New Recipes, Tips for Camping and Motorhome Meals

See our new weekly feature, a Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week. Just thaw camping meals, heat ‘em up and head ‘em out. The best part is that you make a big batch of the dish, then freeze in the right size for YOU, from a single serving to a shipload. 

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Camping and RV Recipe of the Week
Caramel Pudding
    Magically, a moist cake will form on top with a delicious sauce underneath. 

1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 stick butter, very soft or melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup flour
Pinch salt

    Whisk egg and milk, then add soft butter and dry ingredients. Spread in a greased baking pan or slow cooker.

2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup flour

    In the same bowl, whisk cream and vinegar. Then whisk in sugar and flour and spread carefully over the first layer. Do not stir. Bake about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Serves 6 to 8. Using a spoon serve warm, plain or with ice cream, whipped cream, whipped topping.
    Slow cooker: Cook on Low 3 hours or until cake on top is springy to the touch. To absorb excess steam, stretch a clean dish towel across the top under the lid.

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Lemony Cilantro Corn
    This colorful,   affordable side dish can be made in the smallest camper or cabin. It is delicious hot or cold. 

4 cans whole kernel corn
Small red sweet pepper, finely diced
Small sweet onion, finely diced

Large lemon
1/3 cup maple syrup or maple flavor syrup
Handful of fresh cilantro, finely chopped (about 2/3 cupful)
Sprinkling of freshly ground pepper

    To serve cold, drain corn and proceed. To serve hot heat undrained corn, then drain and stir in remaining ingredients.
    Combine corn, onion and peppers. Squeeze juice from the lemon and grate zest. Add lemon juice, zest, syrup, cilantro and black pepper to the corn.  Mix well. Serves 10.  


Tips for the Camp Cook
  

  * Time saver, work saver. Add a bouquet of balloon whisks in all sizes. Don’t skimp on quality (cheap ones rust, corrode and/or have uncomfortable handles).  https://amzn.to/2B86mZW

    *Make a fresh, crunchy topping for soup or salad. Chop 2 slices pre-cooked bacon and 2 scallions. Cut corn from one fresh cob. Toss together. Sprinkle on.     * Bubble wrap is inexpensive to buy by the roll at Walmart. Cut it in small pieces and tuck tufts of it between glass jars in the galley for a quieter ride, less breakage. When it’s grotty, throw it out and cut new.

   
    * Inexpensive, old-fashioned electric heating pads are a plus in camping when you have hookups. Pre-warm beds for humans and pets. Stack dinner plates between two heating pads to heat before serving a hot meal on a cold night Visit a thrift shop to stock up on pillow cases and always have a clean supply of them to slip over heating pads. Good buy on heating pads at https://amzn.to/2KOow2s

    *When a recipe says to raise yeast dough in a draft-free place, put the bowl in an ice chest with a bowl of hot water. 

    Just in time for hurricane season, Survival Food Handbook is a guide to stocking your home, camper or cabin with supermarket foods that keep for weeks, even months. Be prepared for a power outage, wildfire, flood or other disruption in the food supply. 
 
Freeze-Ahead 
Recipe of the Week
Country Sausage
    Why make your own sausage for camping breakfasts?  YOU control the ingredients and portions. You know what’s in it.  You can fine-tune spices, control fat content, avoid preservatives and use only  meats you choose to eat.
    Wear disposable plastic gloves, mix well by hand and package it by the patty or pound. If you have a strong arm and a large bowl, double this recipe. Freeze for up to two months.
    If the ground meat is very lean, such as game, add ½ stick butter or ½ cup other fat such as lard, schmaltz or shortening per recipe.

4 pounds ground pork, beef, turkey, chicken,  venison or other or a mixture
2 tablespoons non-iodized salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper OR ½ teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons crumbled dried sage
½ teaspoon each cinnamon and nutmeg
2 tablespoon dried parsley (optional)
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring (optional)

    Mix dry ingredients, then add to meat(s) and mix well. Add liquid smoke if using. Form into patties and fry.



   

Fast Meals, Delicious Recipes for Camping and RV

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 Don’t miss this week’s Campground Potluck recipes below, one for a main dish and one for a side dish.  This week’s One and Only is a master recipe for fritters you can make sweet or savory, from apple fritters for breakfast to tongue-scorching conch fritter appetizers.

Camp and RV 
Recipe of the Week



Healthy Hoppin’ John
    Hopping John, a mixture of black-eye peas and rice plus seasonings, is a traditional  American soul food. It’s quick, affordable and tasty. 

 
Small can chunk ham
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Medium onion, diced
2 ½ cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup brown rice
Medium onion, diced
Large rib celery, diced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning such as Tony Cachere’s
1 or 2 cans black-eye peas

    Drain ham if it’s juicy and add juice to the water measure. Sizzle ham, celery and onion in hot oil, breaking up ham. Add water and bouillon. When it boils and bouillon dissolves, add rice, bay leaf and seasoning. Cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes until rice is tender (Brown rice takes longer than white rice.)  Stir in black-eye peas and heat gently. Remove bay leaf and serve. Serves 4 to 6.
 
    Cheryl Norman, author of Hasty Tasty RV Meals,  is a long-time RV-er and owner of a brand new Casita trailer. When ordering Cheryl’s cookbook look into her other fiction and nonfiction titles. She is also an award-winning mystery novelist specializing in romantic suspense.They are just the ticket for summer reading.
 
Bonus Recipe
Corn Oysters
    Is that farmer’s market sweet corn less than sweet, perhaps picked one or two days earlier than it should have been? Use it this way.

3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
½ cup milk
1 cup “green” corn, cut from the cob
Butter for frying
    Whisk flour, salt, egg and milk to make a batter. Fold I corn and fry by the tablespoon in hot butter.
   
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Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
When your campground has a potluck is it anything goes, or does everyone just provide a side dish while the committee provides the meat or fish? This week see two campground potluck ideas, one for a main dish and another for a side dish. 

 

 

Brawny Brunswick Stew   (Main Dish)
    Let’s gather round for a party featuring this traditional folk recipe. In the South this stew is traditionally made for a lot of folks at a time. It’s cooked over an open fire  in a big, black kettle with lima beans, corn and three meats (including game such as rabbit or squirrel).  Other ingredients vary according to the cook. Here is our shortcut version for a campground party or potluck. Provide soup bowls for serving.

Meat from a deli-roasted chicken, cut in bite size (4 cups)
2 cups water
Large onion, diced
2 chicken bouillon cubes
15-ounce can cream style corn
15-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
2 to 3 cups baby lima beans, thawed
28- to 32-ounce can diced tomatoes
Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, hot sauce

    Bring chicken and water to a boil in a roomy saucepan and stir in onion and bouillon cubes. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until onion is tender. Stir in corn, beans and tomatoes and heat through.  The longer it simmer over a slow fire, the better. Add seasonings to taste. Makes 10 potluck servings.


Pasta Salad Waikiki (Side Dish)
  Cook the pasta ahead,  mix with the salad dressing in a big plastic bag and keep cold up to 24 hours.  Then throw the rest together at the last minute. 

16-ounce package penne, cooked
1 cup ranch salad dressing

20-ounce can pineapple tidbits
10-ounce can mandarin oranges
10- or 12-ounce can mango or peach chunks
1 ½ pounds deli smoked turkey*
1 ½ cups whole cashews
More ranch dressing if desired

* Have turkey sliced very thick; you’ll be cutting it into strips
   
1. Drain the fruit well. Save juices to make fruit punch.
2. Cut turkey into strips about the size of the penne.
3. Dump everything into a large plastic bag, zip shut and tip bag to mix everything well, adding more dressing to taste.  Turn out into a serving bowl. Garnish with a light sprinkling of shredded coconut if you like. Serves 8 to 12.


The Only Recipe You’ll Ever Need for
FRITTERS

The secret to deep frying is to keep the fat at 350 to 375 degrees. Know your fat’s flash point to prevent flare-ups and fires. Throughout the world, dozens of types of oils and fats including hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated animal fats are used for frying.  It’s fun to experiment. 

   
Hot fat for frying (shortening, lard or vegetable oil)
   
2 cups flour (up to 1/3 cup of this may be non-wheat flour or cornmeal)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon herb or spice (for savory fritters sweet paprika, thyme, basil, hot sauce, finely chopped hot pepper,  garam masala, thyme, dried parsley OR for sweet fritters, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, a little white or brown sugar)

1 egg, 2 egg yolks or 2 egg whites (may be beaten stiff)

½ cup liquid (milk, water, broth, beer, fruit juice, club soda or or lemon-lime soda)

1 cup finely chopped fruit, cooked meat or fish, ground conch, cooked vegetables, grated raw vegetables or mashed white or sweet potato.

    Make a batter with the flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, liquid and an herb or spice compatible with the type of fritter you’re making (apple fritters, conch fritters, hush puppies). Add another tablespoon of liquid or flour if needed to make a thick dough that can be dropped from a spoon.
    Heat at least 2 inches of oil to 350 degrees and carefully drop dough by tablespoons. Turn to brown on all sides and drain on paper toweling. Keep hot. Serve as is or with a dip. Makes 40 fritters.

Summer Meals for Camping and RV Trips

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Seriously Good Freezer Meals is a guide to dishes to freeze ahead for camping or anytime convenience. Recipes cover small and large batches and techniques for fitting the most food into the smallest spaces. Order the book at
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Camping and RV Recipe of the Week
Ham and Potato Curry

 
   Use two cans of chunk ham or cut up a canned one-pound ham.  Depending on how spicy you like curry, use one or two tablespoons. This complete, one-dish meal serves right out of the skillet. 
 
1/4 stick butter
4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and sliced OR
2 to 3 cans of sliced potatoes, drained and rinsed
Medium onion, sliced
Medium tart apple, peeled and sliced (optional)
1 pound canned or cooked ham, diced
1 to 2 tablespoons curry powder or paste
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon maple, corn or agave syrup
Optional garnish: sliced scallions, grated cheese, chutney, chopped peanuts, raisins or shredded coconut

    In a large skillet, melt butter and swirl to coat pan. Layer potatoes, onion, apple and ham. In a small bowl whisk curry, cream, sour cream and syrup and pour over skillet. Cover and cook over low-medium fire until vegetables are tender. Serves 4. 



Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week

Gnarly Barley Salad

2 cups cooked pearl barley
1/4 cup bottle vinaigrette
2 heads romaine, cut in bite site
Medium sweet green pepper, cut in wedges
Medium sweet red pepper, cut in wedges
1 bunch scallions, sliced (white and light green only)
12-ounce package matchstick carrots
8 ounce packaged sliced fresh mushrooms
Bottled vinaigrette

    Cook barley in water or chicken broth. When barley has cooled to lukewarm, stir in 1/4 cup vinaigrette. Chill. Assemble prepared  peppers, scallions, carrots and mushrooms. Chill. All this can be done up to two days ahead and carried in two plastic bags.
    Just before serving, put barley in a bowl and fluff with a fork. Then toss everything together with vinaigrette to taste. Serves 10.

Tips for the Camp Cook

    * When a recipe calls for oats in a cookie recipe or in a crunchy topping for cobbler, use granola instead. 

    * Make a Sausage, Shrimp and Suds Boil. Brown 2 pounds of onions in butter in a large kettle until they are caramelized. Add three cans or bottles of IPA-type beer and two cups water. Boil two pounds of pricked (to prevent splitting) brats until thoroughly cooked. Remove brats to the grill. Keep broth at a boil. While brats brown on the grill, boil shrimp or fish in the same broth.

    * Rule of thumb: when a chicken salad recipe calls for three cups diced, cooked chicken, one pound of skinless, boneless chicken should do it. 

    * To keep a delicate skillet meal warm without overcooking, such as an omelet or fish, cut a piece of parchment the diameter of the skillet. Butter it and place it over the food. (Keep this paper away from open flame). 

    * Drain a 20-ounce can of pineapple tidbits into a large bowl. Stir in a packet of instant French Vanilla pudding mix until it’s dissolved. Then fold in the tidbits, a cup or two of thawed whipped topping and a cut-up angel food cake. Serve at once or chill.

The Only Recipe You’ll Ever Need For
Fudgey Bar Cookies

 
    Make these dense, moist bar cookies with any flavor cake mix. You don’t need an electric mixer. There are many choices in chocolate cake mixes alone (to make brownies) plus strawberry, lemon, spice, orange, yellow, white, French vanilla. Make a different treat every day.

½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water or milk
Two-layer cake mix, any flavor 

    Grease a 9 X 13-inch pan and set the oven for 350 degrees. In a bowl whisk oil, eggs and water or milk. Dump in cake mix and stir until it’s evenly moist. Batter will be thick. Bake now or fold in:
Optional Addition:
1 to 1 ½ cups shredded coconut, chopped nuts, raisins, granola, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, cut up orange slice candy, chopped candy bars or golden raisins. 
Bake, cool and cut in squares. Serve now or with:
Optional topping:
Frosting, whipped cream, whipped topping,  ice cream, flavored ice cream syrup, warm vanilla sauce or hot fudge sauce. 
   

Motorhome Meals and Campfire Cuisine Made Easy

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Camping and RV 

Recipe of the Week

Mushrooms Lover’s Rice
    Minimal meat and easy maintenance will make this a main dish favorite. One saucepan, slow cooker, skillet, instant pot or pressure cooker does it all. Leftovers are delicious the next day.

1 pound mixed fresh mushrooms   
1 pound lean bulk sausage (hot, mild or medium)
Pan spray or 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
Large onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 green sweet pepper, seeded and diced (optional)
4 cups water or chicken broth
2 cups rice
Salt, pepper

    Clean mushrooms and cut them in uniform size. Brown sausage. Break up sausage and continue stir-frying while adding garlic, bell pepper and mushrooms. When vegetables are nicely browned and coated,  add water and bring to a boil. Stir in rice, cover, reduce heat and cook without stirring 20 minutes for white rice or 30 minutes for brown rice  Stir and adjust seasonings. Serves 6-8. 

 

Cooking Aboard Your RV, 2nd Edition is a cookbook just for RV camping, tenting and other shortcuts to cooking, clean-up, shopping, packing, provisioning. See it in paperback or Kindle at  http://amzn.to/1NdWI4o
 




           

 
Tips for the Camp Cook:

    *Turn store-bought pound cakes into “homemade” glazed lemon pound cakes. Boil 1 cup water with 1 ½ cups sugar, 1 tablespoon light corn syrup and the juice and zest from one whole lemon. Cool, poke holes in cake, pour in sugar mixture. Let cool completely. This is enough for two loaf-size pound cakes or one bundt-size cake.

    * Mash a little French vanilla liquid coffee creamer into boiled sweet potatoes. Mmmmmmm.

    * Make an easy Florentine sauce for grilled or fried chicken, pork chops  or fish. Chop two handfuls of baby spinach. Heat a can of condensed cream of chicken soup with half a soup can of light cream and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg. Stir in spinach and cook two minutes or until spinach is tender.

    * Peel, quarter and freeze onions. Chop while frozen. No tears.

    * Use cupcake papers as prep dishes for dry ingredients and as disposable liners in cup holders in the car or RV.

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week

Slow Cooker Raspberry Bread Pudding
 
   What could be easier than carrying the slow cooker pan or crock  to the potluck table?

 
Butter for slow cooker
10- to 12- ounce loaf of rich bread or challah
10-ounce jar raspberry jam or preserves
5 eggs
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
Water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fresh raspberries (optional)
Cream or whipped topping (optional)

    Butter the slow cooker. Tear up bread and put half in the slow cooker. Using two spoons, dot with half the jam,  avoiding the edges of the cooker where it could burn. Add remaining bread and jam.  
     Add enough water to the condensed milk to make 5 cups liquid. In a large bowl whisk eggs, sugar, milk mixture and vanilla. Pour over the bread mixture. Cover cooker and cook 3 hours on High or until a knife put in the center comes out clean.  If you wish, scatter with fresh berries just before serving and dollop with cream or whipped topping. Serves 16. 
Serving note: An easy and attractive way to serve and apportion bread pudding is with a self-releasing ice cream scoop.

The Only Recipe You’ll Ever Need For
                            Trifle

Looks Festive, Incredibly Easy
 
    This classic English dessert is a chilled  make-ahead treat to have on hand in a different flavor each time. It can also be made in individual servings like a parfait. Make it in a see-through bowl as shown (I use plastic for camping), in disposable clear plastic glasses, in a disposable foil pan or any bowl at all. 

 

Edging:
    Sliced angel cake or pound cake; ladyfinger cookies or any stick-type cookies,  French toast cut into fingers, large pretzel sticks, kiwi slices, large strawberry halves with cut side out, Twizzlers, peppermint sticks, sliced jelly roll

Filling:
    Whipped cream, whipped topping, lemon curd, pudding or gelatin. If trifle is to be frozen, fill it with ice cream. gelato, tortoni, sorbet, sherbet.
    Mix in well-drained fruit, chopped candy bars, chocolate chips, nuts, marshmallows, chunks of angelfood cake
    Optional flavor enhancement: tiny amount of liqueur, orange or lemon zest, espresso powder

Topping:
    Whipped cream, whipped topping, finely chopped nuts, sprinkles, chocolate jimmies, caramel ice cream syrup

To assemble:
    Arrange edging in a pretty pattern, especially if using a see-through container.
Fill. Chill. Serve with a spoon.
   
   

Quick Recipes for Camping and RV Cooks

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 Differed folks, different strokes. Tent or RV? We all have to eat.





Camping and RV 
Recipe of the Week

Wild  Rice Burgers for Two
    Pecan meal is inexpensive, full of flavor and it is a versatile and shortcut protein ingredient to add to burgers, batters, desserts, smoothies. 

2 eggs or equivalent in Egg Beaters
1 1/2 cups cooked rice or wild rice or a mixture
1/4 cup each bread crumbs and pecan meal
½ teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 beaten eggs or equivalent in liquid egg substitute
Small can mushroom stems and pieces, well drained

Oil for frying

    In a bowl, whisk eggs. Mix in everything else and form into patties. Fry on both sides in hot oil until crispy brown. Serves 2 as a main dish. 

  

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week

Secret Ingredient Creamed Corn
    Bring inexpensive disposable sauce dishes to the potluck and ladle this delectable, affordable side dish into them.

½ stick butter
2 tablespoons flour
Heaping teaspoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 can whole kernel corn with juice
3 cans, 15 ounces each, cream style corn
8-ounce carton whipping cream
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

    In a large saucepan melt butter and stir in flour, sugar and nutmeg. Keep stirring over medium heat while adding juice from the whole kernel corn. When mixture is smooth, stir in  all corn and cream. When it comes to low boil, turn off heat and stir in cheese. Serve hot. Serves 12 to 14. 

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Tips for the Camp Cook

    * Before adding tomato-based food to a plastic storage container, spray it with nonstick pan spray to avoid stains. To remove stains, take containers home to run through the dishwasher or soak in a basin of very hot water with dishwasher detergent. Use rubber gloves when handling this very harsh brew. 

    * To serve chili or stew under a bread blanket, make a batter of 1 cup self-rising flour, two cups milk and two eggs. Heat chili or ste first. Drizzle batter. Bake in the oven or in a covered skillet until batter is firm. 

    * Make a recipe of  Rice Crispy cookies. While they are warm use buttered hands  to form into small bowls. Just before serving, fill bowls with fresh fruit. 

    * Here’s a shortcut topping for any fruit cobbler. Whisk together a can of sweetened condensed milk, a stick of melted butter, 1 1/4 cups self-rising flour and ½ teaspoon lemon extract. Pour batter over a casserole filled with fruit of your choice. Bake until topping browns. 

    *   If hot juices spill, they soak into fabric oven mitts and burn your hands. Silicone oven mitts are leakproof and heatproof to 450 degrees. I like these extra long gloves.http://amzn.to/2BNyeyg with quilted lining. 

    * My dog piddled on the rug and every pet urine cleaner I tried did not work until I tried a Clorox brand pet urine cleaner and deodorizer. I found it at Walmart. When cleaning RV carpeting make sure to dry it well. The underlayment is probably plywood, which is subject to wood rot.

The Only Recipe You’ll Ever Need For
Fried Rice

2 cups finely chopped vegetables (mostly onion plus small amounts of green and red pepper, celery, carrot, parsnip, turnip, jicama, scallion, okra, cabbage, chayote) OR
2 cups frozen sofrito, thawed and drained

1/4 cup (or more to taste) bacon fat, vegetable oil, butter, schmaltz, lard or shortening

3 cups cooked rice (instant, pouch pack, boil-in-the bag, steamed or boiled long grain, short grain,  brown, wild rice

2 cups finely chopped cooked meat or poultry, or cooked or canned seafood, or broken nuts such as cashews or diced firm tofu or chopped cooked eggs

Salt, pepper, soy sauce to taste

Optional toppings: hot sauce, sriracha, shredded cheese, sesame seeds, minced parsley or cilantro, chopped scallions

    In a skillet or wok, sizzle vegetables in hot fat until crisp-tender. Stir in rice and remaining ingredients of choice and serve hot. Serves 4.

Hot Weather Recipes for Camping and Motorhome Cooks

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Camping and RV 
Recipe of the Week
AppleBurgers
     
The mixture can be made a day ahead and in fact tastes better if flavors are given time to blend.  Just keep it cold. Applesauce adds moistness. Oats add fiber. You add the buns. 

2 pounds lean ground beef, turkey or pork
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup minute oats
1 teaspoon each dried crumbled sage, garlic powder, cinnamon, salt, pepper
Diced onion optional

 Mix everything together and keep cold. Form into six to eight patties and grill, fry or bake until meat tests done (160 degrees for beef , 165 for pork, 170 for poultry). Serves 6 to 8. 

Tips for the Camp Chef

 * Heat gently a can of whole berry cranberry sauce, a cup of applesauce and ½ cup  orange juice concentrate. Serve over rice, sweet potatoes, grilled ham steaks, chicken, pork chops. 

 * If you love chilies in adobo sauce but use it only in dribs and drabs, puree the entire can or jar on opening and freeze in right-size batches. 

 * To keep mushrooms white, leave the dirt on until you’re ready to use them. Then wash. 

 * Make faux crepes. Cut crusts off square, fresh white bread. Flatten with a rolling pin, spread with jam or marmalade, roll up and drizzle with syrup. 

 * Don’t risk food-borne illness from raw meat or meat juices. Double bag meats in the ice chest. Bring a good supply of disposable, food quality,  plastic gloves for forming burgers, mixing meatloaf,  separating bacon strips etc. 

It's always wise to have emergency food supplies on hand.  Here's how to use ordinary supermarket staples to create a backup food supply for your camper, cabin, boat or home. Survival Food Handbook, http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe












Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week

Crazy Quilt Pepper Salad
 This colorful salad keeps in your fridge and it’s always a hit at potlucks. Add salt and pepper to taste if needed. (Anchovies are salty.) 

2 each large red, green and yellow bell peppers
Large sweet onion, cut in crescents
2 cups tiny mushroom caps
1 or 2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
4 anchovy fillets

1 tablespoon each sugar, mixed Italian seasoning

 Seed peppers and dice in 1/4 inch bits.  Put vegetables in a plastic bag. Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl, mashing anchovies. Add to vegetables. Chill, turning a few times to blend flavors. Just before serving, punch holes in the plastic bag to drain, then pour salad into a serving bowl. Serves 8 to 10. 



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The Only Recipe You’ll Ever Need for
Stuffed Celery
 Keeping it simple? Bring a bunch of celery, a bunch of creativity and you’re set for every day of your camp-out. Wash it. Trim it. Stuff it. Serve it as a salad, appetizer or snack. 

* 8-ounce brick of cream cheese mixed with all or part of a 4-ounce tub of crumbled blue cheese 

* A mashed banana mixed with extra-crunchy peanut butter

* Grated cheddar cheese moistened with a little mayonnaise. Add a small jar of drained, diced pimentos.

* For the kids, marshmallow fluff studded with raisins or cut-up gummies

* Egg salad or ham salad from the deli

* Boursin cheese or hummus 

* Cream cheese mixed with finely chopped smoked salmon and capers to taste

* Well-drained crushed pineapple mixed with shredded coconut and cream cheese

* Blue cheese moistened with mayonnaise and mixed with chopped, toasted walnuts

* Mash packaged grated carrots into a softened brick of cream cheese and season sparingly with ground ginger

* Moisten softened cream cheese with a little ketchup, spread in celery and top each with a strip of anchovy

* Spoon in cottage cheese. Sprinkle with Lawry's Seasoned Salt

* Nutella mixed with chopped hazelnuts; almond butter mixed with chopped almonds

* CheezWiz disguised with drained, chopped, stuffed olives and just a hint of curry powder

* Stuff celery with whipped cream cheese and run a knife down the center to make a tiny ditch. Fill it with sriracaha.  

Note: some fillers such as egg salad, cole slaw, cottage cheese weep after standing, so don't make them too far ahead. 

Swift and Delicious Meals for Camping and RV

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Camping and
RV Recipe 
of the Week

Frosty Lemonade Pie

1 large or 2 small graham cracker crusts
6-ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
1 teaspoon lemon or lime zest (optional)
12-ounce tub of whipped topping

 Make or buy graham cracker crust(s).  If possible, chill them so filling will set faster.
 Partially thaw lemonade and whipped topping.  Whisk lemonade, condensed milk and juice. Fold in whipped topping and pour into crust(s). Chill until firm or freeze and wrap to save. If it’s frozen, thaw 20 minutes before cutting. Cut in 10 to 12 servings. 


Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
 Serve this colorful vegetable as a side dish. It’s  also  a tempting main dish for vegans and vegetarians at the potluck.  

Baked Stuffed Peppers
1 can or jar of spaghetti sauce
6 large or 12 small green peppers
3 cans, 15 ounces each, succotash, drained
Small jar diced pimentos
Small can chopped black olives, drained
Optional: Provide a of grated dairy or non-dairy cheese

 Trim peppers for filling, cutting large peppers in half. Mix half of the spaghetti sauce with the succotash, pimentos and black olives. Fill peppers. Spread half of the remaining spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a skillet, Dutch oven, casserole or slow cooker. Arrange filled peppers and drizzle with remaining sauce. Serves 12. 

 Oven method: Bake uncovered at 350 degrees 30 minutes or  until peppers are crisp-tender.
 Slow cooker: Cook 2 hours on Low
 Skillet or Dutch oven: Cover and cook just until peppers are crisp-tender.
Use two large spoons for serving. 

How much food do you need for a week in the woods for four people?  Two weeks in a fly-in camp in Alaska? Emergencies? Survival Food Handbook is for campers, travelers, boaters who  provision with ordinary, affordable supermarket staples. 
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Tips for the Camp Chef

 * Canned chunk chicken is a good choice for recipes that call for cooked, shredded chicken. It’s already cooked and easy to shred. It’s ideal for making barbecue, soup, chowder, creamed chicken, chicken salad et al. 

*When you want to make a square dessert using store-bought graham cracker round pie crusts, break up the crust(s)  and press firmly into a buttered dish. Chill. 

 * Grrrr. Do you know who writes what you read? I’m hearing daily  from hustlers who want me to mention their book or product simply because they give it an RV or camping hashtag. Yet their presentation reveals that they really  don't know the unique needs of campers and RVers, especially full-timers. 

 *When you bake a cake or bread in a slow cooker, grease it then cut a piece of parchment for the bottom for easier removal. Greasing the cooker helps keep the parchment from floating up into the cake. 

 

* Bring a bouquet of driveway  reflector stakes to use around the campsite. They wink back at flashlights when you go out in the dark to walk the dog or  take “the path to the bath”.  They’re  inexpensive, easy to put in and easy to remove when you leave. See them at https://amzn.to/2yPuoIf

The One & Only Recipe You’ll Ever Need for
New England Chowder

Nothing is more satisfying on a cold night in the campground than a hearty, hot chowder. The basic elements are a sizzle of fat and a cauldron of cream. Then ingredients and amounts can be tweaked until you get a just-right chowder for your taste. 

1/4 pound bacon, salt pork, fatback or hog jowl OR
1/2 stick butter
Medium to large onion, diced
2 cups scrubbed, diced potatoes or drained, canned, diced potatoes
2 cups water
2 cups additional meat, seafood  or vegetable (clams, cut up fish or cooked chicken,  diced ham, shrimp, corn,  broccoli, mushrooms)
2 cups heavy or light cream, evaporated  milk or condensed cream soup thinned with milk (½ can milk to 1 can soup)
Salt, pepper
Optional: Grated cheese, cubed cream cheese or diced process cheese such as Velveeta

 Dice and fry out bacon or fat meat and discard all but 2 to 3 tablespoons of fat. Or, melt butter. Stir-fry onion and potatoes, scraping up brown bits from the pan. Add water, cover and cook over low heat until potatoes are tender. Add desired meat, seafood or vegetable and cook until heated through or broccoli is tender  or seafood is firm. Stir in creamy liquid and heat through but do not boil.

 Adjust seasonings. If chowder is too thick add water, milk or cream. If it’s too thin, stir in potato flakes one tablespoon at a time, stirring a minute or two before adding the next one. After dairy product is added, keep heat low and stir often. Milk burns easily. 

Seasoning tips: Diced cream cheese or Velveeta can be stirred in to melt it, or grated cheese can be sprinkled on.  

     Depending on the chowder you may want a a sprinkling of dried parsley flakes, chives or dillweed. I like dried, crumbled thyme in seafood chowder. A small sprinkle of these dried herbs can be placed in the bowl (I also add a pat of butter) before you ladle in the chowder. They will float to the top. Delectable!

How do you remember which clam chowder is  creamy New England chowder and which is the tomato-based Manhattan style?  Tell the children,  "There are no cows in Manhattan".