Camp And RV Cook

Friday, July 10, 2026

Idiot Proof RV & Camping Meals

Summer is sliding by, so let’s get out there and camp! This is also the time to lock up reservations for the next trip or next season or next summer. Don’t forget that you also need separate tickets for camping concerts. The camping packages always go first.

CAMPING & RV RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Here's a kicky way to make use of pre-cooked chicken tenders sold in vac-pacs. They are ideal for camping because they have extended life in your ice chest or fridge. See use-by dates.

Tequila Chicken

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup hot water

1 chicken bouillon cube

14.5-ounce can stewed tomatoes

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons chili powder

½ cup tequila

14- to 16-ounce package cooked unbreaded chicken bites

Sizzle garlic in hot oil to soften. Add water, bring to a boil and dissolve bouillon cube.

Add drained tomatoes, saving juice. Whisk juice with cornstarch and chili powder and stir into the pan. Stir over medium heat until it begins to thicken. Gradually add tequila, then add chicken to heat through. Tp reduce alcohol, boil an extra five minutes.

Spoon over baked potatoes, grilled polenta,, split biscuits, steamed rice or buttered noodles..

When you make your own mixes, you save time and money AND you control ingredients if you want to omit salt, increase fiber, use a sugar substitute or add you own secret spice.

HOMEMADE MIX OF THE WEEK

What is a Cobbler called in your neck of the woods? It may be a Pandowdy, Buckle, Brown Betty, Slump, Grunt, Crisp or Crumble. Basically it’s a fruit casserole with baked-on topping.

Here’s a dry pre-mix that turns fruit into a festive dessert. Just add water.

Cobbler Mix

5 cups flour (may be gluten free)

2 cups sugar or equivalent

3 tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons each salt and baking soda

2/3 cup powdered milk

2/3 cup buttermilk powder

Mix well and divide into 8 zip-top bags. Seal shut and keep cool and dry.

To make Cobber in camp:

Oven Method: Set the oven to 350 F. Fill an 8 X 8-inch pan half full with cut up fresh, undrained canned fruit or fruit pie filling. Sweeten fruit if needed. Bake 5 minutes while you empty one bag of mix into a bowl and whisk in water to make a thick batter.

Spoon batter over hot fruit and drizzle with ½ stick butter, melted. Optional: sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake until topping is golden brown.

Stovetop method: Pour fruit in a greased skillet. Cover and heat. If using fresh fruit such as apples, cover and steam gently to soften. Add a little sugar and apple pie spice. Mix batter, pour over fruit, drizzle with butter and cover. Cook over medium heat until batter is puffy and set. It will not brown. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar for color and flavor.

Cook’s note: other optional topping suggestions: grated cheese, chocolate jimmies, colored sugar, chopped pecans. In some regions, traditional cobblers are served hot with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or whipped topping.

BE PREPARED

Stuff happens when you're away from home too. Be prepared for delays, sudden evacuation, refrigerator failure, supply chain interruptions, civil disturbances. http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe How much food will you need for a week in the woods for two adults and two kids? A month in a remote fish camp? A two-week power outage camp? Survival Food Handbook for tips on buying, stowing, and make meals from ordinary supermarket supplies that need no fresh ingredients.

Campers have limited storage space for emergency food. Survival Food Handbook is just for campers, truckers, RV travelers and boaters. Make the most of every ounce, inch and dollar. Have a stash of staples you will use and replenish. http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

LIFESAVER SAUCE OF THE WEEK

Camp cooking is full of unplanned disasters–a burnt edge, a collapsed cake, a biscuit that isn’t done in the middle. Cover it with a sauce. Here’s one with a lot of sass and plenty of possibilities.

Smoky Mountain Sweet Sauce

Whip up a big batch of this sinfully sweet sauce to spoon over grilled meats, boiled brats, coconut shrimp or cedar planked salmon. Use it as a dip for l’il smokies, vegetables tempura or or chicken nuggets. Add it to the bean pot. Spoon it over a brick of cream cheese and serve as a spread. Melt it atop a round of Brie and surround with crackers.

Note bene: This recipe makes more than a quart of sauce. Keep it in the chiller to use ad lib over 3-6 days.

20-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained

18-ounce bottle your favorite smoky barbecue sauce

10-ounce jar apricot, peach or pineapple preserves

½ teaspoon each ground cloves and dry mustard

Optional: A few drops of liquid smoke OR

½ cup bourbon

Bring everything to a boil, stirring until it’s well mixed, then remove from heat. If you add liquid smoke, use only a drop or two at a time, especially if the barbecue sauce is highly smoked. Serve warm or refrigerate to warm up later.

How to make a walking dessert to carry in a pocket? See sweet and savory recipes for gorp, snacks and trail mix at Janet Groene’s Create A Gorp.

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Just for Fun, Try These

Two- or Three--Ingredient Tricks

Keep it your own secret and nobody will guess you took shortcuts.

* Rinse and drain a can of chopped sauerkraut and mash with a can of whole berry cranberry sauce. Heat and use as a hot dog relish.

* Chop ½ cup candied cherries and mix with a shot of bourbon into a can of coconut- pecan frosting. Frost any plain white or yellow cake. This may remind you of a holiday classic called Lane Cake.

* Mix 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 ½ to 2 cups grated cheese. Spread on bread or crackers and watch carefully under the broiler (or use a kitchen torch) until it bubbles and browns.

* Mash a can of whole berry cranberry sauce with a packet of dry onion soup mix. Mix into 2 pounds ground turkey to make turkey burgers. No other seasoning is needed.

* Chop a big handful of fresh parsley or cilantro fine and mix with a can of mild, medium or hot Rotel tomatoes to make instant salsa.

*Dump a can of Rotel and a jar of CheezWiz into a micro-safe bowl. Nuke and stir to make a hot dip to go with raw vegetables or tortilla chips.

* Unwind Twizzles and let the children string Honey Nut Cheerios on the strands to make bracelets and necklaces.. Then eat the “friendship bands” for dessert. It keeps the kids busy while grown-ups have a more leisurely meal.

* Stir raisins into chunky peanut butter and use the mixture to stuff celery or cored apples.

* Mash drained salsa into softened cream chese and serve use as a cracker spread.

* Fold a few miniature marshmallows into crushed pineapple and serve as dessert.

* Melt candy making white chocolate and dip whole, white marshmallows. Set on parchment or waxed paper to cool completely. The kids call it Polar Bear Poop.

* Stir 2 to 4 cut-up, hardboiled eggs into a can of sausage gravy. Heat gently and spoon over toast or instant grits.

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See more of Janet Groene’s camping, boating and picnic recipes at

HTTPS://www.CreateAGorp.blogspot.com and

HTTPS://www.BoatCook.blogspot.com

LABOR LESS OVER LABOR DAY

COOKING ABOARD YOUR RV

For yourself or a gift, Janet Groene's timeless RV cookbook is packed with shortcuts, space saving tips and 270 easy, delicious recipes to cook inside the camper or outside on the campfire, camp stove or grate. Amazon will wrap and ship it for you. https://amzn.to/3nNndWY

Campground Potluck Dish of the Week

Chicken Salad to Serve 25

This recipe does the math for you. The chicken can be from cans, cut from rotisserie birds or your own, homemade cooked and diced chicken.

8 cups cooled cooked chicken cut in small dice

1/3 cup bottled French dressing

1 1/4 cups mayonnaise

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pickle relish

6 hard-cooked eggs, diced

6 cups diced celery OR

6 cups halved seedless grapes

½ cup toasted sliced almonds

Mix chicken and French dressing in a sealed bag and chill several hours. To proceed, mix chicken with remaining ingredients. Chill and serve topped with slivered almonds.

MAKE AHEAD DISH OF THE WEEK

Pork Chops and Stuffing

This recipe is easily multiplied. You need six pork chops for each box of stuffing mix.

6 thick, lean pork chops

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon each pepper and poultry seasoning

2 cups water

1 chicken bouillon cube

2 ribs celery, chopped

Medium onion, diced

Medium apple, peeled and diced

2/3 cup dried cranberries or golden raisins

1 box chicken or pork stuffing mix

Mix flour and seasonings. Dredge chops in seasoned flour. Discard excess flour. Brown chops in hot oil, cover and braise until pork tests done at 165 F. Do not cook partially. Cool.

Bring water to a boil, stir in bouillon to dissolve and add onion, celery, dried fruit and apple. Reduce heat, cover and cook until vegetables are tender. Stir in stuffing mix, cover and let steep. If stuffing is too stiff, stir in a little water.

Cut a slit in pork chops and fill with as much stuffing as possible. Place chop on a sheet of foil and spread remaining stuffing on top. Seal foil, cool and freeze. In camp, thaw packets and heat on the grill, in the oven or in a covered skillet over medium heat.

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GOOD TO KNOW

Instant pudding mixes work with UHT, fresh, canned or reconstituted powdered milk. Results vary with non dairy milks such as almond, oat and coconut but they WILL work.

NO BAKE DESSERT OF THE WEEK

Apple Rings

4 to 6 large apples, cored and cut in rings

½ stick butter (and more if needed)

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Prepare apples. Melt butter. Fry apple slices until crisp-tender. Arrange two or three rings on each plate and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Serve plain or with:

Vanilla Peanut Sauce

1 package French vanilla instant pudding mix

2 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Whisk mix and milk until pudding thickens. Whisk in peanut butter until smooth and spoon over hot apple rings. Optional: sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

COME BACK EVERY FRIDAY FOR

MORE SHORTCUT RECIPES FOR THE CAMP CHEF

Friday, July 03, 2026

Camping, RV and Food Fireworks

Happy hungry 4th of July, Campers & RV-ers! Let's eat! Here are recipes to enjoy on summer camping trips.

Slow Cooker All Day Beef

Drop a pot roast in the slow cooker. No browning needed. Paste on a tangy sauce, and forget it while you enjoy your day. The secret is in the spices listed here.

3- to 4-pound pot roast

Medium onion

Paste:

1 tablespoon each flour, water, Dijon-style mustard, ketchup, minced garlic and Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon each vinegar, sugar

Trim excess fat from the roast and discard it where it won’t attract bugs or wild animals. Spray slow cooker with nonstick spray. Scatter onions on the bottom. Add meat.

Stir remaining ingredients into a paste and spread over the top of the roast. Cook undisturbed up to 10-12 hours on Low or 5 to 6 hours on High. Remove from cooker when it’s tender but not falling apart. Let stand 10-15 minutes before slicing. Serve as a knife-and fork meal or set up a choice of sauces to make roast beef sandwiches with buttered buns.

See more of Janet Groene’s galley-ready recipes at https://BoatCook.blogspot.com

FAMILY CAMP DINNER OF THE WEEK

Creamy Chicken Haystacks

Pick up a rotisserie chicken or open a couple of cans of chunk chicken. Crisp chow mein noodles form a crunchy bed for creamy chicken.

About 3 cups diced, cooked chicken

Crisp noodles make all the difference

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 ½ cup frozen mixed vegetables

1 packet (2-cup size) country gravy mix

1 2/3 cups water

2 teaspoons mixed dried Italian herbs

14-ounce tub small curd cottage cheese OR

8-ounce brick of cream cheese, diced

Optional: 2 tablespoons dry sherry

Milk, water or evaporated milk as needed

1 package crisp chow mein noodles

Dice chicken. Thaw frozen vegetables or chop a medley of fresh veggies. Heat oil and sizzle chicken and vegetables to brown chicken and soften vegetables.

Whisk 1 2/3 cups water and gravy mix. Stir into the pot with the chicken, vegetables and herbs. When the sauce begins to thicken, stir in sherry and cottage or cream cheese. Stir until cheese blends, then thin to taste with water or milk. Adjust seasonings.

Make a stack of chow mein noodles on each plate and cover with a generous serving of creamy chicken. Serve at once. Serves 6 to 8.

WHEN FOOD EMERGENCIES

TRIP UP YOUR CAMPING TRIP

MAKE AHEAD DISH OF THE WEEK

Manicotti Surprise

This recipe takes time to assemble but it’s quick to heat up and serve. It will win smiles when everyone realizes the tubes are filled with tasty, juicy wienies.

12 manicotti tubes

12 slender hot dogs

12 slender string cheeses

2 large dill pickles

4 cups spaghetti sauce, your own or store-bought

Cook manicotti al dente. Do not over-cook. Drain pickles well and cut in long, thin fingers. Carefully stuff each tube with a hot dog, pickles and cheese. Arrange tubes in pan(s) and cover with spaghetti sauce. Wrap and freeze. In camp, thaw and bake at 350F until bubbly. Serves 12.

NO BAKE DESSERT OF THE WEEK

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Everyone digs in when this nutty ball sits on the table. Surround it with a section of buttery crackers, Scoops, tortilla chips or apple slices.

8-ounce brick of cream cheese

1/2 stick butter (no substitutes)

½ teaspoon vanilla flavoring

½ cup powdered sugar

1 cup fine chopped pecans

1 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

About 1 ½ cups fine crushed potato chips

Let cream cheese and butter warm to “room” temperature and mix with the powdered sugar, vanilla, pecans and mini chocolate chips. Form into a ball and roll in crushed potato chips to coat completely. Surround with go-withs.

CAMPGROUND POTLUCK DISH OF THE WEEK

This colorful side dish will stand out on the potluck table.

Ruby Red Cabbage

Medium head red cabbage, shredded fine

Medium red onion, sliced thin

Medium Granny Smith apple, peeled and sliced

½ stick butter

1 teaspoon Better Than Beef bouillon

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

½ cup dry red wine or grape juice

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ cup red jelly such as currant, cherry or seedless raspberry

Salt, pepper to taste

Cut up vegetables and apple. Melt butter and stir in bouillon. Stir fry cabbage to coat. Add water. Cover, reduce heat and cook until cabbage is tender. Whisk cornstarch into wine and vinegar. Stir into cabbage. When it begins to thicken, add jelly a tablespoon at a time to melt and mix well with the cabbage. Adjust seasoning. Serve warm.

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Throughout the books, Farley shares shortcut recipes from the days when she was a charterboat cook.

BONUS RECIPE

Devilish “Crab”

Save a bundle by buying artificial crab. It’s an ideal provision for camping and RV trips because it comes in refrigerated vac packs for an expanded life in the fridge or ice chest. This simple recipe has taste, elegance and just the right bite.

1 cup mixed fine dice celery, red and green pepper, celery and onion

1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil

12-ounce package artificial crab, cut up or shredded

Small can evaporated milk

Water

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 ½ tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon each dry mustard powder and garlic salt

½ cup seasoned bread crumbs

½ stick real butter

Prepare vegetables. Add water to evaporated milk to make 1 cup. Whisk milk with sherry, flour, mustard and salt. Sizzle vegetables in hot butter or oil until soft, gradually adding “crab”. Stir over medium heat until thickened. Divide into servings in ramekins or small bowls.

Heat the stick of butter, stir in bread crumbs until toasty and sprinkle over each serving. Serve at once or finish in the oven to add a toasty top to the bread crumbs.

CAMP BREAKFAST OF THE WEEK

Cheesecake Sausage Pie

8 fully cooked link sausages, thawed

10-count tube biscuits

8-ounce brick of cream cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon flour

½ teaspoon lemon extract

Cinnamon sugar:

Mix 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Set the oven to 350 F. In a large, greased pie pan or oven-proof skillet, arrange biscuits and press to form a crust. Add sausages in spokes. Bake 5 to 7 minutes. .

Mix softened cream cheese with the egg, flour, sugar and lemon extract. Pour over biscuit layer and return to the oven for 18 minutes or until the crust is toasty around the edges and filling is set. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and cut in wedges. Serves 8.

LIFESAVER SAUCE OF THE WEEK

Plain-jane dishes turn from blah to ballistic when you add just a taste of this assertive sauce.

Burgundy Sauce

½ cup sugar

½ cup Burgundy wine

1/4 cup orange marmalade

½ teaspoon lemon extract

½ teaspoon apple pie spice

Stir together in a small pan and heat gently until sugar dissolves. Serve sparingly over fresh or canned fruit cup, sizzling steakburgers or grilled salmon. Makes a scant cupful of sauce.

WHAT IS FULL-TIME RV TRAVEL REALLY LIKE?

We spill our whole story, start to end, warts and all.....

We traveled full-time for 10 great years.

Friday, June 26, 2026

May the 4th Be With You. Go camping!

Campsite cooking made easier, from campfire to camp stove to the fanciest RV range....

Sweet Patootie Chili

Your family won’t miss the meat in this flavorful, vegetarian/vegan chili. It’s a snap for the camp stove, solar cooker, pressure cooker, Dutch oven or a black kettle hung over the campfire. No salt is listed because the canned beans and tomatoes may provide all you need. Add pepper if you like and/or pass the hot sauce. Serves 6.

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cocoa powder, unsweetened

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Large onion, peeled and diced

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

Large red sweet pepper, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 cans red beans, drained and rinsed

28-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice

1 cup water, broth or tomato juice

1 cup long grain rice

Optional garnish: minced cilantro or parsley, sour ream, crisp croutons, crumbled saltines or oyster crackers

Slow cooker method: Spray the upper sides of the cooker, not the bottom. Mix spices in the cooker, adding freshly ground pepper if using. Then stir in onion, sweet potatoes, red beans, tomatoes, water or broth, peppers and garlic. Cook on High one hour. Stir in rice, turn heat to Low and cook 5 to 8 hours more until rice is plump and tender, adding water if needed.

Solar cooker method: Follow instructions above, adding rice after mixture becomes shimmering hot. Continue cooking until rice is tender.

Pressure Cooker method: Do not fill the pressure cooker more than 2/3 full. Assemble ingredients as above and bring to a boil. Stir in rice and raise to full pressure. For white rice, cook 2 minutes and brown rice 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let pressure return to normal. Do not quick-cool. Stir and serve.

Dutch oven method: Start the campfire early enough to have a nice bed of coals. Spray sides of Dutch oven (but not the bottom) with nonstick spray. Then proceed as above, adding rice after mixture is hot. Surround the covered pot with well-started coals for an hour or more, adding water as needed.

Stove Top Method: In a roomy skillet or kettle over high heat, sizzle diced onion and pepper in 2 tablespoons hot vegetable oil, gradually stirring in spices, garlic and sweet potatoes to coat. Add tomatoes, water and beans. Bring to a boil, stir in rice, cover and reduce heat. Cook 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding liquid if needed until rice and vegetables are tender. Stir and serve.

Campground Potluck Dish of the Week

Turkey Lollipops

Everyone loves these cuties. When I was growing up in Ohio, supermarkets sold a similar skewer. The ground meat was shaped like a drumsticks, and called City Chicken. It was sold raw, to be baked at home.

16 bamboo skewers

2 pounds ground turkey

1 teaspoon garlic salt

10-ounce jar apricot preserves

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 cups dry bread crumbs or more as needed\

Pan spray

Set the oven for 425 degrees. Line pan(s) with nonstick foil. Spray foil.

Mix turkey, garlic salt, preserves and mustard and divide into 16 portions. Form each portion around a skewer, leaving some of the skewer for a handle. Spread crumbs on a paper plate and roll each “lollipop” in crumbs to coat.

Arrange skewers on foil. Spray lightly on both sides with pan spray. Bake, turning once or twice until browned and crusty.

PANTRY RECIPE OF THE WEEK

(No fresh ingredients required; serves 4-6)

See a book on pantry prepper foods below.

Tin Can Camper Beef Curry

Curries are primarily humble rice dishes, but the toppings called "boys" turn it into a gourmet dish.

1 tablespoon ghee or vegetable oil

1 to 2 tablespoons curry powder*

10- to 12-ounce can roast beef in gravy

1/3 cup water

1-2 tablespoons curry powder

14.5-ounce can diced potatoes, drained

8-ounce can diced carrots, drained

1 packet gravy mix (chicken, turkey, beef or pork)**

2/3 cup water

2 cups cooked rice

Heat oil with curry until fragrant. Add the beef and gravy with the 1/3 cup water. Break up meat and heat gently with potatoes and carrots. Whisk gravy mix with the 2/3 cup of cold water and stir into pan. Heat, stirring until it thickens.

Spoon over rice with traditional curry toppings such as:

Shredded coconut Diced cucumbers

Chopped peanuts Sour cream or yogurt

Mango chutney Baby gherkins, chopped

Dried fruit such as golden raisins or dried cherries

*Cook’s note: curry powders differ greatly and some cooks make their own.

** Buy the size gravy packet that calls for one cup water.

BE PREPARED

SNACKS OF THE WEEK

Chutney Cream Dip

3 bricks,8 ounces each, cream cheese

½ cup chutney (or more to taste)

½ cup each raisins and chopped dry roasted peanuts

1 packet real bacon bits

1 cup sour cream

Water, milk, cream or white wine

Crackers for serving

Let cream cheese soften to “room” temperature and mix in chutney, raisins, peanuts, bacon bits and sour cream. To serve now as a dip or spread, thin to taste with water, milk or white wine. To serve later, chill. Then let it come to room temperature. Makes about one quart dip.

Coconut Patties

12 ounces vanilla flavor candy melts

14-ounce package shredded coconut

1 cup real chocolate chips (optional)

Serve plain or drizzle with chocolate

Melt candy melts according to package directions and fold in coconut until it won’t hold any more. Using two spoons, drop on waxed paper and flatten to make patties. When patties harden, melt chocolate chips and drizzle over patties. Let harden. Keep cool.

Lifesaver Sauce of the Week

Vampire Chaser Garlic Cheese Sauce

This recipe makes about two cups of a bold sauce to enhance almost any bland dish. For garlic lovers it’s also good as a substitute for Cheese Rarebit. Simply heat it and spoon over toast.

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons minced garlic

Small onion, minced

1 teaspoon capers

½ cup milk

8-ounce brick cream cheese, diced

1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and cook garlic and onion to soften. Add capers, milk, cream cheese, condensed soup and paprika. Stir until smooth and spoon over boiled or baked potatoes, steamed vegetables, omelet, grilled meat or fish, pastas or buttered noodles.

MAKE AHEAD DISH OF THE WEEK

Corny Ham Hot Dish

1 pound medium pasta such as gemelli, rotini, fusilli or macaroni

2 medium onions, diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine

14- to 16-ounce package shredded cheddar or other mild cheese

2 cans, 11 ounces each, Mexican style corn such as Mexicorn

2 cans, 14.5-ounces each, cream style corn

Small can evaporated milk

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

2 pounds cooked ham, diced

Bring pasta water to a boil with the onions, garlic and carrot. When it’s boiling, add pasta and cook it al dente. Drain pasta, saving some of the water. Fold heese into hot pasta. When it begins to melt add corn, ham, mustard and evaporated milk. Stir as it cools, adding some of the pasta water to moisten if needed. Measure into small batches for freezing, allowing 1 to 1 ½ cups per serving.

Cool completely, seal packages and freeze. In camp, thaw, stir and heat. Cook’s note: if possible, freeze in boilable bags and simply heat in hot water.

Suggested garnish:

Just before serving top with crushed potato chips, chopped sweet pickles or French’s French fried onion rings.

* You might use the salty juice as part of the water measure for cooking the pasta

Looking for your next road trip? See dates, destinations, ideas and bucket list trips here and there, sooner or later, large and small, tent or RV, cheap and splurge at https://janetgroene.blogspot.com

Friday, June 19, 2026

Camping & RV Food for Thought

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE AND SAVE JANET GROENE’S

SURVIVAL SOUP MASTER RECIPE

Sweeten Summer Memories When

Everyone Pitches In

RV & CAMPING RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Summer Slaw Salad

Yogurt and walnuts turn fruit salad into a protein-rich main dish. Save the pineapple juice to make fruit punch.

3 cups packaged shredded cabbage coleslaw mix

1 cup plain yogurt

1 teaspoon salt

Medium banana, cut up

20-ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained

2 or 3 small mandarin oranges, peeled and separated

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

2 cups vanilla flavored yogurt

Toss cabbage with plain yogurt. Sprinkle with salt. Add fruit, coconut and nuts and toss lightly with flavored yogurt. Serves 4 to 6 as a main dish salad and up to 8 as a side salad.

JUST IN TIME FOR FATHERS DAY

COOKING ABOARD YOUR RV

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

https://amzn.to/3nNndWY

BONUS RECIPE

Wilted Lettuce Salad

1 big bowlful of torn red and green leaf lettuce

Sliced fresh mushrooms ad lib

4 thick bacon slices, cut up

½ cup red wine vinegar

About 1/2 cup salad oil

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons grainy mustard

Prepare salad bowl. Fry out bacon and drain crisp bits on paper toweling. Add salad oil to bacon drippings make ½ cup oil. Return to skillet with the vinegar, sugar and mustard. Heat, stir and drizzle over lettuce. Toss salad and serve.

SKILLET MEAL OF THE WEEK

Granny’s Pork, Potatoes & Apple

Cooked outdoors in a skillet on the camp stove, this smells wonderful. This my shortcut version. If you use fresh potatoes instead of the hashbrowns you’ll need two or three, scrubbed and diced.

4.1-ounce carton Hungry Jack hashbrown potatoes

8 fully cooked sausage patties, thawed

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced

Medium yellow squash, diced

Medium onion, diced

1/4 cup water, broth, apple juice or white wine

2 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon each salt, poultry seasoning

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup cold water

Optional:

2 teaspoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Add water to the carton of hashbrowns according to package directions. Set aside to soften. Sizzle sausages in hot oil, gradually stirring in apple, squash, onion and the rehydrated potatoes. Press potatoes into pan drippings to brown them,

Add the 1/4 cup liquid of choice. Cover and cook over low-medium heat until vegetables are tender.

Whisk flour and seasonings into the cup of cold water and stir into skillet to make a sauce. When it’s thickened, stir mixture spoon into plates, allotting two patties per portion. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Serves 4.

BLACK POT RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Backwoods Boiled Meatloaf

There are still a few of us left. I mean campers who like a secluded campsite in the woods, a crackling campfire, and a black pot tended by a cook who makes an hours-long production out of it. This recipe is good eating as well as good theater.

Unlike my other camping recipes this one does not save time, space or work. However, the meatloaf can be mixed ahead and frozen to thaw and cook later in camp.

1 ½ pounds each lean ground beef and pork

Large onion, diced small

1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper

1 ½ teaspoons poultry seasoning

½ cup dry bread crumbs

1 cup milk, water or broth, whisked with 1 large egg

4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cut in bite size

20-ounce package baby lima beans, thawed

Combine meat, onion, seasonings, bread crumbs and milk with egg and form into log. To cook now, wrap in cheesecloth. To cook later, wrap in plastic wrap for now and chill or freeze it. To cook remove plastic, thaw and wrap in cheesecloth.

Put meatloaf on a trivet or rack in a large pot. The purpose is to keep the meatloaf from direct contact with the pot. The meat will be fully or partially immersed in the water.

Bring two quarts water to a low boil/active simmer and add the meatloaf. Keep at an active simmer for two hours. Add water if needed. Add potatoes, cook another 30 minutes and add limas. Simmer 30 minutes more. Remove meatloaf to a cutting board, cool for 10 minutes and remove cheesecloth. Slice meatloaf.

Add salt and pepper to broth to taste. Serve slabs of meatloaf in soup plates with potatoes, limas and the rich broth that has formed. Serves 8 to 12.

Cook's note: to thicken broth stir in dried potatoes flakes, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring and allowing one minute before additions.

WHEN FOOD EMERGENCIES

TRIP UP YOUR CAMPING TRIP

BONUS RECIPE

Herb Butter Helper

Melt this flavor booster on hot sweetcorn, burgers, grilled fish, steaks, chops, vegetables and omelets.

2 sticks salted butter

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1 tablespoon each dried dillweed, tarragon, chives and parsley flakes

Let butter soften to “room” temperature and mash in herbs with a fork until thoroughly mixed. Chill and cut in individual wedges or squares. Serve on a chilled plate.

FREEZE AHEAD RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Mom’s Multi-Task Meaty Meat Sauce

Cue the meat and lots of it...

Make this all-purpose sauce by the gallon and freeze it in right-size portions for future camping trips. It’s the only sauce you’ll need to make a main dish out of whatever you have on hand.

Serve it in lasagna or over grilled polenta, boiled pasta or egg noodles, steamed rice, campfire- baked potatoes. Make “loaded” hot dogs. Thin it with beef or chicken broth to make soup. Add beans and zucchini and it’s minestrone.

Never be without a supply to grab-and-go on every camping trip.

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound bulk Italian sausage

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 large onions, diced fine

2 tablespoons minced garlic

½ cup robust red wine

2 cans, 6 ounces each, tomato paste

28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

28-ounce can diced tomatoes

Brown meats in hot oil, breaking them up into crumbles. Keep stir-frying while adding onion, tomatoes and garlic. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or so over low heat, stirring occasionally. Cool and measure into packages for the freezer. In camp, thaw and heat.

Cook’s note: do not add salt. Later you can season the finished dish to taste.

GIVE THE GIFT OF FREEDOM TO DAD

ON FATHERS DAY

We traveled, houseless and free, for 10 great years. We describe it, warts and all, from early beginning to a happy RV ending when we became part-timers again.

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

Where to go on your next road trip? See destination ideas near and far, sooner and later, here and there, all in the USA.

NO BAKE DESSERT OF THE WEEK

Connecticut Yankee Pear Pie

1 store-bought crumb crust, or make your own with 1 1/2 cups crumbs made from vanilla wafers and a few ginger snaps

1/2 stick butter, melted

Large can pears, drained (you may not need them all)

1 package French vanilla pudding mix

1 ½ cups milk

Small tub whipped topping

About 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Drain pears and save juice to make fruit punch. Combine crumbs and melted butter and press into a pie pan. Chill. Whisk pudding mix and cold milk and spread in crust. Add a layer of sliced pears, pressed gently into the pudding. Spread with whipped topping. Sprinkle very lightly with ground nutmeg. Chill. Serves 6 to 8.

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CUT IT OUT! Here’s a special recipe to make for yourself and give as gifts with copies of instructions for making a hot, savory survival soup.

Janet Groene’s

Happy Camper Soup Mix

copyright Janet Groene.

Buy ingredients for this emergency soup mix, then package enough individual batches to last all summer. Unlike some commercially packaged 15-bean soups, this one requires no soaking and it cooks in 30 to 45 minutes. To reduce cooking time, pease and lentils can also be soaked 30 minutes or more. This soup is also ideal for day-long cooking in a solar cooker.

After you’ve made your first master mix you’ll want to vary future batches your own way, using different rices, grains, pastas or seasonings. Just don’t add dried beans that require hours of soaking.

Why two bags per batch? Dried peas and lentils need sorting and rinsing to remove dirt and debris.

Shopping list:

1 bag dried yellow split peas

1 bag dried green split peas

1 bag brown lentils

1 bag red or yellow lentils

1 bag brown rice

1 bag pearl barley

2 small bags tiny pasta such as alphabet, orzo or small shells

Large bottle chicken bouillon cubes

Large bottle beef bouillon cubes

Large package Knorr tomato bouillon cubes

Large bottle dried parsley

Large bottle dried onion bits

Bay leaves

To package soup mix for four servings each:

1. Mix all peas and lentils. Put ½ cup in each snack size bag and zip closed. In a separate bag place:

3 tablespoons each brown rice, pearl barley and tiny pasta

1 each beef, chicken and tomato bouillon cubes

1 tablespoon each dried onion bits and dried parsley

½ teaspoon garlic granules or powder (not garlic salt)

½ teaspoon celery seed

Put the two bags in one bag or jar with one bay leaf and instructions. Each package makes four servings soup. Keep dry.

Instructions to make soup:

1. Discard bay leaf. Rinse split peas and lentils. Soaking optional. Drain. Bring 4 cups water to a boil and stir in pea and lentil mix. Unwrap bouillon cubes and stir them in with the bag of other ingredients.

2. Cover, lower heat and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, adding water is needed, until rice and dried vegetables are tender. If soup is too thick add water, broth or tomato juice. Stir well, adjust seasonings and ladle into soup bowls.

Cook’s note: To make a vegan/vegetarian mix, substitute vegetable bouillon for the beef and chicken cubes.

Variations:

To each batch of soup add one or two of the following ingredients to the boiling water:

1 carrot, potato or parsnip, peeled and chopped fine

1 large rib celery, trimmed and chopped

Small can chunk chicken, turkey or ham

A few snipped, sun-dried tomatoes

Optional garnish for the finished soup:

Diced scallion

Sweet onion, diced

Shredded cheese

Shaved hard cheese

Bits of jerky

Seeded, diced fresh tomato

Croutons

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This blog posts every Friday. If you want a quick email when new posts go up, email janetgroene@yahoo.com and put RV YES in the topic line.