by Dennis Weaver

"That's weird," chorused my two daughters when I emerged with an omelet cooked in a plastic bag. "Why didn't you use a frying pan?"

When you cook an egg in a bag, you're going to get some comments. But it works, it's slick, and it avoids the all-important clean up on your next road trip. The omelets can be mixed ahead and stored in Ziploc®-type plastic bags in your refrigerator for several days. When you get to the campground, drop the pouched eggs in boiling water and . . . presto, you have omelets without the mess.

Ingredients

4 or 5 large eggs

bacon bits, cheese, veggies, or other omelet goodies

pepper and salt to taste (If you use cheese or bacon, do not add as much salt since the ingredients are salty.)

Directions

1. Bring a large pan of water to a roiling boil.
2. Whisk all the ingredients together with a fork. Pour the omelet mixture into a sandwich-sized Ziploc®-type plastic bag. Make sure the seal is tight.
3. Carefully place the plastic bag in the boiling water. Let it boil for 14 minutes or until the omelet is nearly set. If you overcook it, it will be rubbery. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the omelet, the altitude, and the size of the pan. The omelet will continue to cook in the bag once it is removed from the water so remove the bag when the center of the omelet is not quite firm.

Remove the omelet from the bag and serve.

Note #1: The steam in the plastic bag will make it balloon and look like it may burst. In our experience, it won't.
Note #2: With a little coaxing, the bag will lie flat in the water as it heats. You will not need to turn the bag over.
Note #3: Make sure that you keep the omelet mix cold. Without being in their protective shells, eggs will not keep as long. When you cook the eggs, they should get hot enough to kill bacteria-but be on the safe side and keep your eggs cold anyway.

This concoction was cooked by Dennis Weaver at The Prepared Pantry. The idea for cooking an egg in a bag came from Nancy's Kitchen. More egg recipes can be found at The Prepared Pantry in the recipe section -- recipes like Easy Baked Omelet.

Dennis Weaver -- having burnt food from Miami, Florida to Point Barrow, Alaska -- is RTA's road food expert. He has logged thousands of hours on the roads, trails, and waterways of America including many of Alaska's wilderness rivers and has consistently been elected the trips' "chief cook and bottle washer." Dennis is currently general manager at The Prepared Pantry, a company in Rigby, Idaho, that produces ready-to-eat meals and baking mixes packaged in Mylar. Weatherproof, bug-proof, and critter resistant, they're ideal for both roadtrips and back woods camping. Dennis may be reached at dweaver@preparedpantry.com.