No-Fuss Campfire Omelets

There’s just something different about omelets. Fluffy eggs, cheese, a few toppings folded into an egg-like taco. Admittedly they can be challenging, even more so if you try to serve a bunch at once to a small crowd or family. If you want to bring a bit-o-gourmet to your campsite, try these freezer baggie omelets. Sure you could take all the omelet add-ons and just scramble some eggs in with them, then slop a pile on everyone’s plate like a mess hall lunch counter. We can do better than that. My mom first told me about this “baggie omelets” a while back, and we served about 15 at a family party, each having the ability to customize their own omelet. Give it a try, of course the sky’s the limit when it comes to toppings, spices and herbs. A word of caution, these get very hot, and you’re messing around with a big tank of boiling water so play it safe, use tongs, and don’t splash! // by Troy McQuillen

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
– Zip Top Baggies, quart size (absolutely must be “Freezer Baggies” otherwise they’ll melt.)
– Sharpie marking pen
– 2 eggs per person
– Large pot of boiling water (the bigger the better)
– Cup or narrow bowl
– All sorts of toppings including: ham, bacon, sausage, cheese, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, sour cream, parsley, basil, etc.
– Salt and pepper

PREP THE SET:
– Get your water boiling. Try to use at least one gallon, more is better. I used a large stock pot on a grill.
– Chop up all your ingredients into smallish, uniformed sizes. All meats should be precooked. Green onions can be raw, but you may want to sweat white, yellow, or red onions before hand so they’re not so crunchy.
– Use the Sharpie to write each person’s name on a baggie.

ASSEMBLE THE OMELETS:
– Use the cup or narrow bowl to support the baggie for filling.
– Crack two eggs into the baggie.
– Add any toppings you like, including the cheese.
– If you like butter and egg together, drop in a small pat of butter.
– Remove from the cup, squeeze the air out and squish up all the contents until the eggs are well scrambled.

COOK ALL THE OMELETS:
– Carefully deposit each baggie into the boiling water. You can crowd them in, but don’t cram them into fit. If necessary, do two batches. In a large pot, you could do 6-8 at once.
– You can keep the lid on the pot to trap more heat. This will cause the baggies to fill with air ad float. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. They’ll still cook.
– Monitor for doneness. The more baggies in the pot the longer they’ll take to cook. After 10 minutes, test two or three baggies by carefully takin git out of the water, and squeezing the contents with tongs. You should still see runny eggs at this point. Take them out if you like them like that, or put them back for another 2-3 minutes. It’s best to take them out slightly runny as they’ll firm up due to heat carry-over.
– If you have a lot, use a cookie sheet lined with a towel as you retrieve them. The towel will soak up the residual water.

SERVE:
– Carefully open each baggie and the omelet should simply roll out on to waiting plates.
– Keep it fancy! Garnish with more cheese, green onions or herbs.