The Family Table: Those who camp should eat well
Sleeping on the ground in a tent isn鈥檛 for me.
It never has been, and absent the invention of a tent that feels just like my bed, it never will be.
About as close to 鈥渞oughing it鈥� as I鈥檓 willing to get is staying in a cabin that has its own bathroom and shower. Mike and the two youngest kids, however, enjoy tent camping and take trips to the state park with one of Mike蘑菇视频 friends and his son.
My contribution to these trips, beyond a genuine wish that they have a good time, is food.
I love a good food planning project, and figuring out how to feed five over the camp fire is fun for me. They ate pizza for dinner the first night, and needed breakfast, lunch and dinner for the following day.
And so, they went for two nights this past weekend with breakfast burritos, homemade chili, tomatillo salsa, marinara sauce and meatballs 鈥� all precooked, all frozen.
While I might not camp, I recognize that keeping things cold is a challenge. I figured making the food in advance and freezing it would add an extra layer of protection in the cooler, and because they were only dealing with one day蘑菇视频 worth of meals, they could pull things out as needed and they would defrost quickly.
It turned out pretty well.
The guys cooked the breakfast burritos, still wrapped in foil, over a camp fire. Disposable aluminum pans on a grate over the fire made heating the chili and sauce and meatballs a snap, and cleaning it up was a breeze.
Mike and the kids came home with tales of catch-and-release fishing, hiking in the woods, BB gun shooting and a found pocket knife. They also came home with the urgent need to shower. They sincerely made my eyes water when they hugged me hello.
They also requested I make and freeze a batch of my breakfast burritos to have at home.
That, folks, was the most rewarding part of camping for me.
Breakfast burritos
10 eggs
1 package of breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled
2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
1 bag shredded Mexican cheese
cup milk
Salt and pepper
10 large flour tortilla wrappers
2 potatoes, finely diced and roasted
Cook and crumble the sausage in a skillet. When it蘑菇视频 done, toss in the spinach leaves until they are wilted down and combined with the sausage. Remove to a bowl.
Crack and whisk the eggs with the milk and salt and pepper. Scramble them over medium heat until fluffy and cooked through.
Gently stir together the eggs, potato and sausage mix, and allow it to cool. Stir in the cheese.
In the microwave, heat the tortillas wrapped in a damp paper towel, for about 30 seconds to make them pliable.
Divide the mixture up between the tortillas, wrapping each and tucking the ends in as you roll them.
Wrap each burrito in heavy duty aluminum foil. Lay them out on a sheet tray and pop into the freezer until frozen solid. Put the frozen burritos into a freezer bag and store.
To reheat, unwrap burritos and defrost on 陆 power in the microwave, checking in 1 minute intervals. They can also be baked in a 350 oven, in the foil, for about 15 minutes. They can also be cooked on a camp fire, apparently, but that蘑菇视频 beyond this lady蘑菇视频 skill level.