Breakfast Dippin’ Sticks

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And now to breakfast.

Who says you should only dip for dinner? When we’re talking syrupy, gooey sunny-side-up eggy goodness, it’s time to bring breakfast up a level.

Sure, bacon is the ultimate dipping weapon of goodness on the planet, but you likely have some ham left over from Easter (or another meal) and you’re thinking to yourself, “Self, I really want some toast to dip in my syrup and/or eggs.” And sometimes those discussions with yourself will be the most intelligent, thoughtful ones you have all day. Especially if you also tend to talk to your pets. They mostly just look at you as though you’re about t0 give them food.

Only wait! Stop! No need to loaf around with bread. You have ham at your beck and call. Ham, processed with a little bit of cheese, makes the perfect grab and go breakfast for those kids on the move. Are you a big kid? Who says you can’t dip as well?

These skinny little dippers are perfect for anything breakfast throws your way. You could even chop them up and toss them on top of your favorite chef salad as makeshift croutons. You could even mince them into tiny toppers for your deviled eggs.

Just a few tips and suggestions:

• Leaner meat is your friend. The cheese adds enough fat (even low fat mozzarella) that you want lean protein. Try not to go too fatty.
• Make sure to mince cooked, lean ham prior to processing with the cheese. I use my Ninja, but a food processor or an amazing blender, or a sharp knife can do the same thing. Don’t over-process. You just want a fine shred, not pate.
• You will use a processor twice for this recipe: Once to process the ham into fine shreds, and again to incorporate the cheese into the blend.
• If you are dairy free, try using an egg and 1/4 cup flax seed meal (adjust as needed) instead of cheese as binding agents.
• If you are vegetarian, you could replace ham with a non-meat protein.
• Parchment paper is your friend, but I was able to make this recipe in small, nonstick bread pans without it. If you grease your pan, you can use butter, but the parchment just makes nonstick so much nicer.
• If your sticks come out moist, you can pop them back into the oven and cook slightly longer. You can pop the sticks out of the pan and onto a cookie sheet for faster baking.
• Keep the sticks to no more than 1/2″ thick or so to help them bake faster.
• This crust is gluten free and Atkins induction friendly.
• I use cooked ham for this recipe. It was easier to handle, shredded up better, and, since it was already cooked, I didn’t have to worry about under cooking.
• If you want to add the tiniest bit of sweet to the recipe, you could incorporate 1/8 cup (2 Tbsp) brown sugar sugar replacement to the dough while mixing. I find the ham is pretty sweet as it is.

Breakfast Dippin’ Sticks

1 packed cup cooked, minced ham
1 cup packed mozzarella, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Process ham and cheese together. Mixture will resemble a meal/thick, dense crumb consistency.
3. Firmly press ham/cheese mixture to 1/2″ thick  into non-stick, miniature bread pans, about 4X8″ (if you have a regular pan, you can spray and line with parchment for easy removal and use that instead).
4. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Let cool for five minutes in pan.
6. Invert onto a cooling rack until fully cooled.
7. Slice and serve.

Makes 8 dippin’ sticks.

Nutritional information per 2 sticks: Calories: 160, Carbohydrates: 1.6 g , Fiber:  0 g,   Net Carbohydrates:  1 g , Protein:  12 g, Fat:  12g.