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Food Tips for Summer Food Prep | Hells Canyon Rafting Blog

Ok, so we’ve covered how to get the best cookies on your river trips and outdoor adventures. Now let’s move on to breakfast.

If you’re anything like me, I like breakfast easy, fast, and most likely on the go. I’m not a huge get-up-early-and-take-care-of-stuff gal. More like wake up later than expected and run around for 20 minutes until I run out the door with arms full of coffee, food, and gear. This has made me quite the master of make ahead breakfasts.

Here are some of my most favorite make ahead breakfast recipes if you’re heading on the river, to the mountains, or even to work:

Freezer Muffins

I’ve recently just come to the testing conclusion that you can freeze any muffin batter in individual muffin cups and then bake them on command whenever you’d like.

So if you’ve got one of those rainy slow days, take out the bowls and muffin tins and get to mixing. Portion out the batter into individual muffin papers in the muffin tins and then the whole tin goes into the freezer. Let them hang out there for a night (or until you remember them in there) and put them back into the freezer in a plastic bag. When you’re jonesing for hot fresh muffins, just preheat the over, toss some frozen muffin cups into a tin and bake them for about 5 more minutes than the original recipe calls for. Magical huh?

Here is one of my favorite (and slightly healthier than breakfast cupcake) muffin recipes adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe:

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Freezer Muffins

Ingredients:

  •  1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  •  1/2 cupsugar 
  •  1 teaspoon baking soda 
  •  1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  •  1/4 teaspoon salt 
  •  1/4 cup veggie oil
  •  1/4 cup applesauce 
  •  1/4 cup buttermilk
  •  1 egg 
  •  1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
  •  1 1/4 cups zucchini, shredded and squeezed out a little
  •  1/2 cup chocolate chips 
  1. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
  2. In a big bowl, mix the flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl mix together the oil, applesauce, buttermilk, egg and vanilla.
  4. Add the wet bowl into the dry bowl and give it couple good stirs until it’s not quite fully mixed.
  5. Toss the zucchini and chocolate chips into the batter and stir until just combined. It’s real important not to overmix.
  6. Fill the muffin cups with the batter, about 2/3 full.
  7. Put the muffin tin in the freezer flat. Leave for at least overnight.
  8. Take the muffin tin out and place the muffins in a ziplock bag. Muffins will last in the freezer for up to 2 months.

When it’s time for baking:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Put the number of frozen muffins you’d like to cook in a muffin tin and bake from directly from frozen for about 22-33 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean
  3. Eat them up!

Freezer Burritos

If you’re looking for a more filling breakfast and aren’t afraid of a little prep work, well then freezer burritos are for you.

I tried a bunch of recipes and somehow the potatoes are always bland or a huge pain in the butt. There’s no middle. There secret to easy and delicious potatoes in a burrito is tater tots. Yup. Classy, I know but they work great. Here’s my go to freezer burrito recipe adapted from Damn Delicious:

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups frozen tater tots
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 8 breakfast sausage links
  • 8 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup half and half
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 (16-ounce) can refried beans
  • 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
  • 2 cups shredded cheese
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

  1. Cook tater tots according to instructions on bag. Cool.
  2. Heat oil in a large pan on medium high heat. Remove sausage casings (if any) and add to pan. Cook and crumble sausage until browned. Remove from pan and cool.
  3. In a small bowl mix eggs and half and half along with some salt and pepper to taste. Add eggs to the same sausage pan and cook until set. Remove from pan to cool.
  4. Lay out the tortillas, spread refried beans down the middle, top with tater tots then sausage, eggs, cheese, tomatoes and cilantro. Fold in short side of the burrito, then one long side and roll up burrito style. Tightly wrap in aluminum foil and place inside a large ziplock bag.
  5. After wrapping all tortillas place bag into freezer. Thats it!This recipe doubles or triples well.
  6. TO FREEZE: Cover each burrito tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Freeze up to 1 month. To reheat, (1) microwave for 4-6 minutes, turning halfway, or (2) bake at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes, or until completely cooked through.

When it’s time for breakfast:

  1. Bake it 400 degree F oven for 30-40 minutes.

Bagel Balls

Cream cheese stuffed bagels. What more could you want? These are a little more complicated to make but also proportionally more delicious too. If you’re into a yeast’y challenge check out Margaret in the City for the full details. Bake them for just 5 minutes shorter than she recommends, let them cool and then toss them into a a bag in the freezer.

When you’re ready to eat them, bake them in a 350 degree F oven for about 30 minutes. If they’re exploding they’re ready to eat! Just be careful of the cream cheese lava in the middle!!


Does all of this sound like too much work? Leave the cooking and cleaning to us and jump on one of America’s Rafting Co‘s Hells Canyon Rafting Trips! Delicious food and beverage included!