Depending on your preference, I am either one of those weirdos who loves ketchup with her eggs or one of those truly awesome people that understands how amazing ketchup goes with eggs! I have been eating any type of eggs with ketchup ever since I was a little girl when I realized that there were a few condiments which I really, truly loved and would probably define my entire eating life. Ketchup is clearly one, but I could go on and on about yogurt (I will be making some recipes solely focused on yogurt soon enough). So I decided that in honor of my love of ketchup + eggs and my random desire to make something egg mcmuffin-ey that isn’t from McDonalds, I will try to make egg & cheese muffins with homemade ketchup.

I started by making the ketchup which involves a base of shallots and garlic. I only recently started using shallots in cooking (really because of my husband who is always using them) and they are so sweet and delicate. Then I add tomatoes and apple cider vinegar.

I add a whole bunch of spices including cumin, cinnamon and cayenne as well as salt, pepper and honey.

I let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes on low/medium heat.

While thats happening, I whip up the scrambled eggs. I used 4 eggs and some Mexican shredded cheese (thats what I had in the fridge) to get it all cheesy. You can use any cheese you like!

Then its time to make the muffins – I am using a recipe I found on food.com. It’s the first time I used it but I like it for the base of this egg & cheese muffin. I make muffins all the time, so I think I will use this recipe again.

Then I put all the components together, add a little extra cheese on top and let it bake for 20 minutes.

I loved how these came out. The tangy tomato flavor with the spongey muffin base worked really well. I have been wanting to host a weekend brunch at our house for ages and if I ever get around to it, these will definitely be on the menu!

Total prep time: 20 minutes   Total cook time: 40 minutes

Serves: 12 muffins

Homemade roasted tomato ketchup 

Prep time: 5 minutes  Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons sea salt

Recipe:

1. Heat the oil on medium heat in a sauce pan.
2. Add garlics and shallots, cook until slightly brown
3. Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, heat through for a few minutes
4. Add apple cider vinegar and all of the spices. Stir well.
5. Cover the pan and let simmer on medium/low heat for 10 minutes
6. Allow the sauce to cool before using on the muffins

Scrambled eggs

Ingredients: 

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 eggs, beaten together in a bowl
• 3/4 cup mexican shredded cheese
• Salt and pepper

Recipe:

1. Heat the butter on low heat in a frying pan
2. Pour the eggs into the pan
3. Cook for 1-2 minutes before folding the eggs over and breaking them apart
4. Add the cheese and salt and pepper
5. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until eggs are cooked to your liking (they will be cooking more in the oven)

Cook time: 5 minutes

Muffins

Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 tablespoon salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 egg

Recipe: 

1. Mix the dry ingredients together. Create a well in the middle.
2. Blend the wet ingredients together. Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients.
3. Combine until everything is folded in. Its ok for the batter to be lumpy.

Putting it all together

Prep time: 5 minutes   Cook time: 20 minutes

1. Grease the muffin pan
2. Put two spoonfuls of the muffin dough at the bottom of each muffin section
3. Add about a tablespoon of ketchup on top of each so it fully covers the dough
4. Add a layer of the scrambled eggs on top
5. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes, until eggs get slightly golden-brown.