Trail Food Recipe: EZ Breakfast Bowl

Amazingly (sarc), Jamie is apparently tiring of his pb&j with hemp hearts tortillas, so we're looking to expand his breakfast selections. He's said he prefers to not have to use boiled water for breakfast, but he might change his mind for this! He could always have breakfast for dinner, anyway. Since I was building this recipe on my own, I actually did a taste test (I usually leave it to Jamie) to be sure the ratios were right, and it's really good!

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup Freeze Dried Pre-Cooked Scrambled Eggs

1/4 cup Freeze Dried Sausage

1/2 cup Dried Hashbrown Potatoes

2 Tbsp Freeze Dried Cheddar Cheese

1 tsp Butter Powder

1 tsp Heavy Cream Powder

1/2 tsp Dried Red/Green Peppers (to taste)

1/4 tsp Salt and Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine all ingredients in a meal pouch or prep bowl.

2. Toss to evenly distributed cheese.

3. Remove as much air as possible and seal.

PREPARATION:

1. Add 1 cup boiling water to the meal pouch.

2. Let sit in a meal cozy or other insulated container for approximately 8 minutes.

3. Stir well and dig in.
   

• Note that this recipe doesn't call for the addition of olive oil. I didn't think it was necessary for flavor, but if this was going to be used as a dinner replacement, you might consider adding it for the calories and fat. The hiker will need it at some point! If so, just add before the water and stir in with other ingredients.
  

A Word or Two About the Ingredients

I have been trying to get Jamie interested in doing some kind of breakfast burrito on the trail, but he has resisted because (for some reason) he doesn't want to have to boil more water in the morning than he needs for his coffee. Until recently, he was perfectly happy with his peanut butter & jelly tortilla, which we've been boosting with hemp hearts of late to pump up the protein, fat, and calories. Now, it seems he's ready for some variety! Yay!

So now I get to concoct some of the breakfast meals that I've been thinking about. One of the things Jamie didn't like so much about the breakfast burrito was having to deal with filling a tortilla, which I can understand. It's one more step with cold hands (and tortillas) that is just enough to be frustrating. So the breakfast bowl is the way to go!

The most important thing to remember about this recipe (and all the many variations you might dream up) is that you need to be absolutely sure you are getting the precooked scrambled eggs, and not just egg powder. The latter reconstitutes to raw eggs than need to be cooked!

Definitely not a good surprise on the trail!

Mountain House has the precooked eggs in #10 cans and smaller pouches. They're great to have around because eggs are really a nutritional powerhouse. They're also lightweight and work well with other dishes. Don't let the bacon scare you off, either. There's not so much in there that it's overwhelming and actually adds great flavor in recipes, like pad thai and fried rice.

The sausage crumbles are a nice punch of protein and surprisingly versatile, too! Great in breakfast stuff, but you could easily use it in a pizza bowl or spaghetti dish. There may even be a riff on Thanksgiving dressing that could be really good... The Hiker's Home Office Test Kitchen will have to get on that!

Lastly, these potatoes work great in this recipe! They have a really nice texture and contain (relatively) clean ingredients.

There are other potato options, like diced chunks or other brands, but you have to love Idaho Spuds, right?

Way to go, Idaho!

Let me know what you think!

Weights and Measures