Off to a Good Start: Bacon & Cheese Grits

I came up with this recipe for our honeymoon trip through the wilderness in Olympic National Park. It was the beginning of August, but spring was just beginning to bloom. We hiked the High Divide trail for five days. Cold nights, lots of bugs, and a little bit of rain. All the flowers bloomed in the five days we were there. We were blessed with a wide variety of wildlife - all coming down from the hills to munch on the spring greens. Elk, goats, bears, and marmots were just a few.

It was definately a memorable trip - and not just because it was our honeymoon. Cold mornings beg for hot breakfast - something warm in your hands and in your belly to make that pack seem less heavy and help you put one foot in front of the other till the sun warms your skin and the blood starts flowing.

If you are on a multi-day trip, I reccomend having these more than one morning - you will be wishing you did.

Bacon & Chedder Grits - Serves 2
2 packages instant grits
4 pieces bacon*, cooked
2 Tbsp chedder cheese powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 sandwhich size ziplock bags

At home:
Empty packages of instant grits into each ziplock
Dice the cooked bacon and divide among the ziplock bags
Add 1 Tbsp of cheese powder to each bag
Add 1 tsp of onion powder to each bag
Add 1/2 tsp garlic powder to each bag
Add 1/4 tsp black pepper to each bag
Write 1/2 cup H2O on each bag with a Sharpie
Seel bags, compressing as much air out of them as possible.

On the trail:
Boil 1 cup of water
Pour grit mix into insulated mugs with lids
Divide water among mugs, and stir.
Place lids on mugs and let sit for 7 minutes.
Stir again, and enjoy!

*You can use bacon bits instead of fresh bacon in a pinch, but it is not as good.