What to do With All Those Eggs? Ham and Egg Cups

Dear reader, don’t miss Today’s God Gift at the end of this post!

It’s a good thing that we like eggs around here.

My Fix-It Farmer got our first flock of chicks in April of 2025, a batch of 10 sent in the mail from Tractor Supply. You can read all about our first foray into fowl farming here.

In early fall, the eight chickens who survived the first week began laying eggs. The eggs started out smaller than a golf ball but soon grew into medium to extra-large size.

I’d heard that farm fresh eggs are much better than store bought, but I didn’t realize how much better until I tried them for myself.

Protection from predators

A few months after they began laying, we had a massacre and lost part of our flock. You see, chickens love to dig. Maybe they’re searching for little bugs or just keeping busy.

Our chickens decided to dig a sizable hole next to the fence in the chicken yard. Because we live in the Kansas Sand Hills, digging is sooooo easy. When I gardened in our yard near Fort Worth, I had to contend with heavy clay soil that made digging back-breaking work.

In our sand, it’s quite possible to dig a large hole in a matter of minutes. And that’s just what a fox or coyote did one night. Spotting an opening underneath the fence, the critter went to work and made an opening large enough to get inside.

The predator caught and killed three of our eight. Footprints on the perimeter, feathers inside the chicken house and inedible body parts scattered outside told the story.

Shawn had just torn up a concrete pad to replace an automatic waterer for the cattle. He used the debris, plus a pickup load of crushed concrete to line the inside and outside of the fence surrounding the chicken house.

If you make the chunks big enough, chickens and predators can’t move them away. Anyone who keeps chickens has a predator story. Our loss wasn’t as extreme as many we’ve heard, more on that later.

Our oldest five, who I think are Production Reds, are great producers who average about 300 eggs a year.

Flocks 2.0 and 2.1

In February, Shawn decided to get another 10 just-hatched chicks in the mail from Tractor Supply. They have the picturesque breed name of Calico Princesses.

One was DOA and another died the next day. A third lasted several days but died despite our efforts to nurse her back to health. We did have a fourth who we helped overcome a bad case of pasty butt. My last chicken post talks about that ailment.

So, we had seven survivors. Since we had our baby chick setup (brooder is the official name for a heated enclosure) running, Shawn decided we should go to Atwoods and pick up a few more chicks. I chose a pair of Production Blues.

Several weeks after the nine young chickens graduated to the chicken house, we gained three more from my sister in-law, who had a much worse massacre story than ours.

She’d bought more than 20 Golden Comet chicks. When they were about two months old, a racoon got into their enclosure and killed all but three. The racoon only ate a few of the chickens but bit the heads off many more just for the fun of it.

“Racoons are known for their love of gratuitous violence,” my sister in-law told me.

She gave us the three survivors and started over with a diverse flock of baby chicks, gathered from all the farm stores in the area.

What to do with ALL. THOSE. EGGS.

So now we have 17 laying hens and some of our 2026 nine are starting to lay eggs. I’m now getting about a dozen eggs a day.

Shawn said he may build a little egg stand to set up by the road because he wants to take part in “the honor economy,” or should I say eggonomy. In the mean time, I’m giving eggs to friends and family whenever I can.

Also, we’re eating a lot of eggs: scrambled eggs, omelets, fried eggs, boiled eggs. But hands down, our favorite way to eat eggs right now is in these Ham and Egg Cups.

Ridiculously easy to make with just three ingredients—four if you count seasonings—they are naturally gluten-free, high protein and low carb. Ham and Egg Cups will store in your fridge for a week and reheat beautifully in the microwave.

I found this recipe from a sweet young mom who makes cooking videos on YouTube, Julia Pacheco. Her recipes are simple, inexpensive and delicious.

I make her Ham and Egg Cups on repeat to simplify eating more eggs. The recipe calls for just five ingredients: deli ham, cheese, eggs, salt and pepper.

First, I spray a 12-serving muffin tin with nonstick spray.

Then I line the cups with ham. The size and thickness of the ham slices determine how much I use – anywhere from 1/2 to 2 slices. I like thin slices because they get crispy around the edges. With Oscar Meyer Black Forest Ham, I use 2 thin slices. My store’s deli sells thicker slices, and I need just 1.

Next, I drop about a tablespoon of shredded cheese into each cup, and then crack an egg on top of the cheese.

Finally, I sprinkle on seasoned salt and pepper. The original recipe calls for salt, but Shawn, who has made these on his own (wonder of wonders), discovered that seasoned salt makes them even better.

Then you bake them at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven and whether you want the yolks to be a bit soft and jammy or solid.

I’ll eat one for breakfast right out of the oven, then allow the rest to cool before storing them in the fridge. To reheat, I wrap the Ham and Egg Cup in a paper towel and microwave it for 20-30 seconds. They will be good for a week. If you want to keep them any longer, I would freeze them, which would increase the reheating time. To be honest, they never last long enough around here to freeze them.

The Recipe: Ham and Egg Cups

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Ham and Egg Cups

With just three ingredients, plus seasonings, these Ham and Egg Cups are a quick, protein-packed breakfast that reheats well and is naturally gluten-free.

Course Breakfast

Keyword gluten free

Servings 6

Calories 300 kcal

Ingredients

• 8 ounces deli ham
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese colby jack or melty marbled cheddar are great
• 12 large eggs
• 1 tsp seasoned salt or regular salt use more or less to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick spray

3. Line each cup with deli ham (1/2 to 2 slices depending on size and thickness)

   

4. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese in each cup

   

5. Crack an egg into each cup

   

6. Sprinkle each cup with seasoned salt and pepper to taste

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Eat immediately or allow to cool and refrigerate or freeze. Refrigerated Ham & Egg Cups reheat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. If frozen, heat for 30 seconds in a paper towel, then flip and heat another 30 seconds.

Today’s God Gift

Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet, loaded with protein, good fats and vitamins. Today, I’m thanking God for all the naturally healthy food He provides.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. – James 1:17