Cooking for Camping, , Tents to RV's

 Copyright Janet Groene 2025. This site has had more than 293,000 views. 

CAMPING & RV RECIPE OF THE WEEK

 Rice Pilaf

Make one big batch of this versatile side dish to warm up all week. If you divide it into boilable bags, you can save it in right-size portions for each meal. 

Rice comes in many colors

4 cups long-grain rice

8 cups water

1 teaspoons each salt and pepper

2 medium onions, diced fine

2 medium shallots, diced fine

1 or 2 cups celery, diced fine

2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes OR

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup golden raisins, raisins or dried cranberries

Small can sliced black olives, well drained

2 teaspoons dried dillweed

Bring salted water and raw vegetables to a boil. Stir in rice and remaining ingredients. Cover, reduce heat and cook 20-30 minutes over low heat until rice is tender. (Brown rice takes longer.)  Adjust seasonings.   Makes 10 to 12 portions.

Cook's note: To make this a main dish, stir in bits of cooked meat, diced hardboiled eggs or cooked or canned seafood when rice is tender. Heat through.

MAKE AHEAD RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Janet’s Cranberry Relish

It’s tart, smart and a colorful addition to the season’s tables but you need a blender or food processor to make it.

1 package fresh cranberries

1 navel orange

1 package orange Jello, (reg. or sugar free)

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

1/2 c. chopped celery

Wash and pick over cranberries.  Trim tough ends off the orange but leave skin on. Cut up entire orange and discard any seeds.  Pulse the  orange in a food processor until very fine. Add cranberries and Jello and pulse to taste. Add celery and walnuts. Pulse 2-3 more times. If it’s too tart for your taste, add more sugar or sweetener. Chill.

This keeps up to a week in the fridge and can also be frozen.

THE GIFT THAT GIVES ALL YEAR

AND ONE SIZE FITS ALL

COOKING ABOARD YOUR RV

    For yourself or a gift,  Janet Groene's timeless RV cookbook is packed with shortcuts, tips and 270 easy, delicious recipes to cook inside the camper or outside on the campfire, camp stove or grate. 

Short of time? Amazon will wrap and ship it for you.  

https://amzn.to/3nNndWY 

PENNYPINCHER RECIPE OF THE WEEK

One can of tuna makes four hefty servings thanks to a protein boost from eggs and cheese.

Tuna Rice Pancakes  

2 cups cooked rice

1 tablespoon  flour or cornstarch

1 can tuna, drained and flaked

 2 eggs

1 cup fine chopped celery

Small onion, chopped fine

1 cup shredded cheese

1 teaspoon each season salt, dried thyme

Optional: Milk or water

Oil for frying

Butter pats for serving

Fluff rice and toss lightly with flour or cornstarch. Mix in remaining ingredients. If mixture is too thick, add milk or water one tablespoon at a time. Fry as for pancakes. Makes four large or eight smaller cakes. Serve plain or melt a butter pat on each. 

PANTRY RECIPE OF THE WEEK

This spicy supper can be made entirely with foods from your emergency pantry. I make it with canned chunk chicken. Exotic spices bring it to life. 

Chicken Casbah 

2  cups water 

2 chicken flavor bouillon cubes

2 cups cooked, diced  chicken

1/4 cup dried onion bits

1 teaspoon dried parsley

 1 teaspoon each ground ginger, cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon garlic granules

8 pitted dried plums

1 or 2 cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed

1/4 cup honey

½ cup sliced almonds

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Bring water to a boil and dissolve bouillon. Add onion bits, parsley, spices, garlic, dried plums and honey. Simmer to plump the plums and blend flavors. Stir in garbanzos to heat through. Pan past almonds in hot oil and sprinkle over finished dish. Serves 4 to 6. It can also be served over rice to make even more servings.

Cook's note: coarsely mash some or all the gabanzos for a creamier sauce.  

BLACK POT RECIPE OF THE WEEK

COWPUNCHER PINTOS

You’ll need a large pot (three gallons or larger)  and 2 ½ gallons of water for this feast. Start the pot early, keep the fire going all day and invite the neighbors in.

1 bunch cilantro tied with string

2 pounds heirloom  pinto beans such as Rancho Gordo or Ayocote

4 chicken or beef flavor bouillon cubes:

Large onion, coarsely chopped

2 green bell peppers, diced

1 tablespoon each Creole seasoning, chili powder, adobo and salt

4 tomatoes, diced OR

I can diced tomatoes with juice

Plunge cilantro in water, drain and wrap tightly in a clean towel. Set aside. Pick over and rinse beans. 

Bring 10 quarts water to a low but active boil.  Put beans and seasonings in the pot and keep  at a low boil for 4-6 hours. Stir occasionally and add water as needed. When beans are tender add raw vegetables and the bunch of cilantro. Keep at a low boil for another hour or so. Discard cilantro, adjust seasonings and serve. 

Optional: Save some or all the fresh cilantro leaves. Mince and sprinkle on finished beans. 

Cook's note: beans will be tender sooner if soaked overnight. 

FREE! Email me at janetgroene@gmail.com and I'll send you a full page of Tips for the Camp Cook, picked at random from my archives. Put Cook Tips in the subject line. 

GIVE THE GIFT OF FREEDOM TO SOMEONE WHO IS READY TO GO FULL-TIMING

The whole story, start to end, warts and all.....
We full-timed for 10 great years. 

 Do you dream of living and traveling in a complete home on wheels? Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition by Janet Groene & Gordon Groene is a total guide to the full-time life on wheels. Should you sell the house or rent it out? Downsize possessions or put them in storage? Too young to retire? See our chapter on ways to make a living anywhere. Kids on board? We cover home schooling and also an exit strategy if and when the time comes to settle down. Order at any book store or let Amazon gift wrap and ship it for you.  https://amzn.to/29XFEkq 

 

Camping Meals Made Easy

Blog copyright Janet Groene 2025. 

CAMPING & RV RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Salmon Stuffed Cabbage

This  tasty, healthful twist on stuffed cabbage is easy to put together and it all cooks in one pot. Use homemade rice or ready to serve rice from a packet.   

Large head of cabbage

2 cans or pouches. 7 to 10 ounces each, chunk salmon 

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups cooked rice 

8-ounce can tomato sauce

15-ounce can ready-to- serve chicken broth

½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Trim and core the cabbage and put it core side down in a roomy pot with an inch of water. Bring to a boil, cover and cook 4 to 5 minutes to soften outer leaves. Remove cabbage and cool. Peel off  large outer leaves for stuffing. Use a knife to coarsely shred  remaining cabbage and put it in the bottom of the pot. 

Drain salmon and twist a fork in it to break it up. Mix egg and  rice with the salmon and a little of the tomato sauce. Fill leaves with salmon mixture, fold in sides,  roll up and place seam side down atop the shredded cabbage in the pot. Drizzle with broth and remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with thyme.

Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer over low heat 30-45 minutes or until cabbage is tender. Place cabbage roll(s)  in shallow soup plate. Top with shredded cabbage and moisten with broth. Serves 6. 

Cook’s note:  To prepare  in a slow cooker cook on Low for six hours.

Campground Potluck 

Recipe of the Week

 

Peary Berry Crisp

15-ounce can whole cranberry sauce

Large can (32 ounces)  diced pears, drained

1 teaspoon apple pie spice

1 stick butter

1 cup old-fashioned or one-minute oatmeal (not instant)

½ cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon apple pie or pumpkin pie spice

Mash cranberry sauce in a sprayed, 9 X 13-inch casserole and gently mix in pears. (Save pear juice to use in fruit punch.) Sprinkle with spice. Soften butter and use two knives or a pastry blender to cut butter and dry ingredients together until mealy. Sprinkle over fruit and bake at 375 about 20 minutes or until topping is golden. Serve cold, warm or at room temperature. Serves 10. 

Cook’s note: this also makes a good breakfast, alone or sauced with vanilla yogurt. 

TRAVEL EMERGENCIES HAPPEN

GIVE THE GIFT OF GOOD PREPPING, GOOD EATING

     Seasoned road warriors can tell you that  extra food is the ultimate travel insurance. Be prepared for an evacuation, quarantine,  a ban on  cooking fires, detours, fridge failure or a breakdown in the middle of nowhere. See Survival Food Handbook for lists, tips on buying and stowing, and recipes that need no fresh ingredients.  http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe 

Campers have limited storage space for emergency food.  Survival Food Handbook  is just for campers, truckers, RV travelers and boaters. Make the most of every ounce, inch and dollar. Have a stash of staples you will use and replenish. Keep  a few emergency meals on hand in case there is a sudden evacuation, fridge failure, shelter-in-place order or other unplanned speed bump on your  journey. http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

BLACK POT RECIPE OF THE WEEK

African Peanut Stew

Depending on regional customs, this stew may be made with different meats and vegetables. What makes it authentically African is the addition of peanut butter. Peanuts are known there as ground nuts (to differentiate from tree nuts). In some areas this is served over a bed of rice topped with a hard-cooked egg.  For camping, packets of instant grits are a quick and easy base, allowing the cook to prepare as many bowls as needed. 

This is enough for at least 8 servings and many more by adding more grits to serve a crowd.  The stew can also be served over campfire-baked potatoes, biscuits, toast, rice or whatever starch is available. 

2 pounds boneless, skinless meat or poultry, cut in small bites.

2 tablespoons cornstarch 

4 cups water (and more as needed)

4 beef or chicken bouillon cubes

3 large onions, diced

Small zucchini or green pepper, cut up (optional)

28-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 cup smooth peanut butter

Salt, pepper to taste

Optional: 1 hard-cooked egg per serving

1 packet instant grits per person 

Lightly grease a large pot.  Add meat, sprinkle with cornstarch and toss lightly to coat. Add water and bring to a low boil. Stir in bouillon to dissolve and add onions and tomatoes. Simmer, stirring over the coals or campfire as long as it takes for meat to be falling-apart tender. Add water as needed. Stir peanut butter into hot stew by tablespoons. When it dissolves and stew is hot, adjust seasonings and serve. 

To serve,  prepare as many plates as needed with instant grits (or other starch). Add a halved hardboiled egg to each plate if using. Ladle hot stew over all. 

COOKING ABOARD YOUR RV

    For yourself or a gift for any cook, any time,  Janet Groene's timeless RV cookbook is packed with shortcuts, tips and 270 easy, delicious recipes to cook inside the camper or outside on the campfire, camp stove or grill.  Squeezed for time? Amazon will  gift wrap and ship it for you.   

https://amzn.to/3nNndWY 

VEGETARIAN RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Quinoa Pilaf

High-protein quinoa is a miracle grain to serve as a side dish or as a protein source in vegetarian main dishes. The more different fruits, the more colorful the dish.  

2 cups quinoa

½ cup fruit juice or sweet  wine

2 cups cut up dried fruit (raisins, Craisins, dried plums, snipped apricots, figs, dates)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups water or vegetable broth

½ stick butter, cut up

Optional: slivered almonds

Rinse quinoa. Bring salted  water or broth to a boil and add quinoa. Cover, reduce heat and cook until  water is absorbed. Heat juice or wine, add cinnamon and soak fruit. 

Keeping heat low, stir in butter and drained fruit. Cover,  turn off heat and let steep for a few minutes to blend flavors. Stir and serve. Makes 6 to 8 side dish servings. 

 

LFESAVER SAUCE OF THE WEEK

In camp cooking there are always surprises, from a sudden rain storm that drowns the fire to frisky winds that cool the pot, a broken fridge, a cranky burner in the RV stove. A sauce can save the day by adding a blast of flavor to a blah dish, or cover a spot that got just a bit too brown.

Try this sauce to perk up plain noodles, plain broiled fish or chops, warmed-up canned vegetables  or a green salad that needs a boost. Just a drizzle will do.

Shallot Sauce

1/2 cup minced shallots

1 teaspoon dried tarragon

1/3 cup water

1/2 stick butter, divided

1 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

      

Boil shallots and tarragon in the water until soft.  Reduce heat to Medium. Add half the butter, then the wine. Continue simmering another 5 minutes. Stir in remaining butter and Worcestershire. Spoon sparingly over food. 

Cook's note: Are you short of burners? Make sauces and gravies ahead and keep hot in a thermos. 

FOIL MEAL OF THE WEEK

Assemble each person's meal in foil. Cook in the foil. Eat from the foil. 

CHINESE PORK AND RICE

16 to 18 ounces lean ground pork

Medium onion, chopped fine

1/2 teaspoon each ginger, nutmeg, salt, minced garlic

2 tablespoons each soy sauce and sherry wine

2 cups cooked rice

Mix pork and onion, garlic, salt and spices. Make eight thin patties. Set out four squares of foil and spray  with nonstick spray. Place a patty on each Top each patty with 1/2 cup rice. Drizzle with soy sauce and sherry. Place another patty on top. Drizzle with more soy sauce and sherry., Wrap and seal to make four flat foil packets. Cook over medium coals, turning several times until pork tests done at 160 F. Makes four portions. 

Make your own trail mix to eat better, safer, cheaper, then measure and bag it individually for portion control. Make a big batch, then package for the trail. See easy recipes at http://createagorp.blogspot.com 

MAKE AHEAD DISH OF THE WEEK

    Cook at home, or spend a rainy day in the RV to make a double or triple batch of something you can freeze in small portions.  Salad olives, sold in jars,  are sliced,  stuffed olives. You can also just chop whole, stuffed olives. 

Spanish Meatloaf

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups garbanzos, drained and rinsed

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Large onion, diced

1 teaspoon each salt, pepper, dried oregano

15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (about 1 1/2 cups)

8-ounce can tomato sauce

Small bell pepper, diced fine

1/2 cup each raisins and salad olives

    Beat eggs and add garbanzos. Mash coarsely or leave whole. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. I do this by hand, wearing disposable kitchen gloves. Place in one or two greased loaf pans and bake 60-90 minutes at 350 F. (Loaf should read 160 F. for food safety.) 

Cool completely. Wrap whole or slice in individual portions to make 12  servings. Freeze now to thaw and heat in camp. 

   SCROLL DOWN TO SEE SAMPLES OF PAST POSTS

Where to go on your next Road Trip USA? See Janet's picks of places near and far, sooner or later, active or lazy. https://janetgroene.blogspot.com 

Easy Meals For RV,, Glamping & Camping

Copyright Janet Groene 2025. To donate in support of this ad-free, 52-week  blog use your Paypal account to send $10 a year to janetgroene at yahoo.com 

Count your camping blessings.  RV-ing,  glamping and tenting are waiting for us Out There with a bounty of fresh air, gentle winds, cold nights for snuggling in a sleeping bag and a crackling campfire to brew your morning coffee hot and strong.

 Let's eat!

RV and Camping Meal of the Week

Unstuffed Cabbage

Get all the delicious taste of stuffed cabbage in a shortcut dish that throws together in minutes.

12-to-14-ounce package shredded cabbage coleslaw mix 

2 tablespoons canola oil

Small  onion, finely diced

½ cup raisins

28-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 packet (4 servings)  ready-to-serve brown rice

14-ounce package cooked meatballs, thawed

Salt, pepper to taste

In a large wok, pot or skillet sizzle cabbage in hot oil, gradually adding onion until vegetables are limp. Stir in raisins, tomatoes and rice. Bring to a boil. Cover and nestle meatballs in the vegetables. Heat through, adjust seasonings and serve in 4 to 6 portions.

See more of Janet Groene’s galley-ready recipes at BoatCook

Camp Cook Tip of the Week. Bake sweet potatoes in the campfire, split open and drizzle  with butterscotch ice cream syrup. To receive a full page  of camp cooking tips FREE by return email, go to  janetgroene@yahoo.com and put Cook Tips in the topic line. Tips will be chosen at random from my archives. 

THE GIFT THAT GIVES ALL YEAR

AND ONE SIZE FITS ALL

COOKING ABOARD YOUR RV

    For yourself or a gift,  Janet Groene's timeless RV cookbook is packed with shortcuts, tips and 270 easy, delicious recipes to cook inside the camper or outside on the campfire, camp stove or grate.  

https://amzn.to/3nNndWY 

FOIL MEAL OF THE WEEK

HamBana Bundles

This is a melty, knife-and-fork meal to eat right out of the foil.

For each person  you need:

2 thin slices deli ham

1 thin slice cheese 

Firm, ripe medium banana

Mustard

1/3 to ½ cup canned pork ‘n beans

Set out a square of foil and spray or grease the center. Cut the banana in half lengthwise, then cut each half in half. Lightly spread each ham slice with mustard.

Put two banana slices on the center of the foil, cut side up. Top with a slice of ham, two more bananas, another slice of ham, cut down down, then a slice of cheese. Top with beans.

Fold foil to form a packet and place on a Medium grill, banana side down. Heat without turning.  Handle carefully and beware of steam when opening.   Serve with bread sticks and a salad on the side.

TRAVEL EMERGENCIES HAPPEN

     How much food will you need for a week in the woods for two adults and two kids?  A month in a remote, fly-in fish camp? A two-week power outage in your forest cabin? See Survival Food Handbook for lists, tips on buying and stowing, and recipes that need no fresh ingredients. Be prepared for delays, an evacuation,  refrigerator failure, supply chain interruptions.    http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe 

Campers have limited storage space for emergency food.  Survival Food Handbook  is just for van campers, truckers, RV travelers and boaters. Make the most of every ounce, inch and dollar. Have a stash of staples you will use and replenish. Keep  a few emergency meals on hand in case there is a sudden evacuation, fridge failure, shelter-in-place order or other unplanned speed bump on your  journey. http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

BLACK POT RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Winter Vegetable Soup

This soup is theater. The whole cast gathers around to keep the fire going, chop, peel,  slice, stir and tell tall tales while the chicken creates a  low fat broth to coddle colorful vegetables.  

3 pounds boneless, skinless  chicken, cut in small bites

10 cups water

1 tablespoon  powdered chicken bouillon

3-4 ribs celery, diced

2 medium onions, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 can diced tomatoes with juice

Bring to an active simmer in a large pot over a hot fire. Meanwhile cut up and add:

4  carrots, peeled and diced

3 medium potatoes scrubbed and diced

1 or 2 medium turnips, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon each mixed Italian seasoning and dried parsley flakes

1 teaspoon powdered ginger

Optional: 1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master

Several turns of the pepper mill

Keep fire at an active simmer. Cover. Stir occasionally and  watch to add water if it gets too thick. 

Ten minutes before serving time, add 

2 cups small broccoli florets

Two minutes before serving, add

2 cups thawed peas

Adjust seasonings to taste.  Serves 12 to 14. 

NO-BAKE DESSERT OF THE WEEK

Sweet ‘n Salty Peanut Squares

10-ounce package of Fritos corn chips

1 ½ cup unsalted dry roast peanuts

1 cup mini chocolate chips

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup chocolate jimmies (optional)

Generously butter a 9 X 13-inch pan.  Mix Fritos, peanuts and chocolate chips and spread half of this the mixture in the pan.

Bring corn syrup and sugar to a boil. Stir in peanut butter. When it’s well blended, fold in the rest of the Fritos mixture and quickly spread in the pan. Sprinkle with chocolate jimmies. 

Cool completely before cutting in 24 squares. 

LIFESAVER SAUCE OF THE WEEK

 When a dish turns out a bit dry or colorless or bland,  hide it under a sensational sauce. Served bubbling hot, this gravy also helps keep the heat in on a cold winter day. 

Honey Mustard Gravy

2-cup packet country gravy mix

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup yellow mustard

1/3 cup honey

Whisk gravy mix with 1 ½ cups cold water and cook, stirring until it begins to thicken. Stir in mustard and honey. Continue  stirring over medium heat until it’s smooth and thick. Add  water if needed. Spoon over grilled chicken or chops, roast beef sandwiches, cheese omelet or buttered egg noodles. Makes about 2 ½ cups gravy.

 Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week

(Great for tailgating too!) 

Pumpkin Biscuit Hamwiches

These finger food quickies can be served warm or cold for breakfast, brunch,  lunch, a snack or just about any time. Make a big batch and thaw a few at a time as needed.

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup white or brown sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie space

1/3 cup canola oil

½ cup milk

15-ounce can pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

Mix dry ingredients. Whisk wet ingredients in a large bowl and gradually mix into wet ingredients. Dough should form a ball. If it’s too wet, add a little flour. If it’s too dry, add a little milk. 

Knead dough only just 4 or 5 times on a floured board or towel. Do not over-mix. Pat dough to ½ inch thickness and cut for biscuits. 

Bake at 400 degrees F. until golden. When they are cool enough, split and make ham sandwiches (mustard optional).  Makes about 24. 

Wrap individually in foil to heat on the grate or in waxed paper to nuke. Freeze for up to 4 weeks..

WILL 2026 BE THE YEAR YOU GO FULL-TIMING? 

WHY WAIT TO RETIRE?

 Do you dream of living, traveling  (and perhaps earning a living) in a complete home on wheels?  We did. Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition by Janet Groene & Gordon Groene is a total guide to the full-time life on wheels. Should you sell the house or rent it out? Downsize possessions or put them in storage? Too young to retire? See the chapter on ways to make a living anywhere. Kids on board? We cover home schooling and also an exit strategy if and when the time comes to settle down. Order at any book store or let Amazon gift wrap and ship it for you.  https://amzn.to/29XFEk

  SCROLL DOWN TO SEE SAMPLES OF PAST POSTS

Comments? Questions? Email janetgroene@yahoo.com

Hot Meals for Frostbite Camping

 Copyright Janet Groene. This blog has had more than 292,000 views. To place your ad on all six Groene sites for one low rate, email janetgroene(at) yahoo.com

Frostbite camping builds character. Let's get out there, put another log on the fire and make coffee!  

Camp And RV Recipe of the Week

(Scroll down for Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week)

Ham 'n Noodle Hotpot

Like many of my shortcut recipes, this one is made of familiar ingredients but is prepared in a way that saves time, space, water and mess. Additional shortcut: pour liquid eggs from a carton. 

2 cups medium egg noodles

2 cups water

8-ounce brick of cream cheese, diced

1 pound canned ham or deli baked ham diced

3 eggs

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

Optional: 2 teaspoons prepared mustard

1/2 cup thawed peas

Bring 2 cups water to a boil and cook noodles under tender. This is less water than called for on the package, so you may have to use the back of a spoon to keep noodles under water until they soften. Drain cooked noodles, saving  water.

 Fold diced cream cheese into hot noodles. Cover and set aside in a warm spot. Cream cheese will melt further. Whisk eggs with seasonings and a cup of  the saved water. Fold into noodles with the ham. Cover and cook over low heat, sitting occasionally. Add  more water if needed. Stir in mustard and/or peas to heat through. When  eggs are set, serve hot. Makes 4 to 5 portions.  

VEGETARIAN DISH OF THE WEEK

Pressure Cooker  Minestrone

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, consider getting one to save time and  fuel. While electric pressure cookers are popular, a non-electric pressure cooker can be used on any RV or camp stove when bookdocking.  No electric needed. 

1/3 cup lentils, rinsed

4 cups water

4 vegetable bouillon cubes 

1/3 cup tiny pasta or broken spaghetti

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, trimmed and diced

Medium onion, peeled and diced

14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes

Small can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

15-ounce can kidney beans

Grated cheese for serving

Pick over, rinse and drain lentils and place in the cooker with everything but the kidney beans. Bring to full pressure 5 minutes and let pressure return to normal on its own. Stir in kidney beans and heat through. Serves 6. 

Slow cooker method: Proceed as for pressure cooker but don’t add pasta until soup is hot (after about 1 hour on High).  Then cook  5-6 hours on Low. 

Cook’s note: serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Haveave plenty of chunky Italian bread to go with it.

Camp Cook Tip of the Week: When time and fuel are short, rely on dried lentils or split peas rather than dried beans. Beans are more economical but require soaking and/or long cook times.  Lentils and peas cook in a pressure cooker in mere minutes.  

TRAVEL EMERGENCIES HAPPEN

     How much food will you need for a week in the woods for two adults and two kids?  A month in a remote, fly-in fish camp? A two-week power outage in your forest cabin? See Survival Food Handbook for lists, tips on buying and stowing, and recipes that need no fresh ingredients. Be prepared for delays, refrigerator failure, supply chain interruptions. Stuff happens.   http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe 

Campers have limited storage space for emergency food.  Survival Food Handbook  is just for van campers, truckers, RV travelers and boaters. Make the most of every ounce, inch and dollar. Have a stash of staples you will use and replenish. Keep  a few emergency meals on hand in case there is a sudden evacuation, fridge failure, shelter-in-place order or other unplanned speed bump on your  journey. http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

FREE TIPS FOR THE CAMP COOK

Get  FREE by email  a  full page of my “Tips for the Camp Cook”. Each page will  be chosen at random from my archives.  Accent is on saving space, fuel, water and mess in camping, RV travel, glamping, boat galley and at home.  Email janetgroene@yahoo.com by 12/15 and put Camp Cook Tips in the topic line. 

SKILLET MEAL OF THE WEEK

Breakfast Cookie Cakes

1/4 stick butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup  diced moist  dates

2 beaten eggs

3 cups crisp rice cereal

Coconut flakes or coarsely chopped nuts

In a large skillet, melt butter. Stir in sugar and diced dates. Add eggs over medium heat and stir until it forms a ball. Remove from heat and stir in cereal and nuts.

When it’s cool enough, form into patties or balls. Roll in coconut or chopped nuts. Just grab and go, Serves 2 to 4. 

COOKING ABOARD YOUR RV

    For yourself or a gift,  Janet Groene's timeless RV cookbook is packed with shortcuts, tips and 270 easy, delicious recipes to cook inside the camper or outside on the campfire, camp stove or grill.  Squeezed for time? Amazon will  gift wrap and ship it for you.   

https://amzn.to/3nNndWY 

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week

(Great for tailgating too!) 

Greek Cabbage Casserole

This winter casserole takes long-slow cooking in campfire embers or in the oven.  Or,  make it in a slow cooker set on Low for 6 hours. It's a great accompaniment for burgers or brats from the grill. 

2 pieces thick-sliced bacon cut up

1 cup sliced mushrooms

Large onion, diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

14-ounce package shredded cabbage for coleslaw

1 cup water + 2 beef flavor bouillon cubes

½ teaspoon each  dried thyme, grated nutmeg, salt, pepper

2 teaspoons sugar

2 cups cooked  rice or orzo

1 cup diced, drained Roma tomatoes

Sizzle bacon in a Dutch oven. When bacon is crisp and fat rendered,  gradually add mushrooms, onion, garlic and cabbage to coat. Add water. Bring to a boil and add bouillon and seasonings. Stir to mix well.  Top with a layer of rice or orzo.  Dot with tomato bits. Cover and cook over low/medium heat or 350 F. oven until vegetables are tender. Serves 6 to 8

Love Sea Travel? Discover Yacht Yenta Cozy Mysteries

People are dying in Okecoochie County FL, but nobody can guess how the deaths are connected. Meet Farley Halladay, a salt-cured sailboat widow who has an online charterboat booking business. She dodges a wayward sister, cares for an old Navy SEAL veteran who was her late husband’s mentor and wrangles  a large circle of wacky friends. She cooks, copes and solves crimes in this unusual cozy mystery series.  Check your favorite e-book seller for all formats or go to Kindle,   https://amzn.to/3bB5XPh   

Did you know?  Throughout the Yacht Yenta books, Farley shares shortcut recipes from the days when she was the cook on a charter boat. 

                                              ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FOIL MEAL OF THE WEEK

Eat foil meals right out of the  foil

Potato Pie Italiano

½ pound prosciutto or deli baked ham

½ pound smoked provolone cheese

4 slices from a large onion

4 pats butter

1 tub ready-to-serve mashed potatoes

 4 hard cooked eggs

Set our four large squares of foil and generously spray or grease the centers.  Cut cheese and prosciutto in thin strips Place an onion slice on each foil center to form a floor for the potatoes. Top onion with a thin pat of butter. 

 Form a nest of mashed potatoes atop onions and top each with a halved hardboiled egg and some of the meat and cheese.

Bring up corners of the foil and twist to form a seal and a handle. (Think of a large Hershey’s Kiss).  Place over well-started coals,  onion side down, and roast over low/mediium heat until heated through. No turning needed if heat is kept mderate.. 

 BONUS RECIPE

Cabbage ‘n Kielbasa Creole

Pre-shredded cabbage is a huge time saver

14-ounce package Kielbasa

14-ounce package shredded cabbage for coleslaw

Large green pepper, cut in small dice

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning

28-ounce can  diced tomatoes

Grease a large-bottom pot or skillet. Cut kielbasas in half lengthwise, then in 4-inch pieces. Place in a single layer in the skillet, cut side down. Cover with a layer of cabbage and diced pepper. Sprinkle with flour and Creole seasoning. Pour tomatoes over all. Do not stir. 

Kielbasa toasts on the bottom

Cover and bake over low/ medium coals 60 minutes or until bubbly.

LIFESAVER SAUCE OF THE WEEK

Spicy Tomato Gravy

Cover a blemish or burnt spot. Spice up a blah dish. Sauces save the day. 

Medium onion, chopped fine

2 ribs celery, chopped  fine

1 tablespoon vegetable oil or bacon fat

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons bottled horseradish

1 ½ cups V-8 juice

2 tablespoons flour

Salt, pepper

Sizzle onion and celery in hot fat until crisp-tender. Stir in ketchup, lemon juice and horseradish over low heat. Whisk flour into V-8 and stir in until sauce thickens. Adjust seasonings.  Makes about 2 ½ cups gravy to spoon over burgers, chops, grilled salmon, fried  eggs, rice pilaf or hot roast beef sandwiches. 

    

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Comments? Questions? Corrections? Emal janetgroene (at) yahoo.com