Camp Breakfast Is In the Bag - total time 30 minutes

Have you seen those pins on Pinterest where they show a paper bag sitting over the campfire to cook breakfast?  I definitely have.  But have you ever seen the end result?  So many pins about allegedly being able to cook a camp breakfast without any clean up... sounds too good to be true.

So I tried it out...

To my surprise, no Pinterest fail occurred, which is good because we were hungry.  I shouldn't really be a surprised that the layered cooking works on a campfire because I did it with bacon, onions, and potatoes last year... but had to clean my cast iron afterward.  So now we can go pan free!

I love breakfast sandwiches, so the ingredients in this are perfect after a night sleeping in tents or really any time.  The bacon acts as a liner to the paper bag preventing the eggs from leaking out and the fat prevents the bag from burning in the fire.  I also add a little cooking spray just to be in the safe side.   The biscuit on top gets just enough air through the paper bag that it cooks perfectly (unlike covering a pan of biscuits with foil... if the steam can't escape, your biscuits will be soggy).  Where to put the bag once you have everything ready becomes the tricky part.  You don't want flames constantly hitting the bag... the bacon can protect the paper that well.  But you also need it close enough to cook before you get hangry.

Weekly Menu

Can't believe it is already August!  Summer always flies by and it is already half over.  We're also halfway through the Columbus festival schedule, but plenty of fun ones yet to come!

   

The Dublin Irish Fest is a tradition for us... we have gone for ten years now!  Nearly every year we listen to Homeland, eats some fish and chips, drink a few Guinness, and buy a few things from the vendors.  One year we missed the festival and our summer just didn't feel complete.

   

Today we headed over to Seventh Son for the Columbus Flea.  Tons of vendors with adorable stuff including jewelry, soaps, baked goods, plants, leather goods, and clothing.  Then Challah and Native Eats food trucks were there, the crispy chicken sandwich was delicious!

  

My butterfly garden is in full bloom, although not a ton of butterflies (although the local hummingbird is starting to stop by).  I started pulling up some of the spent veggie plants from the garden and went to the local nursery to buy some kale seeds to sow (since I've been making kale chips every week while it is in season)... came home with $130 worth of houseplants and herbs instead... oops!  If my house didn't already look like a jungle, it does now!  

  

This morning I tried lamb bacon for the first time.  I used to only eat poultry and seafood from a meat stand point.  After learning about factory farming practices, instead of going vegetarian, I decided to eat less meat, but when I did eat meat, it was humanely raised.  Free range chicken, grass-fed cows, etc.  Sheep are one of those animals that haven't gotten caught up in the factory farming, as far as I know.  It's definitely a little pricier as a result.  I get ground lamb from the grocery about once a month and it is really delicious.  So when I saw lamb bacon through Green BEAN delivery (Smoking Goose), I wanted to give it a try.

The result?  Pretty good.  The strips are short (perfect for breakfast sandwiches) and well marbled (not too much fat).  They cook up in about the same time as regular bacon.  It is a bit saltier and chewier too.  But the flavor is really good.  I don't think I would cook with it (bacon dinner recipe examples here and here), but it is a good alternative for breakfast, especially since pork products aren't  as well labeled as chicken and beef.

Alrighty, here is this week's meal plan...
chorizo skillet breakfast for dinner
caramelized scallops with corn on the cob and caprese
pizza night
lamb burgers
creamy shrimp bowties
eggplant parmesan

Campfire Breakfast in a Skillet - total time 30 minutes

Until this year, I thought everyone went camping when they were kids.  I just thought that was part of growing up, your family spending a couple weekends, some times weeks, at a campground having fun outside.  I remember organizing our family's "field day" competition one year complete with SkipIt and paper ribbons hand colored and cut by yours truly.

Maybe that's why I love to be outside, get my hands dirty in the garden, stare at the night sky, and why bugs really don't bother me (unless they're mosquitos, mosquitos bother me a lot).  While I'd like to think of myself as a somewhat technically savvy individual, I can also disconnect from the interwebs and be okay (unlike these kids).

Since it is summer time, it's the perfect time get off the grid and recharge your batteries, literally and figuratively!  :)  Time to go for a hike, sleep under the stars, and cook over the fire.

For me, breakfast recipes need to be easy.  I'm not fully awake, and if it isn't easy, I might accidentally cut off a finger or something.  This recipe requires very little effort and includes minimal involvement of sharp objects.  It is very similar to the breakfast in a bag recipe (that I forgot to post, so, coming soon), but no chance of the cooking vessel breaking or burning in the fire.  If you like breakfast sandwiches, but would rather clean one pan instead of three... this is the recipe for you.