RV & Camping Cooks Love Shortcuts

Copyright Janet Groene 2025.  To ask about placing your ad on all six Groene sites for one year, one low rate, email janetgroene at yahoo.com

The Groenes lived full-time on the go for ten years in a 21-foot RV and 29-foot sailboat. Janet's recipes are for the everyday cook with an eye to ease, nutritional balance, economy and extended travel. 

RV, Boat , Car Camp, Van Life or Tent

COOK, EAT, ENJOY!

THUMBNAIL RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Make homemade "helpers" bags by the dozen ahead of time. The dish is different each time depending on what protein you have in camp. 

Anything Goes  “Helper” 

.Seal in a zip-top bag: 2 c. macaroni, 1 tomato bouillon cube,  2 T. each dried potato flakes and dried onion bits, 1 T dried parsley flakes.  In camp, boil 4 c. water. When macaroni is tender, do not drain. Add protein of choice e.g. canned chunk chicken, diced ham, cooked vegetables or meat,  sausage crumbles or sliced hot dogs.  Heat through and stir in 1/3 c. shredded Parmesan. Serves 4. 

Note; don't forget to unwrap bouillon cube before adding to boiling water. 

ONE BURNER RECIPE OF THE WEEK

One skillet, one heat source, one great dinner. This recipe is easily doubled to bake as a casserole in the oven.

Cornby Fash Cobbler

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, bacon fat, lard or shortening

Medium onion, diced fine

Medium green pepper, diced

½ cup grated carrot or green peas

Small can mushrooms, drained

1 can corned beef hash or roast beef hash

8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix

Milk and  egg as stated on box

Optional: 1 tablespoon honey

In a  nonstick skillet, sizzle raw vegetables in hot fat until crisp tender. In a bowl mix hash, tomato sauce and soy sauce.  Mix with all vegetables in an even layer in the skillet. 

Cover skillet and cook over low/medium fire to heat well before adding topping.  Create cornbread batter and spoon evenly over the hot hash mixture. Cover skillet and cook until cornbread is springy to the touch.  (It will not brown.)  Drizzle with honey. Serves 4. 

Cook's note: When baked in a covered skillet, most toppings do not brown because of the steam. If you like, put a finish on the cornbread with a kitchen torch, grated cheese or parsley butter.  

Foil Kiss Recipe of the Week

Savannah Shrimp ‘n Rice 

A twist of the wrist seals this succulent meal in foil “kiss” to cook on campfire, grill or RV oven. Vary the vegetables at will,, customizing each packed for each person. 

Butter

4- servings ready-to-serve rice 

Optional: thin slices of cooked smoked sausage

2 plum tomatoes, diced and drained

Salt, pepper

Thin-sliced zucchini, yellow squash ad lib

More butter

12-ounce bag of tail-off, de-veined shrimp, thawed and drained

White wine

 Old Bay seasoning

Dried parsley flakes

Optional garnish: lemon wedges 

Butter the centers of 4 large squares of foil.  Raise 4 corners of the foil to form a shallow bowl.   Place a scoop of cooked rice on the foil. Top with vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add shrimp and a pat of butter..

Drizzle with wine  Sprinkle lightly with Old Bay Seasoning and dried parsley flakes. 

Bring corners of the foil together and twist to seal and also form a handle.  Place over well-started low/medium coals to slowly steam the shrimp and vegetables. It's done when shrimp is firm and vegetables are crisp-tender. . Beware of hot steam when opening foil. Eat out of the foil. 

Oven method: Proceed as above. Place pouches in a pan or on a baking sheet for easier handling and bake 25-30 minutes at 325 degrees.

TRAVEL EMERGENCIES HAPPEN

     How much food will you need for a week in the woods for two adults and two kids?  A month in a fly-in fish camp? A two-week power outage in your forest cabin? See Survival Food Handbook for lists, tips on buying and stowing, and recipes that need no fresh ingredients. Trips are delayed. Refrigerators fail. Supply chains halt. Stuff happens. Be prepared. .  http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe Travelers have limited storage space for emergency food.  Survival Food Handbook  is just for campers, truckers, RV travelers and boaters. Make the most of every ounce, inch and dollar. Have a stash of staples you will use and replenish. Always have balanced meals for a few days during an surprise evacuation, fridge failure, shelter-in-place order or other unplanned speed bump on your  journey. http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

 

CAMPING AND RV RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Indio Viejo (Old Indian) 

  This recipe from Nicaragua is traditionally served when all the neighbors drop in on special occasions such as a saints day. It’s economical, easy and something different for a change. Think of it as a fortified polenta. 

1 pound ground beef or pork

2 tablespoons lard, bacon fat or vegetable oil

3 cups water

2  chicken flavor bouillon cubes

14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

Minced garlic and onion, ad lib 

1 cup water

1 cup cornmeal

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sweet or smoked paprika

1 cup cold water

Juice of 1 lemon

½ stick butter

Salt, pepper

Optional garnish: mint leaves

Fry out meat in hot oil and add 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and stir in bouillon until it dissolves.  Add tomatoes, garlic and onion. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes.   

Add 1 cup more water and bring back to a slow boil.  In a small bowl whisk paprika, ½ teaspoon salt,  1 cup cornmeal and a cup of cold water. Quickly stir into the boiling pot. Cook, stirring and adding more water if needed until thick and creamy. 

Stir in lemon juice and 1/4 stick of butter. Adjust seasonings. Garnish with sprigs of fresh mint. Serves 6., 

Tips for the Camp Cook

* Make fruity pancake syrup. Boil 1 3/4  cups sugar with one cup fruit juice such as white grape, pineapple, apple or  berry until sugar dissolves. Optional: add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract.

* Did you accidentally make a soup or stew too salty? Dice or shred a potato into the soup and let it absorb the excess salt. The more potato surface is exposed, the more salt is absorbed. 

* Make a sweet sauce for plain cake or gingerbread. Save juice from canned fruit. To 2 cups juice add 1 tablespoon each butter, minute tapioca  and lemon juice. Simmer until thickened. 

* Keep butter in the freezer and grate it into biscuits or streusel toppings. Mixing is easier and distribution is more even than using a pastry blender. 

* If you don’t have a spatter screen, up-end a metal sieve or colander over the frypan. 

A new 150-site RV park is coming to White Oak, Texas. See news breaks like this to get an inside, earlybird view  at CAMPGROUNDS; GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS weekly at https://solowomanrv.blogspot.com

Vegetarian Main Dish Recipe of the Week 

Sweetpea Pasta Salad

Bring a big bowl of this salad as a vegetarian main dish or hearty side dish. To make an even larger and more colorful salad, add more vegetables such as sliced celery, grated carrot, diced tomato, thin crescents of  sweet onion, radishes, halved cherry tomatoes and/or diced green apple.  

2 cups medium pasta such as radiatori ,  cooked and drained (4 cups cooked)

2 cans, 15 ounces each, chickpeas, drained and rinsed

½ cup Italian dressing

Large red sweet pepper, seeded and diced

2 cups toung, tender pea pods, trimmed

1 bunch scallions, trimmed and sliced

Small head firm iceberg lettuce, cut in bite size

Additional Italian dressing

While pasta cooks, marinate drained chickpeas in a large bowl with the dressing. Add  hot, drained pasta and mix well Fold in remaining vegetables and additional dressing to taste. Chill.  

BONUS RECIPE

Shortcut Chutney

Ask six cooks and you’ll get six recipes for chutney. It may contain turmeric, mustard seed, mint , all of the above and many spices you never heard of. Here’s a quickie version made from ingredients found in your pantry. 

2 cans whole cranberry sauce

10--ounce jar peach preserves

1 teaspoon powdered ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 ½ cup chopped walnuts

Large sweet onion, diced very fine

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or to taste)

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring ingredients to a boil and immediately remove from heat. When it’s cool enough, adjust ingredients your way for more hot spices or more vinegar. Chill and serve as a condiment with meats, curries, rice or eggs. Keeps up to .a week in the refrigerator.  

LIFESAVER SAUCE OF THE WEEK

Red Caviar Cream

Turn an ordinary dish into a gourmet triumph. I reader once sent me a recipe that called for "as many pecans as you can afford." That's pretty much the case with caviar. 

½ of an 8-ounce brock of cream cheese

2/3 cup sour cream

Small sweet onion, minced

Small jar red caviar

Let cream cheese come to “room” temperature and mix well with sour ream and onion. Carefully fold in caviar. Serve sparingly over poached fish, tuna melts  or bagels and lox. 

CAMPGROUND POTLUCK RECIPE OF THE WEEK 

Artichoke Pasta Salad

Vary the vegetables at will. The main focus here is the marinated artichokes and pasta. It may not need the additional Italian dressing. 

2 cups medium pasta such as rotini

Small jar marinated artichoke hearts, undrained

1 can quartered artichoke hearts

2 or 3 miniature sweet red peppers

1 cup peas, thawed

Small can sliced mushrooms

Medium red onion, cut in thin crescents

Bottled or homemade Italian dressing

Drain cooked pasta and stir marinated artichokes with marinade into warm pasta. Then fold in remaining ingredients with dressing  to taste. Serves 8. 

See money-saving snack recipes. Eat healthier and make less trash on the trail. See recipes for a big batch of Gorp to package by the cupful for your pocket, lunch box or backpack. See Create A Gorp. 

 SCROLL DOWN FOR ADDITIONAL RECIPES AND TIPS