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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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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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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Tex-Mex Tater Tot Casserole

This is a great year-round dish. It’s hot and hearty, it packs a little heat to warm your belly, but it is surprisingly light. So, regardless of the season or the climate, this is a great dish. It’s also very versatile and can be easily customized to your tastes and dietary needs. For example, we have a family member who can’t have corn so we serve the corn on the side and those of us who can have corn simply mix it in on our plates.

The black beans could be swapped out for a different kind of bean. The green chiles could be swapped for something hotter. The taco seasoning can be adjusted as can the cheese blend. I encourage you to modify and make it your own, but first try this version because it is pretty darned good.

At home, you can make this using a skillet and a casserole dish or, if your skillet is large enough and oven proof, you could make it all in the one skillet. In camp, you could make this using the same skillet and casserole dish combo with a box oven or you could do the whole thing in a Dutch oven.

Start to finish, this takes about an hour to get on the table, which is nice and while it’s baking, you can prepare your side dishes. I recommend a green salad with a cool creamy dressing, cornbread, or simply a handful of chips. You’ll also want to have some sour cream and salsa handy, as well as a good hot sauce for those who like it spicy! Chop some fresh cilantro for a garnish and serve with a pitcher of lemonade and/or margaritas.

Equipment
12-inch skillet, 9×13 casserole dish, and box oven; or 12-inch Dutch oven

Ingredients for casserole
1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 batch taco seasoning mix (see my recipe below) or you could use a store-bought packet
1 (4-ounce) can green chiles
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.4-ounce) bag frozen corn
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
3 cups shredded cheddar and Monterey jack cheese or your favorite mexi-blend, divided
4-5 cups frozen tater tots
Cilantro, optional garnish
Sour cream, optional

Taco Seasoning Mix
(This is for 1-pound of ground protein)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cumin
3-6 dashes of Tabasco sauce, added separately (I mixed it into the enchilada sauce)

Prep
Prep coals or preheat oven for 375°F. For home or a box oven, spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Over coals or a camp stove or stove top, on medium heat, using a 12-inch skillet or a Dutch oven, brown the ground beef and sauté the onion until thoroughly cooked. Drain off excess fat if you need to. Add the taco seasoning, enchilada sauce, green chiles, black beans, frozen corn and stir until combined. Simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes.

For the skillet/casserole dish to oven method, pour the meat mixture into the casserole dish, sprinkle on 2 cups of the cheese, and gently place the tator tots on top (you don’t want them mixed in). Make sure the tator tots are spread evenly over the top in one layer. The casserole dish can go into a 375°F box oven or home oven. The box oven will need about 15 coals.

For the skillet or Dutch oven method, remove from heat and let it rest for just a moment to stop bubbling. Sprinkle on 2 cups of the cheese, and gently place the tator tots on top (you don’t want them mixed in). Make sure the tator tots are spread evenly over the top in one layer. The skillet can go directly into the 375°F oven. The Dutch oven can be lidded and moved to coals on the top and bottom for a 375°F oven. A 12-inch Dutch oven will need about 27 coals (18 on the top and 9 underneath).

Bake for 35-40 minutes then sprinkle the remaining cup of cheese over the top and bake another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with chopped cilantro, sour cream, chips and salsa, salad, and/or cornbread.

Serves about 8.

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Fractured Tacos

If you’re cooking for picky eaters or you’re having to work around a lot of allergies, setting up any kind of build-your-own bar makes meal times easy and hassle free. Campers can go through the chow line and pick what they want to eat, so there are no excuses not to like what they’re eating. Fractured tacos is a perfect BYO dinner or lunch and it is fast and easy to get onto the picnic table.

At home, fractured tacos is a quick and easy meal that can be thrown together on the fly. We almost always have all the ingredients in the house, so no run to the grocery store is needed.

I believe the name “Fractured Tacos” comes from taco shells that broke before they could be used, but because it was camp and it was all we had, we used the broken pieces and ate our tacos in a bowl. Taco shells never seem to survive the ruggedness of camping without breaking so, eventually, we gave up using them. Instead of taco shells, we now use chips, and if the chips get broke, who cares?

For that taco shell flavor, you can use straight corn tortilla chips. For a little added zing, you could use nacho cheese chips. For something different, you could use corn chips. Set out all three and give your campers more choices. Whatever doesn’t get used can be snacked on throughout the campout.

At home before you go, you can prep a lot of the ingredients for the bar. I usually survey my campers in advance to determine what they want, and then I build my bar so that there is something for everyone. For example, if no one wants guacamole then I don’t bother bringing it; or, if only a few people want it then I bring a smaller amount, and if everyone wants it then I bring a lot.

At home, vegetables can be shredded, sliced and chopped. Dry seasonings can be pre-mixed. Ranch dressing, guacamole, salsa, picante sauce, and pico de gallo can be made at home if you are making from scratch.

In camp, the only thing to cook is the protein choice and maybe heat up some refried beans. You could brown ground beef, pork, or turkey. If you have the time, in a Dutch oven, you could slow roast beef, pork or chicken and shred it. If I want to keep it simple and fast, I just brown ground beef. I season it with my own taco seasoning (see recipe below).

When it’s time to eat, I set up the taco bar on a serving table. I set bags of chips at the front and at the end because some people like to put chips on the bottom like nachos and others like to break up chips on top like croutons on a salad. Some will even put their chips on the side and use them to dip into all the goodies. Below is a list of possible ingredients for your taco bar, and below that is the recipe for my taco seasoning.

Taco Bar Ingredients
Tortilla Chips, Nacho Cheese Chips, and/or Corn Chips
Refried Beans
Protein (Beef, Turkey, Pork, Chicken, Plant-Based or a Combination), ground or shredded
Shredded Cheese (I use a shredded Mexi-Blend)
Shredded Lettuce
Chopped Cilantro
Sliced Olives
Salsa, Picante Sauce or Pico de Gallo
Guacamole
Sliced Jalapenos or Something Hotter
Ranch Dressing and/or Sour Cream

Taco Seasoning
(This is for 1-pound of ground protein)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cumin
2-3 tablespoons water
3-6 dashes of Tabasco sauce

Prep
On a camp stove, on medium heat, brown ground protein and add seasonings, water and Tabasco. The Tabasco will add a little heat and will combine with the water to give it a little sauciness and help distribute the seasonings; otherwise, the ground protein is very crumbly.

Serves 4-6

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Chicken Chow Mein

When we go out for Asian food whether it is dine-in or take-out, chow mein is always one of the dishes we order. It is great as an entrée or as a side dish. It also makes a great camping dish because, for the most part, it is a one-pot recipe. And, I don’t think I’ve met a kid who didn’t like noodles.

We’ve made this recipe a few times and we love it. My son has even gone back for thirds! It is loaded with healthy vegetables and the flavors, particularly the ginger, really pop.

If you need to cook gluten-free, you could easily swap out the Yaki-Soba for gluten-free spaghetti. The flavor and texture will be subtly different, but with all the other flavors going on, you probably won’t notice.

You could serve this as a stand-alone dish or as a side dish. As a stand-alone, it serves 4-5. As a side dish, you could probably double that. If you’re serving as a side dish, you could omit the chicken and do something else with it like Teriyaki Chicken or my Kung Pao Chicken.

You could also serve the chow mein (with or without the chicken) with my Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry. You could serve this with an Asian marinated flank steak. You could serve this with pot stickers, egg rolls or just a simple Asian salad. Really, the possibilities are endless.

A lot of the prep for this could be done at home before you go. In camp, you could make this in a cast-iron wok on a big camp stove or in a Dutch oven on the stove or over coals, or in a large, deep skillet. If all the prep is done at home, you can get this meal on the picnic table in less than 30 minutes, depending on what else you serve with it.

Ingredients
¼ cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger or ½ teaspoon dried, ground ginger
¼ teaspoon white pepper
3 (5.6-ounce) packages refrigerated Yaki-Soba, seasoning sauce packets discarded*
1 onion, sliced into half or quarter moons, depending on your preference
3 stalks celery, sliced diagonally
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 cup carrots , shredded or julienne sliced
4 green onions, sliced with whites and greens separated
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts , cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons sesame oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Prep
At home before you go, prep the chicken and load into a resealable bag or container. Prep all your vegetables. If you don’t want to shred all the cabbage, you can purchase a bag of pre-shredded (the kind used for coleslaw). The amount of cabbage will look like a lot but it will cook down. The onion, carrot, and celery could all go into a resealable bag or container together since they will all be cooked together. The cabbage and bean sprouts could also be transported together. The green onion should be packaged separately. Mix together the soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, ginger and white pepper and load into a container that can be sealed. Make sure you pack salt, pepper, and sesame oil. You should also pack some extra soy sauce and a hot sauce that folks can add at the table if they choose.

In camp, add some boiling water to a pot or a bowl and add the Yaki-Soba until loosened, about 1-2 minutes; drain well.

In your chosen cooking vessel (wok, Dutch oven, skillet) over medium-high heat, add a couple tablespoons of sesame oil. Add chicken, season it with salt and pepper and stir fry just until cooked through (it will continue to cook as you add other ingredients). Add onion, carrot, and celery, and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the cabbage and the bean sprouts until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in Yaki-Soba, soy sauce mixture, and white parts of green onion until well combined, about 2 minutes. Total cook time in camp is 15-20 minutes.

Garnish with the green parts of the green onion.

Serves 4-5 as a stand-alone dish or 8-10 as a side dish.

*Yaki-Soba is ramen-style noodles and they can be found in the refrigerated aisle of your local grocery store. In camp, all you need to do is place them in a bowl and pour hot water over them and let them rest for a few minutes to “loosen up.”

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Stroganoff Meatballs

I love the flavors of beef stroganoff. It’s one of my favorite dishes and I have been known to have leftover stroganoff for breakfast and lunch the next day, I love it so much. So, I decided to take my Swedish meatballs recipe and tweak it to a stroganoff and it’s now my favorite meatball recipe.

Stroganoff or Stroganov is a Russian dish of sautéed beef served in an onion, mushroom, and sour cream sauce. The dish is named after one of the members of the influential Stroganov family. I don’t make it with whole mushrooms because a family member can’t have them; however, you could add whole or sliced mushrooms to yours.

For my beef stroganoff recipe, please read my blog post: “Beef Stroganoff on a Camp Stove.”

At home, these can be made in the slow cooker. Meatballs can be served with any kind of rice, rice pilaf or traditional egg noodles. When I made this for adult scouters for an outdoor training weekend, I served it with Uncle Ben’s Rice Pilaf and it was really tasty. I used 12-inch Dutch ovens for both.

You can use store-bought meatballs or you can make your own. For meatball making ideas, please read my blog post: “Make Your Own Meatballs.” I recommend mirroring the flavors that are in stroganoff so you could add paprika, minced garlic, grated onion, and parsley.

Equipment
Pot for the rice or noodles and a pot, skillet or Dutch oven for the meatballs.

Ingredients
26 ounce bag of frozen meatballs
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can beef consommé
8 ounces sour cream
1 medium onion, diced, or 2 tablespoons minced onion
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, on medium heat, mix together all the ingredients except the meatballs. A whisk works really well for mixing. It might be a little lumpy and that’s okay. The sauce will smooth out as it cooks. Add the meatballs. Cover and cook 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until meatballs are heated through. Start water for your rice or noodles and prepare those as you normally would. In the time it takes for you to make rice or noodles, the meatballs should be done.

An alternate method would be to add the meatballs to a 12-inch Dutch oven, mix the sauce in a medium bowl, and pour it over the meatballs. Bake in a 350°F oven, using 17 coals on the lid and 8 underneath, for 1 hour. Refresh coals as needed.

Garnish with a little chopped parsley or green onion.

Serves 6-8

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Easy Peasy Peach Crisp

My sister is going peach picking soon, so now I’m dreaming of peach pie, peach cobbler, and peach crisp. I made this peach crisp about a month ago and it was so yummy, I made it again this past weekend!

This peach crisp is sweet and delicious. The topping is light and crispy. It’s the perfect dessert on a warm summer night. Pack along some vanilla ice cream in a cooler with a lot of ice and/or dry ice and you have a match made in heaven!

When I’m teaching and/or cooking for a large group, I often need to accommodate food allergies. That was the case a few weeks ago when I was teaching outdoor cooking to Cub Scout and Boy Scout leaders. I wanted to make a Dutch oven dessert that was gluten free. Crisps are a great way to do that because they typically require very little flour or what flour there is can be easily substituted with almond and/or rice flour. The almond flour will add just a bit of nuttiness and the rice flour will bring a bit of snappy crispness. Both are a straight across 1-to-1 substitution for all-purpose flour. I made this one with almond flour.

If you don’t have any nut allergies in your group, add some chopped walnuts or pecans to the topping for added crunch and flavor. About a handful ought to do it. Eyeball it. You can’t go wrong!

You can use fresh, frozen or canned peaches for this recipe. If using frozen peaches, thaw, and drain any excess liquid. If using canned peaches, use peaches that are canned in juice (not syrup) and completely drain them first.

If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you could make this in a pie or baking dish and bake in a box oven.

A lot of the prep for this crisp can be done at home before you go. When you get to camp, all you have to do is assemble and bake. Easy peachy peasy!

Equipment
10-inch Dutch oven, 9-inch pie plate or an 8×8 baking dish. You could double the recipe and use a 12-inch Dutch oven.

Ingredients for the Topping
½ cup almond flour, rice flour or all-purpose flour
¾ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed into small pieces
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

Ingredients for the Filling
5 cups peaches (about 6-7 medium peaches), sliced or diced
⅓ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup almond flour, rice flour or all-purpose flour

At Home Before You Go
For the topping, mix together the dry ingredients and load into a resealable gallon freezer bag. Cut up the butter into small cubes and load into a small plastic container. Toss it into the freezer to get it extra chilled before loading it into the cooler.

For the filling, combine the sugar and flour into a resealable gallon freezer bag. The topping dry ingredients bag and the filling dry ingredients bag can ride to camp in your food tote. The butter and peaches will ride in your cooler. Pack something to grease your Dutch oven or baking dish.

In Camp
Grease your Dutch oven or the foil lining, or your pie plate or baking dish. Start your coals or preheat your oven (if making at home). You’ll need about 21 coals for a 10-inch oven, 25 for a 12-inch Dutch oven, or about 14 coals for a box oven.

For the filling, add the peaches to the freezer bag with the filling dry ingredients, seal the bag, and mix it up until all the peaches are coated with the sugar and flour. Dump the peaches into the prepared Dutch oven or baking dish.

For the topping, add the cold, cubed butter to the freezer bag with the topping dry ingredients, seal the bag, and mush it together until it starts to come together and is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the peaches.

Bake in a 350°F oven for 40-50 minutes or until the topping is lightly golden brown and the juices are bubbling around the edges. For a 10-inch Dutch oven use 14 coals on the lid and 7 underneath. If you’re doubling and using a 12-inch Dutch oven, use 17 coals on the lid and 8 underneath. Refresh coals as needed.

How easy was that? Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Serves about 6.

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Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

French toast casseroles are perfect for a Dutch oven breakfast in camp. They go together pretty easily. You don’t have to stand at the griddle flipping French toast and everyone gets to sit down together and share the morning meal—together. That’s what camping is all about—spending time, unplugged, together and reconnecting with nature and with each other.

To round out your breakfast, you could serve this casserole with bacon or sausage, scrambled eggs, fruit, and, of course, some maple syrup. If you really wanted to get wild and crazy, you could include an apple syrup and/or a caramel syrup.

At home, this makes a great, easy family breakfast that you can prep the night before, store in the refrigerator, and bake in the morning. It’s perfect for a holiday morning meal or brunch. You could even take it somewhere and bake it there.

When I make this, I use French bread but you could also use sourdough if you’re looking for a bit of tang. I use golden delicious apples but you could choose sweeter apples or granny smiths for their tartness. For the egg mixture, I use whole milk because it makes it more like custard. I mean, come on, this is meant to be yummy, rich, comfort food.

So, here’s how we prep and make when camping.

Equipment
12-inch Dutch oven (use a 9×13 casserole dish at home), large mixing bowl, whisk, measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients

Casserole
1-pound loaf sourdough or French bread, cut into chunks
3 cups apples, peeled and chopped (2-4 large apples)
8 large eggs
2 cups milk (whole or 2%)
½ cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar, unpacked
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Streusel Topping
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
½ cup salted butter, cut into pieces

Prep at Home Before You Go
Cut the bread into cubes and load into a large resealable freezer bag (minimum 2 gallon).

Peel and dice the apple and load into a smaller resealable freezer bag (2 quart oughta do). If you suck all the air out of the bag before sealing, the apples won’t oxidize as much.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining casserole ingredients and pour into a bottle or container that you can tightly seal.

In a 1-gallon resealable freezer bag, combine all the streusel ingredients except for the butter.

When packing for camp, the bread and the streusel topping mix go into the food tote. The apples, custard mixture, and butter go into a cooler.

Assemble and Bake in Camp

First thing when you get up (yes, even before you make coffee), prep the casserole mixture. For easy clean up, line your Dutch oven with foil. Grease the foil. Add the cubed bread and diced apples, toss together, and then arrange in an even layer. Evenly pour the custard mixture over the bread and apples. Pop the lid on and just let it sit for 20-30 minutes, which will allow the bread to absorb all the custard mixture.

Now, you can make coffee, start a campfire, and prep other breakfast items. About an hour before you’re ready to eat, start your coals. You’ll need 25 coals. When the coals are ready, move the Dutch oven to the baking area, and place 8 coals underneath and 17 coals on top. Bake for about 35-40 minutes.

While the casserole bakes, cube up the butter and add it to the dry ingredients for the streusel. Seal the bag and mash the butter into the dry ingredients until it forms a crumbly mixture. When the timer for the casserole goes off, lift the lid and quickly sprinkle the crumbled streusel over the top and put the lid back on. It helps if you have a buddy to either manage the lid or the streusel. Bake another 5 minutes or until the streusel is melted over the top. Serve the casserole warm with syrup.

Prep for Making and Baking at Home

Prep the bread and the apples and arrange in an even layer in a greased 9×13 casserole dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining casserole ingredients and pour evenly over the bread and apples. Cover the casserole and store in the fridge overnight.

When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the casserole for about 35-40 minutes.

While the casserole bakes, in a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the streusel. Cube the butter and mash into the dry mixture until it forms a crumbly mixture.

Remove the casserole from the oven and crumble the streusel over the top. Continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the streusel is melted over the top. Serve the casserole warm with syrup.

Serves about 12.

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