Beast's Trail Rations

I started making these loaded biscuits years ago, and the kids love them. They are portable, so great to take on a hike! 

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

⅓ cup shortening

1 cup milk

6 eggs

1 lb bacon or ground sausage

1 small onion, diced

2 cups shredded cheddar

2 tbsp Italian herb mix

Lawry's seasoning salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Scramble the eggs and set aside. Le them cool. Cook the bacon or sausage along with onions, until the onions are translucent and the meat is cooked. Set aside to cool as well. You can pour them into the same bowl as the scrambled eggs.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Turn out onto a floured surface, add the eggs, meat, cheese, herbs and Lawry's to taste to the biscuit dough,and knead 15 to 20 times. Drop these biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet, in roughly 1/4 cup chunks.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges and peaks begin to brown.

Serve warm, or pack them away for later!

Colcannon

 Colcannon. Mashed potatoes with cabbage. A perfect side for corned beef.. or just about any meal!

Ingredients

1 medium head cabbage (about 2 pounds), shredded

4 pounds medium potatoes (about 8), peeled and quartered

2 cups whole milk

1 cup chopped green onions

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup butter, melted

Minced fresh parsley

Crumbled cooked bacon

Instructions:

Place cabbage and 2 cups water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving cooking liquid; keep cabbage warm in separate dish.

In same pan, combine potatoes and reserved cooking liquid. Add additional water to cover potatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, until potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, place milk, green onions, salt and pepper in a small saucepan; bring just to a boil and remove from heat.

Drain potatoes; place in a large bowl and mash. Add milk mixture; beat just until blended. Stir in cabbage. To serve, drizzle with butter; top with parsley and bacon.

Scotch Eggs

 It has been brought to my attention that some people  have no idea what Scotch Eggs are. This is a travesty that NEEDS remedied, immediately. If you have never had these in your life, stop whatever plans you had for your next meal, and replace them with this. You will thank me.

These are even amazing the next day, served cold. They are often a go-to snack for when we are camping! Just don't freeze them.. frozen hard boiled eggs are horrible.

Pro-tip: smoke your eggs! Take the raw eggs straight from the fridge, or in my case - straight from the chicken coop, and put them on the smoker at 225 degrees for about two and a half hours. Amaze-balls.

Ingredients:

8 hard boiled eggs, pealed

1 lb ground sausage

1 cup seasoned flour

3 beaten eggs

1 tsp milk

2 cups bread crumbs (I prefer Italian seasoned)

oil for deep frying

The process for this is quite simple. Boil and peel the eggs. Put a pot of oil on the stove, and heat it over medium high. Mix the milk in with the beaten eggs. Dust the hard boiled eggs in the flour. Cut the tube of sausage in half, then into quarters, using 1/8th of a lb of sausage per egg. The easiest way I have found is to simply smash it out into a sheet in the palm of your hand, then wrap it around the egg, and moosh it around. Yes, that is the technical term: moosh. Make sure it is sealed, and fully enclosed. Using a fork, dip that in the egg wash, then into the bread crumbs. Use your hands. Get dirty. It won't kill you, I promise. Just wash your hands, before and after. Make sure the breadcrumbs are an even coating. Then, when your oil reads 450 degrees, gently slide three or four into the frying oil, depending on the size of your pot. Watch them, and give them a gentle poke now and then to make sure they cook all around. Once they are golden brown, take them out and drain them on a wrack. Once they are cool, and yes, thats the hard part, waiting.. cut them up and enjoy! We like ours with a little ketchup.

Do you HAVE to fry them?

If you are worried about eating healthy, I have no bloody idea why you are reading MY blog in the first place.. but these are acceptable when done in the oven, instead of deep frying. It's simple: prepare as above, then bake the eggs in the oven. Most Scotch eggs are deep fried, making them a bit more challenging to the average home cook. These manage to be healthier, easier, and still delightfully toasty and crisp on the outside. Put them directly in the oven on a mesh rack so that they'd bake evenly all over. If you don't have a rack like that, a simple baking tray will work too, though you'll want to turn the eggs once during the baking period to ensure that they cook evenly.

Because you're baking and not frying these eggs, it helps to use very dry, lightly-toasted breadcrumbs. Toasting the bread crumbs isn't strictly necessary, but it does help contribute to a flavourful and browned crust in the absence of deep frying. 

These sound good, but I'm a vegetarian!

It's ok.. no one is perfect. My wife is a vegetableranian as well. We make her "Welsh" eggs, and use corn bread or sage stuffing instead of the sausage. All of the steps are exactly the same, with the exception of sub'ing the stuffing for the sausage.

Fun Variations:

Make these with quail eggs for snack sized bites. Or, for a more robust meal, try them with duck eggs! If you are RAVENOUS, use goose eggs, or share them with a friend!

You can even add some hot sauce into your egg wash, for a bit more of a kick. Which one is up to you!

Cabbage Roll Soup

 We love cabbage rolls. We hate spending the time making them. So Laurel came up with a genius idea.. make it a soup! Quick, easy, and the kids had seconds. I had thirds.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, diced

2 carrots

2 celery ribs

1 cup uncooked rice

4-5 cups chopped cabbage

2 cloves garlic

1 24 oz can Garlic n Herb tomato sauce (or, any cheap spaghetti sauce)

1 14 oz can Fire Roasted tomatoes

8 cups beef broth

1 tsp oregano

1 bay leaf

 1/4 cup dried parsley

Directions:

Brown the beef in  the soup pot and drain, leaving about 4 tbsp fat. Add the chopped onions, chopped carrots, chopped celery, minced garlic, dried parsley, and rice. Sauté for about ten minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add in all the remaining ingredients and cook over medium high, until the rice is tender. Serve with saltine crackers, or go nuts, and garnish with oyster crackers.