Camp Cooking, Part 1

     A friend of mine, who happens to be a trained culinary chef, messaged me that she enjoyed reading my posts but that I was omitting critical information. As I thought this morning about the possible next blog topics, camp cooking came to mind. One of the advantages of RVing is that you get to take your kitchen with you everywhere you go. For some that may not be a plus, but then those folks probably fall into the category of camping is not for me. While it is economically a better idea to cook your own meals, usually, the food tastes better anyway plus there’s the advantage of  not having to get dressed up to go out…with the understanding that getting dressed up can have a variety of meanings and for me it does not include a dress and heels. Those who know me… know this well. There are distinct benefits of eating breakfast in your PJs. Just sayin….

     Now just because you have a kitchen doesn’t mean that you have to prepare 5 star gourmet meals…. just good, hot, satisfying food. It does not mean that you must slave over a hot gas 3-burner stove or be relegated to sandwiches either. As I said in a previous post, Proper Planning/Preparation Prevents Poor Performance, planning and preparation is one of the critical keys to success. This concept applies especially to menu planning and successfully cooked meals at camp. So figure out what you like, use a menu planner (a free app available for smartphones and tablets), select your ingredients for meals, and enjoy. Remember, you can always cook ahead of time at home and freeze before you leave on your trip. On previous trips with our group I have oven baked Cajun chicken leg quarters at home, and then bagged them in freezer gallon-size Ziploc bags. The morning we planned to cook for dinner that evening, I thawed the cooked chicken then placed them on the grill for about 15 minutes and they were great! As another example, on this camping trip we enjoyed pulled pork from a smoked Boston Butt roast prepared several weeks ago, and divided up into quart sized freezer Ziploc bags.  The pulled pork complimented the Cuban Black Beans and rice topped with chopped onions and hot sauce; dinner from last Sunday night. Yep, I used the crockpot to slow cook the Black Beans all day. It was delish! 

Finally, two days before our departure I prepared two sweet potato pies. One we ate at home and the other I froze for this trip to enjoy on Thanksgiving Day. 

     Okay...I personally do not want to spend an unnecessary amount of time in the kitchen. Yes, I know some of my foodie friends are cringing right now, but after all it is a camping trip/vacation….right? And there are so many fun places to explore. So, I like to use the crockpot….a lot! The last thing you want to do after a day of exploring is to slave over a hot 3-burner gas stove….right? Here you go….the crockpot is the answer. For example, tonight’s dinner will be venison and bean chili. After breakfast this morning and while the 4qt crockpot is heating-up, I will brown ½ pound lean ground venison, with chunked onions (larger pieces of onion than chopped). This is a ½ pound of ground venison left over from a one pound package used to make the spaghetti sauce for dinner last Thursday night (also in the crockpot).

     Okay, back to the chili. While the venison is browning, I add coarse ground black pepper and seasoned salt. Be careful to not over salt as the McCormick Chili season packs, added later, have sodium too. Then, I add 2 packages of McCormick Chili season. Even though I’m only making a little less than 4 quarts of chili, I like the boldness, not hot, that 2 season packs provide. One package is just too mild, at least for me.  I add a little water to the meat mixture and simmer for about another minute. Meanwhile, I add 2 drained cans of kidney beans. I like to use Bush Kidney beans. I add a can of dark and a can of light Kidney beans. I cannot taste any difference between the two types of beans but I like the color difference it gives the finished product. As Martha Stewart says, “It’s all about the presentation.” Next, I add a can of diced tomatoes. If I don’t have any of Buddy’s homemade canned tomatoes, I like to use the regular diced Hunts instead of the petite. It seems like the petite tomatoes disappear during the slow cooking process in the crockpot, but the regular diced hold together well.  

     Next, I add the seasoned and browned venison with onion mixture to the crockpot and stir. Sometimes I need to add a little more liquid, so I usually add V-8 juice. Finally, I add about 1 tablespoon of Splenda. Now you can use sugar, I use Splenda to try to cut back a little on the sugar. Why add sweetener? It cuts the bitterness from the tomatoes. All that is left is to stir, put the crockpot lid on, and then walk away. I usually start the crockpot on high for the first hour then reduce to low for the next 4-5 or maybe six hours. Depends on how long I can stand it til I have to get a bowl. Every couple of hours I check on, stir, and sample the chili to see how it is progressing. Viola! Basically it cooks itself.

            So for this camping trip here is how our dinner menu looked:

Thursday: Grilled Kielbasa sausage with lots of  pan seared onions and sauerkraut complimented with sliced Italian buttered bread.

Friday: Spaghetti Meat sauce over Angel hair pasta (picked up a box of angle hair instead of regular spaghetti noodles – oh well, improvise, adapt, and overcome). Sliced Italian buttered bread and a garden salad with Italian dressing.

Saturday: Oyster Stew with Saltine crackers.

Sunday: Pulled Smoked Pork, Cuban Black Beans over rice with chopped Texas sweet onions covered in hot sauce.

Monday: leftovers (spaghetti / Cuban beans) – breaking camp Tuesday morning.

Tuesday: Soul food from a local grocery store. Fried chicken, turnip greens, cornbread, mac & cheese, and mashed potatoes with gravy.

Wednesday: Venison & bean Chili

Thursday: Rotisserie Chicken (purchased on Wed evening from the Soul Food place), Mary’s stovetop stuffing (extra ingredients – chicken broth, onion, celery, boiled eggs, ground sage - to add flavor), steamed green beans, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato pie (pie that was cooked 2 days prior to camping trip and frozen).

Friday: Eating out at a local restaurant we found – review to be posted later.

Saturday: (breaking camping and travelling to next stop) Grilled Ribeye steaks with baked potatoes and a garden salad with ranch dressing. (Easy peasy after a travel day).

Sunday: Beef, tomato & mac soup.

Monday: Marinated, grilled venison backstrap, English peas, parmesan cheese angel hair pasta. 

Tuesday: Grilled hamburger patties (in chunks) in brown gravy with mushrooms over rice, steamed carrots.

Wednesday: leftovers (breaking camp Thursday morning to head home)

Here is a photo of the marinated, grilled venison backstrap:

Beef, tomato, Macaroni soup:

The Hamburger, mushroom gravy over rice with steamed carrots (my gravy was a little brothy as I did not have any flour or corn starch to thicken):

 Our Thanksgiving meal while camping. 

     This is not an all-inclusive list, just this trip’s menu. There are a gazillion different things to cook at camp that taste great, and take minimal effort with a little proper planning. The key, in addition to proper planning (just in case you have not heard that by now) is to change up the menu so it doesn’t get boring. See, you really can eat good without a whole lot of fuss and with a little planning in advance.

     And for my foodie friends…..yeah, I know this is only the dinner meals. Yes, we eat breakfast and lunch also at camp. Maybe a part 2 on this topic will include hearty camp breakfast meals as well as quick camp lunch ideas. Also, check back as we met an interesting character yesterday when we were searching around for a propane refill location as well as a good place to eat. We plan to eat at his recommended restaurant as he said it has, “The best steaks, fried fish, and quail in Alabama!” Additionally, he turned us on to a great little Soul Food Café inside of a locally owned grocery store. Whoa….let me tell you they had the absolutely best turnip greens and cornbread I have ever…..I’m talking ever eaten! More about that as well as how our Friday night meal goes on a later post.

            For now…..have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!