I learned more about my (and J's) preferences about the wedding through reading this book than I ever could have learned in three years without it!

What a great way to start off the year! :) I seriously adored this book, and I hope you do too!