Let’s push ourselves, shall we?  Around here we love a big hearty breakfast on Sunday mornings paired with some football and relaxation.  I usually throw together a scramble with all the leftover veggies from the week and some leftover protein.  This weekend, however, I wanted to do a little something different, make a REAL brunch.  So, I did the impossible… I made eggs benedict (homemade Hollandaise AND paoched eggs???)…. and wouldn’t ya know – it worked!  I scoured the internet for tips and tricks from making a great Hollindaise that wouldn’t have me whisking in the kitchen for thirty minutes and I found some great options.

This breakfast is not healthy.  It is not something that belongs on a blog that is supposed to be focused on healthy eating.  But ya know what?  This is MY blog. And a girl can’t be good allllllll the time.  So sometimes, give yourself a Sunday splurge and get that feel good feeling from being able to say, “Hope you had fun at yoga, I made my own eggs benedict this morning…  And damn, I’m good.”  (Then lunge all around the house for the rest of the day and do squats while you brush your teeth;)

Bacon and Crab Eggs Benedict with a Jalapeno Hollindaise Sauce – Serves 4

Ingredients:

(Easy Blender) Hollindaise Sauce:

• 3-4 pickled jalapenos, finely chopped
• 10T unsalted butter
• 3 egg yokes (how to separate eggs)
• 1T Lemon Juice (or the juice from 1/2 lemon)
• 1/2t salt
• 1/8t cayenne pepper

*From Simple Recipes

Benedict:

• 4 whole wheat english muffins
• 4 slices of bacon
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• 8 eggs
• 1 small jar of fresh crab meat (you can leave this out if you’re looking to save some $$)
• 1-2t of vinegar (to poach eggs)

Directions:

Prepare bacon by placing strips in a cold oven.  Turn oven up to 405 degrees, let cook for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare hollindaise sauce.  Melt the butter slowly in a small pot. Try not to let it boil – you want the moisture in the butter to remain there and not steam away. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne (if using) into your blender. Blend the egg yolk mixture at a medium to medium high speed until it lightens in color, about 20-30 seconds.  Once the yolks have lightened in color, turn the blender down to its lowest setting (if you only have one speed on your blender it will still work), and drizzle in the melted butter slowly, while the blender is going. Continue to buzz for another couple seconds after the butter is all incorporated.

Turn off the blender and taste the sauce. It should be buttery, lemony and just lightly salty. If it is not salty or lemony enough, you can add a little lemon juice or salt to taste. If you want a thinner consistency, add a little warm water. Pulse briefly to incorporate the ingredients one more time.

Store until needed in a warm spot, like on or next to the stovetop. Use within an hour or so.

To poach the eggs:  Begin boiling water in a sauce pan.  Once water is about to boil, add vinegar to water (this will help to congeal the eggs and keep them together!)

Slowly drop in one egg at a time.  It may be helpful to crack the egg into a little cup and then release it into the water.  Using a spoon, nudge the egg whites closer to their yolks. This will help the egg whites hold together.  Turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 4 minutes while the eggs cook.

While eggs cook, toast english muffins and prepare to build!!

Building your benny – place toasted english muffins on plate, top with crab meat, then bacon, then poached egg and hollindaise sauce. Garnish with thinly sliced avocados.

Seems like a lot of work – but it sounds much harder than it is.  I found the toughest part was figuring out timing, so now you don’t have to.

Having a job is big part of why I liked our recent trip to Joshua Tree.  In past trips, I’ve stood around holding my sleeping bag while everyone else sets up and I just spin in circles looking for someway to be helpful.  But in the end, it just ends up being me and my sleeping bag spinning around in circles off to the side. Having the job of Chef Nature’s Miracle, made me feel useful… and full of quality food.

If you’ve never been to Joshua Tree, it really is amazing.  It almost feels like you’re on the moon.  Amazing boulder/rock formations coming out of the ground that you can climb all over and see for miles and miles and miles.  It’s huge and stars at night make you feel like you’re in a planetarium.   Soooooo cool.  You know what wasn’t cool (but just totally tells you so much about what Adam and I do when no one is around to roll their eyes), we listened to U2′s Joshua Tree album more than we did in the 90′s.  We’re, like so…. cliche.

So, here’s the breakdown of all the meals we created during our trip.  In case you missed it – yesterday’s post gives you the rundown of all the prep work you can do in about an hour the night before.  So worth it! I made the recommendation to bag each meal’s ingredients in individual shopping bags in the cooler (so you can just grab and go).  I’ve listed out each meal with those bags in mind, for easy planning.

Last but not least, before we dive into it.  COOLEST CAMPING FIND (via Pinterest, obbbvvss) – a gallon water jug and a head lamp = amazing ambient light!  We tried it and it worked.  You MUST do this your next trip out! Check out the picture at the very bottom.

Recipes and Ingredients after the jump:

Night 1 Dinner - Soy-Marinated Sirloin Skewers with Grilled Asparagus and Best Ever Pasta Salad (pictured above)

Bag 1 Ingredients: 

• Overnight Marinaded Sirloin and Vegetables
• Night Before Best Ever Pasta Salad
• 1/2 bunch of asparagus
• olive oil* (stored in a small tupperware cup during night-before prep)
• lemon pepper seasoning
• 4 skewers
• Heavy Duty Tin Foil

Preparation:

Submerge the skewers in melted ice water in the cooler up to 2 hours before prep begins.

Preheat the grill.  Cut the stems off the asparagus and drizzle with oil olive and lemon pepper seasoning. Set aside.

Skew soaked skewer sticks with beef and veggies that were marinaded the night before.  Grill for about 8-10 minutes, turning once at halfway. If you can fit your asparagus on the grill, add asparagus with 2 minutes remaining.  If you don’t have room, grill asparagus while skewers are resting for 2-3 minutes.

Hopefully the marinade with have provided enough flavor for you to leave that bbq sauce in the cooler.  But if not, grab it!

Morning 1 Breakfast: Hungryman Camp Breakfast

Bag 2 Ingredients:

On top of the sausages, add a handful of hash browns, an egg or two, and diced tomato and green onion if you like. Salt & pepper to taste. You can also add Cajun spice, or Old Bay spice or whatever spice your posse likes.