Shelter in Place With Easy Camping Recipes

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THINGS ARE CHANGING RAPIDLY . GO TO https://fmcadventure.com/fmca-commercial-campgrounds-with-vacancy/ FOR A LIST OF CAMPGROUNDS THAT ARE OPEN THEN CHECK DIRECTLY WITH THE CAMPGROUND.

 








Camp and RV Recipe of the Week

Fruity Chicken Kebabs with Peanut Sauce

12 dried plums or dried apricot halves
1 cup hot spicy tea such as Constant Comment
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (white or dark)
Garlic flavored nonstick spray
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
½ cup water
½ teaspoon powdered chicken bouillon
2 tablespoons soy sauce

    Cut dried fruit in half. Pour hot tea over dried fruit and let stand until tea is cool. Drain well. Cut chicken in 16 chunks and thread on four skewers alternately with pieces of the fruit. Spray with oil and grill or broil until chicken tests done (170 degrees F.)  In a small pan, stir peanut butter with water, bouillon and soy sauce until smooth and warm. Place kebabs on plates and serve sauce in dipping cups such as small plastic cups. Serves 4.   
    Serving idea: Cut two oranges in half and remove fruit, leaving skins intact. Cut up the fruit to make fruit salad for dessert. Use the four empty orange skins to serve the dipping sauce. 


Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Egg ‘n Bacon Spaghetti
 
    When it’s your turn to bring a main course, try this popular dish. Bring a spaghetti claw for easy serving. It's easily made ahead, then nuked to re-warm at serving time.  Time saver: make hard-cooked eggs by the dozen and keep them on hand for so many many uses. 

 

6 slices bacon, cut up
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 hard-boiled eggs, cut up
1 pound spaghetti, cooked and drained
3 to 4 meaty  plum tomatoes, diced and drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

    In a large skillet fry out bacon, gradually adding garlic.  (Careful! Garlic burns easily.) When bacon is crisp, pour off all but about 4 or 5 tablespoons bacon fat. When draining spaghetti, save some of the water. Mix cooked spaghetti, bacon and eggs. Heat through and mix well.  Fold in tomatoes,  Parmesan and then add hot pasta water to taste.  Serves 8 to 10.
   
Tips for the Camp Cook
    What is easier to prepare in camp and eat with your fingers than a crunchy chunk of celery, endive or green pepper stuffed with something yummy?  Here’s how to have a new stuffing each day:

* 8-ounce brick of cream cheese mixed with a 4-ounce tub of crumbled blue cheese
* A mashed banana mixed with extra-crunchy peanut butter
* Grated cheddar cheese moistened with mayonnaise. Add a small jar of drained, diced pimentos.

 
* For the kids, marshmallow fluff studded with raisins
* Egg salad or ham salad from the deli
* Homemade or store-bought hummus

* Cream cheese mixed with finely chopped smoked salmon and a few capers
* Well-drained crushed pineapple mixed with shredded coconut and cream cheese
* Blue cheese moistened with mayonnaise and mixed with chopped walnuts
* Mash packaged grated carrots into a softened brick of cream cheese and season sparingly with ground ginger
* Moisten softened cream cheese with a little ketchup, spread in celery and top each with a strip of anchovy
* Nutella mixed with chopped hazelnuts

* CheezWiz mixed with drained, chopped, stuffed olives and just a hint of curry powder
* Stuff with softened cream cheese and run a knife down the center to make a tiny ditch. Fill it with hot sauce.

 

What’s your favorite celery stuffing? Share by leaving a comment.
 

Emergency Recipe of the Week

 
  
  This recipe using pantry foods is from Janet Groene’s book Cooking Aboard Your RV, Second Edition. To order the book for yourself or a gift go here.  http://amzn.to/1lXwfvr

Creamy Seafood Soup
       
1 can low sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can low sodium condensed cream of tomato soup
1 soup can water
12-ounce can evaporated milk
6-ounce can tuna, shrimp or crab, drained and picked over
Sherry wine (about 1 teaspoon per serving)

    Combine soups, water and milk  in a saucepan over medium flame, stirring with a spoon or whisk until well heated. Add seafood and continue heating.. Ladle into soup bowls and top with sherry.  Serves 4.

 

Cozy reading for these shelter-in-place times?  Laugh and cry with widowed sailor  Farley Halladay as she solves crimes and cooks (sharing easy galley recipes)  her way through yet another in this salty, sea travel  e-book series. It began with January Justice, February Felony and March Malice. Now there is April Avenger.
https://amzn.to/2WFQR4I

Easy Meals for Camping and RV Cooks

blog copyright janet groene 2020. To donate $5 a year as a voluntary subscription (that's less than 10 cents a week) use your Paypal account to janetgroene at yahoo.com

Camping and RV Recipe of the Week

Mombasa Sweet Potato Stew
    Here's a quick and easy way to make a meal from stowed foods in your emergency pantry. If you have fresh sweet potatoes, peel, dice and cook them first. For a faster stew  use thawed, drained onion-pepper-celery mix from the freezer. If using fresh, chop fine for faster cooking. 

2 cups water
2/3 cup  peanut butter
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 to 1 ½ cups chopped onion, celery and bell pepper mix
1 can sweet potato chunks, drained
10-ounce can chunk chicken, broken up (optional)
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper  (optional)

    Whisk water and peanut butter over medium heat until combined. Add bouillon cubes to dissolve, then stir in onion ix. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender. Stir in sweet potatoes, chicken and cayenne if using. Heat through. Serves 3-4. 


 
Emergency Pantry Recipe of the Week
    No eggs? No problem with this recipe for the world’s most popular cake. It has no eggs and only a teensy bit of  vegetable fat. 

If yours is a large, luury

Eggless, Low Fat  Chocolate Cake
You can use 1 cup brewed  leftover coffee instead of the instant. It doesn't have to be hot.

2 cups flour
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
2/3 cup applesauce or pumpkin puree
½ cup water
2 tablespoons nonfat  dry milk or whey powder
½ teaspoon vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoons instant coffee
1 cup very hot water

    Mix dry ingredients in a clean bag. Grease a 9 X 13-inch baking pan. Set oven for 350 degrees. Put applesauce in a bowl with the water dry milk, vinegar and oil. Stir instant coffee into hot water and add to the wet mixture. Stir wet ingredients into dry until everything is evenly moistened and pour batter into greased pan. Bake 35 minutes or until the cake is firm and springy to the touch. Cool and frost or dust with powdered sugar.
   
Tips for the Camp Cook

    * To bake microwave cookies, wrap waxed paper around pieces of cardboard to make disposable cookie sheets.  Slice cookie dough, place 2-3 inches apart and bake on High for 2 to 2 ½ minutes.  Doughs differ. Try a test batch of two first to see how long they take and how much they spread.

    * Same ‘ol meatballs and burgers again? Stick in a popsicle stick and call them lollipops.

    * Grill halved, seeded acorn squash cut side down, then fill with applesauce.

    * Try something new in your covered grill. Use hickory chips to smoke Cornish game hens. 





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FREEZE AHEAD RECIPE OF THE WEEK
        We are all staying put these days so it’s a good time to make big-batch recipes to freeze ahead in smaller batches for future camping and RV trips. We WILL travel again soon.

Italian Sausage Stew
    Make this soupy stew with  plain pasta or filled tortellini of your choice but do start with dry pasta, not the refrigerated kind. Do not overcook pastas. 

2 pounds bulk Italian Sausage
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 cups water
2 chicken or beef bouillon cubes
2 cans, 28 to 32 ounces each, diced tomatoes
2 packages 8-9 ounces each, dry tortellini

    Fry out sausage, breaking it up. Spoon off any excess fat. Keep stir-frying while adding garlic and fennel seeds. Add water, bring to a boil and stir in bouillon to dissolve.  Add tomatoes and bring back to a boil. Add tortellini and cook just until it’s al dente. Cool and package for the freezer, allowing 1 ½ to 2 cups per portion. Good with garlic bread.
    To serve, thaw, heat and serve as is , or heat with additional broth or cooked vegetables.

Home or Away, Easy Camping Recipes Rock

blog copyright janet groene 2020. All rights.reserved. To donate $5 a year for a voluntary subscription to this weekly blog, use your PayPal account to janetgroene at yahoo.com

CAMPING AND RV RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Tuna Pot Pie ‘n Biskit
    Add two toothsome cheeses and you can stretch one can of tuna  to feed four to six. 
 

5- to 7-ounce can of tuna in oil, undrained
Half of an 8-ounce brick of cream cheese, diced
1 cup shredded cheese such as Cheddar or Monterey Jack
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
Small can diced carrots, drained
½ teaspoon crumbled, dried thyme leaves
13-ounce can evaporated milk
Water
1 cup biscuit mix
4 eggs
Water

    Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray or butter a deep pie pan and scatter tuna in it, breaking up tuna and distributing it evenly. Dot with cream cheese and Cheddar. Sprinkle with peas, carrots and thyme. In a bowl, add water to milk to make two cups liquid.  Whisk in eggs and biscuit mix to make a batter.  Pour batter over tuna mixture.
    Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until topping is firm and golden. Let stand 5 minutes, then serve with a spoon.
    No oven? Proceed as above using a heavy 10- or 12-inch skillet. Cover tightly and cook over a low-medium  burner until the biscuit topping is firm and puffy. It will not brown.  

Tips for the Camp Cook

    An old joke says that doctors bury their mistakes and cooks cover theirs with mayonnaise. In camping and RV travel,stuff happens. Here are some recipes that give you cover.


Apricot Sauce
1 cup apricot jam
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup orange or apricot liqueur or apricot nectar
    Heat jam gently and stir in ginger and liqueur. Serve over ham, chicken, brown rice pilaf or sweet potatoes.
Tomato Soup Sauce
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

    Heat gently, stirring everything together until sugar dissolves. Serve warm on pork, chicken, brats, hot dogs or ham loaf. 


Tomato Soup Sauce
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

    Heat gently, stirring everything together until sugar dissolves. Serve warm on pork, chicken, brats, hot dogs or ham loaf. 

No Cook Sweet and Sour Sauce
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

    Stir or shake everything together until sugar dissolves. Let stand 30 minutes or  more while flavors marry. Spoon to taste over an omelet,  cooked vegetables or fish or toss with raw spinach leaves. To make a main dish spinach salad, fill a big bowl with baby spinach leaves, 1/3 cup (or more) xrisp bacon bits, 2 cups sliced raw mushrooms and a couple of chopped, hard-cooked eggs. Toss with Sweet and Sour Sauce to taste. 

Don't get caught short again when the grocery shelves go empty. Learn to be a prepper with the Survival Food Handbook, a guide to stowing affordable supermarket staples for emergencies at home and on the go.  https://amzn.to/2IoKevc










 Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Bulgar Rice-a-Rific
 

½ stick butter
Medium onion, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
Medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 cup raw white long-grain rice
4 chicken, beef or vegetable bouillon cubes
4 cups water
1 cup bulgur
1 cup peas, thawed

    In a large saucepan melt butter and sizzle onion, celery and carrot until they soften a bit. Stir in rice to coat. Add water, bring to a boil and stir in bouillon cubes and bulgur. Cover and cook over low heat 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in peas to heat through and serve hot. Makes 12 side dish portion or 6 vegetarian main dish servings.
    To make this a vegan dish, use 1/3 cup olive or other vegetable oil in place of butter and use vegetarian bouillon.

Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
Gold Nugget Chicken
This recipe, a new play on the same ol’ chicken and rice,  is easily multiplied.  It’s tastiest with a combination of some white meat, some dark. Leave chicken in single portions if you wish, but it's easier to eat in camp if you don't have to cut the chicken.

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken
Salt, pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, finely diced
1 pound carrots, peeled and finely chopped
4 cups chicken broth OR
4 cups water and 4 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cups rice
1 teaspoon each sugar and  cinnamon

2 oranges, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon orange zest

    Cut chicken in very small bites or chop in a food processor. In a large kettle, fry chicken in hot oil, sprinkling lightly with salt and pepper. Keep stirring over high heat while adding onions and carrots. Add broth or water and bouillon and bring to a boil. Stir in rice, sugar and cinnamon.
    Cover and cook until rice is tender. Dice and drain oranges. Stir in oranges and zest, cover and steam two minutes
Cool, package and freeze, allowing 1 to  1 ½ cups per portion.
    This is an ideal one-dish meal to freeze in individual portions in boilable bags

See  Janet Groene’s tips for RV women at http://www.solowomanrv.blogspot.com

Easy Salad and More Recipes for Camping and RV

Camping and RV  Recipe Of the Week
Tuscan Sun Pasta Salad
    Sorry purists, but when camping I cook pastas in as little water as possible to avoid waste. Just use enough to keep the pasta submerged in boiling water.  The smaller the pasta, the quicker it cooks. Large pasta comes more easily to the fork. This salad is good either way,  even when made with tiny pastas such as orzo or dilatini. 

 
2 cups uncooked pasta
Large sweet  onion, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (preferably EVOO)
14-ounce package fully cooked smoked sausage
15-ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
Small jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
Italian dressing

    Cook pasta according to package directions and drain off most water. Leave it just a  little juicy. Fold in vegetable oil. Cut sausage in small dice and fold in with the beans, sun-dried tomatoes and dressing to taste. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled. Serves 6.

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

Think you can’t live the RV life on your own, girlfriend?  Read who and how at https://www.SoloWomanRV.blogspot.com

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Ham Loaf Supper (Feeds 30)

    Will you be having a big campground get-together for Easter? Many campgrounds now provide commercial kitchens for group use.
     If your market doesn’t carry ground ham buy a boneless, fully cooked, 5-pound ham and ask the butcher to grind it. It’s an added plus if the butcher will grind the three meats together for a total of 8 pounds. 
7 eggs, beaten with
1 ½ teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and
1 pint (2 cups) milk
16-ounce  loaf white bread , diced

5 pounds ground ham
1 pound ground turkey
2 pounds lean ground pork
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard

    Beat eggs, salt, pepper and milk until light. Stir in bread. Set aside to soak. Mix meats well with egg mixture. ( This is best done by hand, wearing disposable kitchen gloves.)  Put in 5 or 6 greased loaf pans, packing firm but light. 
    Bring sugar, vinegar, water and mustard to a boil, stirring well until sugar dissolves. Drizzle over loaves. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until loaves reach 170 degrees in the center. (Times vary according to size of loaves.) Let stand 15 minutes before slicing.

Cook's note: This can also be made in cupcake pans. Use an ice cream scoop to fill them with event portions. 


Tips for the Camp Cook

    * Now more than ever it’s important to have a well-balanced supply of pantry foods  for emergencies. A guide to knowing and stowing supermarket staples is the Survival Food Handbook. Included are lists, how-to tips, recipes that require no fresh foods and other food emergency tips such as refrigeration failure.  https://amzn.to/2IoKevc

    * Are you a beach comber? Scallop or tellin shells make attractive little single servers for soft butter.

    * What is sofrito? It’s a blend of onions, garlic, green and red peppers and tomato that is the all-purpose foundation for many Spanish dishes. Cook it low and slow to develop a slightly roasted flavor and to evaporate excess moisture.

    * When making  batter for crepes, tempura or deep-fried seafood, let it stand 30 minutes after mixing.

Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week

Condensed Curried Sweet Potato Soup
 
    Roasting sweet potatoes from scratch brings out their best flavor, but it’s OK too to use well drained, mashed, canned sweet potatoes. Curries vary, depending on the brand and your personal taste.

 

6 cups mashed, lightly salted sweet potatoes
4 leeks, trimmed, washed and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 tablespoons your favorite curry powder

    Prepare sweet potatoes and set aside. Stir-fry leeks in hot oil until almost tender. Stir in curry powder until it’s fragrant. Add 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth or bouillon. Freeze in portions, allowing ½ cup per portion.

To serve you’ll need:
    ½ cup half and half, broth or milk for each ½ cup concentrate. Heat soup, stir and serve hot topped with your choice of sliced almonds, lime flavor yogurt, minced parsley or cilantro, shredded coconut or a tuft of baby spinach cut chiffonade style.

Easy Does It! Cooking in Camping and RV Travel

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

Camping cuisine calls for smart shortcuts. Whether you have a tent and a skillet or a full kitchen in a Class A motorhome,  some of these recipes will work for you. 

Camping and RV Recipe of the Week

Beefy Borscht Bucatini

    Regular spaghetti or linguine can be used but I like bucatini for this quick, one-pot camping treat because it’s hollow. It absorbs flavor (and the luscious red beet color) to the max. Julienne beets in cans are sold in many supermarkets and from Amazon. If you use whole beets, grate them or chop them fine.  

2 cans, 15 ounces each, julienne beets
3 cups coleslaw mix with red cabbage and carrot
12-ounce package bucatini pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
12-ounce can roast beef with gravy
Dillweed
Sour cream or cottage cheese

    Drain beets and add juice to water to make 2 1/2 cups liquid. Bring to a boil and cook cole slaw mix until it’s almost tender. Break up pasta and push it down to cook in the boiling liquid. When tender drain pasta and cabbage mix, saving pasta water,  and drizzle with olive oil. Shred beef. Stir beef, spices and beets into the pasta and heat through. Moisten with reserved liquid if needed.
    Using tongs, place on plates and sprinkle very lightly with dillweed. Add a dollop of sour cream or cottage cheese if you wish. Serves 6.
   
Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week

Caribbean Rumba Cake
        To make this sauce without alcohol, substitute orange, mango or pineapple juice for the rum. 

Plain pound cake carries well and you can do so much with it

2 bar-shape plain pound cakes, your own or store-bought
1 can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup rum
3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

3 cups diced mango (canned, frozen, fresh)

    Arrange cake slices on a large platter.  Whisk condensed milk, rum or fruit juice and lemon or lime juice. Fold in  mango. Just before serving, spoon on cake slices. Provide a cake server or pancake turner for serving. Serves 16. 





Freeze Ahead Recipe of the Week

CHICKEN IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE
    Black bean sauce from canned or cooked  frijoles negros is different from Asian black bean sauce, which is fermented.  The recipe is easily multiplied. Serve as is or stretch it by serving over rice, potato or another starch. It's also good in a tortilla wrap.

4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
½ cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 large red and green sweet peppers, diced
Large onion, diced
2 cans black beans
1 can refried black beans

    Cut chicken in bite size. Mix oil, lime juice, cayenne and garlic and place in a plastic bag with chicken. Refrigerate overnight. Brown chicken in a little oil in a large kettle. Work in batches if necessary.
    Continue stir-frying while adding peppers and onion. Add water, bouillon and leftover marinade. Cover and cook until chicken tests done at 170 degrees. Stir in black beans, breaking up refried beans to combine well with the mixture..  Cool and package for the freezer, allowing one to 1 1/2 cups per serving. Thaw, heat and serve as is or serve over rice, spoon into campfire-baked potatoes or serve in burrito wraps. Serves 16 or more. 
    Cook’s note: At serving time, garnish with fresh or dried cilantro if you have some. 

More than 200 easy,, RV-re recipes are found in Janet Groene's book Cooking Aboard Your RV. Nice for yourself or a gift for an RV newbie.  http://amzn.to/1NdWI4o






 
 Tips for the RV Cook

    * Save weight, forgo plastics too. Discover the many foods that now come in burnable, non-plastic paper  packaging such as shelf-stable fruit juices, dairy and non-dairy milk and creamers.

    * To make an easy glaze for grilled meat or fish,  combine one part honey with one part sherry. Brush on only during last few minutes.

    * Add a golden glow to your rice pilaf by adding a pinch of turmeric.

    * Bake a brownie mix in a foil pan larger as called for on the package. Wrap up the pan and take along. When you get to camp, whisk 3 cups cold milk into an 8-serving  packet of instant pudding. Spread on the thin brownie layer. Chill. Cut in squares.

    * Make your own citrus vinaigrette. Mix ½ cup fresh, mixed lemon and lime juice with 1/3 cup virgin olive oil. Add herbs, salt and pepper ad lib depending on how you’ll use the dressing.

Camping Recipes, Motorhome Menus

Blog copyright janet groene 2020, all rights reserved. To ask about placing your ad for one year, one low price, on all six Groene travel blogs, email janetgroene at yahoo.com 

To receive an email reminder each time new posts go up on Janet’s RV blogs (usually each Friday), email janetgroene@yahoo.com and put RV in the topic line. 

Camping  and RV Recipe of the Week
Eggplant Pasta Sauce

Large eggplant, peeled and diced
1 each red sweet pepper, green sweet pepper and onion, diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
15-ounce can  diced tomatoes with basil and garlic
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasonings
Small can pitted slice black olives, well drained
2 tablespoons each capers and chopped anchovies
Salt, pepper if needed
Parmesan ad lib

    Put eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Beads of moisture will firm. This mellows the taste of the eggplant. Let stand 30 minutes or so and pat dry with paper towels.
     Heat olive oil in a large skillet or wok. Sizzle eggplant, gradually stirring in garlic, onion and peppers. When they are crisp-tender add tomatoes, seasonings, black olives and capers and/or anchovies if using. Cover and simmer until everything is heated through. Makes 6 servings sauce. 

Serve over hot pasta. Top each serving with shaved Parmesan if you wish.

Tips for the Camp Chef
 

    *If you use bungee cords to secure some RV gear underway, there is a better way. Called Mini Shockles, they are known as bungees on steroids. Any such stretch-ables should, of course, be used with extreme caution against sudden release. They can spring back and injure. Made by Davis, a major supplier of yachting-quality gear, the cords come in many sizes and shapes. Shockles https://amzn.to/32yyyiA

    * To tamp the bitterness of eggplant, slice or dice, then salt it and allow beads of moisture to form.  See instructions in the recipe above.

    * If you love snacks but need to tweak them to suit your own needs and likes, see recipes at https://www.CreateAGorp.blogspot.com. Most can be fine-tuned for less salt, sugar, fat, no nuts, etc. Just keep proportions the same. Measure for portion control, put in snack bags, carry in a pocket, eat anywhere.        
   
    * Women at the RV wheel! A weekly blog just for you awaits at http://www.SoloWomanRV.blogspot.com

    * Did you know that herbal teas require more steeping time than ordinary teas? Allow 5-7 minutes according to the folks at Spice & Tea Exchange. (Visit these stores, found in trendy shopping areas from Washington State to Key West, for the best selections of spices and spice blends for your RV galley.)

   

Campground Potluck Recipe of the WeekPresto! Pasta e Fagioli

1-quart carton of chicken, vegetable or beef broth
28- to 32-ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
15-ounce can of dark red kidney beans
15-ounce can of light red kidney beans
2  cups small pasta such as dilatini
Large onion, diced
Green bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 ribs celery, chopped
Salt, pepper to taste
½ cup dry red wine (optional) 

    Bring everything to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes.  Adjust seasonings. Makes 10 to 12 potluck servings when ladled into disposable soup bowls. It’s a big hit for tailgating too. 

See more of Janet Groene’s swift and sure recipes at http://www.BoatCook.blogspot.com



   

Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
    All the  chopping and dicing is done ahead so yoou can have this versatile casserole in camping. It’s vegetable and starch course all in one flavorful  mixture.
Stuff It Side Dish
    The shortcut ingredient is stuffing mix, adding a savory swizzle to a banquet of healthful vegetables. You choose the vegetables based on what your family likes. 

8 cups diced vegetables*
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon mixed Italian seasoning
14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 box bread stuffing mix (not cornbread style)
Chicken, beef or vegetable broth
Grated Cheddar cheese (optional)

    Stir-fry vegetables in hot oil until they are crisp-tender. Stir in seasoning, tomatoes and stuffing mix. Turn off heat.  Stir in broth until mixture reaches the desired consistency. (You may not need the whole quart.)  Cool and freeze in batches, allowing 1 cup per serving.
* Yellow squash,  onion, sweet peppers in every color, water chestnuts, mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower florets, the more variety the better. Not recommended: root vegetables, which tend to get rubbery when stir-fried. 

    To serve with meat from the grill, thaw  and heat in its boilable bag or thaw, unwrap  heat  in a buttered,  nonstick skillet. Top with a tuft of shredded cheese.

Spring Into Campground Cuisine, Motorhome Meals

Views of this weekly blog have just passed the 188,000 mark. To volunteer $5 per year as a subscription, use your PayPal account to janetgroene at yahoo.com

Camping and RV 
Recipe of the Week
Springtime Dilly Soup   

4 medium onions, diced
4 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and diced
5 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes
5 cups water
1 can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
½ teaspoon powdered ginger
Dried dillweed
Butter pats (about 1 teaspoon each)
Yogurt or sour cream (optional garnish)

    Cook finely died onions and potatoes in boiling water, stirring in bouillon to dissolve it. When vegetables are very tender, stir in pumpkin and ginger. Cover and simmer a few minutes to blend flavors. Put a pat of butter in each soup bowl and sprinklel ightly with dillweed. Ladle soup into bowl. Butter will melt and float to the top. Garnish with a dollop to yogurt or sour cream. Makes about 8 cups soup.

Cook’s note: Instead of pumpkin, this soup can also be made with two cups pureed cooked butternut squash or carrots. 
 
Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Cheery Cherry Ham

 
    
Simply slice a two-pound canned ham or paste a platter with deli ham slices and spoon on this zesty cherry sauce. Serve it warm or cold.

1 platter of sliced ham
6-ounce package dried cherries
1/2 cup fruit juice or  sweet wine
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 medium size red onions, diced fine
1 tablespoon vinegar

Bring cherries to a boil with the juice, spices and onions.  Cover, reduce heat to very low and simmer 8-10 minutes or until onions are crisp-tender and cherries are plump. Turn off heat, stir in vinegar  and let stand, covered, to steep and blend flavors. Stir and serve.  

Have you read Janet Groene's new fiction e-books? Laugh and cry with widow Farley Halladay as she copes with cooking, caregiving, crime solving and her online charterboat travel business.   February Felony  https://amzn.to/31J5d3D
 
Don't have a Kindle? Download this free app from Amazon and read e-books on your PC, laptop, phone or tablet https://amzn.to/31lQT0u
     

Tips for the Camp Cook
    * Make dessert kebabs with fresh fruit, pat dry, roll in honey or pancake syrup, then roll in shredded coconut.

    * Add zip to a stir-fry. Whisk ½ cup light mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and1/2 teaspoon ground ginger. When your stir fry is done, stir in this sauce to heat through.

    * Make Rice Crispy bar cookies. While they are warm use buttered hands  to form into small bowls. Just before serving, fill with fresh fruit.

 
    * Here’s a shortcut topping for any fruit cobbler. Whisk together a can of sweetened condensed milk, a stick of melted butter, 1 1/4 cups self-rising flour and ½ teaspoon lemon extract. Pour batter over a casserole filled with fruit of your choice. Bake until topping browns.


Freeze-Ahead Recipe of the Week
 

Flour-Less Garbanzo Breakfast Blondies
  
  Wrap and freeze these cookies for a grab-and-go breakfast, snack or dessert.

3 cups drained, rinsed garbanzo beans
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup each brown sugar and minute oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
½ cup optional  extras*

*Such as butterscotch or white chocolate chips, chopped nuts, MandMs, raisins, dried cranberries

    Pat garbanzos dry and mash them to a paste or puree them in a blender or food processor. Combine baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar and oats in a clean bag to mix. Stir into mashed beans with peanut butter. Mix well. Fold in your choice of extras. Put in a greased 9 X 13-inch baking pan and bake 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely, cut in squares and wrap individually, then put in bags for the freezer. Thaw and eat.