Pasta Fagioli

We've had some below average temps for awhile, so I thought I'd warm us with a little soup.  The first time I had a Pasta Fagioli soup was at Olive Garden a looooonnnnggg time ago.  Later Daryl found a recipe online claiming to be O.G.'s but it doesn't taste the same.  It does however, taste wonderful!  I actually prefer this one over the restaurant's.  You'll notice it has a jar of spaghetti sauce.  I thought it was weird when I first made the soup, but it just works.  I think I've mentioned in previous posts that I don't like a brothy soup -- I like it chunky and hearty -- so here's my version of the recipe I found online years ago:

 

1.25 lbs ground beef

1 Tbl olive oil

1 med-large onion, diced

3-5 carrots, chopped

3 ribs celery, chopped

2 cans diced tomato

2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

44 oz beef stock or broth

1.5 tsp dried basil (or italian seasoning)

1.25 tsp pepper

2 teaspoons dried parsley

24 oz jar spaghetti sauce

a few shakes of hot sauce

elbow or shell pasta

 

Brown ground beef in a skillet.  In 6+ qt dutch oven/stockpot add oil, onion, celery and carrot.  Cook about 5-10 minutes.  When ground beef is done browning, drain fat and add beef to vegetable mixture.  Add tomato, beans, stock. seasonings, pasta sauce, and hot sauce.  Bring to boiling, then simmer for about 45 minutes.  In a separate pot, cook pasta according to package directions.  Serve soup over pasta. 

 

~ Enjoy ~

Guinness Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Holiday cookies at our house have beer in them, well this year anyway.  In case you think you didn't hear me right, yes I did say beer.  I can always count on recipes from Cuisine at Home to be terrific, so when I saw this one I knew I had to try it for Daryl.  Fortunately we had a few bottles of Guinness in the fridge so I gave them a try. 

Daryl was a bit concerned about me using 2 of his 3 remaining bottles of Guinness, but after his first bite he said, "this recipe is a keeper".  I must agree, they are very yummy!

These cookies bake up nice and fluffly, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. They have a wonderful chocolatey flavor with a hint of the dark Guinness flavor.

It's a traditional cookie recipe, the only thing is adding some Guinness syrup.  You heat 2 bottles of beer with 1/2 cup of brown sugar until it's a bubbly syrup.  You don't want it to cool too much or it gets sticky. 

REDUCE
2 bottles Guinness extra stout (12 oz each)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

WHISK
2 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose white)
1/3 cup dutch process cocoa powder (or regular unsweetened)
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

CREAM
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

ADD
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla

STIR
2 cups white chocolate chunks/chips
1 cup dark chocolate (or semi-sweet) chunks/chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Reduce beer with 1/2 cup brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until syrupy and measures 1/3 cup, 30-45 minutes.  Remove syrup from heat; set aside to cool slightly.
Whisk together flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
Cream butter, shortening, granulated sugar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add beer syrup, eggs, and vanilla; mix to combine.
Stir flour-cocoa mixture into creamed mixture until flour is incorporated.  Fold in white and chocolate chunks/chips until distributed.
Drop dough by 2 or 3 Tbls scooper onto prepared baking sheets.  Bake cookies until edges are set, 12-14 minutes.  Let cookies cool 2 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Chicken Corn Chowder

There isn't a lot to say about this, except YUM.  It was perfect on a cool fall evening.  I started it at 4:00 and dinner was ready by about 5:30 so it can be done on a weeknight.  I used meat pulled from a Costco rotisserie chicken.  This is going on the regular rotation!

5 slices bacon
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, diced
3-4 carrots, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
6 cups chicken stock
4 cups frozen corn
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
large handful baby red potatoes
1 cup cream
1 cup shredded cheese
2 Tbsp mascarpone cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a porcelain coated dutch oven (or large pot) until crisp, remove to paper towel lined plate and set aside.  Drain fat from pot; add olive oil, butter, carrot and onion and sweat until soft... about 5 minutes.  Add flour, thyme, cayenne and turmeric - cook about 2 minutes.  Add stock, corn, chicken and potatoes.  Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes.  Add cream, both cheeses and salt/pepper, cook about 5 minutes over low heat.  Don't cook at too high of a temperature, or for too long, or the cream might 'break'.

This is a slight variation of Cuisine at Home's Cheese and Corn Chowder in the Soups, Stews and Chilies cookbook.

~ Enjoy ~

Butternut Squash Soup with Sausage

It's Soup Sunday!  In years past, I always made soups that Daryl would eat... which meant there were a lot of recipes I didn't get to try.  I've decided to change that.  Now and again I am going to start making something I want, even if he won't eat it.  I started today. 

This recipe is from Cuisine at Home's Soups, Stews, and Chilies cookbook.  I followed the recipe exact, except I substituted one seasoning.  It was terrific!  But .... I want to change it.  I'm going to post the recipe as I will make it next time:

1 pkg thin sliced pancetta
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 1.5 pounds)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 cup diced bell pepper (and/or diced carrot)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. brandy
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh ground nutmeg

Cook pancetta in a cast iron dutch oven (or heavy bottomed pot) with 1 Tbsp. olive oil until crispy.  Remove to paper towel lined plate, set aside.  Sweat onion in leftover grease with the other Tbsp olive oil, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic 1/2 way through.  Increase heat, add squash and pepper flakes, saute 5 minutes.  Stir in broth and water, bring to a boil and simmer until squash is very soft, about 10 minutes.  Puree soup with an immersion blender (or standard blender, in batches), then add bell pepper and/or carrot, cream, thyme and sugar.  Simmer until bell pepper and/or carrot are tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in brandy and simmer about 2 minutes more.  Season with salt and pepper
Top with crumbled pancetta and fresh nutmeg.

The original recipe calls for italian sausage (instead of pancetta), sage (instead of thyme), and adding spinach at the end.  The spinach didn't do a lot for me - so I wouldn't buy it special for this recipe.  The original doesn't suggest nutmeg at the end, but I don't know why not -- it's fabulous!

I made this soup for lunch today, and liked it so much I had another serving for dinner with a grilled cheese (made with homemade crusty bread).  Now that's a good Sunday Supper!

~ Enjoy ~

Ropa Vieja Stew w/Mashed Sweet Potato

"Cuisine at Home" is my favorite cooking magazine.  I've tried many others but they just don't measure up.  Cuisine also has some great cookbooks, and I just received "Soups, Stews, and Chilies".  Tonight for dinner I tried my first recipe; as expected, it was awesome!

4 strips thick-sliced bacon
1.5 pounds flank steak (or london broil), cut into 3 pieces and seasoned w/salt, pepper
1 medium-large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 poblano chili, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/3 cup masa harina
1 bottle beer
2 cups beef broth
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup sliced green olives w/pimiento
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
Salt to taste

** This is a very slight variation on the original ingredients due to what I had on hand. 
** London Broil is currently half the price of flank steak, so that's what I used

Preheat oven to 375.  Cook bacon in a large ovenproof pot (I use a porcelain enameled cast iron dutch oven) over medium high heat until crisp; transfer to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.  Brown steak in drippings, about 5 minutes per side; remove and set aside.  Add onion, chiles and bell pepper; saute until beginning to brown, 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic and tomato paste, cook 2 minutes, then stir in masa harina and cook 1 minute.  Deglaze pot with beer; simmer until nearly evaporated, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pot.  Add broth, bring to a boil, then return steak to the pot; cover and braise in the oven until fork-tender, about 1 hour (mine took 1.5 hours).  Remove steak from the pot, shred with 2 forks, then add back to the pot with reserved (chopped) bacon, beans, olives, oregano, and cumin.  Simmer 5 minutes, season with salt.  Serve with mashed sweet potato.

Mashed sweet potato
2 lb. sweet potato, peeled and cubed
3 Tbls unsalted butter
1 Tbls brown sugar
4 Tbls half and half
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper to add a bit of spice, if desired

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, 10 - 15 minutes.  Drain and place in bowl of mixer with butter and brown sugar.  Mix until potatoes start to mash.  Add half and half and seasoning.  Continue mixing until creamy.

Update: This is even better the 2nd day!!

~ Enjoy ~

Spicy Chicken Soup and Cornbread

Fall and winter is soup season in our house.  So, every visit to Costco I get a whole rotisserie chicken.  I pull all the meat off, save some for chicken salad and use the rest in soup/stew.  Tonight for dinner I made Spicy Chicken Soup.  I also made cornbread in a cast iron skillet.  It was sooooooo good!  The soup had a sweet afternote, even though there wasn't any sugar in it.  Daryl said it's probably from the fresh carrots - picked from the garden, washed, cut and into the pot.

I like my soup thick and/or chunky, so if you like a more brothy soup, you'll want to use less vegetables or more stock.  This is a pretty quick soup, so making it during the week is possible. 

2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 carrots, cut into bite sized chunks
1/2 large onion, diced
4 ribs celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 cup corn
4 cups chicken stock
2 cans diced tomatoes
16 oz. salsa
14 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups shredded or chunked cooked chicken
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons dried parsley

Place oil, carrots, onion and celery in large pot or cast iron dutch oven, season with salt/pepper and cook about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, cumin and cayenne, and cook 1-2 minutes more.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 30-45 minutes.  Serve with shredded cheese and/or sour cream garnish and cornbread.

Whole Wheat Cornbread
I love making cornbread in a cast iron skillet.  Since I hadn't found a good recipe, I was following the directions on the package, but it always came out dry and crumbly.  Then I found this recipe (click the link above) in a Food Network magazine and it's delicious.  One of the reviews mentioned adding baking powder, vanilla and cinammon.  That sounds delish - I am going to try it next time.

~ Enjoy ~

Soup recipe adapted from Catherine's Spicy Chicken Soup on Allrecipes.com

White Bean Chicken Chili

Fall has officially arrived!  After longer than usual summer weather the clouds, wind, and rain arrived yesterday.  I'm so excited to start cooking soups, stews, and chilis again!

Tonight's dinner is a slight modification of Giada De Laurentiis's recipe.  The main differences are the chicken and omission of swiss chard.  Daryl wouldn't like it with the 'green stuff' in there.  Here's a list of the changes I made:

• 1 rotisserie chicken, meat pulled off rather than ground chicken (still let chicken/seasonings cook/warm a few minutes before adding the liquid ingredients);
• Instead of oregano I used Italian seasoning;
• No swiss chard;
• Instead of adding beans with all the other ingredients, waited a half hour so they wouldn't break down as much;
• Added 1/4 cup heavy cream at the same time I added the beans;
• Covered half way through so it wouldn't thicken/reduce too much;
• Omitted parsley (only because I didn't have any - that 'green stuff' would have been ok).

The picture doesn't look great -- I forgot to wipe down the sides of the bowl - but trust me the chili tasted amazing.  We had it with a side of toasted baguette bread.  Yum!  Thanks Giada!

~ Enjoy ~

p.s. to see more about the table runner peeking out in this picture, click here.

Brie and Apple Grilled Cheese

I've been on a kick of making fresh bread recently, it's all because of this Crusty Bread recipe I stumbled upon a few weeks ago while perusing Pinterest.  It is the best bread, it's so easy and it makes - hands down - the most wonderful grilled cheese sandwiches.  I've also been on a grilled cheese kick lately too.  Daryl's favorite is colby jack and pepper jack cheese.  I really like it with havarti, but over the weekend (during a 'sew' fun sewing Sunday with my friend Dionne) I wanted to mix it up a little.

Saturday afternoon I made up the dough mix adding in some fresh thyme.  Sunday morning I baked the bread so it would be ready for lunch.  When it came time to make the sandwiches, I layered Brie with apple slices.  Holy grilled cheese, this was so darn good.  When this bread is grilled it gets crispy, fluffy and soft all at once.  Hard to truly describe the wonderful texture.  It was lightly flavored with thyme, then you reach that creamy, melty Brie and get a nice surprise from a crisp/tender, tart/sweet apple slice.  Heaven!  Today I made another one of these for lunch.  I savored every delectable bite!

~ Enjoy ~

Crooked Stitch - A drink

A little over five years ago we moved from Arizona to Washington State.  Before we left, we gave all of the hard liquor to friends and neighbors.  We didn't want to mess with packing and moving the open bottles.  We don't drink a lot, so going without for awhile was no big deal.  Our plan was just to restock at Costco after we got settled in.

For 6 months I wandered the aisles of Costco looking for liquor thinking I was missing it somehow.  Then I learned that liquor was only sold at state run stores -- at more than double the price we could buy it for in Arizona!!!  Needless to say, we didn't restock. 

My mom heard about this, and on one of her visits a few years ago, packed an entire suitcase full of liquor.  A friend of ours also came out for the visit, and we decided to experiment with all these bottles.  We came up with something pretty tasty, but never named it.  I made one of these yummy tropical drinks tonight and my husband came up with a cool name ... the Crooked Stitch.  If I have too many of these tasties, I will most certainly have crooked stitches!

In a shaker combine:
6 oz. pineapple juice
2 oz. coconut rum
2 oz. banana liqueur
1 oz. light rum
2 oz. cream or half and half

Pour over ice and...

~ Enjoy ~

Oven roasted meatball marinara

It's fresh tomato time and the cherry tomato plants are very happy.  My favorite way to use them is to make an oven roasted marinara with meatballs.  This is easy enough to do on a weeknight if you get started around 4:30-5:00.  I had an awesome soux chef, Daryl helped with gathering items, and chopping.  In summer, this is on our menu at least once per week. 

1 package spaghetti

For the meatballs:
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/2 cup heavy cream (half/half or whole milk will work too)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 T. dried parsley
1 t. dried basil
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/4 - 1/2 t. crushed red pepper
salt and pepper
1 lb. ground sirloin

Preheat oven to 425.  Stir together all ingredients except the sirloin.  Add sirloin, and mix.  Roll into meatballs, set aside. 

For the marinara:
3 lbs. cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 - 1 large onion, chunky chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, smashed (we really like garlic)
2 t. italian seasoning
2 1/2 t. sugar
2 t. salt
1/2 - 1 t. crushed red pepper
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 t.  ground black pepper

Put all ingredients in a dutch oven, mix together, top with meatballs and bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes. 

After it's cooked remove the meatballs.  I like to skim off some of the liquid so my sauce isn't too runny.  With a blender, or immersion blender, mix until smooth (or your desired consistency).  Add 1 package cooked spaghetti to the sauce, mix well.  Serve, top with meatballs, a teaspoon of mascarpone cheese, and fresh grated parmesan reggiano. 

~ Enjoy ~

Lasagna al Forno

For many years my husband refused to eat lasagna.  It's one of my favorite meals.  This was a problem.  He didn't like it because most recipes have ricotta or cottage cheese.  Then I discovered the traditional way of making it, and there could finally be peace in our house.  Lasagna al Forno is simple.  Still takes half a day when making from scratch, but the result is worth it.  Fresh pasta sheets, bolognese sauce, bechamel sauce and parmesan cheese.  That's it.

Daryl and 2 of his buddies were heading out to canoe/kayak Ross Lake in the North Cascades National Park for a week over Labor Day.  I wanted to send them off with a great dinner the night before they left.  I was thinking I would carb load them so they could sleep well that night and have good energy in the morning, and I saw the food they were packing for the week. 

I also made a crusty fresh loaf of bread.  This is hands down the easiest and best tasting homemade bread.  I discovered it on Pinterest.  Oh my.  Follow the link above for detailed instructions, options and photos.  In a sentence: Flour, yeast, salt, water; Rise; Bake in a heated cast iron dutch oven.  Crusty on the outside, tender on the inside.  The first time I made it Daryl came into the kitchen and when he saw it said: "Is this the bread you made"?  "It looks like it came from the bakery".  That was a proud moment!

For the lasagna, first make the bolognese.  While that is simmering make the fresh pasta.  Then make the bechamel.  I only have one cast iron dutch oven, something that will be remedied in the near future.  I use this thing far too often to only have one.  First I baked the bread.  Then I used the D.O. for the bolognese:

1.5 pounds ground beef, browned
2 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 pkg thinly sliced Pancetta, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 large onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, finely diced
salt and pepper
1 1/3 cup red wine
1/2 cup cream (or half and half)
2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes (or San Marzano whole peeled)
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Directions: Heat the butter and oil in a heavy saucepan or porcelain coated cast iron dutch oven.  Add the onion and cook over moderate heat for 3-4 minutes.  Add the pancetta, and cook until onion is translucent.  Stir in the carrot, celery and garlic.  Cook 3-4 minutes more.
Add the beef and crumble it into the vegetables.  Season with salt and pepper. 
Pour in the wine, raise the heat slightly and cook until the liquid evaporates.  Add the cream and cook until it evaporates.
Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, and the herbs.  Bring the sauce to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 1.5 - 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Correct the seasoning before serving/using.

Next make the pasta sheets.  See my homemade pasta blog post for instructions.  Cut the sheets to fit the lasagna pan.  Do not let the pasta sheets dry out before cooking.
Start a large pot of salted water to boil.

Then make the Bechamel sauce:

3 cups milk
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
salt and pepper
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:  Gently heat the milk with the bay leaf in a small saucepan.  Melt the butter in a medium heavy pan.  Add the flour, and mix it in well with a wire whisk.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  Remove the bay leaf, pour the hot milk into the butter/flour mixture, and combine smoothly with the whisk.  Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook for 4-5 minutes more.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Set aside, but cover with the lid to keep a skin from forming on the bechamel.

Lasagna:
Both sauces
Homemade Pasta
Shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400.  Once the water is boiling, add pasta sheets 2 at a time and cook for about 30 seconds.  Remove from water to drain on wax or parchment paper.  Start the layering process with a scoop of the sauce on the bottom of the pan.  Place lasagna sheets in the pan, cover with a thin layer of bolognese, then a layer bechamel, and a handful of parmesan.  Repeat the layers in that order ending with a layer of pasta coated with bechamel, and top with parmesan.  Don't make more than about 6 layers.  Bake in the preheated oven, checking after 20 minutes, looking for the top to be nicely browned.  Mine usually takes between 30-40 minutes.  Allow to rest 10-15 minutes before serving.

Sauce recipes (slightly adapted) from Italian.

~ Enjoy ~



Apples and Pancakes

It's been a great start to the day this first Sunday of regular season football.  My favorite Packer's fan requested chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, but I didn't have any mini chips, so I made chocolate pancakes instead.  They were rich and delicious. 


1 cup sifted whole wheat pastry flour
2 Tbls sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tbls unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup milk
1 beaten egg
2 Tbls oil

Mix dry ingredients together, make a well.  Mix wet ingredients together, add to dry.  Stir just until combined, let rest about 5 minutes.  Cook on warmed cast iron griddle.  ~ Enjoy ~

 

Next we harvested the apple trees and filled an 80 quart cooler!  I'll be spending at least a day canning... There will be lots of homemade apple sauce in my future. 

Corn Pico de Gallo

It's that time of year - in late summer/early fall fresh sweet corn starts making an appearance at the farmer's markets.  There is simply no better way to cook it than roasting it on the grill.  One of my favorite ways to use fresh corn (other than slathering with butter and eating it right off the cob) is to make a pico.  It's not the pico we commonly know, but the ingredients are pretty much the same except I use roasted sweet corn instead of tomato.  We use this pico to top our tacos and fajitas... and it's even good on a chip!

To roast corn: Soak corn (with husks and silks intact) in salted water for as long as possible, but no less than 1 hour.  We started soaking the corn this morning.  Grill on high heat for approx 20-30 minutes until the husks are dark brown or blackened on all sides, turning every 8-10 minutes.  Remove from heat, let sit about 10 minutes, remove husks and silks, let sit until cool enough to handle.

I don't have a recipe with measurements, so I will describe the amounts I used today, but you'll want to adjust to taste and preferences.  We like garlic and spice, you may want to use less and add more as needed.

6 ears corn, roasted
1 red bell pepper
6 cloves garlic, very finely minced
1/3 large red onion, diced
3 jalapeno, diced
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
juice and zest of one lime
salt and pepper to taste

Cut corn off the cob and place in a large mixing bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Taste with tortilla chips and make adjustments as necessary.

** Be careful when handling jalapeno or any hot pepper.  Even after washing your hands numerous times, the capsacin (the stuff that makes peppers hot) will still be on your hands.  Use gloves if your skin is sensitive or if you wear contacts.


~ Enjoy ~

Camping Meal: Bagel Breakfast Sandwiches

One of my favorite breakfast meals is a fried egg sandwich.  Toast some whole wheat bread, fry up a few farm fresh eggs (break the yolk) topped with salt and pepper, lightly melt a slice of cheddar over the eggs - oh yeah................... Ok, I'm back.

My husband doesn't like fried eggs, so I've modified the fried egg sandwich for a camping breakfast, and it's still scrumptious!  We enjoyed this tasty treat during our recent two week adventure to Glacier National Park, Idaho, Southeastern WA and Central Cascades.

4 slices bacon
2 bagel thins, lightly buttered on the inside
4 eggs
Dollop of heavy cream (or 1/2 and 1/2)
salt and pepper
2 slices cheddar

Heat a grill with a cast iron griddle on top, cook bacon.  While bacon is cooking, scramble the eggs with cream, salt and pepper then pour into a heated, oiled skillet.  As eggs start to set, lift edges and tip the skillet so the egg on top fills in.  Continue doing this until most of the egg is set.  Cut in half, then fold in half so you have a piece that fits onto each bagel, continue cooking over low - medium heat until egg is cooked inside and set.  Turn off the heat and place a slice of cheddar over the top of each egg piece.  When bacon has finished cooking, drain on a paper towel, remove the griddle and toast the bagel, top first so the butter on the inside melts into the bagel, then turn and toast the insides.  Assemble your breakfast bagel sandwich and eat outside by the campfire!

Another variation we came up with was the breakfast grilled cheese:
Prepare the eggs the same way as above;
Have the bacon already made and the griddle cleaned off;
Set up a traditional grilled cheese sandwich, but add the egg and bacon
 
Oh, and another thing I added was some crumbled fresh goat cheese to the eggs just before they were finished cooking (that's what the white spots are).

~ Enjoy ~