Breakfast Combo Bar

The Best Breakfast Combo Bar

If I’ve never expressed my love for breakfast foods, particularly hot breakfast foods, I can sum it up in a word… GIMMIE! This Breakfast Combo Bar is no exception. What is it? It’s a crispy fried scrambled egg, ham and cheese patty and, if you’ve never tried one before, believe me when I say, they’re amazing. These can’t be purchased by the average consumer, by the way, and you don’t usually find this item on a restaurant menu so, you’re going to have to learn how to make these and try them your self.

Where does it come from

I learned about the Breakfast Combo bars over 25 years, when I attended trade school, and I fell absolutely in love with them. I’ve never seen them served any where else but I have since learned that they are a bulk product, made by Hormel, and they’re only sold to distributors and restaurant supply companies like Sysco; which also explains why my school cafeteria was serving them up in the mornings.

Eggs are the main ingredient in this recipe, mixed with minced ham and cheese so, be sure you’re stalked up to make these because it takes 2 eggs to make 1 Breakfast Bar.

What Kind of Ham and Cheese

The ingredients in the Hormel recipe says that the cheese in these Breakfast Combo Bars is pasteurized and American so, I chose to go with Velveeta Cheese. You can use what ever you want but, I’m telling you, the Velveeta, in my opinion, is spot on the way I remember these bars tasting. So, it’s something to consider if you prefer real cheese.

Cooked ham and cheese with scrambled eggs.

The Ham I use is just a classic hickory smoked ham that I add to the eggs, chopped, after they’ve cooked. I melt down the Velveeta cheese in a smaller pan with a few tablespoons of whipping cream to make it creamy and easy to poor over the eggs and ham mixture. Then, I mix everything together, remove from the heat and form patties on a cookie sheet.

Eggs, ham and cheese mix formed into patties on a cookie sheet for the freezer.

It’s good to use a non-stick cookie sheet or some non-stick spray that will keep the eggs, ham and cheese mix from sticking, once you’ve made patties. I use an egg pan mold approximately 3″ inches in diameter. The mold is only about one 1/2″ inch so, it makes it easy to press them flat too. The patties must be frozen before they’re battered for frying or they will not sustain their shape. 1 hour, minimum, in the freezer is required to obtain a frozen patty. In fact, I usually keep half of them in the freezer while I’m frying the first batch because they soften quickly and fall apart in the egg wash.

2 canisters of both Seasoned Panko and Bread Crumbs.

Breading and Batter

Once the egg, ham and cheese patties are fully frozen, they can be put through a 3 step breading. First the flour, then the egg wash and the seasoned Panko and bread crumb mix. Each patty only needs to go through these steps once. There’s no need for a second coating, trust me. Now all you need is a half inch of oil, in a hot pan, for frying. Fry at 350° Fahrenheit for approximately 2 minutes, or until golden brown, on each side. Then remove from the heat and let them rest on a rack or paper towels, to remove the grease, and serve.

Breakfast Combo Bar video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet

Breakfast Combo Bar Ingredients: Makes 6

12 eggs, scrambled and pre-cooked with Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup Ham, minced
1/3 cup Velveeta Cheese, melted
2 tbsp Whipping Cream or Milk

1/3 cup flour
2 eggs
3 tbsp water
1/3 cup Bread Crumbs, seasoned
1/2 cup Panko, seasoned

Oil for Frying

Watch and follow all of the instructions in the Breakfast Combo Bar video tutorial.

Puff Pancakes

The Best Puff Pancakes

Puff Pancakes are amazing and I fell in love with them from the start. My family, however, always called them Popeye Pancakes. I don’t really know why. All I remember is being very young when my older sister came home with the recipe, from the sleep over she had just had at a girlfriends slumber party. She raved about them and my siblings and I have been eating them ever since. I know that most folks call them German Puff Pancakes and that others like to cook them Dutch Oven style but, other than that, I can’t tell you the history behind them because honestly, I’m sorry to say, I’m not really interested. :-p

Baking Puff Pancakes

One of the things you should know about Puff Pancakes is that they shrink down, considerably. Clearly they get their name from the amount of poof the pancake gets when it puffs up during the baking but, after only a minute out of the oven, the size is drastically cuts in half. So if you’re wondering what the hell happened to your Puff Pancakes when they deflate, like a flat tire, understand that this is completely normal.

Additions for Puff Pancakes

The great thing about these pancakes is that you can add just about anything you want to them, including fruit or vegetable toppings. You can even bake them into the Puff Pancakes themselves, if you prefer. Other options can include Meats like ham, sausage or bacon. Personally, I usually just prepare mine the way I show you how to do it in the Video Recipe Tutorial, only I usually make a larger batch for the whole family, like the picture above in the Casserole dish. And this recipe is large enough to bake in a 9×13 Casserole dish, btw. I like to cut it up into 8 equal servings and serve it with Maple Syrup or my Homemade Berry Syrup.

Other Breakfast and Brunch recipes you might be interested in are my Oreo Waffles, Potato Waffles with Cheese, Crepes with Cherry Topping and my Breakfast Burrito with Chorizo. I also have an Ultimate Omelette and an Egg Bread Bowl you might want to check out.

Puff Pancakes Ingredients:

1/4 cup Butter
6 eggs
1 cup Flour
1 cup Milk
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Vanilla
Powder Sugar, optional

You want to bake these for 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit and be sure to watch the short video tutorial, for this Puff Pancakes recipe, and I’ll show you how easy these are to make.

Easter Recipe Ideas for The Whole Day!

Boiled Eggs for Easter

Other than all of the chocolate bunnies and candy, Boiled Eggs go hand in hand with this celebrated holiday. Whether you use them for the traditional egg hunts or just include them in your cooking, here’s a few fun recipes that are a big hit in my family.