Make an Egg in a Bacon Cup, and Other Incredible Bacon-Cup-Based Foods [Food Hacks]

Attention bacon lovers: If you don't own a muffin pan already, you'll probably want to pick one up real soon. You can turn bacon into ingenious edible bowls by baking bacon in a miniature or full-size muffin pan. Think bacon egg breakfast cups, breadless BLTs, or bite-sized bacon appetizers.

The possibilities are almost endless for these crunchy bowls.

The photo on the top left comes from caterer Peter Callahan (via Delish), who showcases bacon baked in a mini muffin pan topped with baked beans in his book Bite By Bite . (Alliteration unintentional!) Bon Appetit has the recipe for these mini bacon cups.

The photo on the top right is from Kirbie's Cravings. The bacon's not really a bowl in this case, but rather a ring holding an egg. I made these this morning using Kirbie's recipe, and they were the cutest and tastiest breakfast cups. Essentially, you start with either pre-cooked or halfway-cooked bacon molded into a circle in the muffin pan and crack the egg into it. Check the site for the recipe and other variations, including adding avocado or putting a circle of toast at the bottom of the regular-size muffin pan.

Megan at Not Martha showcases yet another bacon cup, this time made by weaving the bacon strips onto the back of a muffin pan (i.e., turn the muffin pan over, like you do to make cookie bowls or taco bowls). Fill with lettuce and tomato, and you've got a breadless BLT.

Got any other bacon cup ideas?

via Lifehacker http://lifehacker.com/5931576/make-bacon-cups-in-muffin-pans-for-incredible-appetizers-or-complete-meals