introducing flutter's favorite depression meal: egg toast!
this is my go-to when i'm hungry and low on energy. it has carbs and protein to keep you going, is pretty tasty imo, and is very versatile depending on what you're up for!
small baking tray (that fits in the toaster oven)
these two things, in my opinion, are very worthwhile investments in general. i use my toaster oven almost twice as often as my full-size oven, and the baking tray is a necessity to fully make use of it.
everyone's pantry looks different, but these are things that i personally almost always have on hand, even when things are especially sparse financially.
anything else you think sounds good!
i don't always have cheese or butter on hand, which is the main reason they sometimes get omitted.
begin by lightly toasting your bread! i usually do four pieces, two of which are for the eggs and two of which i butter and then use to soak up leftover yolk (i prefer it runny).
you do want the toast pretty light! no longer squishy, but you don't want it brittle enough to break during the next step either.
once the toast is done, take your small baking tray, lightly grease it with butter or oil, and place two pieces of toast on it. then, using the back of a spoon or even your thumb, press down the center of the toast almost out to the crust, to form a sort of shallow bowl shape. (i actually learned this trick from a different tumblr post, probably years ago. i'll link it if i can find it!)
at this point, you want your toaster oven to be preheating. i leave the temperature at 450F, the default toast setting on mine, and set it to "stay on" mode so it doesn't tick down and turn off.
crack one egg into each piece of toast. you can scramble or lightly mix it before adding it to the toast if you like, but i prefer a more "sunny-side up" look. (if you prefer your yolks runny or jammy, be careful not to break them. in my experience, they cook much faster when broken.)
tip: if adding salt and pepper, wait until AFTER the eggs are cooked, or they can affect the texture. this goes for all methods of cooking eggs.
place the tray with the egg toasts into the preheated toaster oven. at 450F, i cook mine for 8 minutes, which just barely sets the whites and leaves the yolks runny. i've also done 10 minutes for jammy yolks, and i imagine somewhere around 11 or 12 minutes would get you fully cooked yolks. when adding cheese, sprinkle it on top about halfway through cooking.
once the eggs are cooked to your liking, remove the tray from the toaster oven. at this point, i take the other two pieces of toast i made and put them back in the toaster oven until they're hot again and as dark as i want them.
now you can add salt and pepper if you're using them. butter the other pieces of toast if you made them, and place an egg toast on top of each one, so all four pieces get some butter melted into them.
i cut each stack of toast in half diagonally so that the toast can start soaking up the runny yolk, but this is just my personal preference.
then, dig in! if you manage to make this on a rough day, thank you for trying my recipe, and i'm very proud of you. even if you don't make this, i'm still proud of you because you're here and you're doing your best.
remember to do your best to eat and hydrate, even if you don't have the energy for a recipe like this one! thanks for reading, and thank you for being here <3