Inside-Out Omelettes

I can make a beautiful omelette.

But I usually don’t.

I tend to get carried away, chopping up way more vegetables than I can ever fit inside.  Then I go for it anyway – and end up with a half-folded, ragged omelette and a veggie avalanche. It’s delicious, but it’s not much to look at.

This, however…

It’s stunning! I snatched it off the breakfast table, from under my mother’s fork, so I could take a picture before it disappeared.

I’ve cooked eggs inside other vegetables before.

I made this (inspired by Sara of Our Best Bites’ Idaho Sunrise recipe) for my potato-loving sister when I was home for spring break.

Then I tried cooking eggs inside mushrooms.

It mostly worked.

This mushroom couldn’t handle a whole egg, but the messy results still made a good lunch!

My latest experiment, however, established that peppers are the perfect vegetable for an inside-out omelette.

Once you remove the stem and seeds, there’s plenty of room inside (even for me).

Their emptiness offers so many possibilities—and this recipe takes brilliant advantage of them.

And besides that, peppers make a much better shell for quiche than the traditional piecrust.

Stuffed Pepper Quiche

For each person you’re serving:

• 1 bell pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 small splash milk (about a tablespoon)
• Salt, pepper, and other seasonings to taste
• ½ C chosen filling (cooked meat, cheese, other veggies)

Slice off tops of bell peppers and remove seeds.

If the peppers wobble, cut a small amount off the bottoms to make them flat.

Chop the top portion of the pepper.

Fill peppers nearly to the top with chopped pepper and other fillings.

I used mozzarella and turkey sausage from my family’s favorite recipe (browned and crumbled).

Beat the eggs with milk and seasonings. Pour into peppers.

I finished by sprinkling green onions on top.

Place peppers on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked through.

Not everyone in my house loves peppers like I do, so I cooked these little soufflés in custard dishes or coffee mugs instead.

They were a hit! In fact, Miss Chief Picky Eater requested another for her breakfast a few days later!

These options aren’t as colorful, but they still have some visual appeal–or even more, if you don’t like peppers!

(Thanks to Rebecca at Cooking with my Kid for this idea)

Note: If you cut the quiche open and find the eggs aren’t cooked through, you can save your breakfast from disaster with a quick zap in the microwave. (The texture of microwaved eggs isn’t as good, though, so it’s better to make sure you bake it long enough in the oven.)

Our garden is just taking off, so I’ll be back soon with more ideas for wonderful summer vegetables!