Ham and Cheese Egg Cups with Hash Brown Crust

These were served at Evie's wedding on the table with the finger sandwiches and the hot hors d'oeuvres. They were cooked in those stand-alone silver muffin cups that allow you to cook muffins without a muffin pan. That enabled us to do the quantity we needed that day on large cookie sheets. 

We cooked them ahead of time, froze them, and reheated them the morning of the wedding. (They can be reheated from frozen or thawed. Reheat, covered, until thermometer inserted in center reads 160 degrees.) 

They're good if cooked, frozen, and reheated once. They are not good if frozen a second time and again reheated!

Ingredients

• 3 C. frozen shredded hash browns
• 1/4 C. butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1- 1 1/2 C. finely chopped ham
• 1/4 C. finely chopped onion
• 1/4 C. finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 3/4 C. eggs
• 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Line regular muffin cup pan with foil muffin liners and spray with oil. In medium bowl combine potatoes, butter and salt; mix well. It works well to let them defrost 15 min or so.  Scoop ¼ cup hash browns into each muffin cup. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

2. Sautee onion and pepper in a little olive oil.  Cook until tender. Mix with the ham and fill each cup equally with meat and veg mixture.

3. Stir eggs as if to scramble. Pour over meat mixture, filling each muffin cup equally. Sprinkle with cheese and a bit of Italian seasoning. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.