Copyright Janet Groene 2026
CAMPING/RV RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Shells in Cream Sauce
Chop vegetables fine so they will cook with the pasta.
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups medium pasta shells
4 cups chopped vegetables (carrots, celery, onion, zucchini, mushrooms, rutabaga)
1 or 2 cans chunk ham, broken up OR
2 cups fine-chopped canned ham, SPAM or deli baked ham
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
14-ounce can heavy cream such as Nestlé’s OR
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
Bring salted water to a hard boil with the vegetables. Add pasta and continue boiling. When shells and vegetables are tender, reduce heat and stir in ham, beans and mushrooms. Simmer over medium heat. Add enough cold water to the cornstarch to make a thin paste. Stir in. Simmer until everything is heated through and slightly thickened. .Stir in cheese and enough cream to form a sauce. Serve in shallow soup plates. Serves 6 to 8.
Cook’s note: Chopped scallions make a colorful garnish.
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 grate.
Pick up a rotisserie chicken on the way to the campground....
BLACK POT RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Chicken Stew With Egg Dumplings
These firm, eggy dumplings are a compromise between Mom’s fluffy dumplings and Granny’s rolled dough dumplings. The stew can simmer all day over the campfire. Just keep adding water so it doesn’t boil dry and make sure there is plenty of liquid to poach the dumplings. Add the dumplings for the last 20 minutes, then serve with a Tah-DAH.
Rotisserie chicken, about 4 pounds
2 quarts water
4 chicken flavor bouillon
Small bunch celery, chopped
Medium onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
`Pick the chicken clean. Discard bones in a place where animals can’t get them. Cut chicken in bite size and place in a big pot with the water. Bring to a boil over a hot fire add bouillon and vegetables. Cover and move to well-started coals to keep at an active simmer.
Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.
Dumplings
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon each salt and crumbled dried sage
Mix all ingredients to make s stiff dough. (You may need a little more flour.) Stoke up the campfire to keep stew at a low boil. Add water or broth if needed to cover chicken and allow room for dumplings to float. Drop tablespoons of dough into the stew and cook, uncovered, 20 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.
COMFORT FOOD OF THE WEEK
Shortcut Tomatillo Soup
Medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
10- or 12-ounce can chunk chicken, undrained
4 cups water
4 chicken flavor bouillon cubes or
4 teaspoons chicken soup base
28-ounce can water pack tomatillos
Small can diced jalapeños, drained
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt
Sour Cream
Minced cilantro
Hot sauce
In a roomy saucepan sauté onion and garlic in hot oil. Add chicken and break it up. Add water and bouillon cubes. Bring to a low boil and stir to dissolve bouillon. Cover, reduce heat and cook until onion is tender. Drain tomatillos and chop fine. Add to the soup with the jalapeños and cayenne. Cover and simmer ad lib to blend flavors. Salt to taste. Garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream and a tuft of fresh cilantro. Pass the hot sauce. Pass a big basket of Cuban bread. Serves 6.
Cook’s note: If using fresh tomatillos, leave husks on until you’re ready to use them. Chop fine and add to soup until tender.
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? Two weeks in a national park? See Survival Food Handbook for lists, tips on buying, stowing, and recipes that need no fresh ingredients. Be prepared for delays, refrigerator failure, supply chain interruptions and the unforseen. 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
VEGETARIAN DISH OF THE WEEK
Make Ahead Cornbread Salad
This hearty salad makes a main dish meal for lunch on the patio or a cold supper on a hot night next summer. Make it in the morning and chill it all day for flavors to blend.
Your favorite batch of cornbread OR
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix, baked according to package directions
2 cans, 15 ounces each, red beans, rinsed and drained
3 large tomatoes, chopped and drained
Medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
Small sweet onion, diced
6-ounce package grated Cheddar cheese
15-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
1 packet ranch dressing mix
8-ounce container plain yogurt (1 cup)
1 cup low-fat mayonnaise
Small package imitation bacon bits (optional)
Crumble cooled cornbread and toss lightly with beans, tomatoes, sweet pepper, onion, cheese, corn and half of the bacon bits. Whisk dry ranch mix with yogurt and mayonnaise and fold into cornbread mixture. Pile into a container and sprinkle with remaining imitation bacon bits. Chill 8 hours. Serves 6.
Variation: Try a stronger cheese such as smoked provolone, Roquefort or crumbled feta.
OVEN MEAL OF THE WEEK
Buttermilk Batter Chicken-in-a-Blanket
2 or 3 cans, 10 ounces each, chunk chicken
14.5-ounce can diced carrots, drained
14.5-ounce can sliced green beans, drained
Water
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups biscuit mix
1 stick butter, cut into bits
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees and grease a deep 9 X 14-inch baking pan..
2. Drain chicken into a 2-cup measure and add water to make 1 1/.2 cups liquid.
3. Drain and break up chicken and mix with vegetables in the pan. .
4. In a bowl, whisk together 1 ½ cup liquid, soup and cornstarch. Pour evenly over chicken mixture. Save the bowl.
4. Wipe out the bowl with paper towels. It doesn't have to be pristine. Whisk together biscuit mix and buttermilk. Fold in butter bits. Pour batter oven chicken mixture.
5. Bake about 40 minutes or until a golden crust forms on top and filling is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes, cut into squares and serve with a pancake turner (chicken will be on the bottom). Makes 8 servings.
Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Strawberry Cookie Cake
7 strawberry newton cookies, cut up
1 strawberry-flavor cake mix
1 cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
10-ounce jar strawberry jam
1 cup whipping cream
Additional whipped cream (optional)
1. Grease a deep, 9 X 13-inch baking pan and cover the bottom with the cut-up strawberry newtons. Press to form a crust.
2. Whisk water, oil and eggs into dry cake mix. Pour batter gently over strawberry cookies. Bake the cake at 350 degrees until it’s springy to the touch and pulling slightly away from sides of the pan.
3. Cool cake 15 minutes than use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over it.
4. In a small saucepan over low heat, mix the cream and jam until they melt together. Pour gently and evenly over warm cake. Cool, cover and chill overnight or up to two days.
5. Cut into 12 to 15 serving pieces. Add squirt-on whipped cream if you wish.
Variation: Just before cutting into serving pieces, “frost” top with thawed whipped topping.
Camp and Galley Tip No broiler to put a crusty topping on a casserole? Melt a stick of butter in a medium skillet and add a cup or so of bread crumbs. Keep stirring over medium heat until bread crumbs are toasty. Sprinkle over hot casserole just before serving. To receive a full page of camp cook tips by return email, contact me at janetgroene@yahoo.com and put Camp Cook Tips in the topic line.
IS 2026 THE YEAR YOU'LL HIT THE ROAD FULL TIME?
WHY WAIT TO RETIRE?
Do you dream of living, traveling (and perhaps earning a living) in a complete home on wheels? We did. Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition by Janet Groene & Gordon Groene is a total guide to the full-time life on wheels. Should you sell the house or rent it out? Downsize possessions or put them in storage? Too young to retire? See the chapter on ways to make a living anywhere. Kids on board? We cover home schooling and also an exit strategy if and when the time comes to settle down. Order at any book store or let Amazon gift wrap and ship it for you. https://amzn.to/29XFEk
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