The very first time I went to New Orleans, I didn’t love it. I know, I know insert the shock and dismay. I’m being honest – I didn’t love it. The first time I visited was before Hurricane Katrina and even though New Orleans always presents delicious food options, I wasn’t convinced it was the city for me. It only took another visit or two to help me realize that New Orleans is seriously one of the most amazing cities ever. The food in the N.O. is TO DIE FOR and on our last visit to the Crescent City, John and I had the most amazing breakfast in a cup and I had to recreate it.
Let me set the scene: years ago, our friend Erin posted about a to go cup full of breakfast goodness. The post was in 2014 and for years, I could not get it out of my mind – that’s normal behavior right? Naturally, when we went to New Orleans this year, we made it a point visit Cafe Envie to get this breakfast in a cup. This breakfast option was perfect for our last day in New Orleans because it was hearty, filling and just delicious.
Truth be told, we were out the night before – doing what you do in New Orleans – and that breakfast in a cup was just what the doctor ordered. While I can’t just drive to N.O. on a whim to get breakfast from Cafe Envie, I wanted to attempt to recreate my own version at home. It’s not rocket science to put some yummy breakfast foods in a cup or a mug at home so you can certainly make this your own. This is a great breakfast option for sending the kids or your spouse out of the door in the morning. It’s certainly the perfect weekend breakfast option too. Put your ingredients in a cup and take a walk or head to the park.
Breakfast in a cup (inspired by a trip to New Orleans)
With a lot of the meals I cook, there isn’t a “real” recipe. This is the same but don’t worry, I’ll take you through step-by-step what I did to create this magical breakfast. OK so in my cup we have:
- cheesy grits
- scrambled eggs
- hash browns
- bacon
- bacon gravy
- green onions, for garnish
- your favorite hot sauce, if desired
Sounds good, right?
For the grits: cook as the package suggests. I’ll be honest, for this I used quick-cooking grits because who has time to wait for breakfast? I cooked my grits in chicken broth (I just like that extra savory flavor). Then I added in a mound of cheddar cheese and a splash of cream and butter. Oooooh yeah. For the hash browns, I took the easy way out and used these (get the Southwest version if you can).
Everyone has their own preference for scrambled eggs. I like mine scrambled hard with salt and pepper. In my opinion, the best way to cook bacon is in the oven but with this breakfast in a cup, I fried the bacon in a skillet and used the grease to make a bacon gravy. Yes, you heard me correctly: bacon gravy (recipe below). Just drizzle the gravy on top and you’ve got yourself a wonderful hangover meal breakfast.
Ingredients
- Bacon grease
- Flour
- Milk
- Salt & pepper
- Cooked bacon, crumbled
Instructions
- In the skillet you cooked the bacon, whisk together equal parts of bacon grease and flour. Cook for a minute or so - be sure not to burn the flour.
- Pour in the milk and whisk together. Simmer for a few minutes until the gravy thickens; season with salt and pepper (to taste) and add in the bacon crumbles.
- Drizzle on top of your breakfast in a cup.
