Camp And RV Cook

Friday, October 13, 2017

Camping Recipes for Home and Away

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Camp and RV
Recipe of the Week
Ginger Chicken Hotspot

Use grated fresh ginger if you have it. Jasmine rice is nice in this recipe. Curry powder comes in many types from mild to fiery, and many cooks make their own from scratch, so you be the judge of which one and how much to use. You’re also in charge of choosing the size and type of chicken pieces.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon curry powder (or more to taste)
½ teaspoon ground ginger (or to taste)
4 portions chicken
2 cups water
15-ounce can cream style corn
1 cup rice

In a large skillet heat the oil and stir in garlic and spices until fragrant. Brown chicken, then stir in rice to coat.

Add water and corn. Bring to a boil, making sure all rice is submerged. Cover and cook over reduced heat about 25 minutes or until rice is tender. (Brown rice takes longer). Adjust seasonings. Serves 4.

Pressure cooker method: Proceed as above, bring to full pressure for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and leave undisturbed while pressure returns to normal. When using a digital pressure cooker, follow manufacturer directions for chicken and rice.
Cook’s note: the corn is optional but it adds a sweetness that complements curry.

Tips for the Camp Cook

* Don’t miss this week’s tips at SoloWomanRV for turning the outside of your vehicle into a kitchen cabinet when you cook outdoors.Not as crazy as it sounds.

*Make your own ice when and where it’s needed. Carry a compact ice maker for use at any campsite where you have electricity and water. It’s the ultimate gift for any campers and they’ll use it at home too. Bonus idea: send one overseas too, to a loved one who is serving in a hot zone.

* Why carry heavy, bulky tomato juice when you can make your own by adding water and seasonings to tomato sauce or tomato paste? Make a super Bloody Mary with tomato paste, fresh lemon, water and spices to taste.

* Cut up cauliflower fine and cook it with rice. You choose the ratio. Cook it in water or broth and season with butter, parsley and a pinch of turmeric.

* The next time you make buttermilk biscuits, use a mixture of half pumpkin puree and half buttermilk instead of all buttermilk. It gives a golden glow and adds vitamins.

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Itsy Bitsy Blueberry Lemon Pies

These bite-size pies take milliseconds to make but they get soggy quickly, so don’t assemble them until just before the party. Any leftover pie fillings will go great on pancakes tomorrow morning.

2 packages of 15 each, phyllo pastry cups
1 can lemon pie filling
1 can blueberry pie filling
Whipped topping
30 yellow or blue M&Ms or Jelly Bellies

Chill pie fillings. Put each pastry cup in a fluted cupcake paper. Arrange on a platter or tray.

Using two teaspoons, put a little lemon filling in the bottom of each pastry. Top with some blueberry filling. Crown with whipped topping and a candy on top. Makes 30.

Foil Recipe of the Week
Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Eat it for breakfast, dessert or any time. Just plan ahead because bread needs time to soak.

Italian bread, torn into bite size
Butter
For each 4 to 5 servings:
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup light cream
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

For each portion, lay out a square of foil and butter the center generously. Form foil into a fist-size bowl and add about a half cup of bread pieces. Whisk eggs, cream, pumpkin and spice until light and smooth, then pour about ½ cup over the bread. Top with a small pat of butter.

Bring the four corners of the foil together and twist to seal. Let stand for 30 minutes, then place on a grate over medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes or until pudding is set, as for custard. (For food safety, egg dishes should register 160 degrees F.) Be careful when opening foil. Steam is very hot.

Friday, October 06, 2017

Simple Recipes for Smart Camping Cooks

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Camp and RV
Recipe of the Week
Spaghetti Slumgullion

Here’s a way to have big pot of spaghetti without wasting water. The family will love it and you can easily make it vegetarian or not by adding browned ground beef or pork, cooked chicken, bits of ham or canned tuna.

3 cups water
Medium onion, diced
2-3 ribs celery, diced
Small green or red pepper, seeded and diced
12-ounce box of spaghetti
2 cans condensed tomato soup
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
5-ounce jar of salad olives, drained
10-ounce can of mushrooms, drained
1 pound ground meat, browned and broken up (optional)
4-ounce piece of Parmesan cheese

Bring water to a boil with onion, pepper and celery. When it boils, break spaghetti into the pot, stirring and pushing it down to keep it in the water.
When spaghetti is tender, do not drain. Stir in soup. Add seasoning, olives, mushrooms and meat if using. Heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s hot and ready. Top each portion with shaved Parmesan. Serves 6.

Tips for the Camp Cook

* Brown thawed potato tots in hot oil in a roomy skillet. When they are golden and crusty, sprinkle with lemon pepper to serve with seafood, onion or garlic salt to serve with pot roast, cinnamon sugar to serve with pork chops. To make them a vegetarian main dish, stir in chopped, hard-cooked eggs and lots of shredded Swiss cheese.

* Sort through that box of old brass keys that don’t fit anything any more and put some on a key chain to take camping. You’ll find many uses for them: fishing sinker, lemon or lime reamer, prop under legs of wobbly picnic tables and a handy little scraper to clean out the treads of hiking boots.

* Make simple parfait. Layer a dollop of whipped tipping, a spoonful of cherry pie filling, a tablespoon of cherry yogurt, a shower of graham cracker crumbs. Repeat.

* Save a soy sauce bottle and fill it with sherry. Replace the plastic insert so sherry can be shaken out drop by drop. Pass it at the table to shake into soups and stews.

* A cookbook just for YOU Cooking Aboard Your RV, 2nd Edition for yourself or a gift.

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Sour Cream Cat Head Biscuits
This recipe is easily doubled. It’s a snap to mix because you don’t have to cut in fat, roll out dough and cut out biscuits. Regular, full-fat sour cream makes the richest biscuits.

4 cups flour (preferably a soft wheat flour such as White Lily)
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon each salt and baking soda
I pint sour cream.
Set the oven to 450 degrees. Mix dry ingredients and stir in sour cream to make a thick dough. Drop by heaping tablespoons on a greased baking sheet and bake about 12 minutes or under golden. Makes 2 dozen. Pile in a pyramid for the potluck table and provide a honey pot.

Foil Recipe of the Week
Cook it in foil. Eat from the foil. No dishwashing. Even people who don’t like beets go for the sweet, beefy taste of borscht.

Think "KISS" . Assemble this meal on a square of foil. Bring corners together and twist. Put on the grate, flat side down, over well-started coals. No turning needed.

Russian Borscht
Canned beets
Packaged shredded cabbage for cole slaw
Canned roast beef in gravy
Freshly ground pepper
Sour cream

For each serving:
   Make each portion to order.

   Drain beets, saving juice, and chop them fine. Lay out a square of foil and brush a little
vegetable oil over the center. Raise corners to form a bowl.
Place some roast beef and gravy in the bottom. Top with some shredded beets and shredded cabbage and a twist of the pepper mill, then more beef and gravy. Moisten with a little beet juice if need be. (Some brands of canned roast beef have more gravy than others.)
   Join corners of the foil and twist to seal and to form a handle. Place on a grate over hot coals about 20 minutes. Beware hot steam when opening foil. Top with sour cream and serve with chunks of bread for mopping up the juices.

Friday, September 29, 2017

Dishing About Great Camping Recipes

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Camp and RV
Recipe of the Week
Salmon Rice Romanoff
For Two

1 can of salmon, drained
1/4 stick butter
8-ounce pouch of steamed rice
½ cup each small curd cottage cheese, sour cream, shredded Cheddar
½ teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
Tabasco sauce

Remove salmon skin and bone. In a medium skillet, melt butter and scatter chunks of salmon evenly on the bottom. Top with an even layer of rice. In a bowl whisk cottage cheese, sour cream, onion powder and dill. Spoon over rice. Cover and heat through. Stir and serve. Pass the Tabasco. Serves 2.

Camp Cook Tips

* Some bad smells are almost impossible to oust. They include tomcat spray, decayed wildlife that snuck into the RV and died or a rogue potato that went bad in the bin. When you have to get tough, try activated charcoal. It works best in an enclosed area such as a cupboard or ice chest.

    * If you have rust in galley ware, keep it from recurring by using stainless steel wool, not steel wool.

    * If a rust stain develops on a Formica counter, try removing it with a rubber eraser.

    * Fun for tailgate parties! This sturdy stainless steel rack is for easy grilling, roasting, serving of chicken drumsticks, wingettes, stuffed banana peppers. Also holds ice cream cones while you fill and serve.

    * After cleaning and drying a waste basket, sprinkle a little powdered detergent in the bottom, even if you use a plastic liner. It will discourage bugs and make it easier to clean the container next time. Just add a little water, swish and dry.

    * This heavy duty fruit corer bores through with ease, then opens to eject the core. You’ll use it on apples, pears and other fruit. Core cucumbers and stuff with tuna salad. Core zucchini, stuff with ground meat, wrap in foil and roast. Core a potato, put a hot dog in the hole and bake.

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Roosevelt Beans
    This recipe from Roosevelt Lodge in Yellowstone National Park has been beloved for years. It’s served in the restaurant, camp-outs and the Lodge's campfire nights. The next time you need a bodacious camping meal for a crowd, share this dish.
    The original recipe says you can drain the liquid from the beans for a thicker dish but I dump in the entire contents of each can.

1 pound hamburger or sausage
1/2 pound bacon, diced in ½ inch pieces
1 onion, diced
16-ounce can pork and beans
12-ounce can kidney beans
14-ounce can lima beans
12-ounce can butter beans
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
½ cup ketchup
Salt and pepper to taste

    Fry out meats. Drain fat. Saute onions in meat. Stir in remaining ingredients. The “official” recipe is to bake it at 325 degrees for 45 minutes but it also works on the stove top, campfire or grate.

See the Pantry Recipe of the Week, made entirely with ingredients from your emergency pantry. Spare food is travel insurance. Go to Boat Cook.

How much food to stock for two people for two weeks in the boondocks? Six people on a wilderness weekend? A couple in the outback for a month? Survival Food Handbook is a guide to stow-able supermarket foods for convenience or emergencies. Be a prepper without high-priced survival rations.

Foil Recipe of the Week
Vegetables Royale
    This is the only recipe you’ll ever need for making a vegetable dish in foil on the campfire. The recipe makes about 2 cups sauce, or enough for 8 to 10 servings. Use any vegetable or, better still, a colorful mixture.
Vegetable Recipe Per Serving:
    Lay out a square of foil and spray or butter the center. Bring up corners of foil to form a bowl. Add 1 to 2 cups well drained canned or parboiled vegetables.. Spoon on sauce (see below) to taste.
    Join corners of foil and twist to seal and form a handle. (Think of a large Hershey’s Kiss). Cook over medium coals to heat thoroughly. Be careful of hot steam when opening foil. Sprinkle with topping (see below) to taste.

Sauce:
2 eggs
½ cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon each salt, pepper
6- to 8-ounce package grated cheddar cheese
Optional: ½ teaspoon onion or garlic powder
    Whisk eggs until light. Gradually whisk in mayonnaise, sour cream, seasonings. Fold in cheese and onion or garlic powder. Keep cold up to 5 days.

Topping:
2/3 stick butter (or more to taste)
2 sleeves buttery crackers such as Club, Town House or Ritz
1/4 cup each dried parsley flakes and grated hard cheese such as Parmesan
    Melt butter in a large skillet. Crumble crackers coarsely and toss with butter. Cool, add cheese and put in a plastic bag or covered container. Keep cold and use as desired.

Friday, September 15, 2017

Smart Shortcut Recipes for Camping and RV

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Camp and RV Recipe of the Week
Swansea Sweetcakes
    No oven, no problem. Try this traditional Welsh recipe for fried cakes.

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
1 cup golden raisins
1 jumbo egg

    Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter until mealy. Stir in beaten eggs and raisins. Dough will be very thick.
    Pinch off walnut-size pieces of dough and flatten them to 2-inch circles in your hands. Fry on a hot, dry skillet or griddle until browned on both sides. Cool on a rack. Eat them plain or sprinkle with sugar, top with frosting or crumble into a bowl of vanilla yogurt. Makes about 3 dozen.

Camp Cook Tips

    * In a skillet, make layers using 8-inch flour tortillas with sloppy joe and grated cheese between. Top with grated cheese. Cover and cook over low-medium heat.

    * Freeze foods in slow cooker liners or roasting bags, then reheat in hot water and you won’t have to wash a pan.

    * Crush a cup of frosted flakes and scatter in a pie shell before adding sliced apples and your favorite apple pie ingredients. Flakes will soak up excess juice while adding sweetness.

    * The most tender celery leaves make a pretty garnish. Celery trimmings can also be chopped and dried to scatter in soup and stew.

    * Make frypan pizza crust. Add beer to biscuit mix to make a thick dough. Spread it 1/4 inch thick in a greased skillet. Cover, bake partially, then add pizza toppings and continue stove-top cooking until crust is golden brown.

    * Add a little white miso paste to homemade or store-bought soups.

    * For more interesting slices, incorporate some string cheese, hardboiled eggs or parboiled whole carrots when shaping a meatloaf.
.
    * You can still buy packets of unsweetened Kool-Aid. It’s cheap and a flavor powerhouse in a featherweight package. Use sugar or any sweetener of your choice. Lime flavor plus pineapple juice, apricot nectar and sweetener make a good fruit drink and a killer rum punch.

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week

Camp Cauldron Minestrone
    Many cold weather camping groups have a traditional chowder or stew recipe that is served after skiing or a hike. (I love the corn chowder winter hiking parties in Ohio). Here’s a recipe that could become a tradition for your family or camping club.
    All you need now is a BIG pot to put on the grate or camp stove. Fine-tune the recipe as you go, depending on what you have on hand and how many people show up.

4 to 6 quarts chicken broth
12-ounce package grated cabbage for cole slaw
10-ounce package chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 cups each diced turnips, carrots, onions, zucchini
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
6-ounce can tomato paste
28- to 32-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup broken spaghetti or small pasta such as dilatini
28-ounce can kidney beans
Salt, pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese

    Bring 4 quarts broth to a boil and stir in vegetables. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender. Stir in seasoning, tomato paste and tomatoes and continue simmering while flavors blend. Stir in pasta and beans. When pasta is tender, add more broth as desired, heat through and adjust seasonings. Serve in soup bowls and pass the Parmesan.

Foil Recipe of the Week
Jelled Carrot Salad
    OK, so this isn’t really a foil recipe. It’s a jelled salad you make in a plastic bag and eat out of the bag. It’s still in line with our goal to eliminate dishwashing, right? Add vegetables to taste. It works with regular or sugar-free jell.

1 bag of shredded carrots
1 bag of shredded cabbage for cole slaw
Small can crushed pineapple
2 packets, 4 servings each, orange, lemon or lime gelatin dessert mix
2 cups boiling water
1 cup cold water including juice from the pineapple
2/3 cup mayonnaise

    Set out 8 zip-top sandwich bags or snack bags. Drain pineapple, saving juice for making the jell. Put some carrots, cabbage and pineapple in each bag. (You don't need them all). In a bowl, dissolve jell in boiling water. Stir in cold water/juice, then whisk in mayonnaise until smooth. Holding bag open , add a scant half cup liquid gelatin. Seal bag and chill several hours until gelatin sets. Eat out of the bag. Serves 8.
    Cook’s note: you can also cut a corner out of the bag and squeeze out the salad so you don’t even need a spoon.

Friday, September 08, 2017

Campground Cuisine Means Easy Meals

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Camp and RV
Recipe of the Week

Mystery Beef Stew

2 cups (16-ounce bottle) of French dressing, not fat-free
2 pounds bite-size, boneless beef for stew
½ cup water
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
6 medium potatoes
3 yellow onions, cut up
3 large carrots, cut up

    Brown beef by stir-frying it in 1/4 cup of heated French dressing. Whisk paprika and water with the remaining dressing and add to the pot with the vegetables. Cover and simmer 60 minutes or more until beef is tender and vegetables are done. Serves 6.

Slow cooker method: Browning is optional. Combine everything in a slow cooker and cook on High 4 hours or Low 6 to 7 hours.
Pressure cooker method: Brown beef as above, add remaining ingredients and bring to full pressure for 15 minutes. Quick-cool or let pressure return on its own.

Tips for the Camp Cook

* It’s not the heat it’s the humidity. Things NOT to cook on a humid day include divinity and meringues.

    * Use a sawtooth knife, such as a steak knife, when cutting foods that contain nuts or chocolate chips. Use a sawing motion and gentle pressure to saw through without crushing. A sawtooth blade also works best to cut partially frozen steak for stir-fry.

    * When you’re on a fast-moving camping trip from low country to mountains, be aware of your altitude because it affects cooking and baking times.

    * I love the new collapsible colanders but don’t give up your fine mesh sieve. You need it for rinsing tiny grains and seeds such as quinoa.

    * Rub lemon juice or vinegar on a scaly fish and it will be easier to scale.

    * Cook jumbo shells al dente, stuff with tuna salad from the deli and serve cold with a ranch dip.

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week

FudgeMallow Brownies
    The crowd will snap up these chocolate gems. An easy way to serve them at a potluck is to cut in squares and nestle in cupcake papers.

14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk or water
1 egg
1 box chocolate cake mix
7-ounce jar of marshmallow cream such as Fluff
1 egg
½ cup mini chocolate chips or finely chopped nuts (optional)

    Grease a 9 X 13-inch baking pan and set the oven to 350 degrees Whisk 1/3 cup condensed milk with the oil, milk or water and egg. Set whisk aside and use a spoon or spatula to stir in cake mix to make a stiff dough. Spread in the pan and bake 10 minutes.
    In the same bowl using the same whisk, mix the rest of the condensed milk with the marshmallow and the other egg. Spread over the hot cake. Add nuts or chocolate chips if using. Bake another 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely. Cut in squares.

See our weekly Pantry Recipe of the Week, made with pantry ingredients only, no fresh foods require, at https://boatcook.blogspot.com

Foil Recipe of the Week
Sweet Sausage Jumble
    Excess fat from the sausage seeps down, flavoring the pepper and onion and soaking into the bread. If you prefer, simply discard the bread.

4 slices day-old bread
4 slices from a large onion
4 slices from a large, whole, seeded green pepper
1 pound bulk Italian sausage (mild or hot)
2 cups Spanish rice from a pouch or can
    Lay out 4 pieces of nonstick foil and grease lightly or spray with nonstick. Place a piece of bread on each. Top with a slice of onion, then a slice of green pepper.
    Make 4 patties from the sausage and sear in a nonstick skillet to brown briefly. Place each patty in a pepper ring. Bring up sides of the foil to form a dish. Put a half cup Spanish rice on each sausage patty.
    Join the 4 corners of the foil and twist to seal the packet and form a handle. Place on the grill or campfire over medium coals (not licking flames) and cook slowly 25 to 35 minutes.
    Pork sausage should register at least 165 degrees; turkey sausage 175 to 180 degrees.Take care when opening foil packages. Steam is very hot.

Friday, September 01, 2017

Simple Recipes for Complete Camping Meals

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Camp and RV Recipe of the Week

Swift Skillet Chili
Attention bean-o-phobes! No beans in this chili. You can always bulk it up with a can of beans if you like. You’ll love the new taste and easy prep.

1 pound lean ground beef, pork or turkey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 ½ cup hashed brown potatoes, thawed
Large onion, diced
Small green sweet pepper, seeded and diced
Small can sliced mushrooms, drained
8- to 10-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder (or to taste)
2 tablespoons steak sauce or Worcestershire
Salt, pepper to taste

In a large skillet, brown ground meat in hot oil, gradually stirring in potatoes and other vegetables. Stir in remaining ingredients, cover and simmer slowly while flavors blend and vegetables get tender. Serves 4 to 6.

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Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Crowd Pleaser Pineapple

2 large cans (20 ounces each) pineapple tidbits in their own juice
1 large can crushed pineapple in its own juice
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
6-ounce package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 sleeve buttery round crackers (e.g. Ritz)
1 stick butter, melted

    Butter or spray a casserole and set the oven for 350 degrees. Drain pineapple, saving 2/3 cup juice. Put pineapple in the casserole. Whisk flour into juice and pour over pineapple. Stir in cheese.

    Crumble crackers coarsely and sprinkle over casserole, then drizzle with melted butter. Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Serves 10.

Tips for the Camp Cook

     * Make your own Irish cream liqueur. Whisk a cup of whipping cream and 1 ½ cups Irish whiskey into a can of sweetened condensed milk. Whisk in 2 teaspoons instant coffee, 2 tablespoons Hershey’s chocolate syrup and 1 teaspoon each vanilla and almond flavorings. Let steep for a few hours. Serve on crushed ice or drizzle on ice cream, pound cake, fruit. Keep cold.

    * Can’t remove sticky residue? A temporary fix in camp is to dust it lightly with flour and brush off excess.

    * To keep the end of nylon or poly rope from raveling, carefully hold over a lit match until fibers melt.

    * I’m all thumbs but I can fix lots of problems with a spritz of WD-40, duct tape or a tie wrap. I carry tie wraps in a variety of sizes. I just used a small one to affix the dog's new rabies tag to her collar.

      * Are frozen hashed brown potatoes a favorite on your camping shopping list? If you buy O’Brien potatoes instead, the onion and green pepper are already there.

Foil Recipe of the Week

Salmon Pinwheels
    Hot gravy is optional and you can also skip the raw vegetables if you must.

6-ounce can boneless, skinless, wild salmon, shredded
2 cups biscuit mix plus more biscuit mix, or plain flour, for shaping dough
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Milk
½ cup finely chopped celery
½ cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper

Optional Gravy
1 can condensed cream of celery, mushroom or chicken soup
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
3 tablespoons milk

    Set out four squares of nonstick foil. Brush centers lightly with oil or soft butter.

    In a bowl mix biscuit mix and thyme with enough milk to make a thick dough. Turn out on floured paper toweling. Knead just until well mixed and pat into a 12-inch square.

    Scatter salmon and vegetables evenly over dough. Roll up. Cut in 8 slices. Place two slices on each piece of foil and fold foil to seal packet.
    Handling carefully, bake packets over a well-started medium fire. Turn often and check for doneness after about 15 minutes. Dough will rise and turn firm and golden

    In a nonstick skillet over high-medium heat, stir soup, paprika and milk until hot and smooth. Ladle over salmon spirals. Serves 4.

Friday, August 18, 2017

Camping Cooking Like You Mean It!

Here every Friday, see a Camp and RV Recipe of the Week, Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week, Foil Recipe of the Week and Tips for the Camp Cook. Y’all come back now, hear?

Subscribe to this blog for Kindle and Amazon sends it to your device automatically each week. Free trial.

Camp and RV
Recipe of the Week
Chewy Cheese Bites
Just add a mug of steamy, creamy tomato soup and you have a hot supper for a cold camping night.

Butter or shortening to grease pan
Cornmeal
3 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons milk or water
1 ½ cups self-rising flour
12-ounce package grated cheese such as sharp cheddar

Set the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13 X 9 X 2-inch baking pan generously. Sprinkle lightly but evenly with cornmeal. Dump out excess cornmeal
Whisk eggs, oil and milk or water. Fold in flour and cheese just until everything is evenly mixed. Dough will be stiff. Scrape into the pan. Spread evenly and bake at 400 degrees about 25 minutes or until springy. Let cool, then turn out on a cutting board and use a long bread knife to cut into 4 lengthwise strips . Then cut strips into fingers. Makes 4 dozen.

Tips for the Camp Cook

*DOUGH-RE-ME. Buy a pound of pizza dough at the deli or bakery and make meals for 2 people, 3 days.Divide dough in 3. Wrap. Keep cold. On Day 1 make pizza, Day 2, cinnamon rolls, Day 3 meat-filled patties or empenadas.

* Stuff old socks with kitty litter and put in tennies, boots and hiking shoes to absorb odor. Also good to soak up stinks in a refrigerator or ice chest. Clean thoroughly, dry, then add some of these odor absorbers and leave overnight with the door closed.

* To make an easy dessert, “butter” the inside of hot dog buns with Nutella. Lay in half a banana cut in half lengthwise. Stuff with miniature marshmallows and nuts. Wrap tightly in foil and heat.

* Whisks are work savers in camping, especially if you don’t have an electric mixer. I like a good, strong balloon whisk for batters and beating eggs.

* Designed for tent campers, this battery-operated, hang-up lantern with fan is also ideal to hang under an RV awning.

* Make up a packet of sausage gravy mix, stir in a can of pork and beans, and spoon over rice, campfire-baked potatoes, noodles, biscuits.

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week

Tomato Cobbler
A crusty biscuit topping gives tomatoes a crown of golden glory. For family reunions I make this in a big, disposable foil baking pan. For safer handling, put any foil pan on a metal sheet pan.

28-ounce can diced tomatoes
28-ounce can plum tomatoes
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 can condensed tomato soup
3 cups biscuit mix
1 teaspoon onion or garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes (optional)
Water or milk

Butter a large casserole and set the oven for 425 degrees. Drain liquid from canned tomatoes into a bowl and whisk in brown sugar and condensed tomato soup. Put diced and plum tomatoes in the casserole. Top with the tomato soup mixture. Bake 15 minutes.
Mix dry ingredients with enough milk or water to make a thick dough. Carefully remove hot casserole from the oven and dot the surface with teaspoons of biscuit dough. Return to the oven until biscuits are golden brown. Serves 15 to 20.

A camp and RV cookbook just for you. Its recipes are smart but shortcut. Makes a nice gift too. See Cooking Aboard Your RV, 2nd Edition.

Foil Recipe of the Week
Cook in foil. Eat from the foil. No dishwashing!

Hammy Cake
This foil meal does not need turning. Just set it on a grate over medium heat from well-started coals, not licking flames.

Per serving:
1 or 2 slices Canadian bacon
1 slice of canned pineapple
1 slice of banana
For the batter:
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
1 egg
Water or milk

Prepare coals in grill or fire pit to provide medium heat. Lay out squares of foil and spray centers with a nonstick spray. Place Canadian bacon in the center and top with a sliced of pineapple Put a banana slice in the hole. Bring up corners of the foil to form a dish.
In a bowl whisk egg, cornbread mix and enough water or milk to make a thick batter. Spoon 1/4 cup batter over pineapple ring. Join corners of the foil and twist to seal the package and to form a handle. Cook 15 to 20 minutes over medium heat until cornbread is firm.