Croque Madame Cups

When I travelled in Europe as a teen, I fell in love with the street vendor food, Croque Monsieur. Those are really ham and cheese sandwiches, grilled. The ones I ate had the cheese melted on top. To make it a Madame version, the fried egg was added. I was never a huge fan of the feminine version. Til now.

I made the amazing little cups as a recipe for the Diner News. I like them so much that I can't help but share this recipe with all the blog followers too. The newsletter is also filled with plans to make lunches ahead of time for smooth stressfree brown bagging during the week. Still lots of good info and ideas there.

Croque Madame Cups

6 eggs, divided whites and yolks

1/2 cup unflavored whey protein

4 oz cream cheese, softened

4-6 oz thinly sliced ham

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 cup soft cheese, Gruyere or another

Begin by making some “bread” to stand in for the bread in the traditional sandwich. Beat egg whites until very stiff. Gently stir in the whey powder and the cream cheese. Make three small loaves shaped like sub buns by mounding the mixture on a non stick silpat liner or parchment paper. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, Remove the buns and set two aside. You may use these for sandwiches for another lunch. Cut one bun into strips and return the strips to the oven for an additional 5 minutes. This will make them extra crispy. When cool enough to handle, cut the strips into small cubes.

Using two shaved ham slices, line 6 muffin cups with the ham. You may use papers if you choose. Divide the cheese among the cups. Place 2-4 bread cubes in each cup. With a spoon, drop an egg yolk into each cup. You may keep them whole or break the yolk to help fill the fold in the ham slice. Bake for 15 minutes or until egg is just set. Top with a squirt of Dijon mustard.

Eat right away or wrap with plastic wrap for lunches or breakfasts.

231 calories    20 g protein   14 g fat   2.1 g net carbs

These are pretty as is, or would be even fancier with cupcake wrappers. Great for showers or parties.

When making lunches, this recipe is great, since you get a couple of buns to use for other meals too. I used a recipe similar to many of Maria's recipes, so the inspiration is hers. I wanted something light and airy for the bread component in the cup. Excellent results.

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