Eats: Milwaukee Breakfast Omelet In A Mug

Hello! It's been very cold and very snowy here the past few days, and with a another snow shoveling session ahead of me today, a hot, reasonably hearty breakfast was in order. I had oatmeal yesterday, so I wanted something different this morning.

I decided to combine two egg-based microwave recipes, which is why this blog post has a lengthy title. Made separately, the two recipes are entitled Milwaukee Breakfast (clipped from a community cookbook) and - not surprisingly - Omelet In A Mug (credited to a Susan Adair in a past issue of Taste Of Home magazine). First I'll write up the two recipes, then explain how I combined/adapted them to suit my taste.

Milwaukee Breakfast

1 small potato
2 eggs
1 small tomato, diced
1 small piece green pepper, diced
1 small piece onion, diced
2 mushrooms, diced
1-2 pats butter

Cook potato in microwave on high until tender. Peel and dice potato into 1/4" pieces. Beat eggs until smooth. Combine all remaining ingredients and add to beaten eggs. Cook on high one minute, stir, cook for one minute more, stir. If eggs are a little wet, let sit for about 10 seconds and then stir again. 

Omelet In A Mug

2 eggs, beaten
2-3 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tablespoons diced cooked ham
1 Tablespoon diced green pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

In a microwave-safe mug coated with nonstick cooking spray, combine all ingredients. Microwave, uncovered, on high one minute; stir. Cook 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer, or until eggs are completely set. Yield: one serving.

As you can see, the basic procedure - an egg mixture cooked in the microwave - is similar in both recipes. The main differences are that the Milwaukee Breakfast (have no idea why it's called that) has a potato, mushrooms, onion and butter, while the Omelet In a Mug  uses ham and cheese for its add-ins. And while the first recipe doesn't specifically say what cooking vessel should be used (though obviously one that's microwave-safe), the second recipe, of course, makes this step clear. 

While combining the two recipes, I kept the potato and the tomato from MB and the cheese from OIAM. Although both recipes call for green pepper, I don't like it cooked, so I omitted it. Ditto the mushrooms. The ham would have been a nice touch, but I wanted to see if the dish would be hearty enough without it. 

Even with the potato cooking and vegetable dicing steps, this is a quick recipe. Here's how it turned out:

The mug I used has a two-cup capacity, but as you can see, I could have gotten by with a smaller mug. (the two recipes I combined are next to my mug).

The cooked egg mixture doesn't look like much, but it was pretty tasty and made for a nice change of pace. 

And besides being easy to prepare, it's also easy to customize. Use a different cheese or omit it. Use different vegetables. Toss in some cooked breakfast sausage instead of ham. Or do as I did and leave the meat out. 

So, my wish to have something different for breakfast was accomplished. For tomorrow's "something different" - how about no snow to shovel for a change? Here's hoping!