Baked Egg Boats with Bacon and Herbs

as i sit down to write this recipe, i cannot believe it has been three and a half weeks since my last post. 24 days. i kind of can't believe it. more importantly, i am in awe that i still have readers. thanks for hanging in there with me.

since my last post, i packed up our house, we moved to a new house, encountered unexpected issues/expenses, unpacked, went to a wedding in buffalo, spent time with E's family, spent time with my family, had an earthquake (my first ever here in maryland) and are currently bracing ourselves for our first hurricane. is the end near?

i can assure you the end of good clean fun is not near. this little blog is dear to my heart but i think i needed the break. i didn't have enough time or energy at the end of the day to cook for 2-3 weeks, but now, i'm finally back in the kitchen!

this meal was the first dinner i made in our new (to me) kitchen. the stove is taking a little getting used to (it's electric - i've had gas for the past 5 years and the stove knobs didn't have any numbers on them. it took me a little while to remember which way was high and which direction was low. but i think i have it now.)

this recipe is a little time consuming but it's super easy. the hands on prep time is short, but baking potatoes takes about an hour and baking bacon takes 20-30 minutes. so total time is long but worth it.

we had our baked egg boats with freshly picked corn on the cob (boiled for exactly 3 minutes) because in late august i can't get enough fresh corn. it made for a wonderfully filling summer meal. make sure you use fresh herbs if you have them. they really give this dish a little something extra.

---

Baked Egg Boats with Bacon and Herbs
serves 4

2 baked potatoes (i use this as my never fail baked potato method - alton brown knows what he is talking about)
4 pieces super crispy bacon, crumbled (this is my never-fail-perfectly-crispy-bacon method)
1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (i use heluva good special reserve extra sharp white cheddar)
4 eggs
1 large tomato, chopped
fresh parsley, chopped
fresh thyme
fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper

halve cooled potatoes and scoop out flesh, leaving roughly 1/4" of flesh being careful not to break through the skin (save potato flesh for mashed potatoes). sprinkle potato boats with half the shredded cheese. break egg and drop one in each potato half. sprinkle remaining shredded cheddar on top of the eggs. sprinkle each egg with a little salt and pepper.

broil potato egg boats for 3-5 minutes until egg is just set and cheese is bubbly. remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped herbs, tomatoes, and bacon. serve immediately.