Great Meal Ideas for RV, Motorhome, Camping

blog copyright Janet Groene. This site has had more than 171,000 views. To donate $5 a year in support of this work use your PayPal account to janetgroene at yahoo.com

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Camping and RV Recipe of the Week
Whole Wheat Quick Bread

 
1 ½ cups each white flour and whole wheat flour
1/4 cup rolled oats, divided
1 teaspoon each baking soda and salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 ½ cups buttermilk

    Mix dry ingredients including all but a teaspoon of the oats. Stir in buttermilk and oil. Pour batter into a greased pan, sprinkle with remaining oats  and bake 45 minutes at 425 degrees. Loaf should sound hollow when tapped. Bread will be tender and delicious while warm but will slice easier if cooled, wrapped and let “season” for a few hours.


Tips for the Camp Chef

    * Don’t have a toaster? Scramble eggs and fold in a handful or two of croutons just before serving.


    * Put a cornbread blanket on your chili. Whisk an egg with ½ cup milk and a teaspoon of sugar. Stir in 3/4 cup cornmeal. Drizzle over simmering chili. Cover and cook 30 minutes.

    * When making a bread loaf to be sliced,  or candy or cookies to be formed into small balls, keep ingredients small for easier slicing and forming. Whole nuts, fruit and larger chocolate chips get in the way of slicing and forming. 

    * The water of life is a camping essential that can’t be left behind. Never be without a Plan B in case your pump fails, a tank leaks, you get a bad load somewhere, or water  isn’t available where you are going. Take  some or all of this set as needed as your basic water supply or a backup.

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
 Rainbow Spanish Rice
    This one-pot dish is perfect for the campfire, camp stove or RV range. It combines tastes from throughout America’s melting pot to make a main dish for a mixed crowd. Combine Polish kielbasa with the Spanish tomatoes, Italian black olives, English peas, Canadian rutabaga, Louisiana rice. You might throw in some black or red beans.  It serves right out of the pot. 

24-ounce package kielbasa or other cooked sausage
2 tablespoons canola oil
12-ounce package frozen onion and pepper mix, thawed and drained
3 cups diced vegetables (carrot, zucchini, jicama, turnip, rutabaga, plantain, what have you)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
5 cups water
28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 ½ cups long-grain white rice
1 tablespoon sweet or smoked paprika
Small can sliced ripe olives, drained
Canned red or black beans (optional)

1. Start with a big pot or Dutch oven. Cut kielbasa into small bites and stir-fry it in hot oil over high heat, gradually stirring in vegetables,  garlic and rice to coat.
2. Add water and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Stir in paprika, cover, reduce heat and cook over very low flame 25 to 30 minutes. Do not peek or stir during cooking.  Rice will be tender and liquids absorbed. 
3. Stir in olives and beans if using. Heat through. Serves 8 to 12.
Cook’s note:If you use brown rice, increase cooking time to 40 minutes.    

Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
Fruity Pork

  

     
4 to 5 pounds of boneless pork, coarsely ground or cut in bite size
Salt, pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups apple juice
4 to 6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
2 cups fresh cranberries

    Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Mix sugar and cinnamon. Heat oil in a large kettle and brown pork in batches, sprinkling with cinnamon sugar. Add apple juice, apples and cranberries. Cover and simmer until pork is very tender. Cool and bag for the freezer, planning one to 1 ½ cups per serving.
    Thaw, heat and serve over rice, pasta or noodles.
Cook’s note: I’ve also made this with ground  turkey or chunks of cut-up turkey thigh. .

Bonus Recipe
Rosy Sweet Potatoes

6 large sweet potatoes, baked or roasted
6 pats butter
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

    Cut a slit in each sweet potato and sink a pat of butter to melt it. Mix cranberry sauce, cinnamon and brown sugar and spoon into potatoes to taste. Serves 6.

Menus and Means for Camping and RV

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Camp and RV Recipe of the Week

Tomorrow’s Steak Salad
      
The secret to this hearty, whole meal salad is to grill once, eat twice. Grill a two-pound London Broil tonight and serve half hot with baked potatoes and grilled vegetables. Refrigerate the rest to make this salad tomorrow. 

 

1 pound grilled London Broil, thinly sliced
4 Roma tomatoes, cut in half north pole to south pole, then sliced
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
Small head lettuce, torn in bite size
3/4 cup bottled raspberry vinaigrette dressing
1/4 cup raspberry jam
½ cup sunflower nuts

    Put tomatoes, mushrooms and lettuce in a  bowl. Whisk together dressing and jam, pour over salad and toss to mix well. Using tongs, put salad on dishes, top with steak and sprinkle each serving with sunflower nuts. Serves 4 as a main dish.


Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Beef ‘n Butter Bean Stew
   

 Your turn to bring a meaty hot dish? A mere pound of stew beef serves 8 to 10 people with a tasty, hearty stew. Make this is your slow cooker and you’ll have time to enjoy the party. 
 


1 pound stew for beef in small bite size
Large onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
½ teaspoon each cinnamon, ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
32-ounce carton beef broth
12-ounce bottle dark beer
4 cups peeled and diced root vegetables (sweet potato, carrot, turnip, white potato)
1 can (or more) large lima beans (aka butter beans)

    Put beef in a six-quart slow cooker and add onion, garlic and spices. Stir to mix. Add broth and beer. Stir in vegetables. Cook 4 hours on High or 6 hours on Low. Stir in butter beans with their juice and cook another 30 minutes on High or 60 minutes on Low.

See Janet Groene’s Pantry Recipe of the Week, using only shelf-stable ingredients at https://Boat Cook.blocspot.com. These recipes are great for emergencies, or times when you’re just too tuckered out to cook.
Tips for the Camp Cook


    * Want to try that recipe but not sure you want to cut it out of the magazine?  Open the magazine to the page and use a skirt hanger to hang up the whole issue inside the RV or outdoors where it's easy to read.
    
* The next time you make an overnight breakfast strata, use spiral cinnamon bread and brown sugar for a butterscotch effect. Yummy!

    * Flip over a cupcake pan and you’[ll find that the spaces between cups make ideal holders for tacos while you fill them.



    * Portable kitchen? Ideal for campers who do some or all of their cooking outdoors, this compact hanging "cupboard" has everything needed. It's handy, neat and can be hung up anywhere inside and out




* Have a real gas stove with burners and an oven in a neat, portable unit that weights only 35 pounds. 







 

Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

  Bake and freeze lots of these loaves and serve this easy, no-yeast bread for breakfast, snacks. dessert or a meal accompaniment. It actually slices easier after freezing and thawing than when it's fresh out of the oven.

1 ½ cups sugar
4 cups flour
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

½ cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups applesauce

3 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup miniature dark chocolate chips

    Grease two 9 X 5-inch loaf pans or equivalent in smaller pans. Set the oven to 350 degrees.
    Mix dry ingredients in a bowl or bag.
    Whisk eggs until light, then stir in vegetable oil and applesauce. Stir in dry ingredients until everything is evenly moist (do not over beat), then fold in chocolate chips and zucchini.
    Bake about 50 minutes (depends on size of the pan) until bread is firm to the touch and tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans 10 minutes, remove to a rack and cool thoroughly. Wrap and freeze. Thaw, slice and eat hot or cold, plain or with butter or a spread.
   


   

Motorhome Meals, Campfire Memories

Copyright Janet Groene, all rights reserved. This site has had more than 171,000 views and it’s just one of six Groene sites. See your ad on all six for one year, one low price. Details from janetgroene at yahoo.com 

 

Camp and RV 
Recipe of the Week
Banana Fudge

 
    Fudge is a candy and dessert but I also think of it as rainy day recreation for campers. Bring out a deck of cards and a dish of this yummy fudge.

2 ripe bananas
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup cream or canned milk
1/4 stick butter
2 tablespoons white corn syrup

    Spray an 8 X 8-inch pan, line it with plastic wrap . Spray wrap with pan spray. In a saucepan, mash the bananas well and stir in sugar and water. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium hat,  and stir in the milk, butter and syrup. Mixture will foam up. It burns easily,   so keep stirring.  It’s done when it reaches 240 degrees or when a tiny blob of the mixture forms a soft ball when dropped into a little cold water.
    Turn off heat. Beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens and loses its glossy look. Pour into the pan and let it cool. Turn out of pan, remove plastic and cut in 64 squares.
   
Tips for the Camp Cook
   
 * Forget to bring ketchup? Mix an 8-ounce can of tomato sauce with 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves. Mix until sugar. For faster blending, heat gently. Then taste test. I like a skosh more cinnamon. 

    * Save an old toothbrush for small cleaning tasks.

    * Make S’Mores with crescent rolls. Add a blob of marshmallow cream, some squares of Hershey bar and a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs. Roll up. Bake until golden. To make S’Mores in a bowl, make a smoothie with chocolate ice cream and marshmallows. Pour over a bowl of broken graham crackers. Eat with a spoon.

    * Instead of cleanser, rub in salt to clean crusty pots. When you’re camping and skimping on running water it’s best to use food quality abrasives such as salt or baking soda rather than gritty cleanser.

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
   
Hot ‘n Honey Corn
    Throw this simple, affordable dish together in your camp kitchen and bring it to the potluck when it’s your turn to bring a vegetable side dish. It’s easy to double the recipe or cut it in half. 

3 cans whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans Mexicorn (corn with green and red peppers, drained
1 1/2 sticks butter
1/2 cup orange blossom honey
1 tablespoon hot sauce



    Drain corn. In a pan that can go from stove to table, melt butter and stir in honey and hot sauce. Stir in corn, cover and heat gently just until it’s heated through. Serves 10 to 12.

Find all your favorite camping recipes in one place with Janet Groene's book Cooking Aboard Your RV, 2nd Edition. Order it in paperback or e-book. 








Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
Bacon Spaghetti Sauce

 
    Make it now in a big batch. Freeze it in small portions to suit your family size. When you have this meaty sauce on hand you can put it on pasta, baked potato, rice, biscuits or whatever is on hand. For a campground potluck or a tailgate party, press small wonton wrappers into greased cupcake pans, add a tablespoon of this sauce and bake until wontons are golden.

1 pound thick-sliced bacon, cut up and fried out
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon each salt, pepper
2 cups coarsely grated carrots
Large onion, finely diced
28-ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 cup dry red wine
6-ounce can of tomato paste

    Remove crisp bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels. Remove excess bacon grease and brown beef and pork, breaking up meat and gradually stirring in garlic, salt pepper, carrots and onion. When meat is browned, add tomatoes, wine and tomato paste. Cover and simmer over reduced heat until meat and vegetables are tender.
    Cool and package, allowing 1 cup sauce per serving. Serve each with desired amount of cooked pasta.
   

Quick and Tasty Recipes for Camping and RV

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Camp and RV 
Recipe of the Week
Apricot Raisin Bars
    You’ll need only one mixing bowl to create all three layers in this delicious, nutrition-packed bar cookie. Serve it for dessert, a snack or a quick breakfast with coffee and juice. 

1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 stick butter, softened at “room” temperature

    Set the oven to 350 degrees. Cut butter into flour and sugar and press evenly in an 8-inch baking pan. Bake about 25 minutes just until edges begin to brown.

1 golden raisins
½ cup apricot jam

    In the same bowl. Mix together raisins and jam. Spread evenly over warm crust. 

2 eggs
½ cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon each baking powder and salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

    Use the same bowl again to whisk eggs, flour, flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla until well blended. Stir in nuts and spread over jam layer. Return to the oven for 35 minutes or until filling is set and browned. Cool in the pan and cut into bars.

Stove-top Method: No oven? Grease a heavy skillet, preferably cast aluminum,  and proceed as above. Cover tightly and bake the first layer over low-medium heat 10 minutes. If fire is too hot, use a flame spreader. Add more layers, cover and cook 15 minutes.  Then check every 5 minutes until the custard-like topping is set. Cool in the pan. Serve in wedges.

Tips for the Camp Cook

 
   * Find all your favorite recipes for camping and RV trips in one paperback or Kindle book. Cooking Aboard Your RV, 2nd Edition makes a nice gift for yourself and your camping friends. paperback http://amzn.to/1NdWI4o

    * Mix hot water into stuffing mix until it’s moist, then pack stuffing into rib side of half a turkey breast. Cook skin side down in a greased, covered skillet or Dutch oven until turkey reaches 180 degrees. .

    * Put ½ cup nuts and 2 cups cold milk in a quart jar. Add 1 package instant pudding. Lid tightly.  Shake vigorously. Pour into 4 dishes. The nuts act as stirrers and taste good too. To save on dish washing in camp, I wash mayonnaise jars at home, use in camp, then discard.
 

 
    *  The next time you make an overnight breakfast strata, substitute rosemary fccaccia for the bread.

    * To serve chili or stew under a bread blanket, whisk  1 cup self-rising flour, 2 cups milk and 1 cup mayonnaise. Pour over hot food and bake in the oven or cover skillet and steam until batter is firm. 

    * When you’re cooking outdoors, it’s important to use a lid on every pot to keep heat, spatters and moisture in and keep twigs, leaves and bugs out. You’ll  always have a cover that fits with this one-size-fits-all lid. It's sturdy stainless steel for years of use on any and all cooking pots. 
 
Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
    Is it your turn to bring a side dish to go with the fish fry or barbecue? This dish is affordable,  colorful and tasty.

Tomato-Corn Casserole
 
Medium onion, diced
Medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or bacon fat
2 cans, 15 ounces each, whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans, 15 ounces each, diced tomatoes
2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
½ stick butter
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

               In a nonstick skillet sizzle onion and pepper in hot oil or fat until they are crisp-tender. Drain one can of tomatoes; use the other with  its juice. Mix vegetables in a greased casserole. Top with bread crumbs. Dot with bits of butter and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until bubbly and browned. Sprinkle with cheese and return to the oven for a few minutes to melt it. 

    Stove-top Method: In a large skillet, sizzle onion and pepper in fat. Stir in vegetables. Heat thoroughly, then sprinkle with cheese. Do not stir.  In a small skillet, melt butter and stir in bread crumbs until toasty. Sprinkle over skillet and serve at once.

Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
Black Bean Chicken Ad Lib

 
    When you freeze batches of this delicious stew you can serve it ad lib when the time comes. It can be spooned over mashed or baked potato, rice, noodles, quinoa, pasta, biscuits, toast. Dried beans are light and compact to carry. To cook them faster use your pressure cooker.  To cook long and carefree, use a slow cooker. This recipe is easily doubled. 


 

1 pound black beans, washed and picked over
4 cups water
1 tablespoon powdered chicken bouillon
2 cups whole kernel corn
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut in bite size
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Large onion, finely diced
Green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 or 2 cans of diced tomatoes

    Soak beans, then drain and cook in 4 cups water with bouillon until tender. Stir in corn and chili powder.
    Cut chicken in bite size and stir-fry in hot oil with garlic, onion and green pepper until chicken is done. Mix with black beans, corn and tomatoes.. Cool. Allowing one to 1½ cups per serving, package in sizes for your family’s needs. Freeze. Thaw, heat and serve over starch of your choice.

See more of Janet Groene’s shortcut recipes for travel, boating and camping at https://boatcook.blogspot.com    

Winning Recipes for Winter Camping

blog copyright Janet Groene. All rights reserved. This site has had more than 170,000 views as of 12/14. To ask about rates to place your ad on all six Groene sites for one year for one low fee contact janetgroene at yahoo.com

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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 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.

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

Free trial subscription to this blog for your Kindle for two weeks, then only 99 cents a month. 

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.