Fast Friday: Sweet & salty breakfast sandwich

It's Friday!  Makes getting out of bed so much easier when I know only 8 hours of work stand between me and the weekend.  I dare say I almost have as much spring in my step as my bagel did coming out of the toaster this morning, but I'll get to that in a sec.

Even though the days flew by at an alarming pace (did anyone else wish for another hour in the day nearly every day?), the week seemed like it had many more than seven days in it.  I blame the post-holiday catch-up and the freak weather.  The clouds that rolled in last night looked like something out of the movie Independence Day.  Crazy times!

But, we made it and I'm looking forward to another busy bee weekend.  On Saturday, we're headed to Maryland for the first Kemp family fun day of the summer at the river!  My relatives, who live in Iowa, are going to be in town, and it's been much too long since I've seen them.  After a fun day of hiking, boating, swimming, skiing, and catching up with family, we'll hit the road.  If I were a betting woman, I'd say I'll be driving and Matt will be passed out beside me.  Sunday afternoon we'll be celebrating the end of the summer session with the swim team Matt coaches.

Lots of activity on the horizon means I'm doing some serious fueling beforehand to make sure I've got plenty of energy for fun outdoorsy things.  I've settled into a delicious routine of frittatas and smoothies for breakfast in the past few weeks, but today warranted something extraordinary.  I've been kicking around the idea for months since I first spotted it on one of my favorite blogs, Peanut Butter Fingers.

A breakfast bagel sandwich with egg, cheese, and ...(are you sitting down?)... strawberry jam!

TDF, y'all!  Simply to die for.  Sweet strawberry spread on my egg sandwiches is totally my new jam.  Zing! ;)

What was once hanging out in the compartment in my brain labeled "Weird or genius, TBD" has since been relocated to the file "OHEMGEE!  ThisissodeliciousIwantiteveryday!"

I started with a toasted plain bagel, though you could easily use a split English muffin, sandwich thin, or even toast.  Then came a fried egg and a slice of provolone cheese, one of my favorite melting cheeses ever.  Cheddar, Swiss, Gruyere, or even mozzarella would be great, too.

I actually ended up flipping the egg/cheese layer after I snapped the picture and once the provolone melted.  I've learned cheese acts as glue between the egg and bagel/toast/bun and keeps everything in place during noshing.

Finally, I slathered on a generous layer of strawberry jam on the remaining bagel half and sandwiched the whole thing together.

A quick tip: I like to keep the sweet and salty layers separated by the neutral egg layer to enhance the flavor experience for my taste buds.  Totally out of this world!  That being said, I certainly wouldn't turn down a sandwich with side-by-side sweet and savory.  As my mama always said, it all goes to the same place, right?

This was so good.  So so, very good.  It may seem silly, but that little burst of bright strawberry flavor actually made me feel perkier and more full of energy than usual.  Could this be a candidate for my birthday breakfast?  TBD!

Give it a try next time you are jonesing for an satisfying egg sandwich but want a little something extra.  Jam adds sweetness and pizazz!  The kind of pizazz that puts an extra bounce in your step, perfect for a Friday (or, heck, Monday) morning.  Wishing you a weekend packed with sweetness and pizazz! :)