ROAD TRIP FOOD FOR CAMPING & RV LIVING

Blog copyright Janet Groene 2023. , all rights reserved. To ask about placing your ad for on all six Groene sites for one year, one low rate, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

 

Eating high on the hog with a  life on the road

BONUS RECIPE
Socca
     Serve this buttery, gluten-free treat as a snack or bread. It’s a favorite street food in the south of France, where it’s baked on giant griddles made out of metal drums. All you need is a skillet or griddle.  If your supermarket doesn’t carry chickpea flour, find it online and in specialty and health food stores. 

2 cups chickpea flour
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon each chili powder and garlic salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups water
Oil for frying

    Mix dry ingredients. Stir in water and set aside for 15 minutes. Batter will be thin.  Heat a heavy skillet or griddle and swirl oil to cover. Cook socca like crepes or thin pancakes until firm and mottled with brown. Serve warm.
    Once you get the hang of it, fine-tune the seasonings, toppings or fillings to your own tastes.Or just roll it up and eat it plain.

 How to cope with those dreaded recalls. Theses days they are everywhere in your home and camping life. Ignore them at your own risk.
https://www.rvtravel.com/tips-advice-things-recalls-2257



Camp and RV Recipe of the Week
One Pot San Francisco Fish Stew

 

1 pound of skinless, boneless fish fillet
2 tablespoons olive oil
Medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Small green pepper, seeded and diced
Small can mushrooms, drained
14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
6-ounce can of tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
1 chicken or fish bouillon cube
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt, pepper to taste

    Thaw fish and cut it in bite size. In a saucepan, sizzle vegetables in hot oil. When they are tender and starting to brown, add tomatoes, tomato paste, water and bouillon. Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve bouillon and drop in fish just until it firms up. Adjust seasonings. Ladle into soup bowls and serve with sourdough bread. Serves 4.
    Optional: Pass hot sauce or a cruet of sherry.

The Grunch That Saves Christmas

 

 
    One size fits all when you order this paperback for every camper on your list. Cooking Aboard Your RV is packed with recipes, tips, lists and hints for the challenges and joys of RV and tiny home cooking. Your book store or Amazon will gift wrap  and ship it for you.   http://amzn.to/1NdWI4o

 

 

 
Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Sweet Potatoes and Apples
 

    A welcome change from the gooey, over-sweet “candied” sweet potatoes with marshmallows, this side dish can be baked in the oven, slow cooker or heated on the stove. The recipe is easily multiplied to feed a Christmas crowd.

 

Large can (about 2 pounds) sweet potatoes, drained
1 can of apple pie filling
½ stick butter
1 cup finely crushed cornflake crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

    Cut up sweet potatoes or mash slightly. Run a knife through the opened can of apples to cut them into chunks. Fold apples into sweet potatoes and heat gently. In a small skillet melt butter and stir in cornflakes, sugar and cinnamon over medium heat, stirring until cornflakes are golden. Sprinkle  over dish just before serving. Serves 8 to 10.

Tips for the Camp Chef

                      
    * Lower the calories in a fruit cobbler by using a sprinkling of crunchy granola atop the fruit instead of a heavy biscuit or batter topping.

    * Make Turtle Cake. Buy a Boston cream pie at the bakery. Just before serving, drizzle the top with butterscotch ice cream syrup and scatter with roasted pecans.

    * Buy thin-sliced salami or other lunch meat in the deli and press it into muffin pans to form edible cups. Fill cups 2/3 full with cornbread batter, made up according to package directions. Bake about 8 minutes or until cornbread is firm and lightly browned at 400 degrees. A toaster oven will hold a six-cup muffin pan.

    * Need a birthday cake and don’t have an oven?  Make a dozen crepes in a 10-inch skillet. Frost alternately with raspberry jam and cream cheese frosting. Stack and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

 

 EMERGENCIES HAPPEN
    Do you have a spare food supply in case you are stranded, broken down, broke, evacuated or quarantined while camping? Stuff sometimes happens when you’re out there. Survival Food Handbook is a guide to stowing a supply of pantry staples that provide the most nutrition per dollar, per inch, per pound in a small space. No, this isn’t about those pricey doomsday rations. It’s about affordable supermarket staples you’ll constantly rotate and enjoy. Also included are tips on handling a water or fuel shortage, fridge failure and more.   http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe


Foil Recipe of the Week
Chickennugs and Tangy Artichoke Rice

 

 
    

 Shop for the best quality, low fat chicken nuggets with minimum breading.

Per portion:
1 thin slice from a large, sweet onion
½ cup cooked sticky rice
1 tablespoon chopped marinated artichoke
½ to 1 cup chicken nuggets, thawed
1 tablespoon ketchup
  

  Butter or grease the center of a large square of foil and place an onion slice on it. This forms the floor of your foil "kiss".  Bring up sides of the foil  slightly to form a dish. Using wet hands, form rice into a patty. 

Put rice on the onion and top with artichoke. Arrange chicken nuggets. Drizzle with ketchup. Bring corners of the foil together and twist to form a “kiss”.  This is also a handle for placing the foil on the fire.

Place over well-started coals, in a 350 degree oven or in a heavy, covered Dutch oven. Heat through. Caution: when opening the packet, steam will be very hot. 

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FOOD FOR THANKFUL CAMPING & RV TRAVEL

 Blog copyright Janet Groene 2023. This blog has had more than 260,000 views. To ask about placing one ad, one link for one year on all six Groene sites for one low rate, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

 

 
CAMP BREAKFAST OF THE WEEK
Cake Mix Coffee Cake
    Assemble it the night before and bake it in the morning, then serve it up, hot and yeasty and  cinnamon-y, with rafts of scrambled eggs.

 

1 yellow cake mix
2 to 3 cups flour
½ stick butter
½ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 packet yeast

1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup warm water
Optional Glaze:
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
Milk

    Take a half cup of cake mix out of the box and put it in a large bowl with a half cup of flour, the brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until it’s mealy. Fold in nuts if using. Remove to another place (such as a paper plate)  and set aside.
    Put the rest of the cake mix in the same bowl with a cup of flour, 1/4 cup white sugar and the yeast. Stir in warm water, cover and let it settle for about 30 minutes. Then stir in additional flour as needed to make a thick  dough.
    Put half this dough in a buttered 9 X 13-inch casserole.  Smooth it to an even layer with the back of a wet spoon.
    Sprinkle with some of the reserved cinnamon mixture and  top with remaining dough and remaining crumb mixture. Cover, allowing for it to rise slightly. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake  25-35 minutes, or until it’s golden brown,  at 350 degrees.
    Glaze: Stir milk and vanilla into powdered sugar to make a thin glaze and drizzle it over the coffee cake. Cut in squares.

See weekly news, views and cues including fresh reports on new, upcoming and proposed campgrounds at https://SoloWomanRV.blogspot.com As soon as you get whiff of a new place,  check it out and grab reservations before they’re gone. 

 

Is 2024 the year you’ll go all the way? My book Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Ed. Is based on our 10 wonderful years as full-timers. It begins early, with making the decision and choosing an RV for full-timing.  It ends with going back to “real life” when and if that time comes. I began camping as a child with family, then Girl Scouts, then I went from tent to pop-up to VW van to a Class C motorhome. 

As a travelwriter I also experienced many other types of camping in rental units around the world.  http://amzn.to/29XFEkq

  PS. This guide a great gift idea and Amazon will gift wrap and ship it for you if you wish.

 

 

Camping & RV Recipe of the Week
Dan Dan Noodle Bowl
    So-called “brown ‘n serve” sausages come in both links and patties. They’re a versatile camping shortcut because they are pre-cooked. Traditional dan-dan recipes call for pepper flakes. If you like a spicier bowl, simply buy hot sausage.

 

 
8-ounce package of cooked sausage patties or links, thawed
3 cups chicken broth OR
3 cups water plus 1 tablespoon powdered chicken bouillon
1 teaspoon garlic powder
8- to 10-ounce package of round Chinese egg noodles
1 tablespoon each vinegar, sesame oil and vegetable oil
2 tablespoons each soy sauce and peanut butter
Optional toppings: (see below)

    Chop sausage fine. Set aside.  Bring broth to a boil with garlic powder.  Stir in noodles. When they are done, stir in remaining ingredients until peanut butter melts and everything is well mixed.  Heat through and serve topped with minced cilantro, sliced scallions, chopped dill pickles  and/or chopped peanuts. Serves 4 to 6.

Tips for the Camp Cook

    * Who needs a panini press? All you need is two skillets and a rock or brick. Put the panini in one pan, cover the bottom of the second skillet in nonstick foil, place the skillet  over the panini and weight it down with a rock.  

    *Grilling a splatchcock chicken? Weight it down with a foil-covered brick and tent it with foil.

    * Make healthful candy. Stuff whole, pitted dates with dried apricots. Add sparkle by dipping  in fruit flavored dry gelatin dessert mix.     

* Make bland, canned green beans or carrots come alive again. In a small skillet heat 2 tablespoons butter or canola oil with a teaspoon of minced garlic. Stir in ½ cup panko and one teaspoon each dried tarragon and dried lemon peel. Cook until panko is golden brown. Fold in drained vegetables and heat through. 

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Radi-cal Red Salad

 

16-ounce package of red radishes
1 cup radicchio, cut in thin strips
Medium red onion, cut in thin crescents
½ cup minced fresh parsley
1/3 cup finely sliced mint leaves
16-ounce package shredded cabbage for coleslaw

Optional: 15-ounce can garbanzos, rinsed and drained
Bottled red wine vinaigrette

    Trim radishes and cut in thin slices. Toss with the rest of the vegetables and red wine vinaigrette to taste. Serves 10. 

    Cook’s note: to cut mint and other  leaves such as basil,  roll up several at a time and snip with scissors. 

 

 

 

 A gift for yourself or any RV friend
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Foil Recipe of the Week
    Here’s a vegetarian breakfast, lunch or supper to cook in foil, eat from the foil. As it cooks it forms a tasty patty. You may want to  put ketchup on it. 

Potato Babycakes

 

14-ounce carton of mashed potatoes
2 raw eggs
2 chopped hard-cooked eggs
1 teaspoon garlic or onion salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup shredded yellow cheese such as Cheddar
1 cup finely sliced baby spinach (optional)

    Whisk raw eggs, then stir in mashed potatoes, hard-cooked eggs, seasonings, spinach and cheese. Lay out 4 squares of nonstick foil and generously grease or butter centers. On each, plop a portion of the potato mixture.
    Bring up corners of the foil and twist to seal. Place on the grate over low-medium heat until golden on the bottom and set in the center. For food safety, interior temperature should be 160 degrees. Serves 4.
    Note: Pocket-size, instant thermometer probes can be used right through the foil. Just be care of hot foil and steam.

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Easy Cooking for Road Trips, Camping & RV

 Blog copyright Janet Groene 2023.  To ask about placing one ad, one link for one year on all six Groene sites for one low rate, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

 

Janet Groene cooks

 

 On the road, at the tailgate party and by the campfire Janet Groene knows cooking shortcuts to make great meals on the go 

 

 

 

 

 CAMPING & RV RECIPE OF THE WEEK

 Sherry Chicken
    The gravy is the star of this show. Serve it with rice, noodles, mashed potatoes or toast.

½ stick butter
6 portions boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom or chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cooking sherry

 

    Brown chicken in melted butter, gradually adding mushrooms to brown them too. In a bowl whisk soup, sour cream and sherry. Pour over chicken, cover and cook over low-medium heat until chicken tests done at 170 degrees F. Serve with a starch such as buttered noodles. Makes 6 servings. 

 

 

Camping and RV Recipe of the Week
Mediterranean Skillet
    Bok Choy is two vegetables in one, with white celery-like stalks and deep green spinach-like leaves. 

  2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 red onion, sliced in crescents
1 bunch bok choy, cut up (4 cups)
1 tablespoon mixed Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon beef or chicken bouillon or base
1 cup water
15-ounce can white beans such as Great Northern
15-ounce can baby carrots, drained
Garnish:
2 or 3 Roma tomatoes, diced and drained

    Heat oil in a skillet and brown meat, breaking it up to crumbles and gradually stirring in garlic and onion. When meat is done, stir in bok choy until it’s crisp-tender, then add seasoning, bouillon and water. Bring to a boil. Stir in beans and carrots. Cover, reduce heat to Low and heat through.  Serve in shallow soup plates. Sprinkle with diced tomatoes.   Serves 4 to 6. To make more servings, serve over rice or noodles.

Puzzled About Stocking Your
RV  Pantry for Emergencies? 

Survival Food Handbook is a camping and boating guide to stow-able supermarket foods from A to Z, with an eye to short-term emergencies when you're on the go and have limited storage space. It  includes nutritional information, lists,  stowing tips and hundreds of recipes that require no fresh ingredients.    http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe


Camp Cook Tips

    *Bring along  a store-bought cheesecake when camping. Then make it your own. Whisk ½ cup maple syrup with 1 cup sour cream. Drizzle over the cheesecake and sprinkle with toasted pecan pieces.  
.         .
    * When making chili, substitute diced butternut squash or sweet potatoes  for all or half the beans. Slow-cook, pressure cook or simmer until vegetables are  done.

    * Make a gourmet sauce for plain pound cake,  pudding or lady fingers. Stir 1/4 cup apple brandy into a 10-ounce jar of butterscotch ice cream topping. Serve as is, or heat gently.

  

‘ Tis the Season for RV Gift Books

 

    For yourself or camping friends, Cooking Aboard Your RV has more than 250 swift and shortcut recipes that save water, time, mess and hassle in camping and RV travels.  Find it at book stores or let Amazon gift wrap and ship it for you.

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Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Party Pineapple Cheese Log

 
    I  divide this in two balls or logs, one rolled in finely chopped nuts and the other in finely chopped parsley. Surround one with cruditès and one with crackers. The secret to the taste and texture is to wring the crushed pineapple really, really dry.

Large can of crushed pineapple
3 packages, 8 ounces each, cream cheese
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup grated extra sharp Cheddar cheese (optional)
Minced parsley and/ or chopped nuts
Crackers and/or veggies for serving

    Drain the pineapple, saving juice. Then place pineapple in a clean kitchen towel and wring it dry. Soften cream cheese at “room” temperature and mix in Worcestershire, Cheddar if using,  and lemon zest. Form into two logs. Scatter nuts or parsley on a sheet of wax paper and roll to coat the outside of each log. Wrap and chill. Serve as a spread.

Foil Recipe of the Week
    Cook this tasty main dish in foil on the campfire, in the oven or in a covered skillet . Then eat out of the foil. Dirty Rice is a soul food classic traditionally made with ground chicken giblets. Your shortcut is to use turkey sausage patties . 

 

Think of it as a giant "kiss"

Dirty Rice

4 to 8 fully cooked turkey sausage patties, thawed
1 cup packed, chopped baby spinach
3 cups plain cooked rice
1 teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 can or jar of chicken gravy

Large sweet  onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
Large green pepper, seeded and sliced into rings

    Chop sausage. Remove any large stems from spinach and chop the rest. Fold sausage and spinach into cooked rice with garlic salt, paprika and only enough chicken gravy to moisten the mixture.

    Lay out four squares of foil. Spray or oil the centers and place a thin slice of a large sweet onion on each. Place a pepper ring atop the onion.
    Bring up sides of the foil to firm a shallow dish and  fill pepper rings with rice mixture. Now bring up and pinch the four corners of the foil together and twist to seal package and form a handle. Place over low-medium coals and cook 20 minutes. No turning needed. Beware hot steam when you open the package. Serves 4.
    

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Cooking Easy for Camground and Campfire

Blog copyright Janet Groene 2023, all rights reserved. To donate in support of this free weekly blog use your PayPal account to send $10 per year to janetgroene@yahoo.com 

 

 

 

 

 

CAMPING & RV RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Chicken Salad Skillet
    This quick, hot, one-burner meal begins with a pint of chicken salad from your favorite deli. Complete the meal with a leafy salad and slabs of Boston cream pie from the bakery. 

 

 

 

Customize the deli salad with extra veggies. rice, eggs.

 
1 pint chicken salad
8-ounce pouch of steamed rice
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
½ soup can milk or water
2 to 4  hard-cooked eggs*

    Spread chicken salad in a cold skillet sprayed with nonstick spray, smoothing it to an even layer. Ditto the rice.  Add sliced hard-cooked eggs.

Whisk soup with milk or water and spread over eggs.  Cover and cook over low heat until heated through. Serves 2 to 4. Pass the pepper mill.

It's always a plus to have hard-cooked eggs in your cooler. You'll use them in dozens of ways. 

 

 MORE, MORE MORE CAMPING RECIPES
   

 Cooking Aboard Your RV has more than 200 shortcut recipes designed for the small galley indoors and out. Save time, water, space, mess, cooking fuel.  http://amzn.to/1NdWI4o

 

BONUS RECIPE
Salmon Rice Romanoff for Two

5-ounce can of skinless, boneless salmon
1/4 stick butter
2 servings ready-to-eat rice
1/3 cup each small curd cottage cheese, sour cream and shredded Cheddar
½ teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
Optional: salsa

 

     In a medium skillet, melt butter and scatter chunks of salmon evenly on the bottom. Top with rice. In a bowl whisk cottage cheese, sour cream, onion powder and dill.  Spoon over skillet. Cover and heat through. Pass the salsa.  Serves 2.

 

Tips for Camp Cooks

    * Some bad smells are almost impossible to oust.  They include tomcat spray, a rogue potato that went bad in the bin and decayed wildlife that snuck into some hidden corner of the RV and died. When you have to get tough, try activated charcoal.  It works best in an enclosed area such as a cupboard or ice chest.  

    * If you have rust in galley ware, keep it from recurring by using stainless steel wool not steel wool.

     *Let’s have a tailgate party! This sturdy stainless steel rack is for easy grilling, roasting and  serving of chicken drumsticks, wingettes, stuffed banana peppers. It also holds ice cream cones while you fill and serve. Folds flat to stow.
http://amzn.to/2v835FU

    * Clean and dry a waste basket and sprinkle a little powdered  detergent in the bottom, even if you use a plastic liner.  It will discourage bugs and make it easier to clean the container next time. Just add a little water, swish and dry.

 

   * This heavy duty fruit corer bores through with ease, then opens to eject the core. You’ll use it  on apples other fruit. Core cucumbers and stuff them with tuna salad. Core zucchini, stuff with ground meat, wrap in foil and roast.  Core a potato, put a hot dog in the hole and bake.  http://amzn.to/2v8lgve


 

 

 Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Roosevelt Beans
    This recipe from Roosevelt Lodge in Yellowstone National Park has been beloved for generations. It’s served in the historic restaurant and on their camp-outs and campfire nights. The next time you need a bodacious camping meal for a crowd, share this dish. 

  

For a memorable night out, take the chuckwagon dinner package at Roosevelt Lodge
 

  The original recipe says you can drain the liquid  from the beans for a thicker dish but it’s easier and juicier just to dump in the entire contents of each can.

1 pound hamburger or sausage
1/2 pound bacon, diced in ½ inch pieces
1 onion, diced
16-ounce can pork and beans
12-ounce can kidney beans
14-out can lima beans
12-ounce can butter beans
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
½ cup ketchup
Salt and pepper to taste
    

Fry out meats. Spoon off excess fat.  Saute onions in remaining fat with meat. Stir in remaining ingredients. The “official” recipe is to bake it at 325 degrees for 45 minutes but you can also just cover the pot and cook over low/medium heat on the stove, campfire or grate.
 
See the Pantry Recipe of the Week, made entirely with shelf ingredients from your emergency pantry.  No fresh ingredients needed.  Spare food is travel insurance.Go to Boat Cook.

 

 
How much food to stock for two people for two weeks in the boondocks? Six people on a wilderness weekend? A couple in the outback for a month? Survival Food Handbook is a guide to stow-able supermarket foods for convenience or emergencies. Be a prepper without high-priced survival rations. http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

 

Foil Recipe of the Week
Vegetables Royale
    This is the only recipe you’ll ever need for making a vegetable dish in foil on the campfire. The recipe makes about 2 cups sauce,  or enough for 8 to 10 servings. Use any vegetable or, better still, a colorful mixture, varying the mix each day.

Vegetable Recipe Per Serving:
    Lay out a square of foil and spray or butter the center. Bring up corners of foil to form a bowl.  Add 1 to 2 cups well drained, thin sliced or parboiled vegetables.. Spoon on sauce (see below)  to taste.
    Join corners of foil and twist to seal and form a handle.  (Think of a large Hershey’s Kiss). Cook over medium coals to heat thorough. Be careful of hot steam when opening foil.  Sprinkle with topping (see below)  to taste.

 

 

Sauce:
2 eggs
½ cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon each salt, pepper
6- to 8-ounce package grated cheddar cheese
½ teaspoon onion or garlic powder
 

Whisk eggs until light. Gradually whisk in mayonnaise, sour cream, seasonings. Fold in cheese and onion or garlic powder. Keep cold up to 5 days. This sauce is cooked with the vegetables.

Topping:
2/3 stick butter
2 sleeves buttery crackers such as Club, Town House or Ritz

1/4 cup each dried parsley flakes and grated hard cheese such as Parmesan

    Melt butter in a large skillet. Crumble crackers coarsely and toss with butter. Cool, add cheese and put in a plastic bag or covered container. Keep cold and sprinkle on after opening the cooked packet.  

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Camping Meals: Be Prepared for Storms

 Blog copyright Janet Groene 2023. To ask about placing your ad on all six Groene sites for one year, one low rate, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

 

 

 

     

Thank you for your patience during my hurricane emergency. Central North Florida took a direct hit at Cat 3.  Clean up will take weeks. Internet, power and water are still iffy.  

 

 

Camp and RV Recipe of the Week
Swansea Sweetcakes
    When you want cookies but don’t want to heat up the oven, try this traditional Welsh recipe for fried cookies.

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
1 cup golden raisins
1 jumbo egg

    Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter until mealy. Stir in beaten eggs and raisins.  Dough will be very thick.
    Pinch off walnut-size pieces of dough and flatten them to 2-inch circles in your hands. Fry on a hot, dry skillet or griddle until browned on both sides. Cool on a rack. Eat them plain,  sprinkle with sugar, top with frosting or crumble into a bowl of vanilla yogurt. Makes about 3 dozen.  

Tips for the Camp Cook

    * Freeze cooked meals in boilable bags, slow cooker liners or roasting bags. Thaw and reheat in hot water and you won’t have to wash a grotty pan.

    * Crush a cup of frosted flakes and scatter in a pie shell before adding sliced apples and your favorite apple pie ingredients. Flakes will soak up excess juice while adding sweetness. 

    * Tender young celery leaves make a pretty garnish. Celery trimmings can also be chopped and dried to scatter in soup and stew.

    * Make frypan pizza crust. Add beer to biscuit mix to make a thick dough. Spread it 1/4 inch thick in a greased skillet. Cover, bake partially, then add pizza toppings and continue stove-top cooking until crust is golden brown on the bottom.

 

 

 

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  SPECIAL FEATURE; CANNED GOODS

     While we love canned goods for convenience, easy storage and rough handling while camping, the canning process turns many foods to mush. That can be a good thing with canned fish because calcium-rich bones become edible. However, a diet of canned foods leaves us hungry for crunch.
    it’s a challenge to make stir-fry and rice bowls that have the texture contrast we want. There is no substitute for fresh onions, broccoli, pea pods and celery, cooked crisp-tender, but you can get your teeth into these toothsome items that can be kept on the pantry shelf.  

Best canned vegetables for stir-fry:
Artichoke hearts
Baby corn
Baby carrots
Green beans, cut
Hearts of palm
Mushrooms
Olives (black or green)
Water chestnuts

These pantry  items also add texture contrast: to a rice bowl
Chewy seafood such as canned clams
Jerky, which is available in many types including vegan
Nuts, especially pecan halves and whole cashews
Pineapple chunks

To add crisp crunch to a rice bowl, top with with crisp Chinese noodles, sliced almonds, sesame seeds or fried wonton strips

 

 

    

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Camp Cauldron Minestrone

 

 
    Many camping groups have a traditional chowder or stew that is served after skiing or a hike. (I love the corn chowder winter hiking parties in Ohio). Here’s a recipe that could become a tradition for your camping club.
    All you need now is a BIG pot to put on the grate or camp stove. Fine-tune the recipe as you go,  depending on what you have on hand and how many people show up.

4 to 6 quarts chicken broth
12-ounce package grated cabbage for coleslaw
10-ounce package chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 cups each diced turnips, carrots, onions, zucchini
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
6-ounce can tomato paste
28- to 32-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup broken spaghetti or small pasta such as dilatini
28-ounce can kidney beans
Salt, pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese

 

    Bring 4 quarts broth to a boil and stir in vegetables. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender. Stir in seasoning, tomato paste and tomatoes and continue simmering while flavors blend. Stir in pasta and beans. When pasta is tender, add more broth as desired, heat through and adjust seasonings. Serve in soup bowls and pass the Parmesan. 

 

Foil Recipe of the Week
Mexican Lasagna

Per portion:
3 small  tortillas
1/3 cup drained, rinsed pinto beans
½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/3 cup cooked rice
1/3 cup enchilada sauce

Form foil around a bowl or pan to form a shallow dish in which you assemble your tower.  

 

    Grease the center of each square of foil. Place a tortilla in the center. Top with beans and some of the cheese and sauce. Add a tortilla, the rice and more cheese and  sauce. Top with another tortilla and the  last of the cheese.

 

 

 

 

    Bring up four corners of the foil, pinch together and twist to seal (like a Hershey’s Kiss). It also forms a handle. Place over well-started medium coals and cook low and slow to avoid burning on the bottom.Turning is not required.  Open carefully. Steam is scalding hot.     

FREEZE AHEAD RECIPE OF THE WEEK
    Low carb and high protein, these little powerhouses will get you started in the morning, , even if you can’t heat them. 

 

 
    
Breakfast Muffins
1 pound bulk sausage
1 cup each biscuit mix and shredded cheese
4 beaten eggs or equivalent 

    Fry out sausage, breaking it up. Spoon off excess fat. While it cools, grease 12 muffin cups.  Set the oven fo 350 degrees F. Mix sausage, biscuit mix and eggs and place in muffin cups. Bake about 20 minutes, or until firm. Cool. Wrap individually and freeze up to 8 weeks.  In camp, thaw and heat or just eat at “room” temperature.
    If you don’t have a freezer in camp, most frozen foods will slowly thaw keep safely up to three days in a well-chilled ice chest.

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Meals for Road Trips, Camping and RV

 Blog copyright janet groene, all rights reserved. To ask about rates to run your ad on all six Groene sites for one year, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

 Here every Friday, see a Camp and RV Recipe of the Week plus oodles of special recipes for the campground potluck, a foil meal,  maybe a special dessert and always lots tips for the camp cook. Y’all come back now, hear?
 

 

 

 

 

 
    
Camp and RV Recipe of the Week
Chewy Cheese Fingers

 
    Just add a mug of steamy, creamy soup and you have a hot supper for a chilly night.  To bake-and-take from home, keep cheese bites in the cooler, then reheat in the microwave or wrap in foil to heat over the campfire.

Butter or shortening to grease pan
Cornmeal
3 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons milk or water
1 ½ cups self-rising flour
12-ounce package grated cheese such as cheddar

    Set the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13 X 9 X 2-inch baking pan generously. Sprinkle lightly but evenly with cornmeal.  Dump out excess cornmeal
    Whisk eggs, oil and milk or water. Fold in flour and cheese just until everything is evenly mixed. Dough will be stiff. Scrape into the pan. Spread evenly and bake at 400 degrees about 25 minutes or until springy.  Let cool, then turn out on a cutting board and use a long bread knife to cut into 4  lengthwise strips . Then cut strips into fingers. Makes 4 dozen.


BONUS RECIPE
Crabby Tomato Soup for Two
    
5- or 6-ounce can of crabmeat, drained and picked over
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
1 can condensed cream of tomato soup
½ teaspoon dried, crumbled basil
1/4 teaspoon dried, crumbled thyme
1 soup can whole milk or light cream
Hot sauce (optional)

 

   Drain and pick over the crabmeat to remove any bits of shell. Sprinkle with lemon or lime juice and set aside. In a cold saucepan whisk  soup, herbs and milk or cream in a saucepan. Heat gently and ladle soup into two bowls. Top with tufts of drained crabmeat. Serves 2. Pass the hot sauce.
Bonus points for folding ½ teaspoon lemon or lime zest into the crabmeat with the juice,

Tips for the Camp Cook
    
    * Wash and dry old socks and stuff with kitty litter and put in tennis shoes and boots absorb odor. Also good to soak up stinks in a stored refrigerator or ice chest. Clean and dry the unit thoroughly. Then add some of these odor absorbers and leave overnight with the door closed.  Open and air thoroughly.

    * To make an easy dessert,  “butter” the inside of  hot dog buns with Nutella.  Lay in half a banana, split lengthwise.  Stuff with miniature marshmallows and nuts. Wrap tightly in nonstick foil and heat over the grate.  

    * Whisks are work savers in camping, especially if you don’t have an electric mixer. I like a good, strong balloon whisk for batters and beating eggs.
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    * Make up a two-cup packet of sausage gravy mix. Stir in a can of pork and beans, and spoon over rice, campfire-baked potatoes, noodles or buttered biscuits. Garnish with sliced scallions. 

 

 
Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Tomato Cobbler

    A crusty biscuit topping gives tomatoes a crown of gold.

2 cans, 28-ounce each diced tomatoes
½ cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 can condensed  tomato soup
3 cups biscuit mix
1 teaspoon onion or garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes (optional)
Water or milk

    Butter a large, deep casserole and set the oven for 425 degrees. Drain liquid from canned tomatoes into a bowl and whisk in brown sugar, cloves and condensed tomato soup. Put tomatoes in the casserole. Top with the tomato soup mixture.  At this point casserole should be half full, allowing room for the biscuits you'll be adding. Bake tomatoes 15 minutes.

 
    Mix dry ingredients with enough milk or water to make a thick dough. Carefully remove hot casserole from the oven and dot the surface with teaspoons of biscuit dough. Return to the oven until biscuits are golden brown. Serves 15 to 20.
  

 

 

Here's a camp and RV cookbook just for you. Its recipes are smart, swift, tasty and shortcut to save water, fuel and mess. Books make a good gift too. See Cooking Aboard Your RV.  http://amzn.to/1Nj5dsM   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foil Recipe of the Week
    Cook in foil. Eat from the foil. No dishwashing! 

Hammy Cake

This foil meal does not need turning. Just set it on a grate over medium heat from well-started medium coals to cook low and slow.

Per serving:
1 or 2 slices Canadian bacon
1 slice of canned pineapple

For the batter:
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
1 egg
Water or milk

    Prepare coals in grill or fire pit to provide steady, medium heat. Lay out squares of nonstick foil and spray centers with a nonstick spray. Place Canadian bacon in the center and top with a slice of pineapple.  Bring up corners of the foil just enough to form a dish for the batter.
    In a bowl whisk egg, cornbread mix and enough water or milk to make a thick batter. Spoon 1/3 cup batter over pineapple ring. Grasp four corners of the foil to seal the package and to form a handle.  (Think large Hershey’s Kiss.) Cook 15 to 20 minutes over medium heat until cornbread is firm. Beware of hot steam when opening foil. 

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