Copyright Janet Groene 2026. To ask about rights to reprint Groene content email
Easy Camping MEALS to Gobble Up
WHERE TO FIND CAMPSITES IN 2027? Get early news of new and expanding campgrounds and parks, posted weekly at https://solowomanrv.blogspot.com
Camping And RV Recipe of the Week
5 Minute Minestrone
This hearty favorite throws together in minutes and, if you have a pressure cooker, it also cooks in five minutes. Otherwise, simmer it low and slow while flavors marry and lentils soften. Either way, it’s a winner for the campfire, camp stove or RV range.
1/3 cup lentils, rinsed
1-quart carton broth (vegetable, chicken or beef)
1/3 cup tiny pasta or broken spaghetti
1 carrot, peeled and diced
Large rib celery, diced
Medium onion, diced
14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon mixed Italian seasoning
1 can kidney beans
Pressure cooker method: Pick over, rinse and drain lentils and place in the cooker with everything but the kidney beans. Bring to full pressure 5 minutes and let pressure return to normal on its own. Stir in kidney beans and heat through. Serves 4 to 6.
Solar method: Proceed as above. If possible, bring soup to a boil on the stove, then place in solar oven for several hours or until everything is tender. If you have no stove, heat soup in the sun without pasta, then add pasta and complete cooking. Add kidney beans at the end, then heat for another 30-60 minutes.
Slow cooker method: Proceed as for pressure cooker but don’t add pasta until soup is hot (after about 1 hour on High). Then cook about 5-6 hours on Low.
Cook’s note: serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese if you like, and have plenty of chunky Italian read to go with it.
Camp Cook Tip: When time and fuel are short, rely on dried lentils or split peas rather than dried beans, which require soaking and/or long cook times. Canned beans too are a camping shortcut.
Campground Potluck of the Week
Scalloped Potatoes Italiano
6 medium potatoes, scrubbed and sliced
Large onion, sliced
28-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon mixed Italian seasoning.
2 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
Salt and pepper
½ cup dried Italian seasoned bread crumbs
½ cup freshly grated cheese
Butter a baking dish and layer sliced potatoes, onions, tomatoes and seasonings, Cover and bake 45-50 minutes at 350F. Lightly toss grated cheese and bread crumbs together and sprinkle over potatoes, Bake another 10 minutes or until toasty on top. Serves 10 to 12.
FULL-TIME RV TRAVEL& Lifestyle, Warts and All
We share our whole story, from a step-by-step start into 10 years of full-timing, to a happy ending when we became avid RV part-timers again.
The book begins with making the decision in the first place. then there is selecting an RV for full-time living rather than vacations, choosing a "home" address, furnishings and gear to make it a home, and ends with settling down to become part-time RV-ers again.
Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition 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 our chapter on ways to make a living anywhere. Kids on board? We cover home schooling and much more. We also describe an exit strategy if and when it's time. https://amzn.to/29XFEkq
SLOW COOKER DISH OF THE WEEK
Slow cookers are idea for campground potlucks, tailgating and make--take meals. Usually they are familiar recipes for soups, chili and stews. But times and temperatures are a mystery.
Six hours on HIgh? Eight hours on Low? The Keep Warm cycle? I’ll be providing recipes that take the guess work out of crock cookery.
Cook's note: Every time you lift the lid and stir a slow cooker, add 30 minutes to cook time. Avoid constant peeking by knowing instructions for times and temperatures
Random Harvest Chowder
1 onion, diced
4 cups diced vegetables ad lib (sweet potato, white potato, turnip, carrot, rutabaga, zucchini)
6 cups water
5 bouillon cubes (vegetable, beef, chicken, tomato)
½ teaspoon each celery seed and ground cumin
2 cans, 12 ounces each, evaporated milk
Butter pats
Dried parsley flakes
Put everything in the slow cooker and cook 4 to 5 hours on High. Add canned milk, cover and cook on High 30 minutes more. Adjust seasoning. Place a pat of butter in each soup bowl and sprinkle with parsley flakes. Add hot soup. Serves 6.
Suggested garish: toasty croutons, mini pretzels, popcorn or oyster crackers
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. Gifting? Amazon will wrap and ship it for you.
VEGETARIAN DISH OF THE WEEK
Swiss Style Polenta
When using instant or quick cooking polenta, see package directions for water ratio.
5 to 6 stalks Swiss chard
2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
Medium onion, diced fine
3 cups water ½ teaspoon salt
1 cup fine cornmeal or polenta
½ cup grated Swiss cheese such as Gruyere or Emmenthaler
Prepare chard, Cut leaves and dice stalks or quick cooking. Set aside.
In a saucepan, soften onion in hot oil. Add water and salt, bring to a boil and gradually stir in 1 cup fine cornmeal or polenta. Stir in chard and continue stirring until mixture thickens to consistency of creamy mashed potatoes. Stir in cheese. Make depressions for eggs and break 4 to 6 eggs onto the polenta. Cover and cook until eggs are desired doneness.
Spread mixture evenly over bottoms of 4 to 6 medium size plates.. Serve at once.
Suggested garnish: Finely crushed cheese cracker crumbs or finely crusted pretzel crumbs.
Make your own trail mix to save money, customize to reduce sugar or omit salt. See tons of no-cook recipes for pocket snacks at https://createagorp.blogspot.com
THANKFUL FOR EXTRA RATIONS
Stuff happens when you're away from home too. Be prepared for delays, detours, breakdown, sudden evacuation, quarantine, can't find ice or propane refills, fire ban, supply chain interruptions, civil disturbances. How much food will you need for a week in the woods for two adults and two kids? A month in a remote fish camp? A two-week power outage? See Survival Food Handbook for tips on buying, stowing, and making meals from ordinary supermarket supplies that need no fresh ingredients.
NO-BAKE DESSERT OF THE WEEK
Peanut Butter Parfait
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup apricot preserves
Optional: 2 tablespoons white wine or water
1 tub French vanilla yogurt
Whisk cold water, flour and sugar, then cook over low-medium heat until it thickens. Stir in peanut butter, then apricot preserves and wine or water to thin if too thick. Let cool. Make alternate layers of peanut butter mixture and yogurt in clear plastic glasses to make pretty parfaits
Optional garnish: chopped dry-toasted peanuts.
SKILLET OF THE WEEK
Smoked Salmon Hash
Smoked salmon is available in dozens of styles, price points and packages including canned, so it’s an ideal staple for travel. Try this simple skillet breakfast, lunch or light supper.
3 cups hash brown white or sweet potatoes, thawed
2 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil
Small onion, diced fine
6-ounce package smoked salmon cut up
4 to 6 eggs
Optional: shredded cheese
Sizzle onion and, potatoes in hot oil in a large skillet, gradually stirring in salmon bits. When mixture is browned and crispy, spread to an even layer in the skillet and make dents for eggs. Break eggs into depressions, cover skillet and cook just until eggs set. Sprinkle with cheese. Serves 4 to 6.
Optional garnish: a drizzle of vodka, a sprinkle of fresh or dried dillweed or dollops of sour cream.
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Read the six cozies in any order as Farley copes, cooks and solves crimes with the help of her wacky cast of characters. You'll laugh at her frailties; cry with her as she grieves. Find it on Kindle, https://amzn.to/3wcf6ao
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