My husband and I love camping, and eating well while camping. Back in the pre-GFDF days, this meant we ate a lot of home-made garlic, cheese bread cooked in the coals at dinner, bagel sandwiches and granola bars for long hikes, and pancakes and eggs for breakfast.
These days, the food may be even better. Not just because eating well no longer means having a lot to eat, but because the flavors and ingredients are so good.
We typically car-camp, which gives us plenty of room for cooking gear and food. If we are just going to get away, we may pack the Dutch ovens and cook a feast. If we have an activity – hiking, running, rafting, etc. – we plan altogether different kinds of meals.
When we go, it is to some place within 4 hours of our Salt Lake City home. This means we wind up in Moab, near Jackson Hole, or in our favorite area, the San Rafael Swell. This past weekend – our first and probably only camping trip of the year unfortunately – we tried something new, heading towards Flaming Gorge and rafting down the Green River with three human and three canine friends.
It was a trip that required easy-to-prepare food and food that could be carried down the river. For me, this meant some prep work at home. Here’s a run-down of our meals:
Dinner 1:
- Roasted jalapeno turkey burgers (no bun) – for these, I sauteed half a fresh jalapeno, ¼ cup of minced onion, and 1 minced clove of garlic and then combined them – using gloves – with a pound of turkey, an egg, some salt and pepper, and 5 pulverized GF crackers. I made 4 patties and froze them in freezer paper and ziplocs before putting them into the cooler.
- Sweet potato fire fries – sliced and cooked at home until just about done, packed in an air-tight container with a bit of olive oil and S&P, and then packed in foil and roasted in the coals for 20 minutes at camp.
Breakfast 1:
- Quinoa flakes – mix 1/3 cup with 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar and some raisins per person. Pour in a bowl and mix with ⅔ cup boiling water and stir.
- Coffee with soy milk and sugar.
Lunch and snacks on the river:
- Sliced turkey, avocado, and hummus sandwiches on GF bread
- Lara bars
- Some candy
Dinner 2
- Grilled chicken marinaded in a GFDF dressing.
- Roasted potatoes, red peppers, and red onions – small creamer or fingerling potatoes were cut into wedges and boiled at home until just about done and then mixed with chopped peppers and onions, 1 Tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp paprika, some minced garlic, and a little salt and pepper. At camp, I poured it all into some foil – as flat a pack as I could – and threw the packet in the coals for 20 minutes.
Breakfast 2:
- The Next Day Frittata – this one deserves a little attention.
What is a Next Day Frittata?
A Next Day Frittata is a frittata that includes leftovers from the night before, i.e. eaten in the frittata the next day. Frittata’s are basically slow-cooked, open-faced omelets, with good stuff mixed in. While there is some art to the frittata – like beating the eggs long enough to make them airy, for example – I think of it as a lazy-cook’s omelet. Here’s why:
When I make an omelet, I am careful to saute ingredients and then set them aside to prepare the eggs. I whip the eggs and a little bit of soy milk up and then am careful with the pan to make sure that it is clean of other ingredients and hot. Everything is carefully placed and folded, and I pay attention at each step. If you didn’t notice, I’m careful.
In other words, I don’t really pay attention to it. And as long as the heat is set low enough, I don’t worry that it will burn.
What can you put into a Next Day Frittata?
Pretty much anything. A frittata is basically eggs cooked with anything else: leftover meat and vegetables, fresh herbs, and any other ingredients I have on hand that sound good. Pasta and cheese are even considered acceptable ingredients for those who can eat them.
Some of my favorite combinations have included:
- Leftover chopped pork chops with spinach and cherry tomatoes
- Grilled chicken that’s been marinated in chutney and some sauteed onions
- Sausages and hash browns (GF, of course)
- Grilled vegetables like zucchini, red peppers, mushrooms, and onions
- Black beans with chopped tomatoes and fresh corn
Like I said, pretty much anything goes. And, it can easily be made using campfire-grilled leftovers if you take a frying pan and lid (or a Dutch oven) along with you when you go.
We ended up packing up early in the morning and used the leftovers from dinner #2 – grilled chicken and roasted potatoes, peppers and onions, as well as fresh spinach and some salsa on top – to make lunch when we got home from our camping trip.
Next Day Frittata
Notes
For a frittata, you can use whatever ingredients you would like. A combination of vegetables, herbs, and proteins – whether beans or meat – is delicious, and leftovers, with all their spice and flavor, are all the better.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of whatever leftover ingredients you want to use (combination of meat, roasted veg, fresh herbs)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 eggs
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a frying pan to medium heat.
- When ready, add the olive oil and coat the bottom and sides with it.
- Add the “whatever” ingredients to the pan and heat them up a bit – this is particularly helpful for reheating or cooking raw meats (be sure that meat is cooked completely before adding egg), sauteing fresh onions or wilting greens.
- Meanwhile, beat eggs in a bowl until a little bit frothy.
- Spread “whatever” ingredients out evenly across the bottom of the pan.
- Pour eggs over the top of the ingredients and rotate the pan carefully so the egg spreads evenly.
- Place a lid on the pan, turn the heat down to low, and let it cook for about 10 minutes. The top should be just done. Cook a minute or two longer if needed. Remove from heat.
- Cut frittata into 4 wedges and serve with your favorite sauce on top.