Before I reveal my three favorite, easy and affordable breakfast recipes for the ultimate “morning after” with your beau, let me introduce myself: My name is Kate Dunn-Roy, and you may remember me from previous articles on The Babe Report such as How To Lose Ten Guys In Ten Years and Taco Tuesday: Valentine’s Edition. Well, I’m back, better than ever, and about to kick-start a new column for you babes!

My column on The Babe Report will show how you can up your dating game in the kitchen to impress a date, how to save money by spending more time at home with your special someone or by hosting friends, and all the while by keeping things easy and super simple! The focus of my column will be to share awesome recipes I’ve stumbled through and perfected, kitchen hacks that will impress anyone, and to share funny and embarrassing anecdotes about my current dating life.

In the last five years, I’ve traveled through South America, moved to a small island in Belize, suffered through a few heartaches and consumed copious bottles of wine. Today, I’m permanently shacked up on a small island in the Pacific Northwest near Vancouver, working at one of Canada’s best restaurants, and weeding my way through the online dating world in my downtime. There have been home runs where I swung for the fences and went on some of the best runs of my life, and there have been strike-outs where I’ve found my feet struggling to make it back to the bench to wait out the next inning. That being said, I’ve learned a thing or two along the way and we’ll get into more details while on this new journey together.

For today’s agenda, I want to help you with sustaining yourself through the make-or-break moment of the first “morning after” spent with someone you truly want to keep around and impress.

Here’s the breakdown: you’ve been out on how ever many dates you deem necessary to slip into bed with someone new, and now it’s the first morning after with someone you genuinely like. Someone who might be worthy of more than a bowl of cheap cereal in the morning.

Let’s be clear, this is not someone you picked up as the ugly lights came on at your local watering hole the night before. Now, there’s nothing wrong with one night stands, but the likelihood of you wanting to spend further sober time with said person is probably low. Save this advice for when you’ve got the butterflies and accompanying anxiety of feeling excitement over something new. These 3 Egg-cellent recipes are simple and made to impress. You need a few kitchen tools that you may or may not have already but they’re easy and affordable enough to find at any kitchen or housewares supply store – or even at a local thrift store. These are the kitchen supplies you’ll need on hand:

1. Small cast iron or ceramic oven safe ramekins
2. Small 8/9 inch cast iron pan OR glass pie plate
3. Blender
4. Deep dish baking pan (13x9x2 inch)

Once you have your supplies ready you are officially ready to cook! “What about the ingredients?”, you wonder! Turn off your millennial anxiety for one god damn minute; each of these recipes have been designed to use what staples you should generally have in your fridge as a borderline functioning adult. Feeling keen and want to prepare? I’m listing sample recipes below that you can take the key items from and add substitutions in from what you have on hand. The best fillings used for each of these recipes is whatever is in the fridge that you can’t seem to make use for in any other capacity right before it goes “off”. Tail end of those tomatoes in the bowl, throw them in! Mushrooms starting to get slight old man wrinkles? Slice them up! These are easy to play with recipes so take it easy and remember to keep it simple. Seasoning with salt and pepper goes a long way!

1. Easy Eggs Benedict

Ingredients:

*2 basic english muffins
*4 large eggs
*1 tbsp white vinegar
*3 egg yolks
*1/2 cup of hot melted butter
*1/2 lemon (juiced)
*salt

For the english muffin topping, here’s where you get creative. Is your sleepover buddy vegetarian? Slice up some avocado and tomato. Meat lover? Crisp up some bacon or even some cold cuts!

Kate’s Eggs Benny

1) Melt your butter in a heat safe bowl in the microwave until it’s bubbling lightly.

2) Separate your eggs. Have two small bowls on hand. Crack the egg on the side of the bowl gently and hold it slightly together in your hands. Drop the egg into one hand with your fingers closed. Slowly open your fingers together to release the egg white into one of the small bowls. Once all the white has been separated from the yolk, put the yolk into the other bowl. Repeat for 2 more eggs.

3) Put your egg yolks into blender. Turn onto HIGH speed for 5 seconds. Once your butter is melted, turn blender to a medium speed and SLOWLY add the butter into the egg yolks until fully combined. Once all butter has been added, crank blender back up to HIGH for 5 seconds and turn off.

4) Juice lemon into sauce. Add a PINCH of salt!

5) Cut open your english muffins and put into toaster. Set to toast until golden brown with crispy edges.

6) Prepare your topping. Slice tomato, avocado, or fry your bacon. Set aside.

7) Bowl a medium pot of water. Add vinegar. Turn down to medium heat and let water sit at a high simmer.

8) Once the water is simmering whisk it (a fork works fine too) to create a tornado in the pot. Quickly crack an egg into a small bowl and slowly add the egg to the water vortex. Repeat for each of the 4 eggs.

9) For a runny egg (best for eggs benedict) cook for only 90 seconds.

10) After just over 1 minute remove eggs carefully with a spoon (preferably slotted) and place gently onto a paper towel.

11) Build your Benedict

-1 half of an english muffin + topping of your choice + poached egg + large
spoonful of hollandaise

2. Beggin’ for these Baked Eggs

Ingredients:

*2 large eggs
*1/4 white onion (diced)
*3 button mushrooms (sliced)
*1/4 green or yellow zucchini (sliced)
*2 handfuls fresh spinach
*2 tbsp butter
*2 drizzles of cream (whipping, 1/2 & 1/2, it’s all good)
*grated Manchego or Parmesan cheese
*salt and pepper

Kate’s Baked Eggs

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While the oven heats, dice your onion, slice the mushrooms and zucchini.

2) Over medium heat melt 1 tbsp of butter and add your diced onion. Sautée until translucent (clear) and add your zucchini. Sautée approximately 2 minutes before adding your mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.

3) Cook down the onion, mushrooms, and zucchini together for about three minutes until softened. Add your two handfuls of spinach. This will wilt down to combine in about a minute. Remove mixture from heat.

4) Use the remaining tablespoon of butter to rub down the inside of your two oven safe ramekins. Place 1/2 cup of filling into the bottom of each ramekin and top with a sprinkling of your preferred grated cheese.

5) Use the back of a spoon to create a nest in the middle of the filling. Crack 1 large egg into each nest. Drizzle with cream. Drizzle, take it easy but don’t worry if it’s more than a drizzle. It’s cream. It’s a very good thing.

6) Place ramekins into a baking dish that’s as least deep enough as the ramekins themselves. Fill the pan with boiling water up to the height of the middle of the ramekins.

7) Cover the pan with tin foil and bake these babies for 12 minutes if you like a runny egg, push it to 14 if you’re down with a firmer yolk. Remove carefully, crack some fresh pepper over the top and serve with a side of toast or fruit.

3. Feelin’ Fresh Frittata

Ingredients:

*4 large eggs
*2 tbsp milk
*1/2 small white onion, diced
*1 medium patty pan squash, sliced
*3 button mushrooms, sliced
*1 grilled hot Italian sausage, sliced (from last night’s bbq)
*2 tbsp grated mozzarella cheese or any light
*salt and pepper
*Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kate’s Frittata

1) Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Over medium heat, drizzle the olive oil across the bottom of a non stick skillet. Add your onions and sautée until translucent.

2) Slice your squash and mushrooms. Add to the onions and combine. Season with salt and pepper. Cook down for approximately 3 minutes or until softened.

3) Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil into your glass pie plate or cast iron pan. Use your fingers to spread the olive oil around the pan and up the sides to coat. Place filling mixture into the bottom of the pan.

4) In a medium size bowl mix 4 large eggs with the 2tbsp of milk. Whisk it! Whisk it good!

5) Pour egg mixture on top of the filling mixture. Slice Italian sausage into circles and place in a circular design around the pie plate. Top with grated cheese of your choice.

6) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes; once the edges are browning and the top is lightly bubbling.

7) Let cool slightly, then slice and enjoy!

NOTE: For each of these dishes, the filling is adaptable like the above-mentioned Eggs Benedict recipe. Use whatever you have that you can picture tasting drool-worthy together. The main reason to feature each of these three recipes is for how impressive they are visually! I’m confident whatever you throw inside will be as tasty as it looks. Got any comments or questions? Follow me on instagram @katestestkitchen and shoot me a DM about any of these recipes or others that pop up! I’m happy to coach and not leave you benched for your morning after.