Favorite Hiking Sandwich

If I'm on a 1 or 2 day hike, than you can bet I ate an egg & cheese on a bagel sandwich that morning, or there's one in my pack for lunch... or both! This old standby keeps me satiated and happy, winter or summer... and outside of pizza, its my favorite near-town trail food.

Recently, a kind co-worker of mine gave me a Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker. I have a variety of electronic kitchen gadgets including a panini maker, grilled sandwich maker, George Foreman Grill... so this easily fit into my kitchen acquisitions. When I first heard about the machine from another co-worker, I knew HB had hit upon a fabulous idea. What better than to make your own sandwiches, avoiding the early morning pickup at the dreaded Dunkin Donuts (when no local bagel place can be found). Even better, I can bring the machine to the motels or cabins I frequent in winter and make them on the spot that morning. So as long as I have 5 minutes of electricity, I can make my own yummy sandwich.

Breakfast Sandwich Maker

The day after the received the gift, I put it to good use in my home kitchen. It works in a few simple steps:

1. Plug it in to preheat, the green light will turn on when ready.

2. Add your bottom bread (mini bagel, english muffin, deli flat, croissant or frozen pancake) in the bottom compartment. Top with your favorite cheese, pre-cooked meat, or vegatables.

3. Close that bottom compartment revealing the egg tray. Crack you egg(s) in here or pour in your scramble. They recommend piercing the yolk for full-cookage.

4. Top the uncooked egg with the other bread piece. You could add a layer of choose or whatever here too.

5. Let it cook for 4-5 min. Before opening, slide the egg divider over so it falls onto the sandwich bottom, then open the maker and enjoy!

bottom bread and crumbled feta cheese

egg in the egg tray

It not only cooks the egg but also toasts the bread and warms up whatever other ingredients you pile inside within 5 min. Its very easy to disassemble, wash and dry. The machine itself is quite small, so it packs away on a shelf or cabinet easily. It has a non-stick coating that sort of keeps things from sticking, nothing a little butter can't fix. You can even cook frozen pancakes in it for a pancake & egg sandwich (its quite delicious if you haven't yet tried it).

finished sandwich