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.

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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.

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More about → Campfire Breakfast in a Skillet - total time 30 minutes

Giniling with Egg

Giniling or ground meat is one of my favorite ingredients in cooking and this recipe is perfect for hot steamed rice or leftover rice. There is no available carrots when I cooked this, but you can add to the recipe if you want.

Ingredients for 6 servings:
1/2 kilo Ground meat ( either Pork, beef or chicken)
3 cloves garlic
1 onion ( minced)
1 cup green peas
2 big potatoes (diced)
1 red bell pepper (diced)
1 cup tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
6 hard boiled eggs (de-shelled)


Procedure:

1. Saute the garlic and onion then add the ground meat 

and simmer until the pinkish color is gone.

2. Add the tomato sauce, bell pepper, soy sauce, salt and

 pepper then give a good stir and simmer until the ground 

meat is almost cook then add the potatoes and simmer for 6

 minutes or until done.

3. Add the green peas and eggs then simmer for a minute 

and turn off the heat.

4. Serve with a smile :-).

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Scotch Egg Filipino Style

 Scotch egg, originated in London in 1738. It's my friend from London who told me about this recipe. After we talked about the Scotch egg, I was so eager to make it, because I can imagine how easy it is. I tried some and it was a success! Here is how to do it. I made mine into Filipino version by adding calamansi juice

Ingredients:

3  hard boiled eggs (remove the shell)
300 grams ground beef
2 tablespoons flour
1 beaten egg
1 cup bread crumbs 

2 calamansi

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1.Combine the ground beef, flour, calamansi juice salt and pepper. Mix it well.
2.Divide the meat mixture into three parts . Wrap each egg.
3.Make sure that the coating is even all around the egg.
4.Roll it in beaten egg then on bread crumbs.
5. Deep Fry it until golden brown.
6. Cut it into halves  and serve it with your favorite side dish. 

This is great for family gatherings because it is easy to prepare and so affordable. 

You can replace ground beef with ground pork if you want.

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How To Make Kwek Kwek

Kwek kwek is a popular street food in the Philippines. It is made with quail's eggs, coated with a batter and fried then serve with a sauce. Today I was able to interview a kwek-kwek vendor and I witnessed how he made it. He even allowed me to post this. I hope it can help you, specially if you want to start a good business. Soon I will ask him for the sauce recipe.


Ingredients:
 quail's eggs
flour
water
orange food coloring 
oil for frying




For Batter:
Mix the flour , water and food coloring until you reached the thick consistency of a good batter for kwek-kwek.

Procedure:
1. Dust the eggs with flour because if you put it directly to the batter, it will not stick to the egg.

2. After dusting it with flour put in the batter mixture, coating it one by one.

3. Heat the oil then deep fry until  it is cooked.

4. Serve it with your favorite sauce.

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Ham and Chicken Omelette

Delicious omelette serve with pickled papaya :) Kain na po! ( Let's eat!)

Ingredients for 5 servings:
2 slices sweet ham
1/2 cup cooked shredded chicken breast
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
oil or butter as needed

Procedure:
1. Beat the eggs then add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Heat the oil then pour the beaten eggs, add the ham and chicken evenly and fold each sides toward the center and continue cooking until done.
3. Serve and enjoy.

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Quail Egg Salad

This is a simple salad that I designed for a friend who visited me, I made a bed of vegetables to look like a nest for my quail egg salad. I served this with rice and grilled chicken. Excellent! My friend said.

Ingredients:
6 pieces quail eggs ( hardboiled and de-shelled) 
1/2 cup olives seedless
1/2 cup cubed white cheese ( any white cheese ) 
1 teaspoon lemon or calamansi juice
pinch of oregano flakes 
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil ( Extra virgin olive oil is the best)

Quail eggs

Procedure:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl until fully mixed.
2. Serve and enjoy.

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Special Ground Beef Omelette

Simple, affordable and delicious. :) I know that everybody can cook this but I just want to share. Happy weekend everyone.


Ingredients for 6 servings:
6 large eggs
150 grams ground beef
1 carrots (minced)
1 potato (minced)
1/2 cup green peas
1 onion (minced)
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1.  Saute the onion, add the ground beef, carrots and potato then continue to saute and simmer for 5 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste then the green peas and simmer fo r a minute and turn off the heat. Set aside.
2. Beat the eggs then add salt and pepper. Heat a flat bottom pan and put half of the beaten eggs, when it is already half cooked put half of the sauted meat mixture then fold the side and roll towards the other side to form a roll or simply fold both sides to meet at the center then continue cooking until done. ( Cook in 2 batches)
3. Slice then serve.

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Ham and Cheese Omelette

Simple and easy yet yummy.

Ingredients:
2 slices sweet ham
2 eggs
2 tablespoons grated melting cheese
salt and pepper to taste
oil or butter as needed

Procedure:
1. Beat the eggs then add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Heat the oil the pour the beaten eggs, add the ham slices and cheese evenly and fold each sides toward the center and continue to cook until done.

3. Serve and enjoy. I served mine with garlic and bacon pasta. Yummy!

topped with toasted garlic and diced tomato

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Chicken and Shrimp Omelette

Simple, easy and affordable.

Ingredients for 6 servings:
6 large eggs
100 grams chicken breast ( boiled and flaked)
100 grams shrimps ( coarsely chopped)
1 onion (minced)
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1.  Saute the onion, add the shrimps and chicken and continue to saute for a minute then turn off the heat.
2. Beat the eggs then add salt and pepper. Heat a flat bottom pan and put half of the beaten eggs, when it is already half cooked put half of the sauted chicken and shrimps mixture then fold the side and roll towards the other side to form a roll or simply fold both sides to meet at the center then continue cooking until done. ( Cook in 2 batches)

3. Slice then serve. 

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Adobong Itlog

I cooked Egg Adobo (adobong itlog) today because few boxes of eggs will be expired soon, and since adobo is our favorite dish, I've decided to use the eggs for the dish and here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs ( shell removed)
1 small onion (minced)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
1 head garlic (minced)
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
3/4 cup Coca cola (optional)


Procedure:
1. Saute the garlic and onion then add the soy sauce, vinegar and simmer for 2 minutes over medium heat. 
2. Add the hard boiled eggs and Coke then bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
3. Serve with a smile :-).

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Scrambled Egg with Corn and Tuna Flakes

I cooked this from my leftover ingredients corn from maja, tuna from my tuna sandwich :-), my friends and I enjoyed this simple yet delicious viand.

Ingredients:
3 eggs beaten
2 tablespoons tuna flakes
2 tablespoons corn kernel
1 small onion ( sliced)
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Combine the corn and tuna flakes with the beaten eggs and set aside.
2. Saute the onion then put the egg mixture and cook it into scramble.
3. Serve when done.

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Campfire Eggs-periment

When you're camping you can't take your whole kitchen with you, so it requires some minimalist cooking techniques.  We were planning our meals a couple day before we left (meal planning is an absolute necessity for camping) we found this interesting technique for cooking eggs.... right in the fire... using just the egg itself.  Can't get more minimalist than that!  So we packed an extra couple eggs to try this eggs-periment.  :)

First you poke a hole in the top of the egg shell.  You could use a safety pin, push pin, or even a metal skewer.  This allows for the heat to escape to prevent the shell from cracking under the pressure.  Then you carefully place the egg in the coals of the fire (not the flame).  Wait about 10 minutes for the eggs to cook.  You'll see the steam escaping from the small hole and maybe even little egg whites bubbling out.  Remove the eggs from the fire and let rest for at least 5 minutes before pealing the shell away.  

Lessons Learned
1.  Do not shake the egg before cooking... this doesn't create scrambled eggs in the shell... it creates explosive eggs.
2.  Poke a big enough hole, maybe two... or the shell will crack.
3.  Bring backup eggs just in case!

regular egg verses shaken egg... oops

Or just use your castiron... it is a camp cooking essential.

 

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Breakfast Enchiladas - total time 30 minutes

We used to have a game on trying to make every meal into a sandwich... you know, since sandwiches are so awesome. I think breakfast might have been the beginning of this challenge when I was using pancakes and sandwich ends before McDonalds made it a thing. We made spaghetti sandwiches between garlic toasts. Of course we sandwiched our pizza. Pretty much anything was fair game to be between two slices of bread.

Now I feel like it's tacos time to shine (or enchiladas in this case). Fish and veggie tacos that may have been hard to find a few years ago are not available everywhere. With Taco Bell's waffle taco, you really have to wonder what can't be turned into a taco (and when does it stop being a taco and start just being a way to eat with your hands and shove food in your mouth).

Enter breakfast enchilada! While it's not technically a taco, it sorta is. Ha. It's also kind of like a mini breakfast burrito. Perfect serving size for your brunch table or for making on a Sunday and heating up throughout the week. I went with more of a fajita approach, but add potatoes, beans, salsa, etc if that's what floats your boat!

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Grilled Asparagus and Poached Egg - total time 20 minutes

Eggs are a great source of protein for vegetarians and omnivores alike. There have been many studies and reports that go back and forth on whether eggs are healthy for you or not. Some say that they are high in cholesterol and that people shouldn't eat more that one or two a week. Others says it's the ultimate health food and should even be consumed raw. I like to think reality is somewhere in between knowing that eggs are low fat, high protein, have dietary sulfur (great for you hair and nails), and the yolks have carotenoids (similar to carrots). I also love eggs... so at this point of being meat-free for around 40 days now... we have gone through quite a few eggs!

With Easter coming up, eggs are center stage. You may be hard boiling some right now to dye different colors. Or you could be filling a bunch of colorful plastic versions with candy in the next few days. Eggs are a symbolic message of rebirth, so the iconic Easter egg completely makes sense.

Celebrate Easter with this quick, delicious brunch. Perfect timing for asparagus which are at their peak right now and the buttery, runny yolk over top... just delicious! We actually had this dish for dinner, it is quite filling with a side dish of crispy roast potatoes. It's minimal ingredients and cooks quickly, the slowest part is that you can only poach one egg at a time, but they only take a minute or two. :)

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