Winning Recipes for Winter Camping

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Are you winter camping in the snow? Basking in the Sunbelt?  Staying home but planning and rehearsing simple recipes for next summer’s camping? Let’s look at recipes that are simple and shortcut for camping yet also chic and delicious for busy days at home.
 
 
 
   
Camp and RV 
Recipe of the Week
Peanut “Pork” Chops
    Are you vegetarian? Or maybe you just like something different for a simple supper? Try these meatless chops. I prefer crunchy natural peanut butter. Results may not be the same if you use peanut spreads that contain palm oil or other fats.  




6 slices, bread, preferably caraway rye
About 1 cup peanut butter
½ cup half and half
2 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
 About 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs OR
1 cup almond or pecan meal plus 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Butter and oil for frying

    Spread bread on both sides with peanut butter. Whisk half and half with eggs, salt and paprika. Dip bread in egg mixture, immersing and soaking well. Then dip in seasoned bread crumbs. Heat 1ablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet and fry chops in batches until crusty and brown. Add more butter and oil as needed. 


Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week

 
Mocha Cream Pie
2 chocolate cookie crumb pie crust (homemade or store-bought)
2 cups chocolate candy melts
8-serving size chocolate instant pudding
2 teaspoons instant coffee
1 3/4 cups whole milk
16-ounce tub of whipped topping

    Nuke candy melts to melt them and spread a thin layer in the bottom of each pie shell. Allow to cool. Whisk pudding mix and instant coffee, then whisk in milk. When it begins to set up, fold in whipped topping. Divide mixture between the two pie crusts. Chill. Makes 12 portions.

Tips for the Camp Chef

    *When making instant pudding, use dairy milk unless the recipe says otherwise. Some non-dairy beverages don’t react with the mix to set up firmly. 

    * It costs more to buy individual servings and it means more packaging to recycle. However it helps with your planning when you have, say, 12 pudding cups. You know you have  desserts for a family of four for three meals. 

    * Make soup with dry or refrigerated tortellini instead of noodles. 

    * For a change make nachos with crisp-baked Tater Tots instead of tortilla chips. 

See more than 200 delicious, shortcut recipes for camping and RV travel in one handsome paperback book or e-book. Makes a great gift too. Cooking Aboard Your RV, 2nd Edition. Order at http://amzn.to/1NdWI4o









Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
   
Quinoa Breakfast Cups

 
    Thaw these nourishing breakfasts to eat cold, or nuke them gently for a warm-up. It’s easy to double this recipe. Vary it by using other cooked grains such as rice, farro, barley, wheat berries, oat groats,  etc.

4 cups cooked quinoa or other grain (can be gluten-free)
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
5 medium apples, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ cup honey, brown sugar or other sweetener (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries
    Saute sweet potatoes and apples in hot butter-oil mixture until tender. Fold in grain and remaining ingredients. Measure by the serving (2/3 to 1 cup). Wrap and freeze. Makes 12 to 15 servings. 

Camping and RV Meals for Holidays and Every Day

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Camping and RV
 Recipe of the Week
Orange  Cashew Chicken
    Quick and colorful is this crunchy, munchy meal from one burner, one pan. 

12-ounce bag fresh broccoli florets
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
12- to 16-ounce package boneless, skinless chicken, cut in bite size
Small can mandarin orange sections, drained
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 cup juice from oranges
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup orange blossom honey
½ cup whole cashews
Pinch ground ginger
1 can or package Chinese noodles

    Stir-fry broccoli in hot oil until it’s crisp-tender, gradually stirring in chicken until it’s browned. Drain oranges and add water if needed to make 3/4 cup liquid.  In a paper cup, mix the cornstarch and orange juice. Stir into the broccoli with the soy sauce, honey, cashews and ginger. Stir gently  over low flame just until the sauce thickens. . Fold in orange sections.  Serve over crisp Chinese noodles. Serves 4 to 6.

Campground Potluck
Recipe of the Week

Sesame Salad
    This snappy salad serves 16.  Provide tongs or a spaghetti claw for serving. Shortcut: measure vinegar, soy sauce, garlic-chili sauce, sesame and vegetable oils in a jar at home and you won’t have to carry individual bottles. Make it a whole meal by adding chicken.
   
2-pound box thin spaghetti, cooked al dente
2 cans, 10 ounces each, chunk chicken (optional)
2 bunches scallions, trimmed and sliced
1 bunch fresh parsley or cilantro, finely snipped
1 red sweet pepper, cut in thin strips
1 green sweet pepper, cut in thin strips
½ cup rice wine vinegar
2/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Asian-style garlic-chili sauce
1/4 cup dark sesame oil
½ cup vegetable oil
Toasted sesame seeds 

    Drain canned chicken and add juice to the spaghetti water. Cook the spaghetti until it’s firm-tender.  Break up the chicken with a fork and toss it with the spaghetti. Add  vegetables and toss.  Shake up vinegar, soy sauce, chili sauce and sesame oil, add to the spaghetti mixture and toss until everything is well coated. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve now or chill.

Tips for the Camp Cook
    * Always have one or two back-up stoves in mind. Campfire bans happen. Propane runs out.  Somebody forgets to bring the charcoal. Electricity fails. A butane or Sterno buffet burner takes up little room and could save the day.  

A portable butane stove is an extra gas burner

    * If you get a stray piece of eggshell in the eggs, the best way to fish it out is with a larger piece of eggshell.

    * Leftover pickle juice? Boil hot dogs in it or make dilly carrots. Bring it to a boil, pour over carrot sticks and chill overnight.

    * Add a nutty flavor and more nutrition by folding a little wheat germ into hot,

cooked rice or cold rice salad. 


    * Always have a Plan B food supply at home and when traveling with the help of the Survival Food Handbook. It’s just about food planning, provisioning, and prepping for emergencies using everyday supermarket staples. 


 
Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
    Make it big, freeze it small in batches for your camping travel, even if you’re just one or two people.  These delectable crackers make a great snack or serve with soup to make a meal. They are an ideal fit for a toaster oven or convection oven. 

 

Cheese Crackers
2 sticks butter
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ cup almond meal or finely chopped pecans
16-ounce package grated cheddar cheese

    Let butter soften at room temperature and stir in flour and cayenne, then nuts and cheese. Shape into logs in the desired size. Wrap each in a twist of waxed paper, then bag in plastic. Freeze. To bake, set the oven to 325 degrees, slice log very thin and bake until set and lightly browned on a pan lined with parchment, silicone or nonstick foil. Watch carefully. They burn quickly.

Camping Recipes for All Seasons, All Reasons

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Go camping during ski season. Many snow country campgrounds are open all year

Camping and RV
Recipe of the Week

Hobo Dinner
    Relive your early camping days when a can of Spam and one pot made a gourmet  meal. Spam is still one of the best back-up foods to have in your grub box or pantry. Here’s a way to make it tastier.

Medium onion, diced
Small green pepper, seeded and diced
12-ounce can of Spam, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 ½ cups rotini pasta
2 ½ cups water
1 teaspoon powdered chicken bouillon

1 can cream of chicken, mushroom or celery soup
                                            ½ cup ketchup

    Heat oil in a saucepan and sizzle onion, pepper and Spam to brown them. Add water and bouillon. Bring to a boil and add rotini. Stir to keep rotini under boiling water.  In a small bowl whisk ketchup and soup. When rotini is tender, fold in soup mixture, cover and cook over low heat until heated through and rotini is plump.  Serves 4. 


 

The best camping pot yet is this handsome cast aluminum Dutch oven. It's rust proof, lighter than cast iron and it spreads spread better.  Use it over the campfire, in the oven, over any burner except induction. 

For induction you’ll need an interface. 

 The bonus is that this heat spreader also serves as a flame tamer over camp stoves that can't be turned down low enough.


 
What to cook in your instant pot? Here  for yourself and gifts are 200 delicious recipes. 

Bonus Recipe
Luscious Lemon “Crepes”
    Disguise ordinary sandwich bread as a gourmet dessert.  Put the kids to work rolling and filling the bread to make the recipes. Let adults do the hot steps. 

 
12 slices square white sandwich bread
Soft margarine or butter
Sugar
Orange marmalade
Butter for frying
Canned lemon pie filling
Squirt can whipped cream

    Use a rolling pin or a round bottle to roll the bread as thin as possible. Spread with butter, a sprinkle of sugar and a little marmalade (do not over-fill).  Press in half diagonally to form triangles.
    Melt butter in a large, nonstick skillet and fry the “crepes” until golden, adding more butter as necessary. Place on plates, one or two per portion. Sauce with lemon pie filling. Top with whipped cream.

Campground Potluck
Recipe of the Month
Mocha Rice Pudding for !5

     If you don’t have a freezer, that’s OK. Keep the frozen whipped topping in a  well-chilled ice chest, where it will keep for several days. Spoon into disposable cups. 

5 cups water
1 teapoon instant coffee
½ cup brown sugar
5 cups instant rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups golden raisins
8-ounce carton caramel-flavor yogurt
1 quart whipped topping

    In a large pot bring water and sugar to a boil. Stir in coffee, rice and salt. Bring back to a boil, then immediately turn off heat. Cover tightly and let stand 7-8  minutes or until the water is absorbed and rice is tender.
    Fold in raisins and yogurt, then whipped topping. Serve at once or chill. Serves 15.

Tips for the Camp Cook

 Cut down on dishwashing by using edible “dishes” as much as possible.

*Serve cottage cheese in cantaloupe halves.

* Bake stove-top stuffing in rinds of scooped-out oranges. 

*Serve cold tuna salad in crisp green pepper halves.

* Mix and serve a big fruit salad in a watermelon rind. 

* Peel large cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise, scrape out seeds and fill the tunnel with egg salad.

 * Buy small demitasse spoons so you can eat soft-boiled eggs right out of the shell. No more egg glob to dig off dishes! 

*Use flat-bottom ice cream cups (not waffle or sugar cones) as “dishes” for chicken or tuna salad, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese or well-drained canned fruit. Serve at once before cones lose their crispness. 
 
Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
    Make it big, divide it up. Freeze in right-size portions for future camping. This recipe is easily doubled.

 

Aloha Pork
3 pounds lean pork for stew, cut in bite size
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup water
½ cup sherry wine
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons each ground ginger and sugar

    Brown pork pieces in hot oil. In a bowl whisk water, sherry, soy sauce, ginger and sugar. Pour over pork, cover and simmer until pork is very tender. Makes 12 servings.  Cool, then package and freeze, dividing sauce equally among packages.
    Options: To serve, heat with crushed pineapple and serve over rice. Heat in gravy. Add to fried rice. Stir into ramen noodles. Stir-fry fresh vegetables, then add pork mixture. Heat with canned sweet potatoes in syrup.

Camping Recipes to be Thankful for All Year

blog copyright janet groene, all rights reserved. To ask about placing your ad on all six Janet Groene sites for one year, one low price,  email janetgroene at yahoo.com 

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Camping and RV
Recipe of the Week

Chicken Fennel Skillet

4 cooked,  boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups thinly sliced fennel bub
Small onion, peeled and sliced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/3 cup each apple juice and brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced
Salt, pepper 

    Slice chicken and set aside. In a large skillet heat oil. Sizzle fennel slices, onion and garlic to coat well. Stir in water, vinegar, brown sugar, cinnamon and apples. Cover and cook over low-medium heat until fennel and apples are crisp-tender. Push the fennel mixture to one side of the pan and heat the chicken slices in juices, turning to coat them well. Serves 4. 
Shortcuts: slice and bag onion and fennel at home ahead of time and keep cold. Substitute canned pie-sliced apples (not apple pie filling) for fresh apples. 


 

This blog is published every Friday. If you would like a quick email reminder when new posts go up, email janetgroene@yahoo.com and put RV in the subject time.
   
Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
 Tutti-Fruiti Dessert Pizza



This is dessert, so don't buy pizza shells made with savory herbs.

2 baked pizza shells, 12 inches each
20-ounce jar of clear jelly such as strawberry or apple
3 to 4 cups fruit, cut up and drained
Marshmallow or caramel ice cream syrup

    Cut pizza shells in wedges and re-assemble on serving plates, wedges close together. Over low heat, melt jelly and use a pastry brush to brush pizza with it. Arrange fresh fruit. Carefully spoon remaining jelly evenly over fruit.  Chill. Drizzle lightly with marshmallow or caramel and keep cold until served. Serves 12 to 16.


Tips for the Camp Cook

    * If you don’t bring a pizza stone camping with you, use parchment paper, a pizza pan or put the pie directly on the grate.

    * When reorganizing your galley or grub box, use new shelf liner once or twice a year. The rubbery kind is best because it cushions and silences the contents underway. 

    * Worn-out quilted  oven mitts make good sheaths for groups of gadgets. Keeps them together and quiets the rattle underway. 

    * If your galley equipment includes a spaghetti claw, make it a metal one, not wood or plastic. Use it for hot tasks such as handling hot coals or fishing hard-cooked eggs out of boiling water.

 
    *More shortcut tips and recipes? Order Janet Groene’s Cooking Aboard Your RV,  2nd Edition for yourself and gifts. It's available in paperback or e-book.
   

   
 





 

Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
Pizza Crusts

 
    Make partially-baked pizza crusts to complete in camp with whatever ingredients and inspirations are at hand. There is a knack to it. Here’s how.

1. Make or or purchase pizza dough. (Not the kind that comes in a tube).  

2. Set the oven to 450 degrees and roll or pat out dough to the desired size.

3. Bake crusts until puffy but still white. This takes only 3 to 5 minutes at 450 degrees. It stops the yeast action and creates the right texture for your future pie.

4. Cool completely. 

5. Wrap individually in waxed paper or plastic, than wrap again in foil, plastic bags, etc. Freeze up to 8 weeks. 

6. To prepare pizzas, top frozen crust(s) as you wish and bake. Pizzas can also be baked in a covered grill or heavy, covered skillet.


   

   

Giving Thanks for Easy Camping Recipes

Blog copyright Janet Groene, all rights reserved. This blog is posted weekly at no cost except when sent to Kindle. To donate in support of producing this blog send  via PayPal to janetgroene at yahoo.com

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Camping and RV Recipe of the Week
Mulled Cider

    It’s so easy, so popular, so seasonal, so affordable. Sip mulled cider  around the campfire, serve it as a breakfast bracer, or add a tot of rum and have it as a nightcap. If you’re camping in a hot weather zone, toast the Thanksgiving season by serving it over ice, with or without a shot of vodka. 



 
1 gallon apple juice
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon each ground cloves, ground allspice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon orange extract

    Stir, simmer gently for flavors to blend, then ladle into mugs. Makes 16 cups. 

Camping tip of the week: to save the nonstick surfaces on your camping cookware,  save a plastic knife from your next visit to a fast food place.  Use it to, say, loosen a bread or cake  before turning it out of the pan or to slice a quiche or pizza cooked in a skillet.
 

  
    Are you camping the Nevada Hot Springs Trail this winter?  Get the official trail cook book here 

    You’ll find many uses  around the campsite for this heavy duty, lidded,  stainless steel, medical quality bucket  Carry anything from clean water to pet food. 

   






 
Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Chili Cheese Dip for a Crowd
     This is a favorite at tailgate parties and potlucks. Save time by using pre-cooked crumbles.

12- to 16-ounce package of fully cooked beef, sausage or vegetarian crumbles
2 packages, 2 pounds each, process cheese such as Velveeta
2 small cans diced chilies, well drained
15-ounce can diced tomatoes with garlic and green pepper
1 tablespoon each chili powder, Worcestershire sauce

    Dice the cheese and put everything in a slow cooker or stove-to-table pot. Heat gently until cheese melts. Stir and surround with dippers of your choice. Makes about 2 quarts of dip. Provide plenty of dippers and let the crowd dig in.
    I divide this into two serving bowls, one surrounded by a starchy dipper such as crackers or chips and one with raw vegetables such as celery and carrot sticks.
   

Live your dream of RV full-timing. Retire now, get an RV and hit the road. You’ll be surprised at all the ways you can find work along the way and live free. We did it for ten years,  earning a living on the go. Order Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition  in paperback or Kindle.



 

Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
    Tip for the Camp Cook: If you freeze lasagna or other food that contains raw eggs, make sure to bake thoroughly in camp.

Bistro Pork Ragout
    Why not make two batches, one with caraway seeds and one without?

 

4 pounds lean pork in bite size
1 slice thick-sliced bacon, cut up
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
6 large potatoes, scrubber or peeled and cut in chunks
2 large onions, cut up
Medium rutabaga, peeled and diced
4 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons dried, crumbled thyme OR
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 tablespoons Dijon-styled mustard
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons minute tapioca
Salt, pepper to taste

    In a large pot, fry out bacon to release fat, then stir in pork to brown it. Add garlic. Add everything else, cover and cook over low heat until pork and vegetables are tender. Adjust seasonings. Cool and package in portions for the freezer. Plan about 1 1/2 to 2 cups per serving.
    Thaw and heat. If it’s too thick, add a little water, broth or white wine. Serve as is or with a scoop of sour cream.

Camping Meals and Menus Take It Outdoors

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Campground Recipe of the Week

 


Sweet Italian Doughboys
    These sweet, golf ball-size donuts are known in Italy as Zeppole. They’re ideal  for outdoor cooking for a crowd. Set up a production line and keep ‘em coming.. Just be very cautious with the hot oil.
    You’ll need at least a quart of oil, enough to make a depth of three to four inches in the pan.  

 

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon each salt, cinnamon, ground nutmeg
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
I cup drained ricotta or small curd cottage cheese
1 cup applesauce, pumpkin puree, mashed banana or mashed butternut squash

1 teaspoon vanilla
Oil for deep frying

    Put dry ingredients in a clean bag and jostle to mix. In a bowl whisk eggs, then whisk in cheese, pureed fruit or vegetable and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients until well mixed. Heat oil to 375 degrees and cook dough in walnut-size balls (they will swell to golf ball size) until brown and crusty. Remove to paper toweling. Make in batches. Avoid crowding.
    Serve dusted with powdered sugar as a finger food snack, or sauce with caramel or pancake syrup and serve in bowls for breakfast.   

 
Is it your dream to quit your job, travel the country in an RV and make a living as you go? We did it for ten years and our book tells how.  Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition, covers the full-time lifestyle from A to Z. 

Tips for the Camp Cook
 
    * When making pasta salad, mix ranch dressing half and half with spicy barbecue sauce. Fold into pasta and vegetables.  This puts a nice red blush on the pasta.

    * Instead of cocoa try Atole, a sweet Mexican hot drink. Mix 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup masa harina, 1 tablespoon cinnamon. Stir in a quart (4 cups)  of cold water. Heat, stirring, until it thickens. Stir in 1 tablespoon vanilla. Serve hot in mugs. The bonus for people with allergies: no chocolate, no dairy, no gluten.  

 
    * Melt chocolate chips or candy-making chocolate and quickly dip plastic spoons to be used to stir cocoa or eat dessert. Cool on waxed paper until chocolate hardens.

    * Orzo is a delicious, rice-like pasta but don’t try to cook it in a rice steamer. Like all pasta, it’s cooked in boiling water. 

    * Make herb butter to melt over steaks, burgers, chops, vegetables, pasta, rice. Mash 1/4 cup mixed, dried herbs (4 to 5 different kinds)  and a tablespoon of lemon zest into a pound of softened butter. Mix well. Press into a mold and chill. 

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Pumpkin Fluff
 

    This is easy to serve in small, disposable plastic cups. I like the 3-ounce size cups for potlucks. Dispense mousse easily with a self-releasing ice cream scoop. Stick a plastic spoon in each.
1 can pumpkin
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon each vanilla, cinnamon
1 tub whipped topping (large or small, to taste)
    Whisk together pumpkin, condensed milk, cinnamon and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Chill. Serve as is or with a spritz of whipped cream on top. Makes about 12 servings.

Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
Oven-Roasted Vegetable Pilaf
 

    The secret to oven-roasting vegetables is to cut each type in a suitable size according to how quickly it will cook. Root vegetables take longer; cut in smaller pieces.
    Freeze this in family size portions to serve as a side dish or in individual portions as a vegetarian main dish.
4 cups cooked rice or orzo

8 cups cut-up vegetables (sweet pepper, asparagus, carrots, celery, onion, etc.)
Salt, pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil

½ cup toasted pine nuts

    Cook 2 cups raw rice or orzo in vegetable or chicken broth to make 4 cups cooked.  Spread on a baking sheet to cool. Set aside.  Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spread vegetables on a greased baking pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dot with garlic. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake 4 minutes, stir and bake again just until vegetables are browned and crisp-tender. Mix with rice/orzo and pine nuts.
    Package and freeze. To serve, thaw and heat. Optional: sprinkle with crumbled feta or blue cheese, shredded yellow cheese or salted sunflower seeds.     Plan ½ cup per side dish serving and 1 ½ cups per main dish portion.

Campground Potluck and Any Day Meals Made Easy

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Campground Potluck 
Recipe of the Week
Eggs-ellent Pilaf
  
  When it’s your turn to bring a side dish to the potluck, try this affordable, hearty favorite. It   can also serve as a vegetarian main dish, or you can add cooked meat and make it an entree.  This recipe serves 10 to 12 as a side dish.  Another time, serve it to your family for breakfast sprinkled with crumbled bacon instead of the chives.

1 quart (4 cups) chicken broth
½ cup water
2 cups rice
½ stick butter
3 eggs
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Dried chives

    Bring the broth, water and rice to a boil over high flame, cover, reduce flame to its lowest and cook without peeking until liquid is absorbed (about 20 minutes). Whisk eggs with pepper. When rice is done, stir in butter then the eggs. Cover, set aside 5 minutes for the heat of the rice to cook the eggs, then sprinkle with chives and keep warm until served.
    Variation: If you have a pressure cooker (and I do recommend one for saving time and fuel in the galley) bring rice and broth to full pressure for one minute. Turn off heat. Do not quick-cool. When pressure returns to normal and you can safely remove the lid stir in butter and beaten eggs, cover loosely, and let eggs solidify.

Camp Chef Tips of the Week
    * Give a lift to canned vegetables. Melt 2 to 4 tablespoons butter in a small skillet. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped nuts and a pinch of dried tarragon. Heat and drain canned or fresh vegetables and toss with this butter sauce. Makes enough for about 4 cups of vegetables. 

 
    * I love this compact air fryer for RV travel and I can also throw it into the car for tent camping or motel travel. It is SO versatile, it fries with little or no oil and takes up so little room. Sweet potato fries anyone? 


    * A vacuum sealer is invaluable for camping, even if you don’t freeze items. Use it to refrigerate leftovers, then warm by dropping the bag into hot water. Seal up non-food items too, things you need to keep safe and dry such as spare parts, dry beans, extra socks, a passport. I ike this space-saving, compact bag sealer.  Here are bags go to go with it.
Camp and RV Recipe of the Week
Warm ‘n Crunchy Chicken Salad
    Cold nights, warm salad. Canned mixed Chinese vegetables are a boon to the RV cook. The mix is colorful and has a lot of different textures. Canned water chestnuts add crunch, especially if you don’t have fresh celery. Serve over rice, noodles, ramen, or crisp Chinese noodles. 

 

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or more to taste)

3 cups bite-size cooked chicken OR
1 or 2 cans of chunk chicken
15-ounce can mixed Chinese vegetables
Small can sliced water chestnuts, drained (optional) AND/OR
2 ro 3 stalks celery, diced
½ teaspoon (or to taste) dried lemon zest (optional)
Crisp Chinese noodles

    In a small bowl whisk soup, vinegar and soy sauce. In a saucepan, sprinkle a teaspoon of powdered chicken bouillon over canned Chinese vegetables in their juice. Bring to boiling and turn off heat.  Fold in chicken and vegetables., then soup mixture.  Cover and cook over very low heat just until heated through. Adjust seasonings. Spoon over crisp Chinese noodles. Serves 4. 

Freeze-Ahead Dish of the Week
Spoonbread Burgers
    Stretch your meat supply by adding sweet, creamy corn to a sloppy joe-like recipe. Spoon this juicy treat into burger buns or over cornbread. 

2 pounds lean ground beef, turkey or pork
2 tablespoons canola oil
Medium onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Small green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 1/2 cups ketchup
15-ounce can cream-style corn
Salt, pepper to taste

    In a large skillet, fry out the meat in hot oil, gradually stirring in onion, garlic and green pepper. When meat is thoroughly cooked and crumbly, stir in ketchup and corn. Cover and cook over low heat  until meat and onion are thoroughly cooked.  Watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.
    Season to taste. Cool and freeze in batches suitable for your crew. This makes about 8 servings. It’s easily multiplied.  Heat and serve in buns or over a starch such as biscuits, cornbread, noodles, potato, rice. 

 Janet Groene's RV cookbook, Cooking Aboard Your RV, 2nd Edition,  makes an easy and welcome gift for yourself and other campers. One size fits all.
    See Janet Groene's Pantry Recipe of the Week, made 100% with shelf-stable foods, at https://boatcook.blogspot.com