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

If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

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.

If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

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

If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

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.

If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

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

If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

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.

If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

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.

If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

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.

If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

Tweed Pound Cake

Today is National Pound Cake day and this is my second favorite pound cake. The first is my grandmother’s German chocolate pound cake, which was always my birthday cake. I’m having to recreate it and I’m very close. I’ll let you know when I get it! Until then, I console myself with the tweed pound cake.

This is a finely textured sour cream cake named for the flecks of chocolate that resemble tweed fabric. It is so delicious that it needs no frosting. Seriously. I love it unfrosted. If you really wanted to frost it, I would recommend a chocolate glaze spooned over it.

I make this in a bundt pan at home; and I make it in the same bundt pan in camp, only I bake it in a box oven. It’s a fun treat and usually disappears pretty quickly. It’s cake, and who doesn’t love cake?!

Equipment
Bundt pan, box oven or deep Dutch oven.

Ingredients
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, measured unsifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs, large
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces sour cream

Prep
Grease a 10-cup fluted baking pan or bundt pan and dust with flour or cocoa powder. Grate or chop chocolate.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. This could be prepped at home and brought to camp in a resealable bag or plastic container.

In a large mixing bowl, using a sturdy spoon, cream butter and sugar until blended and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing in each one. Add vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream, beginning and ending with flour (batter will be thick). Stir in grated chocolate.

Spoon batter into pan and spread evenly. Bake in a 325°F box oven, using about 13 coals or in a 12-inch deep Dutch oven on a trivet, using 20 coals on the lid and 10 underneath, for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Refresh coals as needed.

Cool cake in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. With small metal spatula, loosen cake from side of pan. Invert cake onto wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 16 servings, or less… Just sayin’.

This post has been shared at Homestead Bloggers Network. If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

Cheddar Herb Biscuits

These biscuits are little flavor bombs. They are light and fluffy and super cheesy.  The garlic adds savoriness while the buttermilk adds tanginess, and the cayenne gives it just a bit of a kick. They go well with a hearty stew or chili or jambalaya. Really, I think they could go with just about anything. You can serve them with breakfast or dinner.

They go together really easy and could be baked in a Dutch oven or in a box oven. While you could serve them with butter, they don’t really need anything. They are perfect all on their own. Be warned, once you start eating them, you’ll find it difficult to stop and before you know it, they’ll have disappeared and all that will be left will be that tingle from the cayenne.

Ingredients for Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 tablespoon parsley, fresh, or 1/2 teaspoon dried

Ingredients for Topping
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tablespoon parsley chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Prep
At home, before you go, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. Load into a resealable bag or an airtight container and add it to your food tote.

In camp, melt your butter and then start your coals according to your baking method. For a box oven, 15-18 ought to do. Coals for a Dutch oven will depend on the size of the Dutch oven you’re using. Check my Dutch Oven Size Chart and Temperature Guide on the Resources page. The temperature of your oven needs to be 450°F.

I recommend using parchment paper to bake on because the cheese makes them just a bit sticky.

Dump your dry ingredients into a medium or large bowl. In a 2-cup measuring cup or a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and melted butter. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist. Gently fold in cheese and parsley.

Using a standard ice cream scoop or a 1/4-cup measuring cup, scoop the batter evenly onto the prepared baking sheet or into the prepared Dutch oven. Leave a little space between the biscuits. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

For the topping, whisk together melted butter, parsley, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Brush the tops of the biscuits and serve immediately.

Makes about 12 biscuits.

If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!