This is possibly the simplest recipe I will ever post but it is so delicious and a great alternative to the morning fry up. As tradition goes, most households in Ireland cook up an Irish breakfast on a Sunday morning and mine was no different. Growing up, I remember waking up on those mornings to the smell of the Irish breakfast wafting up the stairs. The fry was Dads duty, though in our house it was a grill, everything was done in the oven but still called a fry. I remember from my late teens into my early twenties, waking up in the early afternoons some Sunday mornings, after a Saturday night on the tiles, and getting that same smell which then turned my stomach as I rolled over, pulling the duvet over my nose and willed myself back to sleep. I didn’t appreciate the breakfasts then. We sleep at my parents house at the weekends, and my Dad still makes those Sunday morning fry ups (in the oven). There is nothing greater than getting those breakfasts handed to me now that I am woken before the crack of dawn by a wired babbling toddler sitting on my face.
While Irish breakfasts are delicious, they are not the best for us either. One morning, my Dad decided to cook up the alternative to the traditional breakfast and try a recipe he saw online. The result was a healthy alternative to the traditional fry we all know and love. Did we miss it? Not a bit! I have since made these myself and they are the greatest little breakfast delights. They look a little different and exciting for the kids, but are so simple to make that even the most basic of cooks (like my Dad, sorry Dad) can make them!

Ingredients (makes 6):

• 6 eggs
• 2 slices of wholemeal bread
• 6 Smoked bacon medallions
• 1/2 cup grated white cheddar cheese (optional)
• Cracked black pepper to taste

Method:

• Use a greaseproof or lined cupcake/muffin tray for this.
• Preheat the oven on 200 degree C.
• Get an egg cup or a cookie cutter and cut six circles out of your bread slices, and place one in each cupcake holder on the tray.
• Cut each bacon medallion in 2 and use them to line the cupcake holders around the sides.
• If you are using the cheese, sprinkle a little in each cupcake holder until you have used it all.
• Crack an egg into each of the cupcake holders
• Sprinkle black pepper on top of each
• Bake in the oven on 200 degrees C for about 20 minutes*

This recipe can be changed up a little to exclude bacon if you are a veggie, or substitute the bacon with something else. You could top with smoked salmon instead when it comes out of the oven. It is a recipe that can be played around with a little because of its simplicity, so get creative!

*Cooking time depends on how soft you like your eggs, check back a few times until they are cooked to your liking!