Happy National Guacamole Day!!! It’s a fairly well-known fact among my friends that if there is an entrée that involves guacamole on a restaurant’s menu, nine times out of ten that is what I’ll order. I <3 avocados, but it was not exactly love at first sight.
I didn’t realize until I was 20 that I even liked avocados (which was highly unfortunate timing, since at 21, I moved away from California). When I was growing up, every time my dad ate avocados, my mom would wrinkle her nose and comment that they taste like soap, so, being the picky eater that I was, I trusted her judgment and steered clear. One day in college, however, I was watching my roommate cut up an avocado for her salad and thought to myself, You know what? That actually looks really good! Our stove wasn’t working at the time and it would be another week or two before the repairman could come to fix it, so we were eating a lot of salads, sandwiches, and microwaveable things—nearly all of which, I found, were nicely enhanced by the addition of avocados. And thus my obsession began.
This is my boyfriend’s guacamole recipe. He helps out a lot in the kitchen and sometimes we cook together, but more often than not, I’m the one who plans and puts meals together. But guacamole? That’s definitely his domain.
These egg cups can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The guacamole recipe yields an amount far greater than you will need for the egg cups, but that just means you have plenty left over for chips! And sandwiches. And omelets. And burritos. And burgers. Okay, I’ll stop now. You get the picture.
- 4 strips of turkey bacon (4 ounces)
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1/2 cup black beans
- 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
- salt
- 4 medium avocados
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1/2 red onion
- 1 jalapeño, seeded
- 1/3 cup cilantro
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper
- Chop tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro (note: the more finely you chop the cilantro, the more flavor it will release). Combine in a medium mixing bowl and add lime juice and garlic.
- Scoop out avocados into a separate bowl. Mash with a fork or potato masher.
- Add mashed avocados to mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until serving.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat 4 cups of a muffin pan (or 4 ramekins) with cooking spray.
- Cut each strip of bacon in half crosswise and place two halves in each muffin cup, arranged like a plus sign.
- Crack an egg into each cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes (if you prefer slightly runny egg yolks, bake for 20 minutes, if you prefer firmer egg yolks, bake for 25).
- While egg cups are baking, cook quinoa according to directions on package. Once quinoa has fully absorbed water, add black beans and corn. Stir to combine. Add salt to taste.
- Remove egg cups from oven. Spoon quinoa/bean/corn mixture into cups. Top with guacamole and serve immediately.
- Makes 4 egg cups, with extra guacamole.
- You can make the guacamole while the egg cups are baking, but for added flavor, I recommend making the guacamole several hours before serving (or even overnight). Place a layer of plastic wrap over the surface to minimize the oxidation.
Avocado and bacon are a heavenly match! What a healthy, delicious recipe you’ve got here!
Wait a minute, there’s a National Guacamole Day? How did I not know about this??
Never fear! If you missed National Guacamole Day this year, National *Spicy* Guacamole Day is coming up on November 14th!