One of the best parts about escaping the city is taking things a little bit slower. Waking up as sunlight streams in, stretching, laying in bed and staring out the window, and cooking meals instead of grabbing takeout or ordering delivery.
DC-based food blogger Mattie Hanley headed out to our Outpost last month and made two recipes for breakfast which are “delicious, and also don’t need any kitchen gadgets so they’re easy to make in a kitchen away from home.” Utilizing some of the same ingredients across dishes makes for an easy shopping list before your trip, with some very tasty results.
Dive into her stuffed breakfast arepas and butternut squash and goat cheese shakshuka below.
Campfire Cooking: Stuffed Breakfast Arepas
Ingredients:
• 2 frozen arepas (the kind with Mozzarella recommended)
• 2 eggs
• 1 avocado
• 6-8 strips of bacon
• crushed red pepper
Directions: Cook the bacon to desired crispiness in the provided frying pan (for crispy bacon, start with a cold pan, use medium heat, flip often). While the bacon cooks, halve the avocado and cut into slices. Once bacon is cooked, set aside on a paper towel lined plate, do not dump the bacon grease. While the pan is still hot crack two eggs directly into the bacon grease (this will get you a really nice fried and crispy edge on your eggs!). Cook to desired firmness. While the eggs are cooking, use the pot to cook the arepas. Drizzle some of the provided olive oil in the pot and place the arepas directly onto the bottom of the pot. Cook according to package or until golden brown on both sides. Assemble: arepa, avocado, bacon, egg. Season generously with crushed red pepper and the provided salt and pepper. Enjoy while hot.
Campfire Cooking: Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Shakshuka
Ingredients:
• 1 jar of your favorite tomato pasta sauce (fun flavors recommended, like mushroom or garlic)
• 4 eggs
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 cups of diced butternut squash
• 1 4 oz pack of fresh goat cheese or 1/2 cup of feta
• 1 bunch of fresh parsley
• 1/2 lb of breakfast sausage or ground meat of your choice
Do a little at-home prep for this one. Since you don’t need a whole butternut squash, you can peel and dice the squash at home to cut down on prep time at the cabin and eliminate the need to bring leftovers home! Depending on how involved you want to make it, you could buy breakfast sausage and crumble it, or you could pre-make some kafta at home and bring it with you. You can find various kafta recipes online, but a simple version is ground beef (or equal parts ground beef and lamb) seasoned with generous amounts of dried parsley, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, cayenne or crushed red pepper, salt, pepper. The generously seasoned meat, and the spices in the tomato sauce will eliminate the need to bring your whole spice rack with you to the cabin.
Directions: Drizzle some of the provided olive oil in the pot and turn the heat up to medium. While that heats, dice the onion. Add the diced onion and diced butternut squash to the pot and let them soften for 2-3 minutes. Add whatever crumbled meat you chose. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Cook thoroughly. Dump in the whole jar of tomato sauce. Stir to combine. Let simmer for 3-5 minutes. Use a spoon to make four “wells” in the sauce mixture, crack the eggs directly into the wells. Turn the heat down to medium/low, cover with the lid. Monitor the eggs and watch closely until the whites turn white, be careful not to overcook the yolks. Garnish with more crushed red pepper, goat/feta cheese, and fresh parsley. Serve immediately.
Whip up these recipes and more on your next Getaway. Book an escape today.