Friday, August 15, 2025

RV, Camping, Glamping Meals Made Easy

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

More Labor Day, Less Labor with

Shortcut Recipes and Mealtime Tips



THUMBNAIL RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Creamy Campfire Cocoa “Helper”

In a zip-top bag place ½ cup baking cocoa, 4 cups miniature marshmallow, ½ t. salt, 1/2 c, brown sugar + 1 1/2 c. dry milk powder. Seal bag.  In camp stir this into 8 c. cold water. Heat. Add a 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk. Heat but do not boil. Serve as is or add a tot of butterscotch schnapps to the mug before adding cocoa.  

Camp, Glamp & RV Recipe of the Week 

Chickpea Chicken Stir-Fry

Add meaty chickpeas  and you'll feed 6 to 8  with only a pound of chicken. Flash-fry this hearty, affordable main dish in a skillet or wok over the grate or on the camp stove. 

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Large  onion, diced

Large green or red  pepper or both,  diced

1 cup water

1 chicken bouillon cube 

1 can condensed, low sodium cream of chicken soup 

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

Small can evaporated milk 

Cut chicken in small bits. In a skillet or wok stir-fry chicken  in hot oil, gradually adding garlic, onion, pepper and ginger. When chicken is toasty brown and onions crisp-tender, add water and bouillon. Bring to a boil to dissolve bouillon.

    Stir in soup and fold in chickpeas. Reduce heat and keep stirring while chickpeas heat through. Add evaporated milk and heat but do not boil.  Serve as is  over rice. 

Suggested garnish: sliced scallions, avocado wedges, diced Roma tomatoes or mango chutney. 

See Janet’s tips for women in RV life at SoloWomanRV


Love Sea Travel? Discover Yacht Yenta Cozy Mysteries


People are dying in Okecoochie County FL, but nobody can guess how the deaths are connected. Meet Farley Halladay, a salt-cured sailboat widow who has an online charterboat booking business. She dodges a wayward sister, cares for an old Navy SEAL veteran who was her late husband’s mentor and wrangles  a large circle of wacky friends. She cooks, copes and solves crimes in this unusual cozy mystery series.  Check your favorite e-book seller for all formats or go to Kindle,   https://amzn.to/3bB5XPh   


Bonus points: Throughout the books, Farley shares shortcut recipes from the days when she was a charterboat cook. 


BONUS RECIPE

PickaDilly Beer Muffins

I love disposable foil muffin pans for camping. Make a double batch of these muffins. Keep one pan for yourself and tote the second one to campground neighbors next door. 


12-ounce can or bottle of beer

4 cups biscuit mix

2 tablespoons white or brown sugar

1 tablespoon dried dillweed

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Pre-heat  the oven to 425 degrees. Spray or grease a 12-cup muffin tins. Pop open the beer and let it breathe while you mix biscuit mix, sugar, dill and cheese in a bowl.  Fold in beer just until everything is evenly moistened. Do not over-beat. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake 10 minutes or until puffy and golden. 




COOKING ABOARD YOUR RV

    For yourself or a gift,  Janet Groene's timeless RV cookbook is packed with shortcuts, tips and 270 easy, delicious recipes to cook inside the camper or outside on the campfire, camp stove or grill.  

https://amzn.to/3nNndWY 




See more of Janet Groene’s shortcut recipes for the small galley at https://boatcook.blogspot.com


TIPS FOR THE CAMP COOK

* Propane RV ovens can be cranky. Preheat thoroughly. Turn pans halfway through the baking time. When using foil or silicone bakeware, put them on a baking sheet for easier handling. 

Give a boost to foil meals by using a flavored pan spray to grease the foil.

Make a different dump cake. Melt 2 sticks butter and mix with a box of dry cake mix until crumbly. Press half into a greased 9 X 13-inch baking pan. Spread with a can of fruit pie filling. Sprinkle remaining crumbs on top and bake. 

Did you know you can make risotto with steel-cut oats?  Same rules as rice risotto.


VEGETARIAN RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Traveler’s Tofitas

This sizzling fajitas mix saves time. Buy coarsely grated carrots, sliced peppers and diced  onions in the produce section and keep them on hand for quicker stir-fries and salads. 


14-ounce package extra firm tofu

1 teaspoon each ground cumin, chili powder, sugar, flour

Oil for frying

Medium onion, cut in crescents

½ to 1 cup matchstick carrots

1 sweet pepper, red or green, seeded and cut in strips

Salsa

8 to 10 flour tortillas, 6 inch size, warmed

Drain tofu and dice it. Sprinkle with a mixture of the spices, sugar and flour. Toss gently. 

Heat a shallow layer of oil in a large, nonstick skillet and brown tofu in two batches, adding more oil if necessary. Remove tofu, add more oil if needed and quickly stir-fry onion and pepper until crisp-tender. Return tofu to the pan, heat and serve in warm tortillas. Pass the salsa. 


BLACK POT RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Kielbasa ‘n Cabbage Creole


14- to 16-ounce kielbasa sausage

2 tablespoons fat (butter, bacon fat, lard or vegetable oil)

Medium onion, diced

Medium green pepper, seeded and chopped

14- to 16-ounce package chopped cabbage slaw

1 cup water

1 beef or chicken bouillon cube

28-ounce can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon each salt and sugar

Sour cream

Cut kielbasa in small bites and sizzle in hot fat over a hot fire. Gradually stir in onion, pepper and cabbage. Add water and bouillon.   Cover pot, move to medium coals and simmer until vegetables are tender.

Drain tomatoes and whisk flour, salt and sugar into juice. Add to the pot with the tomatoes and stir until it thickens. If it’s too thick, thin to taste with water. 

Serve in soup plates with a dollop of sour cream on top. Serves 6.  



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 remote, 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. Be prepared for delays, refrigerator failure, supply chain interruptions. Stuff happens.   http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe 

Campers have limited storage space for emergency food.  Survival Food Handbook  is just for van 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. Keep  a few emergency meals on hand in case there is a sudden evacuation, fridge failure, shelter-in-place order or other unplanned speed bump on your  journey. http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

 

MAKE AHEAD MEAL OF THE WEEK

Freeze carloads of casseroles at home to thaw and heat on camping trips. This one can be completed with a different sauce each time: Alfredo, spaghetti sauce, white sauce, mushroom sauce* or brown gravy.

* Whisk together 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, ½ can milk and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Heat gently.

Pigs in a (Pasta) Blanket




12 to 14 giant pasta shells cooked al dente

1 box stuffing mix for pork

Hot water

20-ounce package lean ground pork

2 or 3 ribs celery, chopped

Medium onion, chopped

Optional: 1/2 cup diced red and green peppers and/or  grated carrots

Olive oil


 Add hot water to the stuffing mix until it’s moist. Fry out pork with vegetables until pork is done and vegetables crisp-tender. Add stuffing. 

Carefully pack pasta shells with pork mixture. Arrange shells in a greased pan (I use disposable baking pans) and scatter  leftover stuffing around the shells. Drizzle with olive oil. Cool, wrap and freeze.

In camp, thaw shells and cover with a sauce of choice. Heat until bubbly. 


CAMPGROUND POTLUCK RECIPE OF THE  WEEK


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Comments? Questions? Tips to share? Email janetgroene (at) yahoo.com

 













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