Eggs in a Hole

Becca here with one of my kids' favorite breakfasts!  I honestly don't remember where I first saw this idea, but it was sometime years ago when my oldest daughter (now seven!) was young, and I could still make breakfast for the two of us in a large skillet.  Now that I'm feeding three kids, I use the griddle so they're all hot & ready at the same time.  I sometimes even use a shaped cookie cutter for the cut out in the bread that the egg is cooked in to make the meal extra special.  The kids also love that they get a special lunch out of the meal too, since I save the centers of the bread for a 'fancy' meal of shaped pbj sandwiches.  Since we're a bread crust eating family (I've never offered the children the option of not eating it), eating little shaped sandwiches with no crust seems like quite a treat.  With a griddle (I can fit 5 regular loaf sized eggs in a hole at one time on mine) you can easily have a plate of these on the table in 10 minutes, and the bread is sturdy enough that it can be picked up and eaten with your hands without a mess, so it doesn't get much better than this homemade 'fast food'!  Serve with fruit, and you have a super quick & complete meal that you can feel good about giving your kids a good start on the day with.  I do realize that I've called for butter, and some people avoid it for various reasons.  You can use olive oil or your favorite cooking oil, but for the best flavor, you just really cannot beat butter, the toast just isn't the same without it, I think it makes the meal here.  Go lowfat for lunch, and use the butter early in the day so you have time to burn it off :)  Enjoy!

Eggs in a Hole
(All amounts are per slice/serving.  In my experience, growing kids may sometimes need 2 slices!)

1 large egg
1 slice of your favorite bread (I'd definitely use whole wheat; I normally use homemade sliced thinly)
salt & pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon butter

Heat griddle to 350, or skillet on stovetop to medium-high heat.  Meanwhile, use cookie cutter (or the rim of a glass, as I did here), to cut a shape out of your bread.  Make sure that you have a good sized hole for the egg, but that there is plenty of bread & crust framing it also, so that the egg stays in the hole & it can easily be picked up & eaten.  Press down with the cutting shape, then wiggle back & worth a few times, and the center will come out cleanly.  Reserve bread centers for a later use (we use them for 'fancy' sandwiches for lunch).

Add a small sliver of butter to the heated griddle or skillet (about 1/2 Tablespoon).  Place toast on top of it, and wiggle it around a bit so that it's coated evenly with the butter.  Immediately crack an egg into the center hole.  Sprinkle a dab of salt & pepper onto the egg, and continue to cook until the egg is mostly set, and toast is a nice golden brown on the underside, which takes a few minutes, 2-3 if I had to guess, although your pan, griddle, and heat level will obviously factor into this time quite a bit.  If you flip it too early, the egg will spill out during the flip, and it won't be as pretty, although it will still taste great :)

After flipping, continue to cook for another 30 seconds - 1 minute, or until other side is also nice and toasted, and egg is completely set.  Serve, and enjoy!