Omelets in a bag !!

[hamhaw]

My kids love this idea, we use it all the time even at home:

buy extra strength freezer sandwich size ziploc bags
boil water with salt in a large pot
in each bag we use
1 tbsp margarine or butter
2-3 eggs
1/4 cup ham chopped up
onions, peppers, cheese....whatever you might like in an omelet

smear margarine inside of bag
add ingredients into bag
seal bag
shake and "smoosh" bag to mix your omelet
we mark the top of our bags with permanent marker
drop the bags carefully into boiling water and wait about 7-8 minutes
it does not take long and you can tell if eggs are cooked by color and if cheese has melted, you can always use tongs to take bag out to check if done and reseal and cook longer.
simply open bag and eat out of bag or drop omelet on a plate
TADAAAA !!!!! easy clean up and delicious

[artmart]

I like to throw some seasoned pepper and/or some salso and maybe a little more seasoned salt then seal it back up. Let it cool somewhat, then turn it upside down and snip one of the corners to squeeze the contents into your mouth and then there's NO cleanup. Just throw away the bag.

The only expense is the emergency room if you don't wait long enough for the contents to cool down. LOL

[ctfortner]

Love the Omelets in a bag, works out good and the kids really enjoy doing it. I definitely agree on the strong freezer bags, we used some flimsy ones the first time

[get_away_guenthers]

This is genius! Adding this to my list of things to try!

[artmart]

Recent development!!!

In another forum, I was shocked to read that one of these "Zip bag" companies answered a letter to a lady who described this very meal. They sent back a letter telling her they do not recommend it and that the bags are not designed to be used in this manner.

They didn't explain why, so I don't know what the possible problems could be. Maybe the bags will explode if they incur too much pressure (I usually remove as much air as possible. Maybe the heat will cause some of the plastic to leach into the food. I hadn't thought of this one, but recent findings for some plastics I've read recently is that we should NOT be leaving plastic bottles with water in the sun for this very reason. Wouldn't the heat of the sun be the same as the heat from a bag being boiled?

I will look for the post and paste it here. I just thought it might be something we should be thinking about.

[JoeS]

Yah I would think the plastic would leak into the bag from the heat of the boiling water. The temperature of boiling water is at 212 degrees. Plus a second thought would be that all tho the eggs will be cooked Botulism can still occur whether its cooked completely. While the outside of the eggs are cooking the inside can get to that nice bacteria heavenly temp of 70-120 degree.

I suggest doing the old fashion way of the cast iron pans

[artmart]

I frequent several forums and could not find the forum post, however, I did an Internet search of "ziploc omelette" and besides the numerous idea for using a ziploc for making food I found the link which includes a pretty good idea why this method is not recommended:

Ziploc Omelets Are Not Recommended

It covers plastic leaching or melting, the comments from ZipLoc, the bag design intentions and other problems that can cause more of a mess or hazard than using JoeS's method of an iron skillet. Personally I'll stick with lighter weight nonstick coated skillet for my egg dishes or other more traditional cooking methods. Isn't the non-stick coating bad for you and so might some of the whatever-is-on-or-in iron skillets. Wow, and you can't even eat the eggs raw any more. I'm not even sure if letting the chicken lay the egg right into your mouth is safe either. ohhh.... not a good visual...

I guess not all plastic is the same. The plastic used for microwave dishes is different and designed to be heated and the plastic in ziplocks or baggies isn't quite the same and therefore not recommended. Please don't "shoot the messenger".

[JoeS]

Get a rope I have an idea for the messenger :

[artmart]

Will the wonders of the internet ever cease... a little further investigation and there's a solution...

Ziploc brand "Zip 'n Steam" bags. These are made for the omelettes described here. Don't use the regular or freezer bags which are different types of plastic:

Ziploc® Brand Zip 'n Steam® Provencal Omelet

But this is for the microwave. There's no indication these can be used in a boiling pot of water. I have to admit I have never seen these but this web link provides some hope for omelets in a bag of some sort.

[papasmurff]

taught this trick to my boy scout troop. They loved it, no KP just eat from the bag (they did)