Spicy Maple Breakfast Sandwiches with Veggie Eggs (freezer-friendly)

& opening 4 advent calendars a day

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes, musings, and faves in your inbox every week! Paid subscribers get even more on Saturdays — right now I’m doing a 30-minute budget meal series! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

We’ve pivoted to full holiday mode over here at our house. Last year, I decided I really wanted an advent calendar (I told you, the Christmas envy runs deep), so Grant and I decided we would pick one out for each other. Right now, we are actively opening 4 Advent Calendars a day(!!!!), which feels like the sweetest little treat and something I look forward to each morning.

First, we have Justine’s Cookie Advent Calendar, which has been the best gift ever! I don’t know if it’s the breastfeeding sweet tooth or what, but I’m constantly craving cookies, so it’s truly a dream to get a homemade cookie a day.

For my calendar, Grant picked out the Kokora Care Advent Calendar, which is filled with both sweet and savory Japanese foods. I still dream about our trip to Japan and the food we ate there, so this was perfect.

For him, I purchased the 19 Grams Coffee Advent Calendar, which contains different single-source, Arabica coffee, and I actually snuck a little of his this morning to make some espresso.

And finally, I got a Chicken Treat Advent Calendar from Trader Joe’s for our dog Willow, but I laughed so hard when I realized every day is the same freeze-dried chicken treat. Thankfully, she does not care.

Also, some fun news! This week, I was a guest curator for The Good Trade Newsletter! I talk about my weekend routine, what I’ve been up to lately, and all the adjustments I’m making as a new mom. Be sure to subscribe here so you don’t miss Saturday’s issue!

THINGS I’M LOVING!

My first ever Christmas tree has arrived! This tree was less than $100, and I’m shocked at how good it looks! It’s also the perfect size for our smaller home. Will share pictures of how we decorate it next week — although I want to slowly build out our ornament collection so it can be personal and curated.

Now, as an interfaith household, I couldn’t forget a Menorah! Hannukah is just around the corner, so I picked out this Mango Wood Menorah from Ten Thousand Villages. Grant and I both loved the wood look, and it was affordable compared to some of the other menorahs I was looking at that cost over $200 (crazy, I know.)

My lovely friend Sara Tane just launched Kelp Ranch in collaboration with Barnacle Foods, and it’s so delicious! I recently made this New York Times Cooking Mississippi Roast recipe, and the Kelp Ranch was perfect for this! You can learn more about it in Sara’s Substack, where she includes some other recipe suggestions as well.

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RECIPE!

You might remember that before I gave birth, I meal prepped a bunch of freezer meals to have postpartum. My Sage Maple Egg McMuffins were a big hit — both in our house and online — so I decided it was time to make a new batch and a new flavor!

I originally wanted to make these with harissa sauce, but when I pulled the jar out from our fridge, it was covered in mold (oops). So I quickly pivoted to Calabrian chili peppers, which worked well. I liked that the spice level was pretty mild, and I still included maple in these, as I think a touch of sweetness is nice in a sausage patty.

I wanted to add some veggies to these sandwiches, because I don’t eat as many vegetables in the morning as I’d like, so I made some egg patties using peppers, onions, and spinach. I realize that sautéing and adding in peppers and onions adds an extra step, but I found it was worth it! Or, if you’re okay with some crunch, you can also skip the sautéing part.

Important note about the eggs: because this yields 10 sandwiches, I needed to use a sheet pan big enough to make that many cutouts. I also wanted the egg patties to be thick, so I used a lot of eggs here. You have two options:

• Cut the eggs into 12 squares, and have a little more egg in each sandwich with two extra patties to use as you wish (least wasteful)

• Cut the eggs into circular shapes using the bottom of a glass. You’ll end up with extra eggs once you cut them out.

I did option 2, which meant I had a lot of egg scraps leftover afterwards, which I realized after I filmed. You can definitely save these and use them in other recipes like my freezer breakfast burritos. I’ve also been putting them on toast with cheese, or you can freeze them as is and eat them like egg bites.

I used Colby Jack as my cheese, but you can also use regular cheddar or pepper jack!

Spicy Maple Breakfast Sandwiches with Veggie Eggs

Ingredients (makes 10 sandwiches)

• 2-4 tbsp olive oil

• 3 bell peppers, diced

• 1 small/medium yellow onion, diced

• 15 eggs

• 1/2 cup milk

• 2 cups baby spinach

• 10 English muffins

• Olive oil spray

• 2 lbs ground turkey

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp Calabrian chili

• 10 slices pepper jack cheese

• Olive oil spray or butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large skillet, heat up 2 tbsp olive oil on medium heat. Add the peppers and onions along with a pinch of salt, and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened.

2. Add eggs and milk to a large bowl, and whisk together to scramble. Mix in the peppers and onions along with the spinach and some more salt and pepper, and mix together again.

3. Line a 13x18 rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, and grease with cooking spray or oil. Pour the egg mixture into the baking sheet, and transfer to the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes until eggs are fully set but not overcooked.

4. While eggs are cooking, prepare your English muffins by slicing them in half. Add them to a separate large baking sheet, and spray each half with olive oil spray or spread on some butter. Transfer to the oven, and bake for 6-8 minutes until just toasted starting to turn golden, making sure not to over bake since they will be reheated again later.

5. Next, prep your turkey patties. In a large bowl, add ground turkey, maple syrup, Calabrian chilis, garlic powder, salt, and a pinch or two of black pepper. Mix together until everything is combined, taking care not to over mix.

4. In a large skillet on medium heat, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Using your hands, form the turkey mixture into patties that are about 1-inch thick and the width of your English muffin (they will shrink down as they cook). Add to the pan, and cook for about 3 minutes on each side until browned on the outside and fully cooked.

5. Assemble your sandwiches by adding a slice of cheese onto one half of an English muffin and topping with the turkey sausage, egg, and remaining half of English muffin.

To Eat Immediately

To eat your sandwiches immediately, preheat oven to 350 F. Heat up for 5 minutes until everything is warm and cheese is melted.

To Store

To store your sandwiches, wrap in parchment paper and place in freezer-safe bags.

Reheating Instructions

The best way to reheat these is to let them thaw in the fridge the night before and then bake at 400 F for about 10 minutes. I find it’s best to remove the parchment paper wrap and place them directly on a baking sheet (or place the parchment paper on the bottom).

We have also reheated them from frozen, but you’ll have to go a little longer, closer to 20-25 minutes. A sprinkle of water on top can help, also.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week, paid subscribers received another 30-minute meal: a crunchy shaved Brussels sprouts salad with cheddar and apple!

Just a reminder that anytime you become a paid subscriber, you get access to ALL of the past recipes in the archive. You can always do a free 7-day trial as well!