Egg Hotdish? Oh gosh yes, you bet.

With the first hotdish under my belt, I've been feeling pretty confident. My cooking skills are sharpened, plus I seemed to have mastered the typing skills necessary to continue this 'blog', so really the next hurdle is gathering hotdish recipes. I went to what I knew would likely be an excellent source, my trusty 'Fix-It and Forget It: Five Ingredients or Less' cookbook. The foodie in me is ashamed that I use this cookbook as much as I do, but the Lazy in me thinks it's just great. Lo and behold, the book didn't disappoint. Hotdish Abundanza!

I stumbled upon 'Baked Eggs', an egg bake recipe that called for a can of cream of chicken soup. Since I'm applying no real structure to what I qualify as a hotdish, I figured this would be good enough, starch be damned.

In another exciting turn of events, I happened to have the perfect event for whipping up such a dish—the impending arrival of my three of my favorite woman friends: (And yes, I'm calling them this because it sounds ridiculous and makes me laugh, and also because it reminds of Kathryn's mom.) Larissa, hailing from the darling village of Osage, IA: Home of Kent's Flaming clothing store
Megan, joining us from the always convenient Story City, IA: Home of that one outlet mall with all the stores I never want to buy things from
Heather, trekking down from mighty Upper Peninsula of Michigan: Home of...wilderness(?)

Now, the last time the four of us gathered for a weekend 'o fun, I found myself in a bit of a scuffle with the historic Meredith Wilson Footbridge in Mason City, Iowa. I won't bore you all with the details of the debacle, but I will enthrall with you this photo of me post-scuffle. Needless to say, the four of us typically have an excellent time together.

I must confess that when it comes to 'Baked Eggs' and this particular blog entry, I've had a bit of a 'fail.' I didn't take any photos. I'm blaming this on the same laziness that prompted me to make a hotdish from a five-ingredients-or-less cookbook in the first place. Please forgive the lack of visual stimulation in this blog, although come on, that photo of my mug is nothing if not stimulating.

'Baked Eggs' is a pretty easy hotdish to make. Surprising, right? It has four ingredients. HOWEVER...and note the all caps for emphasis, it allows me to touch on two of the dozen or so principles I strictly abide by when cooking.
1. When using cheddar, always go with sharp. Not like that weird Cracker Barrel brick of sharp cheddar that will suck all the moisture out of your mouth, just a nice amped up version of your standard mild breed of cheddar.
2. When using bacon, always go for the applewood smoked variety. This is just something you should do. Just trust me on this one and don't question.


These two tips are almost guaranteed to ensure your end product receives a ranking of 'tasty' and if they don't and you feel I have steered you wrong, you may openly comment about it on this blog and feel vindicated that my Mom and the three other readers of this blog now know how you feel.

Unlike my last hotdish snafu, I didn't have any glitches in actually making this dish. I did however, have a hallway kitchen that smelled like bacon for three days. If you are willing to let your home smell like a small-town Perkin's to reap the rewards of this belly-warming fare, then I suggest you take note of this recipe.


Baked Eggs, or 'Andrea's Easy Eggy Hotdish Supreme Made With Love'
1/2 lb. bacon (applewood smoked)

12 eggs (that would one dozen for you grade-school flunkies...)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (sharp, SHARP!)
1 can of cream of chicken soup

Saute the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Meanwhile, break eggs into a large bowl and beat until mixed. Remove cooked bacon and drain on paper towels, but reserve two tablespoons in skillet. Pour eggs into the skillet and scramble until just cooked. While eggs are cooking, mix shredded cheese and soup until well blended. Once the eggs are slightly cooled, add to cheese/soup mixture. Gently fold bacon. Put eggs into a greased 7x11 (or whatever size you fancy and/or own) and back at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Andrea tip: save some of the bacon and cheese to sprinkle on top. Adds to the curb appeal factor.

 This dish seemed to get a solid 'tasty' ranking from all the ladies. Or once again, I've learned that I have even more friends who are so nice they'll lie about my cooking. Either way I'm pleased. And according to this photo, we all were. Especially Heather...