As a non-egg eating family for the most
part, it’s kind of a special occasion when we
put together an egg dish.  We don’t eat them for
breakfast.  I don’t ever grab a fast food egg
burrito or sausage biscuit and egg. After months,
I salivate over the idea of putting together some egg
special for breakfast, lunch or dinner. 
Here it is.

Take a soft tortilla. Layer it with grated
cheese (Mexican cheeses or some cheddar mix) and jalapenos. 
Nuke it for about a minute or a bit more, until
melted.

While this is going on, cook bacon the way
you like it. I like it more soft
than crunchy. Four strips.  Set them
aside.

How do you like your eggs? 
Scrambled?  Sunny side
up?  Cook three eggs they way you
like them.  For me, it’s sunny side
up.   After the cheese is
melted in the tortilla with the jalapenos
layer the four strips of bacon on top,
then the eggs.  Roll it up. Cut in half.  

Take a HUGE bite. 
Chew slowly. Savor the combination. 
It’ll make you appreciate eggs more
than you ever thought you could.

Like most of the entrees on “Meals We Steal,” the writing isn’t always
about the recipe.  It’s about how we stole something that someone
else created.  Or it’s about the process of how a recipe came together. 
We even give details on how to steal from a chef or restaurant.

Recently, my wife put a great dish on our dinner table, a basic
staple of meat loaf and mashed potatoes.  I have my own little
sneaky tricks for both of those.  She takes it in a different direction,
and hers is awesome.

I didn’t stand over her shoulder while she mixed everything up,
so we can’t share all the spices here.  This is what I do know:  For
the meat loaf, rather than just doing ground beef, she likes to add
some ground pork.  It’s something I never considered, but it gives
the meat loaf a whole new flavor. Try it.

The mashed potatoes are one of my specialties. Hard for me to believe
she could improve on them, but she did.  Once she had the potatoes
mashed up, she baked some mozzarella cheese on top.  It was a delightful
combination.  See what you think next time you make mashed potatoes.

Meals, like life, are about trying new
things to keep it exciting.  Both
of my wife’s additions made for a change-of-pace meal for our family that we
gobbled down.  Now come up with
some of your own.

The Dutch Oven is a cooking term for putting everything you are about to
eat into a cast iron pot with a lid, then setting it over heat to simmer until
it is steaming. You can throw just about anything into a Dutch Oven, but
you need to time things properly to make sure what comes out is cooked
all the way through and ready to eat.

Our family has camped fairly frequently over the years, and one of the
most fun and educational experiences has been learning the tricks of this
trade.  Mastering the Dutch Oven for us began over 12 years ago back in Nebraska,
watching friends of ours fry up steak and eggs for breakfast one brilliant Fall
morning. Until then, I’d never heard the term and had no idea you could
cook that way.

But it made sense.  You’re out in the woods.  You want to simplify how
you grill everything up.  There’s a hot fire.  How do you get food off
of it without burning things on the outside while leaving the
meat raw on the inside?

Enter the Dutch Oven.  We bought ours a number of years back,
and the big treat is bacon and eggs.  Once you get the fire going
and there’s a strong bed of red coals, throw the whole bag of bacon in,
shut the lid and put it in the fire.  It will be simmering in no time.  
Check it periodically to stir the bacon.  When done, pull the meat out, but leave
the grease in for the eggs. Might as well fully plug the arteries for the
day.



If you like scrambled eggs, mix them up
while the bacon is cooking.  If
not, just crack the eggs into the grease of the Dutch Oven. 
Cover it up again and put it back in the fire. 
Chop the eggs occasionally as they cook.  You’ll come out with some tasty
bacon-flavored egg bits, enhanced by the outdoors experience.