Oven Scrambled Eggs

As a person who now has the joy of having freshly laid eggs waiting for me each day, I have found myself looking for more ways to use them.  Our young pullets have only been laying since November, so their eggs are still weighing on the small to medium size.  One gal is almost tipping the scales into the large, so I'm thinking that as spring approaches we will find ourselves with more and more large egg layers.  This makes it tricky using them in recipes that would typically call for large eggs, so for now we are eating a lot of tried and true omelettes and scrambled eggs.

That doesn't mean I'm not stock piling up on fun and fabulous recipes to try once my girls grace me with some standard size eggs!  One great website for egg recipes is about as obvious as they come.  We've seen the commercials, we remember the slogan: "the Incredible Edible Egg!"  Check out Incredible Egg fun egg facts, amazing recipes and even more reasons to love these protein packed beauties!  From their website, I wanted to try their Basic Oven Scrambled Eggs.

Now scrambled eggs are hardly a difficult chore.  They only take a few minutes and can be as dressed up or dressed down as you please.  In looking at the recipe they list, I can already tell that this wouldn't save me any time in preparing them for my small family of 3.  However if I needed to prepare a large batch for a hungry family, and possibly had some stove burners occupied with bacon or sausage or pancakes, this could be a real asset.  (I'll post their version exact as it is from the website, however I made some modifications due to having small/medium sized eggs and making a smaller batch.)

Basic Oven Scrambled Eggs

Prep Time:  3 minutes

Cook Time: 19-22 minutes

Servings: 6 to 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 F.  Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl until blended.
2. Pour egg mixture into a lightly greased 13x9x2 inch baking pan.  Bake in 350 F oven until eggs begin to set, about 7 minutes.  Leaving pan in oven, pull out oven rack.  Gently pull the eggs completely across the bottom and sides of the pan with an inverted turner, forming large soft curds.
3. Continue baking.  Repeat pulling eggs with a turner a few more times until thickened and no visible liquid egg remains.  12 to 15 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Serve immediately.

We decided to do a half batch considering we don't need to feed "6 to 12" people.  Another compensation we had to make was because our eggs weren't standard sized.  Instead of using 6 eggs, as a half batch would call for, we used 8 of our small/medium sized eggs.  Here's how we made our oven scrambled eggs.

We assembled our ingredients for our half batch, then because my husband was doing the cooking (while I did photography), he decided we should add minced onion.  Everything, in a man's mind, is better with onion, isn't it?  Never the less, we followed step one plus onion and blended it up.

Our mixture got poured into a greased baking dish of smaller size and added to the oven.  We gently stirred the mixture around a few times as it baked and indeed, those egg curds did form.  Our finished product was just as light, fluffy and moist as if it were scrambled on the stove top.  But scrambled eggs alone just isn't a meal.  We enjoyed ours with some nice juicy ham steaks!  My daughter opted for the eggs as they were, while my husband and I sprinkled some cheese and salsa on top.  Yum!

There you have it:  oven scrambled eggs!  As I said before, this isn't a time saver or convince for a small family like ours.  Making the full sized batch for a hungry crowd would be a much more realistic use for this recipe, so I'll hang on to it for now.  What are your favorite, easy egg recipes?  Feel free to share with us!

Farewell 2012

2012, all in all, was a year of learning experiences for me.  And while not all lessons in life are easy or enjoyable, they shape who we are and how we will take on the future.  Chinese tradition called it the year of the Dragon, but for me it was the year of the Chicken. Our first steps into this new found hobby (albeit obsession at times) has brought much into my life.

Raising day old chicks this spring with my family showed me how to appreciate the joy in new experiences.  Watching the little fluffy creatures grow and change, so rapidly, was something that my daughter and I were in awe of.  From their first bites of a new food to their first time out in grass all the way to their first attempts at roosting, watching their reactions brought us laughter and a chance to bond.

As our girls matured I was able to teach my daughter a bit more about life cycles as we looked for signs that our girls were ready to lay eggs. Carefully, quietly, kindly we interacted with them more and more, always vigilant for changes in their behavior or appearance.  One glorious afternoon we were treated to another chance to bond; discovering our hens first egg together!  We were both so overjoyed and shared a moment that will remain forever a treasured memory.

A day before Thanksgiving we noticed one of our hens acting distressed. She was displaying signs of being eggbound.  Watching our sweet Ursula so uncomfortable, hunched up, labored breathing, we were very concerned.  No matter the holiday, we set up a dog kennel inside our home for her and she stayed inside with us for five days.  She was carefully monitored (by all family members, human and animal) and received what treatments we could do to help.  Epson salt soaks, gentle massages, warm moist heat...nothing helped.  

This would be her first egg, but it seemed as if she wasn't quite ready to lay it.  A few days after the holiday she perked back up and acted good as new.  False alarm on being eggbound!  She went back out and hasn't had any problems since. I suspect she just wanted an invitation to holiday dinner, but changed her mind once she saw the turkey wasn't the "honored guest" she thought!  We all realized though just how attached we had become to the girls.

I never thought I'd be a "chicken keeper" in my lifetime, but I am now.  I love it and I'm very glad and grateful for what this has brought into my life.  They have caused me to slow down and appreciate the simple things a little more.  It also introduced me to a wonderful group of Farm Chicks who have enriched my life more than they know.

The last two months of this year have been particularly difficult for me. Medical issues in my family have arisen and shaken us deeply.  Another lesson I have learned this year is that I should no longer take a single day for granted.  Do what makes you happy.  Help others.  Be a good friend.  You may not have another choice to try a new experience again.

2012 was the year of the Chicken for me.  2013 will be the year of Family.  Whatever you may choose to dedicate yourself to this year, I wish you much luck and a very happy 2013.