Breakfast with a Gadget

We all love a new gadget, don't we?  Something we think we can't live without... and then after a couple of weeks the novelty wears off, and it sits neglected in a dusty corner somewhere until we have to move house and then we donate it!

Sigh.

Sometimes, however, the new gadget actually succeeds.  Sometimes it quietly asserts itself into your life and you truly do use it often, it truly does make life easier or, in this case, food healthier.

This little thing is fantastic!!!!!

https://www.hamiltonbeach.com/breakfast-sandwich-maker-25475 

It's a breakfast sandwich maker, made by Hamilton Beach, and you can get it for 20-25 bucks at all the usual places.

It looks a little gimmicky, I know, but it's magic!  You just pre-heat it, and then throw half a muffin in the bottom, with a little cooked sausage or bacon and maybe a sprinkling of cheese, and then you put the next section down and there's a little plate for your egg to cook on (so it doesn't all ooze out of the sides like it does in a regular panini press), a little seasoning on the egg, top half of the muffin on top, close the lid, set the timer for 4 minutes, and breakfast is made!

I know, I hear you, you can buy breakfast sandwiches pre-made in the freezer section, it's true.  But holy cow, do you know how much fat and grossness is in those things?  This little machine cuts calories like you would not believe!  You can use wheat or whole grain muffins.  You can use a whole real actual egg.  You can drain all the fat off the sausage, or use Canadian bacon (nitrate free if you like), you can add diced peppers, sliced tomatoes, different kinds of cheese.  You can go a little mediterranean with your veggies and spices, or skip the meat and be veggie, you can even skip the egg (although it does seem a shame to do that when the egg cooks so beautifully on that little plate!), it's fantastic!  We went all philly cheesesteak one day because we had leftover steak in the fridge - threw strips of steak and some cheese in the bottom, veggies on the plate, it was scrumptious!  No perservatives, no freezer burn, no extraneous calories - who doesn't want that?

We got this because my man needs a little protein in his morning, cereal just doesn't cut it for him when he's heading out for the day, and I really didn't like the frozen section option that he'd been used to reaching for.  And now, once or twice a week we spend 15 minutes making sandwiches and boxing them up for breakfasts, and everyone is happy!

The people at Hamilton Beach have no idea that I'm saying all of this about their product, but I figure if anyone is on the fence about whether it would be useful or not, reading this might help them to decide what to do!  It does take a little time, but really, not much more than it takes to get the sandwich out of the freezer, unwrap it from the plastic, and nuke it til it's vaguely edible.  And you get a much nicer sandwich if you make it yourself, so it's worth that little bit of effort.