Homemade Family Fast Food Fun

My husband and I usually exchange small, inexpensive, thoughtful gifts at Christmas. I love coming up with fun little things that I think he will just love. This year, in addition to a bundle of the highest-rated dish towels on Amazon.com and several books, including Ron Burgundy’s poignant autobiography, I gave myself him a small kitchen appliance that got rave reviews in a recent issue of Consumer Reports. Behold, the Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker.

BSMitself

Y’all.

This gadget is swoon-worthy.

I predict 2014 will be an amazing year, in part, quite simply, because of the Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker.

Is it possible to have a crush on a small countertop appliance? Is it wrong to fall so desperately for an inanimate Christmas gift I gave to my husband? If this is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

This thing is ingenious. It’s easy to use (my four kids can operate it, which should make post-Winter Break school morning breakfasts fun, easy and nutritionally sound), incredibly small and compact, makes a hot and tasty breakfast sandwich in about five minutes, and cleans up in a jiffy. With this $25 gizmo, your family can mix and match a variety of breads, cheeses, fully cooked breakfast meats, veggies and egg preparations for a morning sammie that not only rivals the illustrious Egg McMuffin but, in my opinion, beats it. Here’s the low-down.

First, choose your ingredients.

Ingredients

I’m showing you a bunch of different, tried and true options that my family enjoys, but the sky’s the limit. You can use regular or whole grain English muffins, croissants (the Mini Butter Croissants from HEB’s bakery fit perfectly), or frozen pancakes. You could also use small bagels, frozen waffles or biscuits (if you can find the right size). You will need fully cooked breakfast meats–Canadian bacon, Oscar Mayer Fully Cooked Bacon and sausage are my family’s favorites. Wal Mart’s Great Value Fully Cooked Original Pork Sausage Patties (found in the freezer aisle), thawed for about a minute in the microwave, are perfect for this. Sara Lee Custom Cheese Slices (cheddar and Swiss) are super convenient, and you can’t beat the meltiness of Kraft singles, which are easy to shape to fit the sandwich. Large eggs (not extra large) are the perfect size for the egg cooker. And, if you want it, make sure you have baby spinach, salt and pepper at the ready.

First up on a recent morning was Sadie’s choice: frozen pancakes, cheddar cheese and sausage. I was a little skeptical of Sadie’s decision to put cheese on her pancake sandwich, but she loved it. When Eleanor saw Sadie’s creation, she decided she had to have one too.

sadiespecial

The girls’ eggless sandwich selections fail to show just what this baby can really do, so I went for an Egg McMuffin-style sandwich, made healthier with a whole grain muffin, just a little cheese, and spinach. I placed the bottom of a whole grain English muffin in the bottom ring. Then I added cheese, being careful to not let the cheese go over the sides of the muffin (for easier cleanup). Next went a slice of Canadian bacon. I cracked an egg into the egg compartment, pierced the yolk a little, added a twist of cracked black pepper, placed a few baby spinach leaves on top of the egg, floated the muffin top on the egg and gently closed the machine. In 5 minutes, I had THIS.

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Yum.

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I really can’t say enough good things about this clever little gadget! After Ryan and I made our first sandwiches with it the morning after Christmas, I bought two more to give as gifts. If you’re looking for a delicious, fun, quick and easy way to fuel up yourself and your family on busy school mornings (or lazy weekend mornings, for that matter), go get yourself one! I’d love to hear about your breakfast sandwich concoctions!

I bought the Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker with my own money. This is my opinion, and I have no affiliation with Hamilton Beach, other than an awestruck appreciation for the company’s breakfast sandwich maker making genius.

 

Kelly
Kelly lives in Terrell Hills and is a full-time working mom of 4 in a never-a-dull-moment blended family. Her twin stepsons, Eric & Grant, are high school juniors. Her daughters, Eleanor and Sadie, are in junior high and elementary school. She and her husband, Ryan, are both attorneys. When she is not working and "air-traffic controlling" her busy brood, she and her family enjoy exploring San Antonio and the surrounding area.

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