Eats and Treats for Camping and RV Travel

Blog copyright Janet Groene 2020 all rights reserved. To donate $5 a year as a voluntary subscription to these weekly posts use your PayPal account to janetgroene at yahoo.com. Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CAMP AND RV RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Fruit with Pumpkin Dumplings

    Make this hot, fragrant dish on one burner and serve it for breakfast or dessert. Save the remaining pumpkin to add a golden glow to pancakes, hummus, biscuits, salad dressing or mashed potatoes. Vary the fruit if you wish. Just use plenty of it and make sure there is enough juice in the pot to keep it from burning.

Top with fluffy dumplings and it's a meal

Large can peaches, with juice
20-ounce can pineapple tidbits with juice
1 cup water
1 ½ cups biscuit mix
½ cup sugar or equivalent
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
Milk or water

    Put fruit, juices and water in a roomy saucepan and bring to a boil. In a medium bowl whisk together biscuit mix, sugar and cinnamon. Whisk pumpkin into dry mix with enough milk or water to make a stiff dough.

    Drop dough by tablespoons onto boiling liquid. Reduce heat but keep liquid at an active simmer for 10 minutes without a cover. Then cover and cook exactly 10 minutes more without peeking. Place dumplings in shallow soup bowls and sauce with fruit. Serves 6 as a breakfast main dish. 
    Cook’s note: Serve alone or with cream, yogurt, whipped topping or ice cream.

BONUS RECIPE
Reuben Skillet
 

½ stick butter    
2 cups rye bread, cut in cubes
1 cup dry white wine
32-ounce can sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
12-ounce can corned beef, broken up  
1 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)
8-ounce bag shredded Swiss cheese
Thousand Island dressing (optional)

    Melt butter in a large, heavy skillet and add bread cubes. Top with corned beef and kraut.  Drizzle with wine. Sprinkle with caraway seeds  Cover and cook over low heat until a crust forms on the bottom.
    Sprinkle with cheese, re-cover and let stand while cheese melts. Drizzle with dressing.

Tips for the Camp Cook

 

   * Survival Food Handbook is a guide to choosing, stowing and using ordinary supermarket staples for emergencies. See lists, tips, hacks, recipes require no fresh ingredients.
Kindle or paperback.   https://amzn.to/2PvOBbx

    * For juicier ground beef, mix 1 tablespoon salt with 1 teaspoon baking soda and mix well into 3 to 4  pounds ground chuck. Let stand 25 minutes, then make your burgers, meatballs or meatloaf.  

    * Toast ½ cup bread crumbs in a skillet with 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in a heaping  tablespoon of minced parsley and 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest. Sprinkle on plan soups or stews.

    * Use 2 teaspoons to scoop up blobs of frozen whipped topping and pop into hot cocoa instead of marshmallows.

    * When freezing food ahead for future camping trips, put labels on the bags or containers before filling them.Otherwise labels may stick or felt pen ink may run.

Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
Crock Pot Cube Steaks
    Serve some right away at home and freeze the rest for  future camping. 

 

 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 soup can water

1 envelope onion soup mix
8 meaty cube steaks, 6 to 8 ounces each
1 pound sliced mushrooms

    Grease a slow cooker. Whisk mushroom soups with Worcestershire  and water. Spread onion soup mix on a plate and dredge steaks in it. (Any excess can be put in the cooker.)   Layer steaks with the mushrooms and soup mixture  in a slow cooker and cook 4 hours on High or 6 hours on Low. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.
    Portions to be frozen should be cooled and packed in boilable bags with a share of the gravy. Thaw, heat, serve as a hot beef sandwich or as a knife-and-fork meal with a starch such as campfire-baked potatoes.

Scroll down for more recipes and tips

Pronto Camping Meals with Punch

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camping and RV

 Recipe of the Week

Butterscotch Punch
 

   Now that cool nights are here, a hot toddy is just the ticket when you’re sitting around a dying campfire under a starlit sky. This punch is a nice break from hot cider. It’s less acid for the bedtime tummy and, when you make it with powdered milk,  it stretches your fresh milk supply without any loss of flavor.  

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup water
1 tablespoon butter
Pinch salt
1 2/3 cups nonfat dry milk
5 cups water

    Stir sugar and the half cup of  water over low heat to dissolve, gradually stirring in butter and salt. Reduce heat, stir in 5 cups water and dry milk. Heat until it’s steamy.  Serve in mugs  

  

Tips for the Camp Cook

    * The tang of fresh citrus adds zest to meals made with canned and packaged foods. Powdered gelatin dessert mix and drink mixes are highly concentrated. Used very sparingly then add just the refreshing touch you need. Stir half a teaspoon of peach gelatin into a mug of hot tea. Add a few grains of lemon Kool-Aid to bottled applesauce. Warning: these mixes clump quickly after opening. Seal well.  

    * Don’t sneer at lowly Spam for a swift, affording camp meal. It makes wonderful Reubens.

    * Boil a pot of diced root vegetables, stir in a 16-ounce jar of picante sauce and a can of black beans. Add water or  broth to taste for a zesty vegetable soup.

    * When a soup or stew is too thin, sprinkle instant potato flakes or instant grits by the teaspoon over boiling soup. Stir one full minute before adding more as needed.  

 

Be prepared for food emergencies whether you’re at home or away. Floods. Quarantines. Wildfires. Here’s how to choose, stow and use food staples to make emergency meals without refrigeration or  busting the budget. Survival Food Handbook in Kindle or paperback.   https://amzn.to/2PvOBbx

 

 

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Fruit Compote

    When it’s your turn to bring a side dish to the family reunion or potluck, wow ‘em with this stove-top sweetie as a nice change from the same ol’ potato casseroles and corn pudding.  

Large can pears, cut up
Large can peaches, cut up
2 cups diced fresh, ripe plums (any kind that is in season), pitted and cut up
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons apple pie spice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water

    Drain fruit juice into a large pan and stir in sugar and spices. Stir cornstarch into water. Bring pot to a boil just until it thickens. Stir in fruit.  Serve warm or cold. Bring a draining spoon for serving. Serves 8 to 10.

Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
Meatballs Burgundy

2 pounds cooked meatballs (your own or store-bought)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, diced
1 packet (two-cup size) sausage gravy mix
1 cup water
1 cup ketchup
1 cup dry red wine

    Thaw meatballs if frozen. Heat oil and cook onions until very soft. In a bowl whisk gravy mix with water, ketchup and wine. Stir into onions and cook, stirring, until a thick sauce forms. Stir in meatballs.  Cool and divide meatballs and sauce into silicone freezer bags. Freeze. To serve, thaw and heat bags in boiling water. Spoon meatballs and sauce over rice, pasta, campfire-baked potato, noodles, polenta or starch of your choice. 

Scroll down to see what you missed last week

Campfire Cuisine, Motorhome Meals, RV Recipes

Blog copyright janet groene 2020. To pay $5 a year as a voluntary subscription for these weekly posts, use your PayPal account to janetgroene at yahoo.com. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CAMPING AND RV RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Cilantro Lime Taco Filling
    Mix a big batch of this versatile filling in a big bag, carry it on ice and pile  it into tortillas ad lib. It’s good with corn or flour tortillas, hard or soft tortillas and with flavored tortillas such as spinach or tomato.  Top with coleslaw,  diced tomato, shredded lettuce, grated cheese, sour cream, or nothing more at all. This filling is also good when made with well drained canned albacore tuna.

1 pound cooked chicken tenders, thawed (preferably without breading)
Juice and zest of one large lime
1 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 cup grated dry cheese such as Parmesan
    Put everything in a bag, zip closed and “work” bag gently to mix well. Chill. Spoon into tacos or wraps. 

 

 

 Do you ever wish you could just sell the house, quit your job and hit the road in an RV? We did for ten years, earning a living in travelwriting. Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition, outlines one couple's experiences in full-timing from A to Z.  https://amzn.to/3kncznw

 

 

 

FREEZE AHEAD RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Turkey and Wild Rice Chowder
    Like a condensed soup, this makes a thick, compact-to-store  blend. Thin it  with milk or light cream when it’s heated later in the campground and have a rich chowder.  This recipe is easily multiplied.

 

  
2 large turkey thighs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Medium onion, diced
Large carrot, peeled and chopped fine
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried, crumbled sage
3 cups water
1 package wild rice and rice mix (such as Uncle Ben’s)

    Partially freeze turkey. Remove skin and cut meat in small bits. Discard bone. Brown turkey in hot oil, gradually adding vegetables and sage. Add water, bring to a boil and add wild rice mix. Cover and cook over low heat until rice and turkey are tender. Cool.
    Package for the freezer, allowing 3/4 cup per portion. Heat with milk or light cream to taste to make a thick, hot chowder. Pass the pepper mill or Tabasco shaker.

Tips for the Camp Chef

   * A good rule of thumb to make a Hobo Stew  is one cup ground meat to one cup each rice and lentils. Brown meat and break it up. Add rice and lentils to coat. Keep stir frying while you add onions, tomato, seasonings or any  extras ad lib. Add 6 cups water or broth. Cover and cook over reduced heat until all is tender. Adjust seasonings. Serves 6 to 8.  

* Pack pint bags or containers with shredded cabbage. Find your favorite "overnight coleslaw" recipe. Pour the dressing equally over each bagful. Seal bags and chill, turning occasionally. Slaw is now pre-portioned to bring out one day at a time.   

* Make hush puppies the easy way. Prepare a box of cornbread mix, using only enough liquid to make a thick dough. Fold in diced, drained chilies and finely chopped onion. Deep fry by the tablespoon.

* Fry out a pound of ground turkey, add a box of stove-top stuffing and broth to moisten. Make stuffed peppers. Set each on greased foil, bring up corners and twist to seal.  Place on the grill over moderate fire until heated through.

Take your Kindle into your bunk tonight to travel vicariously with widow Farley Halladay. After her husband died she started an online charterboat booking business and her heart goes with her clients, sailing worldwide. Meanwhile she is a cook, caregiver and kicky crime solver.  https://amzn.to/2DwTzSL 

 

CAMPGROUND POTLUCK

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Poppyseed Breakfast Bread
    Is it your turn to bring treats for the coffee klatch? Make this batter into one loaf for slicing or make a dozen muffins.

2 1/4 cup cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons poppyseeds
3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs
1 ½ sticks butter
1 teaspoon almond extract
8-ounce carton lemon flavor yogurt.
1/4 cup milk

Coarse sugar (optional)

    Heat the oven to 400 degrees (350 for loaf) and fill a muffin pan with cupcake papers or heavily grease a loaf pan. Put dry ingredients in a bowl or bag and jostle to mix. Beat eggs, softened butter, milk, almond and yogurt. Stir in dry ingredients and put batter in pan or muffin cups.  Sprinkle top with coarse sugar if you have some. Bake until it tests done with a toothpick.

Scroll down to see what you missed in previous posts.

Camping Meals the Easy Way

blog copyright janet groene, all rights reserved. To donate $5 a year as a voluntary one-year subscription to this weekly blog use your PayPal account to janetgroene at yahool.com

Who is Janet Groene?  Life for Janet began in a tent camping family.  After van camping for fun, Janet and Gordon Groene  sold everything and went on their way as a travelwriter and photographer team, living winters on board a sailboat with a two-burner Primus stove, no oven and a tiny fridge some of the time. To prepare for many months in the remote islands of the Bahamas, Janet  learned to bake bread without an oven, home-canned meat and provisioned  with staples for up to six months at a time.

Their summer home was a 21-foot camper with propane stove and  small gas/110V  fridge. As travelwriters their assignments took them worldwide, often on rental boats or RV's with a variety of food prep facilities and sometimes none at all. Janet claims she can make a 5-course meal in a telephone booth. Maybe some of these ideas will work for your camping style. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camp and RV

 Recipe of the Week

Slow Cooker Turkey Kebabs
Note the unusual way this dish is put into the cooker.

 

Add caption

 

1 cup raw long-grain rice
Salt, pepper
1 cup water
1 ½  pounds boneless, skinless turkey cut in 1-inch cubes
2 medium zucchini, cut in half-inch slices
Medium red sweet pepper, seeded and cut in squares
Medium green sweet pepper, seeded and cut in squares
½ cup bottled Italian dressing

Skewers

    Make 6 to 8 colorful kebabs by alternating turkey, zucchini and peppers. Put lightly seasoned  rice in a sprayed slow cooker and stir in 1 cup water. Cover with a layer of foil sprayed on both sides. Put  kebabs in a single layer on the foil, drizzle with dressing. If needed, make another layer of kebabs using foil sprayed on both sides. 
    Cook 5 hours on High. Remove kebabs with tongs and remove rice to a serving bowl or places with a spoon. Serves 6.
   
Tips for the Camp Cook

   * Want to add a complete room to your camper? See what’s new at cascadiatents.com. It’s a family-owned company that specializes in tent structures that attach to vehicles. The plus side is the added room in a clever design. On the minus side, they are bulky to store, take time to set up and aren’t suitable for casual, overnight stops just anywhere.

 

 

 * Thermos bottles are a great help in camping. Whether or not you have a fire going you can always have hot water for instant drinks or washing up.

    * Dry frosting mix is still available!  It’s hard to find but is  lightweight for travel, delicious and made with egg whites so it’s fat free! You do need a good egg beater or wand mixer. Use it on plain cake or cookies, graham crackers, daub it on canned fruit or instant pudding. Order a supply of 6 packets  for camping. https://amzn.to/2V0v0ku

    *Make a snappy snack spread for crackers or roll-ups. Soften an 8-ounce brick of cream cheese at “room” temperature and use a fork to mash in a 4-ounce can of deviled ham and a cup of pecan or almond meal. 

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Pork and Bean Salad
    This colorful salad looks promising on the potluck table and it goes with everything. Amounts can be varied for any size crowd. Ordinary, old-fashioned pork and beans is still one of the most affordable means in the market.

 2 cans pork and beans, pork discarded
Medium sweet onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 to 3 plum tomatoes, diced and drained
3 hard-boiled eggs, diced
1/4 cup pickle relish or more to taste
Mayonnaise to taste

    Mix everything together and chill. Garnish with sliced pickles if you like. Serves 8 to 10.


Freeze Ahead Recipe of the Week
    
Sugar Box Butter Pound Cake
    Pound cake is firm, easy to wrap and carry, and friendly to freezing whole or in individual slices.  Wrap each slice in a double layer of waxed paper. Then thaw, unfold paper to form a shallow bowl, add fruit or sauce and eat out of the paper. No dishes to wash. Serve with sauce, syrup,  fruit, frosting or just a sifting of cinnamon sugar

1 box powdered sugar
3 sticks salted butter
6 eggs
Sifted flour or cake flour
1 teaspoon each vanilla and lemon extracts

    Set the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan. Cream butter and sugar, gradually adding eggs and flavorings. Then fill the sugar box lightly, spoon by spoon, with flour and add it gradually to the batter. Beat well. Bake 35 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 degrees for another 30 to 35 minutes or until cake tests done with a cake tester or tooth pick. Cool 5 minutes, then carefully turn out of the pan and cool thoroughly. Wrap and freeze.


    

See more galley ready recipes below and at https://boatcook.blogspot.com

Camping Meals Less Labor, More Fun

 

CAMPING AND RV RECIPES OF THE WEEK

Bread Pudding Breakfast

This is a good way to use up stale bread. It makes a delicious pudding for dessert or a one-dish breakfast  with or without a dollop of yogurt or butterscotch sauce. In place of fresh milk you can use a small can of evaporated milk plus water to make 1 1/3 cup. 

10 pieces slightly stale bread or toast 

Butter

2 bananas, sliced

8-ounce milk chocolate bar, broken up 

1/3 to ½ cup raisins or dried cranberries

1/3 cup white or brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups whole milk or light cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Butter bread or toast and cut in cubes. Put in a buttered casserole for oven baking or a large, deep buttered heavy skillet (preferably cast aluminum)  for stove-top baking. 

Alternately with the bread cubes, scatter the chocolate pieces, raisins and banana slices as you go.   Whisk together sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla until sugar dissolves. Pour carefully over the bread. 

Let stand at least 15 minutes , pressing bread down, while  mixture soaks into the bread. Bake at 350 degrees or until the custard tests done. Mixture will be puffy and golden on top.  

For stove-top baking, cover skillet tightly and place over a  low-medium burner. Test after 20 minutes, then continue cooking if necessary until the custard  is “set”. Top will not brown. 

    Serves 4 to 6. 

 Variation: #1 substitute a well-drained can of sliced peaches for the bananas. Variation #2. Forget the sugar, chocolate and vanilla and make bread pudding as a savory vegetarian  main dish. Add steamed broccoli bits or other vegetables plus seasonings such as garlic, salt and pepper and an herb such as thyme, rosemary or basil.
 

Freeze-Ahead  Recipe of the Week

Make this sauce in your biggest pot and freeze it in smaller batches according to  the size of your camping family.   Add beans to make chili OR serve sauce over pasta OR add rice or noodles to  make casseroles OR thin isauce with mixed  vegetables and broth or tomato juice to make soups. The possibilities are endless.

Gallon ‘O Sauce

1 pound lean ground pork or pork sausage

1 pound ground turkey

1 pound lean ground beef, regular grind

1 pound lean ground beef, chili grind

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Large carrot, finely chopped 

Half a small cabbage, finely chopped

1 cup dry red wine

2 to 3 ribs celery, chopped

Medium green bell pepper, chopped

Heaping tablespoon mixed Italian seasoning

4 cans, 28 ounces each, crushed tomatoes

Fry out meats in batches until crumbly Add everything else. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat 45 minutes, stirring from time to time.  Cool,  measure into packages and freeze, allowing 1 to 1 ½ cups per portion.

Tips for the Camp Cook

* Rule of thumb: six medium eggs equal five large eggs or seven small eggs. 

* Conversion: one liter of milk or water is 1.06 quarts or 2.1 pints. 1 cupful is 250 mililiters.

 

* Make a gluten free icebox pie crust with crushed, gluten-free cereal flakes and melted butter. Press into pie pan. Chill. 

* Find grease spatter spots in RV wall covering? Remove ASAP. Before trying a harsh cleaner that could bleach out the color, work in some cornstarch with a soft brush. Let it absorb oil, then brush it off. Clean with mild soap solution. Rinse.

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Start with February Felony,   https://amzn.to/31uR1wr or March Malice     https://amzn.to/30CJRY3

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week

When it’s your turn to bring the salad, mix up this quickie in minutes.  Carrots are now available pre-grated and also cut in matchsticks and other shapes. 

Calico Carrot Salad 

2 cups grated carrots

2 cups matchstick carrots

2 cups grated cabbage (coleslaw mix with carrot and a little red cabbage)

½ cup each  raisins and dried cranberries

8-ounce carton orange flavor yogurt

1 cup mayonnaise

10-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained

Mix everything together, carefully folding in oranges last. Chill. 

Cook’s note: for plumper dried fruits,  soak them in the juice from the oranges. Then drain well and fold in. Serves 10. 

Easy Recipes for Outdoors, Camping and RV Trips

Blog copyright janet groene 2020, all rights reserved. To donate $5 a year as a voluntary subscription to these weekly posts use your PayPal account to janetgroene at yahoo.com

  

Camping and RV Recipe of the Week

Backwoods Biryani

    If your family loves exotic dishes, try this elegant Indian one-pot classic with my usual shameless shortcuts. Use canned chunk chicken or  pick up a rotisserie chicken and tear meat  off the bones.

2 tablespoons canola oil
Medium onion, peeled and sliced in crescents
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon turmeric
4 cups cooked chicken cut in bite size
2 to 3 tablespoons mild curry paste
½ cup raisins
3 cups water
3 teaspoons chicken base (e.g. Maggi or Knorr)
1 ½ cups rice, preferably basmati, well rinsed
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed (optional)
Sliced almonds


    In a large skillet or pot stir-fry onions in hot oil until they begin to soften. Stir in bay leaf and spices until fragrant, then remove and discard  bay leaf. Add chicken, curry paste, raisins, water and chicken base. Bring to a boil and add rice. Cover and simmer over very low fire  until rice is tender.
    Stir in peas and sprinkle with almonds. Serve at once. Makes six main dish servings. 

 

Just right for cozy reading on your Kindle when camping, the Yacht Yenta series features feisty widow Farley Halladay, her dog Scuppers and her menagerie of friends while she cooks, copes with caregiving, solves crimes and lets her mind drift off to the sea travels she shared with her late husband. She's poignant, funny, inspiring to any woman who has lost a loved one and has to paddle her own canoe now.  Start with March Malice  https://amzn.to/30CJRY3


Campground Potluck Recipe of the Month
Avocado Shrimp Wiggle
    This dish has to be gelled before you drive away. Don’t travel with liquid gelatin sloshing around in your fridge.

1 pound peeled, de-veined, cooked shrimp
Large, ripe avocado (or two to three Haas avocados)
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 packet lemon gelatin dessert
1 packet lime gelatin dessert
2 cups boiling water
½ cup cold water
1 cup mayonnaise

 
    Thaw and drain shrimp. Cut up in large. Scatter in a bowl, mold or pan such as a 9 X 13-inch baking dish. Dice the avocado into a small bowl and toss with the lemon juice to coat well. Arrange over shrimp.
     Dissolve both packets of gelatin in the boiling water, stirring well. Then whisk in cold water and mayonnaise until smooth and creamy.  Pour over shrimp mixture, cover with plastic wrap and chill until set. Cut in squares or serve with a spoon. Makes 12 to 15 servings.
Cook’s note: this makes a pretty presentation on the potluck table if you put it on small, lettuce-lined paper plates.

Tips for the Camp Cook

    * Out of bread and in a hurry for sandwiches? Make wafflewiches with thawed waffles from the freezer. 

    * Make play dough for the kids on a rainy day in camp. Cook 1 1/4 cups biscuit mix, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1/4 cup salt with 1 cup water. Stir constantly over medium heat until it forms a ball. Cool, knead until smooth and roll between sheets of parchment paper. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and paint or shape to make jewelry or hang-up ornaments. Bake 1 to 1½ hours at 225 degrees until hard. Make sure the kids don’t eat them. 

    * Carefully use a flexible silicone baking mat or a plastic cutting board cover to chop nuts. Lift, form a funnel, pour.

    * Store-bought shortcake cups make great shortcut desserts and you can just decide at the last minute what to use for filling, How about mandarin oranges sauced with orange flavored yogurt or instant chocolate pudding and whipped topping?
Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
Pistachio Freezecake
    Most of my freeze-ahead recipes can be brought from home in an ice chest and used within three days even if they thaw. This one needs to stay frozen until serving time, so make it only if you have a freezer in your camper.  It’s ideal for one large pie or several smaller ones.

 

 
1 large graham cracker pie crust
½ cup chopped pistachio nuts

8-ounce brick of cream cheese
1 1/4  cups milk
1 package pistachio instant pudding mix
8-ounce tub of whipped topping, thawed

    Sprinkle pistachios in pie crust. Chill crust. Mix cream cheese and milk until smooth, then mix in pudding mix. When it begins to to set, stir in half the topping. Put in the crust. When it sets, spread with remaining topping. Wrap and freeze. Remove from the freezer 60-45 minutes before serving. Serves 6 to 8. 

Camp Cuisine from Tent to RV, Campfire to Cookstove

blog copyright janet groene, all rights reserved. To ask about rates to place one one for one year, one low rate, on all six Groene sites email janetgroene at yahoo.com

Why "Camping and RV Cook"?
    All campers eat,  but we all have different appetites and equipment. Here we find recipes, shortcuts and hacks that save space, time, money, mess and resources such as water and cooking fuels. 

 

Camping and RV Recipe of the Week
(Scroll down for our Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week)
Savory Granola Bars
    Granola bars don’t always have to be sweet.  For a change, try this savory version as a snack or with a mug of soup for a light supper.  Eggs in a carton save time and mess. 

2/3 cup liquid eggs or egg whites
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups crisp rice cereal
1 cup grated dry cheese such as Parmesan
1 teaspoon each salt,  garlic powder and chili powder
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup peanut butter

  

  Spray or grease a 9 X 13-inch pan. Set the oven to 350 degrees.  Stir everything together and press in pan. Bake about 30 minutes or until set. Cut in 16 bars. Cool, remove from the pan and wrap individually to grab and go.
Stove Top Method: Grease a cold 12-inch skillet and press dough into it. Cover tightly and cook over low-medium heat until it’s toasty on sides and bottom and firm in the middle. Cool completely, cut, package, wrap.  Stove-top baking takes patience and practice depending on your heat source and type of pans.

If you want a quick email poke each week when new posts go up here, email janetgroene at yahoo.com and put RV Yes in the topic line.
It’s a crock to carry a heavy pottery slow cooker when you can get one that has a metal pan. It’s lighter, it can be used on the stove to brown meat first, and it’s another pan you can use on the gas stove when you have no electric hookup.  http://amzn.to/1SAdDyt

Camp Cook Tip. Too many veggies on hand? Make Quickles. Pack pint jars tightly with cut-up veggies or  shredded cabbage,  a clove or two of garlic and a teaspoon of pickling spices.  Boil 1 cup white vinegar with 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon non-iodized salt. Pour over vegetables to cover. Refrigerate up to 7 days. For sweeter quickles, add ½ to 1 cup sugar to the water-vinegar mix. For dilly quickles add ½ teaspoon dried dillweed per pint. Note that quickles are not preserved for long term storage.  
Women who travel in campers and RV’s get together at  http://www.solowomanrv.blogspot.com
 
Save money by making your own snacks for the trail, backpack, pocket.. Measure into  snack bags for portion control, freshness. See recipes at http://www.createagorp.blogspot.com 

 

Janet Groene’s Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition is available at  http://amzn.to/1Uq3w5i    Cooking Aboard Your RV, 2nd Edition is seen at http://amzn.to/1Uq3pXG

 


BONUS RECIPE
Sweet Turkey Skillet
    Roast a turkey breast from scratch or use roasted turkey from the deli.

2 pounds cooked  breast of turkey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Large onion, diced
1 tablespoon curry  powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 chicken bouillon cubes or 3 teaspoons powdered chicken bouillon
3 cups water
About 1 ½ cups dry bread crumbs
16-ounce can pie-sliced apples (not apple pie filling)

½ stick butter
½ cup dry bread crumbs
 
               Buy turkey in one piece or in thick slices. Cut in bite size. In a large skillet heat oil and stir-fry onion, gradually adding curry powder, onion and turkey. Stir in brown sugar and bouillon. Add water and bring to a boil. When everything is well blended and onions soft, stir in bread crumbs until mixture is  moist and spoon-able.  
    Open canned apples and run a sharp knife several times through them to cut them up. Fold in apples to heat through. In a small skillet, melt butter and brown bread crumbs. Sprinkle crisp crumbs over the dish and serve. Serves 8.

CAMPGROUND POTLUCK 
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Peanut Butter Pie
    Make two. They’re easy. Crusts can be baked ahead of time at home if you wish.

 

16-ounce package cookie dough
1 cup miniature chocolate chips (optional)

1 package chocolate or vanilla pudding mix
1 cup dairy milk
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tub whipped whipping

Topping, choice of:
Toasted coconut
Butterfinger or Heath baking chips
Chopped nuts
Chocolate jimmies

 
    Cut cookie dough in half and press into two 8-inch pie plates. Sprinkle with chocolate chips if you like.  Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. Cool and keep cold.
    Whisk pudding mix with milk and peanut butter. When it begins to thick fold in ½ cup whipped topping. Spread in pie shells and top with more whipped topping. Use toppings of choice. Chill and serve the same day. Serves 8 to 12. 






FREEZE AHEAD  

RECIPE OF
THE WEEK
Cornbread Sausage Sandwich
    You could put cooked, crumbled sausage in the cornbread batter but this meaty sandwich looks like more of a real meal. Wrap these sandwiches individually to eat on the go. To warm in the microwave, wrap in waxed paper. To warm over the grate or in the oven, wrap in foil.

 

1 cup butter, melted
5 eggs
3 cups buttermilk

2 cups each yellow cornmeal and flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Cooked sausage patties

    Set oven to 400 degrees and grease a 9 X 13-inch baking pan. Whisk wet ingredients. Put dry ingredients in a clean bag and jostle to mix Add to wet ingredients and mix until everything is evenly wet. Put batter in pan and bake until it’s lightly browned on the edges and springy to the touch in the middle. Cool, cut in squares and make sandwiches with sausage patties. You could put cooked, crumbled sausage
    Wrap individually, bag and freeze up to two months. Thaw and eat as is, or warmed up.
Cook’s note: cornbread is crumbly, so I prefer to wrap each sandwich tightly in plastic wrap or waxed paper, then in freeze boxes.