Recipes

Green Bean, Bacon, Mushroom Skillet

Green beans are good and so are mushrooms. Onions and bacon makes them even better. I mean, bacon makes everything better, right?! This green bean skillet is so good, it disappears very quickly. Try to load each fork bite with a little of everything. The combination of flavors is simply delightful.

This is a quick and easy side dish that compliments just about anything. Serve it alongside any protein you’ve grilled or baked in camp. It also goes well with other side dishes. Serve it alongside a casserole you baked in a Dutch oven. It’s fresh and tasty and the recipe can be sized up to feed a crowd. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet that is big enough, you can use a Dutch oven on a camp stove or over coals.

Feel free to adjust the size of your cuts depending on how chunky you want your bacon, onion, and mushrooms and, of course, salt and pepper to your liking. If you wanted to add a little heat to this, try adding some red pepper flakes or a dash of your favorite hot sauce.

The first time we made this, everyone grabbed a fork to taste it and before we knew it, the skillet was empty. Once we started, no one could stop.

Equipment
Cast-iron skillet or a Dutch oven.

Ingredients
4 slices bacon, cut into strips
1/2 medium white onion, diced or half moon slices
12 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Prep
In a cast-iron skillet, on medium heat, fry bacon until just starting to brown. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add green beans on top of the onions and bacon; do not stir. Let them cook about 2 minutes, then stir. Add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently until the green beans are just starting to blister and mushrooms are cooked through, but still fairly firm. Add 1 tablespoon butter and stir in until melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves about 4

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Categories: Recipes, Sides | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Who Doesn’t Love Hot Cocoa?

Unless you don’t like chocolate (and who doesn’t?!), most everyone loves a hot cup of cocoa. Kids love it. Adults love it. And, you can dress it up or down, make it fancy or keep it simple.

Saturday, December 12, is National Cocoa Day and no camping trip would be complete without a good supply of hot cocoa. Hot cocoa is a must have for cold, winter weather, but it’s also great on a chilly spring morning or a crisp fall evening. It’s even a good way to start the day in the middle of July.

Hot cocoa can be made from scratch or you can grab a packet of the instant stuff and just add hot water. If you’re making cocoa from scratch, remember to add just a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor.

So, how do you spice up or, for the adults, spike your hot cocoa?

Marshmallows and Whipped Cream have to top the list. They are the classic toppings. If you are a marshmallow fan, they come in flavors and multiple sizes for more options.

Make a s’mores cocoa with Marshmallows and crushed Graham Crackers (pictured).

Melt a crushed up Candy Cane or an Andes Mint in your hot cocoa for a minty twist. My daughter has recently started doing this and loves it.

Stir in some Caramel sauce.

Add a dash of Cinnamon for a Latin twist.

Add some Almond Extract or Vanilla Extract.

Mash up a bit of Banana. It might make for some chunks and floaties but you can spoon those out and eat them!

How about using Coconut Milk in place of regular milk?

Melt some Peanut Butter in your hot cocoa or stir in some PB2 powdered peanut butter.

Add a flavored creamer, like Hazelnut or melt some Nutella in your hot cocoa.

Melt in some White Chocolate or, if you make your hot cocoa from scratch, use White Chocolate or Dark Chocolate instead of regular chocolate.

For the adults in the crowd, try adding a shot of Amaretto or Bailey’s Irish Cream or Kahlua or Crème de Cacao to your hot cocoa. Makes a perfect nite cap at the evening campfire.

In addition to the Crème de Cacao, add some Peppermint Schnapps and Crème de Menthe for a peppermint patty style cocoa.

For an almond joy, use Coconut Milk and add Crème de Cacao and Amaretto.

Grand Marnier makes for super-sophisticated, orange and chocolate cocoa.

We hope you’ll give some of these a try and have some fun experimenting. And, feel free to mix and match. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

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Categories: Beverages, Cooking Outdoors | Tags: , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This pound cake is easy and fast to make and is moist and sweet and delicious, and disappears as quickly as it’s made. This could be served in the evening as a light dessert as is or with maybe a little fruit and whipped cream spooned over the top. It could be added to a breakfast menu. It is simply delightful with a hot cup of coffee, tea or cocoa. It can be served as is. It is that tasty.

This pound cake is so yummy; I could start every morning with a slice of this and a hot cup of coffee.

This pound cake is simple enough to make in camp or it could be made ahead and taken to camp wrapped in plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container. It tastes just as good fresh as it does the next day. Loaves can also be frozen for enjoying much later.

If you’re making this in camp, you’ll want to bake it in a box oven or you could bake it in a Dutch oven with the loaf pans sitting on a trivet. Or you could pour it directly into a small Dutch oven and not use loaf pans at all. How you decide to bake it will determine how many coals you need.

For more quick bread ideas, check out my “Best Banana Bread” recipe and “Cookie’s Cornbread” recipe.

Equipment
2 9×5 loaf pans, 2 medium mixing bowls, sturdy mixing spoon, and measuring cups and spoons.

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Prep
Preheat your oven or prep your coals. Toss your blueberries in a little flour. This will help them integrate better into the batter and not sink to the bottom.

In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Mix in the eggs one at a time. In a second medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. By hand, gently fold in blueberries.

Divide the batter evenly between two greased 9×5 loaf pans. Bake in a 350°F oven for 45-55 minutes. Refresh coals as needed. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before running a knife around the outside the pans and turning out the loaves onto a cooling rack.

Makes 2 loaves. Servings will vary depending on how thick you slice the loaf.

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Categories: Breakfasts, Desserts, Make & Take, Recipes | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Imagine the looks on your campers’ faces if you told them you were making chicken cordon bleu for dinner. This is a fancy classic French dish made of chicken breasts (pounded flat) stuffed with ham and Swiss cheese. Each stuffed chicken breast is then rolled in bread crumbs and baked. Now, while you could make it this way in camp and bake them in a Dutch or box oven, we found an easy way to make it casserole style, which is great if you’re feeding a crowd.

This casserole has all the flavors of chicken cordon bleu, including the crunchy breadcrumb topping, without the labor, and, if you are feeding a crowd, a casserole is always a good way to go. Much of the prep work could be done at home before you go so that when you get to camp it’s just “some assembly required.”

The chicken can be cooked at home and cubed along with the ham, and the cheeses could be grated at home. Everything can be loaded into containers for the ride to camp in your cooler.

You could also modify this by adding some broccoli to it. You could also kick it up a notch and add some bacon bits giving it more of a club sandwich flavor.

Equipment
12-inch Dutch oven or 9×13 baking dish, and a skillet

Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups small-cubed ham
1 1/4 cups grated Swiss cheese
1 1/4 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
4 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
salt and black pepper

Prep
At home before you go, cook the chicken breasts by either grilling, frying, baking or poaching, and cube them. Cube the ham and grate the cheeses. Load everything into containers or resealable bags for the ride to camp in your cooler. The cheeses could be combined in one container.

In camp, foil line (if you’re going to) and/or grease your Dutch oven. Put about a third of chicken in a layer in the bottom. Top with half the ham. Sprinkle over 1/4 cup of the mixed cheese. Repeat 1 more time, then finish with a layer of chicken.

You’ll probably want to start your coals about now.

In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Put the panko in a bowl, pour in half of the melted butter, mix well and set aside. Add the flour to the remaining butter in the skillet and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking out any lumps. Whisk in the milk, broth, Dijon and cayenne and let it cook until it begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt because the ham will bring some saltiness. You can always add more salt at the table.

Pour the sauce over the casserole. Sprinkle over the remaining 1 cup cheese, then the panko mix. Bake in a 350°F oven, using 17 coals on the lid and 8 underneath, for 25-30 minutes until the top is browned and the casserole is bubbling.

Makes about 6 servings. Serve with buttered noodles or a rice pilaf, and some green vegetables or a salad.

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Kiss My Grits!

That cheeky catchphrase was a favorite of a sassy waitress named Flo on the 1970s sitcom Alice. The actress who played Flo was a native of Alabama and no stranger to grits. Made using ground corn kernels, grits are a southern specialty and the official state food of South Carolina, but you don’t have to be southern to enjoy them.

Growing up, one of my best friends was a southern girl and whenever I ate at her house, grits were almost always on the menu. Grits can be served for breakfast much like oatmeal or cream of wheat and they can be served with dinner much like mashed potatoes, rice, polenta, and pasta.

And for those of you who are wondering, both grits and polenta are made from ground corn, but the main difference is what type of corn. Polenta, as you can probably guess from the color, is made from yellow corn, while grits are normally made from white corn (or hominy). Polenta originated from northern and central Italy. Grits came from the Native America Muskogee tribe. Grits will usually end up being finer and smoother. Polenta has a coarse texture and takes a little longer to make.

And, just like potatoes, polenta, rice, and pasta, grits will go with just about anything, but perhaps the most famous pairing is shrimp and grits. Think of them as mashed potatoes but with a different flavor and texture.

Grits can be made simply with just water, a little butter, and some salt and black pepper or they can be dressed up with milk or cream, chicken stock, cheese, green onion, garlic, almost anything. They are a blank canvas. They are also an excellent source of vitamin B and iron. For a sweet, hot breakfast, omit the black pepper and add some fruit or cinnamon and sugar. Again, treat it like oatmeal or cream of wheat. Today, September 2, happens to be National Grits for Breakfast Day.

Grits can be made on the stove top or in a slow cooker. The only trick is, much like cream of wheat, when you add the grits to the boiling liquid you have to add slowly and stir or whisk the whole time and keep stirring until everything is mixed well; otherwise, they will clump.

The recipe below is easy to make on a stove or in a slow cooker. They are smooth and creamy, and all my southern buddies have given them two thumbs up. When I make these in the scout camp dining hall, on Saturday morning, I’ll set out a large slow cooker with breakfast and they quickly disappear.

Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
3 1/2 cups water
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups stone ground grits
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Instructions
In a saucepan, on medium heat, combine all ingredients except grits and cheese. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently to prevent the milk from scalding on the bottom. Gradually whisk in grits. (Add them too quickly and they will clump.)

Reduce heat to low and cook according to the directions on the container, stirring frequently. Add the cheese and stir until melted in. If grits get too thick add more water or half-and-half.

Serves 6-8

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Spicy Special Sauce

I’ve written on more than one occasion how my son likes spicy stuff. When we go out to eat, he usually orders a spicy burger topped with jalapeños, habanero peppers, ghost peppers and/or a spicy sauce. He wanted to create a spicy special sauce that he could put on his burgers when we grill at home or in camp. Here is what we came up with. Keep in mind that this is tailored to his liking, this is his recipe, but I think you might like it, too. He challenged me to try it with him and I actually like it, when my tongue stops tingling.

For a milder special sauce, please read my blog post: “Thousand Island Dressing is Not Just for Salads.”

In our home kitchen, we stock tabasco, sriracha, and ghost pepper sauce for when we want to spice things up. For this spicy special sauce, we went straight to the ghost pepper sauce because he was wanting some serious heat. We like Dave’s ghost pepper sauce because the primary ingredient is ghost pepper and there isn’t much of anything else in it; however, if you have a favorite hot sauce, by all means, substitute it and adjust the amount for your heat tolerance.

We also need to include a safety warning here. When you are working with really hot peppers or really hot pepper sauces, you need to follow some safety protocols such as wearing gloves and washing your hands thoroughly after handling. For more information on hot stuff, please read my blog post: “Some Like it Hot.”

We tried this sauce on burgers and hot dogs and we like it on both. Since this was our first go around, and I think he was trying to go easy on me, we started with a small amount of ghost pepper sauce. Our plan is to slowly up it until our tongues catch fire, which I’m sure will happen to me long before it happens to him. So, here’s his concoction. Adjust it to your liking.

Ingredients
8 teaspoons sweet relish
8 teaspoons ketchup
4 teaspoons mustard (we used yellow)
1/4 teaspoon ghost pepper sauce

Prep
Combine all ingredients. We recommend storing in a glass container because we were afraid it would eat through a plastic container. Seriously.

Serves about 4 depending on how much you smear on.

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Apple Oatmeal Cookie Dump Crisp

This was fun to make and super easy. It’s a great recipe for a beginner chef. There are only 3 ingredients and I only dirtied one bowl and my pastry cutter so easy clean up.

We used apple pie filling but you can use any pie filling you prefer. You could even mix together two different cans for your own custom flavor. If you prefer your crisps a little more fruit heavy, you could add a third can of pie filling. Try it both ways and see which you like better.

When it’s baked, the oatmeal topping becomes very crunchy and granola like. It was very tasty. Serve it with whip cream or a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream. Everyone gave it a thumb up. We would have gotten two thumbs up but no one wanted to put their spoon down!

If there are any leftovers, you can eat them for breakfast the next morning. My daughter did that and she loved it.

Equipment
12-inch Dutch oven or 9×13 baking dish.

Ingredients
2 cans pie filling
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cubed
1 (17.5 ounce) bag oatmeal cookie mix

Prep
Foil line or grease a 12-inch Dutch oven or grease a 9×13 baking dish. Cube the butter and, in a medium bowl, combine it with the oatmeal cookie mix using a pastry cutter or your fingers until the butter is pea-sized or smaller. Add the pie filling to the baking vessel and sprinkle the oatmeal butter crumbles evenly over the surface. Bake in a 350°F oven, using 17 coals on the lid and 8 underneath, for 50 minutes or until the pie filling is bubbly and the oatmeal topping is golden brown. Refresh coals as needed.

Serves 8-10

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Hot Dogs and Beans! A Winning Combo!

July 13 was National Beans and Franks Day. Today, July 15, is National Hot Dog Day.

Hot dogs are a camping and backyard grilling classic. They’re also a beloved protein of just about every kid I know.

In the summer, we’re probably grilling dogs at least once a week either in camp or in the backyard. In the winter, I’ll slice them in half lengthwise and fry them for a sandwich or a bowl of ramen or I’ll serve them alongside a pile of macaroni and cheese. I don’t know where I learned that but I love those two side by side; however, I’ve never mixed them together. I might have to try that!

Speaking of mixing together, two things that go really well when combined are hot dogs and beans. I remember eating a lot of beans and wieners on camping trips as a kid. The easiest way to make them is to open a can of your favorite baked beans and add sliced hot dogs to them and heat them together. It’s a tasty, hearty meal that is super simple to make and is easy on the budget. It makes a winner dinner for a beginning grub master. This is a great meal for a Friday night roll into camp because you can have dinner on the picnic table in less than 30 minutes. It also uses only one skillet for easy cleanup.

If you want a little more control over the ingredients, beans and franks are also easy to make from scratch. Again, it’s simply a can of beans and some sliced hot dogs and then the fun begins as you dress it up any way you like. Here’s one of my favorites. It is sweet and savory, and has complex flavors. Every spoonful is a little different.

This recipe is easily scalable. Cut the recipe in half for 2 or scale it up for as many as you need to feed (and your skillet can hold)! We use all beef hot dogs and, depending on the size of your hot dogs, you may want to halve or quarter them lengthwise before you slice them. I use a 4-ounce can of fire roasted diced green chiles, but you could substitute something fresh and as mild or as hot as you like. I use red bell pepper and yellow onion because we almost always have those on hand, but you could substitute to your liking. For some additional heat and flavor, you can add a splash of your favorite hot sauce or some red pepper flakes.

Ingredients
4 bacon strips, cooked and cut into 1 inch pieces
4 all-beef hot dogs, sliced
1/2 cup diced bell pepper (red, yellow, orange or green)
1/2 cup onion (yellow or white), diced
1 tablespoon spicy mustard
1/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
30 ounces Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup (4-ounce can) fire roasted diced green chiles, mild or hot

Prep
Slice the hot dogs, and dice the bell pepper and onion. Pop the top on the can of diced green chiles or, if you’re using fresh, dice those. In a small bowl, combine the mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, black pepper, and salt. To this, you’d add your splash of hot sauce or red pepper flakes, but that’s optional.

On medium heat, warm a large skillet or cast iron pan. Fry the bacon to your liking, remove, and set aside on a paper towel. Drain off any excess bacon grease, but leave enough to sauté the hot dogs and vegetables. To the skillet, add the bell pepper, onion, chiles (if using fresh), and sliced hot dogs, stirring until the hot dogs are browned and the vegetables are soft and caramelized. Slice bacon and add to skillet along with Great Northern beans, chiles (if using canned), and sauce. Continue to heat and stir until all ingredients have combined and sugar has fully dissolved. Serve hot with a cold potato, pasta or green salad on the side.

Serves about  4.

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Categories: Main Dishes, Meals in 30 Min., One Pot, Recipes | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Deviled Egg Potato Salad

 

I grew up with a simple, straight up potato salad. It wasn’t anything fancy and didn’t include any “weird” ingredients, but I loved it for its simplicity. It didn’t matter what else was on the picnic table, it went with everything. Unfortunately, the recipe (if there ever was one) was not passed down so I decided to recreate it.

It took a lot of trial and error to get all the flavors balanced, but I think I got it or, at least, I’ve gotten really, really close. When I’ve made this potato salad for family and friends, they say it has a very deviled egg flavor so that’s what I’m calling it.

I’ve made it with baby red potatoes, mini golds, and russets, and I have to say that I think I prefer the russets, but the others were tasty also. The russets seem to soak up more of the dressing, which is maybe why I like them better. If you choose to use golds or reds, you may find that you don’t need as much dressing. Just eyeball it and you’ll be okay.

I make this at home, the day before we leave, and load it into a hard-sided container for the ride to camp in my cooler. If I think I’m going to set it out for more than one meal then I will portion it into smaller containers so that it’s not going in and out of the cooler.

For the russets, I like to “bake” them in my Instant Pot or I’ll bake them outside in a Dutch oven because who wants to fire up their indoor oven in the middle of summer. If you’ve got an outdoor fire pit, you could wrap them in foil and bake them in coals. I don’t recommend boiling the russets because they break down too easily and you end up with more of a mashed potato salad. The golds and reds could be boiled or baked either in coals or in the Instant Pot.

You could also pre-mix your sauce and chop your veggies at home, and then bake your potatoes in camp and assemble in camp. I like to make it at home right before we go because potato salad is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day.

So, here is my favorite potato salad and I think it’s as close to grandma’s as I’m gonna get. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 1/2 to 2 pounds potatoes of your choice (mini gold potatoes, russets, red potatoes, etc.)
3/4 cup (2-3 stalks) celery, diced
4 eggs, hard-boiled, diced
1/4 cup (2-3 stalks) green onion, sliced
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon parsley, dried or 1 tablespoon fresh
1 tablespoon sweet relish or 1 cup sweet pickles, diced

Prep
Bake or boil the potatoes and hard-boil the eggs. Halve or quarter the smaller potatoes. For the larger potatoes like russets, large dice them down to bite-sized chunks. Mix together the ingredients for the sauce. Slice and dice the celery, green onion, and eggs (as fine or as chunky as you like). Combine all ingredients, stirring gently so as not to crush or mash the potatoes unless that’s your preference. Cover and chill.

Food Safety Tip: Eggs should sit at room temperature no longer than 2 hours.

Serves about 8.

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On Top of Spaghetti

I’m not sure why, but spaghetti seems to be one of the most popular meals young scouts make on their first campout. I suspect one reason might be that mom or dad actually made the sauce at home and, in camp, all the scout has to do is warm it, cook the pasta, and combine the two.

Another reason might be that spaghetti can be pretty easy for a young chef if they are simply using a jarred sauce. Again, all they have to do is warm the sauce, cook the pasta, and combine. Meat is optional. But if they wanted a meat sauce, it’s not difficult to brown ground beef, sausage, turkey, or plant-based protein before they add the sauce or they could add a bag of Italian-style meatballs to their sauce. And, let’s admit it, meatballs are just fun! Who doesn’t like a plate of spaghetti and meatballs?!

The dish is actually named for the type of noodle used, which is long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta. The sauce is a tomato sauce with meat and/or vegetables. A meat-based sauce is typically called a ragù and is a type of sauce, which should not be confused with the brand of jarred sauce found in most grocery stores.

The great thing about ragù sauces is that there are a million variations. Some are heavy, hearty and much more suited to cold, winter days. Others are light, herby and more suited to the warmer spring or autumn seasons. I can’t say that we eat a lot of spaghetti in the middle of summer although we have been known to toss together some vegetables and pasta with diced tomatoes, but it’s not what I would call a traditional spaghetti and ragù sauce.

If you don’t want to or have the time to make a sauce from scratch, jarred sauces are great to use as a base. I call them a base because they are middle of the road as far as flavor goes so they can appeal to a mass audience. If I am using a jarred sauce, I always tweak it and I encourage you to do the same.

Even though most jarred sauces have oregano and basil in them already, I always add more. I’ll add parsley, and maybe some onion powder and garlic powder. Sometimes I’ll add some red pepper flakes for a bit of heat. Other options include marjoram and chili powder.

Here’s what I do when I’m not following a recipe and I’m starting with a jarred sauce: I taste the sauce and then I start grabbing spice jars and sniffing and my nose tells me what to add. Let your nose and your taste buds guide you and you’ll end up with a great sauce.

So, if you’re looking for a quick and easy spaghetti sauce grab a jar and go for it. When you’ve got it to your liking, add some meatballs and pasta and serve it with a salad and some garlic bread. Your hungry campers will love it!

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Categories: Main Dishes, Meals in 30 Min., Recipes, Under the Lid | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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