Category Archives: Favorite Recipes

One-Pot Meal Ideas for RVers

07 Wednesday Jun 2023

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Cooking delicious and healthy meals while RVing can be difficult, especially with limited kitchen space. However, with some ingenuity and planning, you can savor scrumptious meals without cluttering your RV kitchen with an abundance of cookware. One-pot meals are a smart solution for RVers who want to save time and space while cooking.

In this post, we’ll offer one-pot meal ideas covering a variety of dishes, including breakfast, pasta, soup, stew, vegetarian, seafood, and comfort food recipes. Additionally, we’ll provide tips for cooking in small kitchens and advice for using minimal cookware.

Tips for Cooking in Limited Kitchen Spaces

Cooking in an RV kitchen requires some strategic planning to make the most of your limited space. Here are some tips for making efficient use of your kitchen:

  1. Make a list of the ingredients you’ll need for your one-pot meals so you don’t overbuy or forget anything at the store.
  2. Invest in versatile and durable cookware that can be used for various meals, such as a pressure cooker, cast iron skillet, large pot, or handheld immersion blender.
  3. Store cookware and ingredients strategically. Stack pots and pans and use nesting bowls to save space.
  4. Clean up spills and messes as you cook to avoid clutter and make it easier to move around your kitchen.

One-Pot Meal Ideas Perfect for RVers

One-Pot Breakfast Hash

  • Cook chopped potatoes, onions, and diced breakfast sausage in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked through.
  • Create small wells in the mixture and crack an egg into each well.
  • Cover the skillet and cook until the eggs are set to your liking.
  • Serve hot with a sprinkle of cheese on top.

Tips: Use pre-chopped vegetables and pre-cooked sausage to save time and space. A cast iron skillet is a versatile and durable cookware that can be used for many meals.

One-Pot Creamy Mushroom Pasta

  • In a large pot, cook pasta according to package instructions.
  • In a separate pan, sauté sliced mushrooms and diced onion until browned and tender.
  • Add garlic, cream, and grated Parmesan cheese to the pan and stir until combined.
  • Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce.
  • Toss to combine and serve hot.

Tips: Use a large pot to cook the pasta and sauce together to save space and reduce clean-up. A hand-held grater is a compact tool that can be used to grate cheese and garlic.

One-Pot Lentil Soup

  • In a large pot, sauté diced onion and diced carrot until softened.
  • Add minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
  • Add lentils, vegetable broth, canned diced tomatoes, and your choice of spices to the pot.
  • Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and let simmer for 30-40 minutes.
  • Serve hot.

Tips: Lentils are a great source of protein and fiber and cook relatively quickly. Use canned diced tomatoes to save time and space. A handheld immersion blender can be used to blend the soup if you prefer a smoother texture.

One-Pot Vegetarian Chili

  • In a large pot, sauté diced onion, sliced bell pepper, and minced garlic until softened.
  • Add canned beans (black, kidney, and pinto beans), canned diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, and paprika to the pot.
  • Simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Serve hot with grated cheese and sour cream.

Tips: Use canned beans to save time and space. A wooden spoon is a versatile tool that can be used for stirring and serving.

One-Pot Seafood Paella

  • In a large pan, cook diced onion, sliced bell pepper, and minced garlic until softened.
  • Add diced tomatoes, saffron, paprika, and Arborio rice to the pan and stir to combine.
  • Pour in seafood stock and bring to a boil.
  • Add seafood of your choice (such as shrimp, mussels, and calamari) and let simmer until the rice is cooked through and the seafood is cooked.
  • Serve hot with lemon wedges on the side.

Tips: Arborio rice is short-grain rice commonly used in paella and can absorb a lot of liquid. Use pre-cooked seafood to save time and space. A large pan with a lid can be used to cook and serve the paella.

One-Pot Beef Stew

  • In a large pot, sauté diced onion, sliced carrots, and sliced celery until softened.
  • Add diced beef and cook until browned on all sides.
  • Pour in beef broth and bring to a boil.
  • Add diced potatoes and canned diced tomatoes to the pot.
  • Let simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  • Serve hot.

One-Pot Creamy Tomato Soup

  • In a large pot, sauté diced onion and minced garlic until softened.
  • Add canned diced tomatoes and vegetable broth to the pot.
  • Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
  • Use a hand-held immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth.
  • Add cream and stir to combine.
  • Serve hot.

One-Pot Shrimp Scampi

  • In a large pan, sauté minced garlic and red pepper flakes until fragrant.
  • Add white wine, lemon juice, and peeled and deveined shrimp to the pan.
  • Cook until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.
  • Add cooked pasta to the pan and toss to combine.
  • Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Tips: Use pre-cooked pasta to save time and space.

One-Pot Mac and Cheese

  • In a large pot, cook pasta according to package instructions.
  • Drain the pasta and add it back to the pot.
  • Add milk, shredded cheddar cheese, and your choice of spices to the pot.
  • Stir over low heat until the cheese is melted and the sauce is creamy.
  • Serve hot.

Tips: Use a large pot to cook and serve the mac and cheese. Shredded cheese melts more easily than sliced cheese, making it a good choice for one-pot meals.

Simplify Your RV Cooking with One-Pot Meals and Efficient Kitchen Practices

One-pot meals are an excellent solution for RVers who want to save time and space while cooking. By using multi-functional cookware, planning your meals ahead of time, and cleaning up as you go, you can make efficient use of your limited kitchen space. Try out the one-pot meal ideas we’ve shared in this post, and don’t be afraid to experiment with your own variations and substitutions. Happy cooking!

About The Author: Natalie Henley

Natalie Henley is a freelance writer and has also been full-time RVing with her husband and pets since 2015. She covers a wide range of topics, including RV lifestyle, RVing tips, DIY projects, RV news, and more. You can follow their adventures and RV-related tips on their blog, henleyshappytrails.com, as well as their YouTube Channel, also called Henley’s Happy Trails. In addition, she writes for various RV-related blogs and marketing outlets and is the co-author of Seasonal Workamping for a Living: How We Did It, available on Amazon.

Stuart G. ~ “We can NOT say enough GREAT things about Coach-Net’s roadside service!”

Gary’s BBQ Sauce

05 Wednesday Oct 2022

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Gary and Maryanne Pratt are currently traveling around the country full-time in their 2021 Grand Design Solitude 375R – R. They have been full-timers since 2017, and Coach-Net Members since 2018, and according to them, they are living the dream!

Here is a recipe that we use all the time. I have always called this my Dad’s Barbecue Sauce. He would grill the whole chicken over a charcoal grill and keep basting the sauce on the chicken. It was always so delicious. Then he would share the skin of the chicken with me. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do. Happy grilling!

  • 3/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup oil (I use olive oil) but whichever you prefer
  • 1/4 water
  • 3 tablespoons sugar (I use Splenda)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • A couple drops of Worcestershire sauce
  • A couple pinches of Italian seasoning

Bring to a boil and baste your chicken, or it can be used on any meat.

About The Author: Garry Pratt

Gary and Maryanne Pratt are currently traveling around the country full-time in their 2021 Grand Design Solitude 375R – R. They have been full-timers since 2017, and Coach-Net Members since 2018, and according to them, they are living the dream!

Debra B. ~ ” You are awesome! My towing bill was paid for before I even got out of the truck! Absolutely hands down the best in customer service, caring, professionalism and kindness.”

10 Tips For Cooking Meals While Camping.

01 Wednesday Apr 2020

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10 Tips For Cooking While Camping

Anyone who enjoys spending evenings in a rustic environment under the stars, such as in your RV or camping in the woods, should know these ten tips for cooking meals while camping. With the use of water at a minimum in primitive camping spots, there are some tips and tricks to making easy and tasty dishes that require few utensils and even less clean up of camping cooking equipment.

  1. Get A Cast Iron

Cast Iron Cooking

Purchase just one medium-size cast iron skillet and you’ll find it comes in handy a multitude of ways while preparing your camping meals. Since cast iron disperses heat more evenly than other metals, a cast iron skillet will work beautifully for cooking everything from the freshest cornbread to the most delectable steak. Thinner metals also will tend to scorch that part of your meal which is over the hottest coals while leaving the cooler side less well done. When finished cooking with a cast-iron skillet, all you need to do is wipe out the skillet with a clean paper towel. A pretty easy cleanup and no water needed.

2. Make A One Pan Meal

Plan and prepare meals that use just one pan. Using that cast iron skillet as a cooking vessel for double or even triple duty will compute to less cleanup. So, fry your bacon in a cast iron skillet and dump some of the grease out. Add in your eggs, and you have a delicious campfire breakfast in no time. You can even butter toast and throw it into the same pan to brown it. Using just one pan will make clean up much easier. For a delicious dinner entrée, sauté some vegetables in olive oil, throw in some ground beef, and add some seasonal vegetables for a one-pan meal. Top with cheese for some added calories (if, of course, you need them…).

3. Bring A Grilling Basket

Grilling Basket

Bring along a grilling basket for grilling fresh vegetables. Fresh vegetables can be wrapped in aluminum or, for a more authentic campfire taste, place your vegetables in a grilling basket and place eight to twelve inches over your campfire, depending on the heat. Just turn frequently so your vegetables don’t burn in the basket. A grilling basket will also work well for grilling any type of meat, such as small pieces of chicken, beef or pork, or for grilling breakfast sausage.

4. Zip-Lock Storage

If you’re backpacking and are concerned about the weight you’re carrying, use gallon-size plastic zip-lock storage bags to store food items. Plastic storage bags are great to use to transport already marinated meat to your campsite. You can even pack some ice in a ziplock (double bagging it) and stow your meat next to the ice bag to keep it cool. A side benefit is that once the ice melts, you’ll have fresh, cool drinking water to sip. To prepare your meal, just open the bag containing the meat, place the meat on a grate above your campfire and voila – instant gourmet meal. Gallon size zip lock bags are also great to use for that pre-cocktail rum runner frozen drink. Freeze your drink overnight and it will thaw slowly during the day. Your rum runner will be just right for sipping in front of your campfire as you prepare the rest of your meal.

5. Use Nature’s Utensils (If You Need To)

Get creative and search your surroundings for cooking utensils. Instead of toting long-handled forks or skewers, find some long sticks at your campsite and strip them of any leaves or side branches. Use these homemade skewers to spear your hot dogs and place your entrée right over the campfire. When you’re done cooking those dogs, throw your stick right into the fire. Talk about recycling. Added benefit? No cleanup needed.

6. Get It Canned

Canned Food

If you’re concerned about spoilage of fresh vegetables, purchase canned vegetables instead. Pick up a few cans of good quality vegetables, open the cans and place directly in the campfire, on the coals, or on a propane camp stove. The vegetables are quite safe to eat when prepared this way, and you only need to throw away the can after cooking. Any item you purchase in the can may be heated up in this fashion.

7. Pre Season

For the easiest seasoning of camping meals, premix any seasonings you anticipate using. You can even add Worcestershire sauce to a zip lock bag, add in garlic powder, onion salt, and pepper and have steak seasoning ready to go. This mixture can be great to use on a baked potato or any type of vegetable also. Bring along only as much seasoning as you think you’ll use so you don’t have to tote the remainder home with you when you’re done camping.

8. Bring Charcoal

If you’re car camping and not concerned about weight, use a charcoal chimney to light the coals for your campfire. A charcoal chimney will start the coals in a fraction of the time that traditional charcoal fluid will use and will give you a cleaner taste to your food. All you need is one sheet of newspaper, a match, and charcoal. Place the newspaper in the bottom of the charcoal chimney and coals on top. Light the newspaper and sit back.  You’ll have glowing coals in 20 short minutes.

9. Hobo-Tatoes

Campfire Potatoes

Make delicious baked potatoes by wrapping cleaned potatoes in aluminum foil. These can even be prepared at home and toted along. For added interest, slit the potato in 5 or 6 slices, and then add butter to each slit along with a piece of onion. Simply toss your potato packets into the coals of the campfire and turn every ten minutes until soft in the middle. A delicious side dish for very little effort and, better yet, no cleanup except the crumpling of the aluminum foil.

10. MRE’s

If you’re looking for the easiest foods for cooking meals while camping, purchase some of the dehydrated packets found at any outdoor store. You’ll be able to find almost every type of food, including scrambled eggs, in dehydrated packs. Just add some heated water to the packet, seal for the prescribed amount of time, open and eat. If you want to have a complete meal, you can purchase some MRE (meals, ready-to-eat) which are 3 or 4 course meals, complete with a flavoring packet for your drinking water. MREs have come a long way from the meals our military had to endure during WWI and WW2.

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RV Salad Recipes for Hot Weather

08 Thursday Aug 2019

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Salad Recipes For Hot Weather

As an American RV owner, we make the most of this lifestyle by rolling with the seasons. When summer temperatures climb, we head to the mountains. But even high altitude campsites can get uncomfortably warm, and cooking over a stove isn’t fun. That’s when we reach for our three top RV salad recipes for hot weather.

Easy RV Salad Meals for Summer

If you can’t take the heat in the kitchen, don’t cook! Instead, plan your meals around these three easy RV salad recipes. Anyone can make them and everyone will love the result–even vegetarians. Each salad has a fun ethnic flair, but call for simple, familiar ingredients like carrots and cabbage. You’ll save space in your RV refrigerator because the RV salad meal recipes below call for many of the same ingredients. The result is three filling RV salads that you can scale up or down in size depending on how many people are eating.

Chinese Salmon (or Chicken) Salad

This recipe can be as basic as you wish, or turn it into a “kitchen sink salad” to use up random vegetables lurking in your refrigerator. The salad dressing for this recipe is incredibly versatile too. Double it and use as a basting marinade for chicken meat.

Step 1: Prep Salad Ingredients:

  • Romaine, chopped
  • Red or green cabbage, shredded
  • Peas of any kind
  • Cilantro, chopped
  • Nori strips (Sushi wrap)
  • Sweet peppers, sliced
  • Green onions
  • Dry roasted cashews, peanuts or sunflower seeds
  • Sesame seeds
  • Crispy Chow Mein Noodles

Step 2: Make Dressing

  • pinch Allspice
  • 1/2 tsp dry mustard mixed with 1 tsp water (or 1/4 tsp Wasabi)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp Hoisin sauce (available in Asian cuisine section)
  • 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 3-5 tbsp grape seed or vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp honey or agave
  • Whisk dressing ingredients together. Reserve some for grilling.
  • Toss salad ingredients and dressing.

Step 3: Grill Salmon Steak

  • Rub salmon with sesame oil and soy sauce. Extra firm grilled tofu is a great substitute for vegetarians.
  • Sear on hot oiled grill, until medium cooked (about 2 minutes per side, per inch)
  • Plate salad. Top with grilled fillet or tofu. Garnish with sesame seed and crunchy noodles

Mexican Fiesta Taco Salad

Every camping trip needs a few cans of beans along for the ride. A Mexican Fiesta Taco Salad is one of the better uses for the musical fruit. It’s also a great way to use up bottom-of-the-bag broken taco chips. And once again, the vegetarians will enjoy it if you substitute real ground beef for a similar plant-based meat substitute product.

Step 1: Prep Salad Ingredients:

  • Bag of taco chips (broken are fine)
  • Can of beans (black or pinto work best)
  • Ground beef crumbles
  • Taco seasoning
  • Romaine lettuce, chopped
  • Red or green cabbage, shredded
  • Carrots, shredded
  • Green onions, sliced
  • Grape tomatoes, sliced
  • Radish, sliced
  • Black olives, sliced

Step 2: Saute meat

  • Saute meat crumbles with taco seasoning. Let cool.
  • Step 3: Layer ingredients
  • Layer salad ingredients in this order:
  • Chips
  • Beans
  • Meat
  • Lettuce
  • Cabbage
  • Carrots, onions, tomato, radish and whatever else you are adding.

Step 4: Drizzle with dressing

  • No need to whip up a homemade dressing today. A store bought bottle of Ranch dressing works great! We spiced ours up with tasty chipotle sauce.

Step 5: Garnish with olives and enjoy!

Summer Salad Rolls with Dipping Dressing

Here’s another fun salad originating from hot, humid Asia. Traditional salad ingredients get bundled up burrito-style with rice paper wrappers. Unlike spring rolls, they are not fried in oil but dipped in a tasty sweet chili dressing, found next to the wrappers in the Asian section of your grocery store.

Step 1: Prep ingredients

  • Rice paper wrappers (available in Asian cuisine section)
  • Lettuce, chopped
  • Sweet peppers, thinly sliced
  • Avocado, thinly sliced
  • Green onion, thinly sliced
  • Cilantro or basil, chopped
  • Cucumber, seeded and julienned
  • Carrots and broccoli, shredded
  • Imitation crab or cooked shrimp, butterflied

Step 2: Roll in rice paper wrappers

Salad roll assembly looks complicated, but if you’ve ever rolled a burrito, you can handle the job. This video offers a great demonstration:

Step 3: Dip, eat and enjoy!

There’s no need to break a sweat and make your own salad roll dressing. Plenty of tasty dipping sauces exist in the Asian cuisine aisle. My favorite is sweet chili sauce, but peanut sauce or straight-up soy sauce will also work.

Smart RVers know that when it’s hot outside, there’s no need to whip up complicated meals inside our RV kitchen. These main dish salads are a fast, inexpensive way to eat well and sweat less during summer RV adventures.

About the author: Rene Agredano

Rene Agredano, a Coach-Net member since 2015, is a self-employed full-time RVer who enjoys writing, jewelry design and animal advocacy. Her adventures with a three-legged dog and husband Jim are chronicled at LiveWorkDream.com

Jay. M. ~ “Coach-Net has always been responsive and very helpful when I’ve experienced mechanical difficulties. We’ve always had great service! Thank you.”

Campfire Cooking with the Humble Pie Iron

10 Wednesday Jul 2019

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Cooking With Pie Iron

When you’re cooking over an open campfire, the simplest recipes can make the greatest (and tastiest) memories. On a camping trip with my extended family, I discovered that pie iron meals cooked over hot coals may not look like culinary masterpieces, but they sure are fun to make and more importantly, eat. Here’s what I learned about pie iron cooking by the campfire.

Pie Iron Cooking Success Starts with Great Recipes

My family dined together al fresco almost every night on that reunion trip, and most of those dinners were potlucks. When my party planner sister decided that one evening’s meals would be dedicated to fireside cooking, I accepted the challenge. Finding something that could feed a hungry, sunburned meat-eating mob would take some doing since I’m a vegetarian, but my trusty “Pie Iron Recipes” cookbook by author Darren Kirby gave me the confidence to try.

Cooking with a pie iron typically consists of stashing a tasty filling of some kind between two slices of bread, then toasting the filled delight over hot campfire coals. The Pie Iron Recipes book is a compilation of short but sweet mouth-watering pie iron recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Not every meal is as healthy as I want it to be, but each one paves the way to a tasty meal using the humble pie iron, also known as a “sandwich cooker” and “pudgie pie maker” in some parts of the country.

Pie Iron

Not only does Kirby’s book explain how to utilize the pie iron, but it also shares information about which pie irons produce the most high-quality meals. With the right implement, you can confidently dive into the 127-page cookbook with titles like:

  • Potato and Egg Breakfast
  • Pie Iron Stuffed Hashbrowns
  • Cheesy Tots
  • Crab Pie
  • Philly Cheesesteak
  • Spaghetti Sandwiches
  • Pizza Pockets
  • Chocolate Caramel Pie
  • Campfire Chocolate Monkey Bread
  • Fluffernutter Pie

For my first campfire meal ever, I decided on Kirby’s Spaghetti Sandwiches Recipe (Page 55). Perfect for meat eaters and vegetarians alike, I created a tasty garlic bread pocket stuffed with heaps of spaghetti. I made one half with meat sauce, and one half without. You can guess which batch got devoured first.

We tried a few other Pie Iron Recipes on that trip, and all were equally as easy to assemble. Based on the lack of leftovers after each meal, I’d say they were a hit. Since then, I’ve made a few more campfire meals with pie irons, which taught me some valuable lessons along the way.

How to Make the Most of Pie Iron Cooking

It cannot be overstated: great cooking starts with high-quality tools. If you want to give pie iron cooking a try, don’t get the cheapest pie irons at your local big box store. They are made of aluminum, which is not only bad for your health, but it doesn’t provide the most even, consistent heat. Plus these cheapies break down a lot quicker than the competing cast iron pie irons. Sure, they cost a few dollars more, but their quality is far superior and they last longer.

Pie Iron Over Campfire

When cooking for large groups, prep the ingredients ahead of time. Be sure to use plenty of butter too, which helps toast the bread. Then, while the coals are getting hot, assemble each pie iron delicacy at the campfire and relax with all your friends. You may need to put that cold beverage down for a minute and open each pie iron to test for completion, but the gobs of butter you used will provide a non-stick surface for easy inspection. If the coals burn out before your food is done, grab another beverage, find your nearest camp stove and finish the job over a stovetop range.

Ingredients:

  • Bread (Italian bread works well)
  • Spaghetti noodles, cooked
  • Spaghetti sauce
  • Garlic powder or crushed garlic
  • Italian seasoning
  • Butter

Directions:

  1. Add butter, garlic and Italian seasonings, then add a slice of bread to one side of the pie iron
  2. Add spaghetti and sauce
  3. Add a second slice of bread, then add butter, garlic and Italian seasonings
  4. Close pie iron and cook until golden brown, turning often

Spaghetti Sandwich

Alternatives:

* Add cooked sausage along with the noodles and sauce

* Add Parmesan cheese

About the author: Rene Agredano

Rene Agredano, a Coach-Net member since 2015, is a self-employed full-time RVer who enjoys writing, jewelry design and animal advocacy. Her adventures with a three-legged dog and husband Jim are chronicled at LiveWorkDream.com

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7 Great Camping Recipes Everyone Will Enjoy

06 Thursday Jun 2019

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Camping Recipes

Cooking has been a hobby of mine since I was very young.  I was the oldest of four boys and our parents would have meetings and leave a large pan of Spanish Rice in the cast iron skillet for supper so we needed to get creative or live off tomato soup in rice for a long time!  Camp cooking started early in Cub Scouts and then into Boy Scouts with campfire treasures like smore’s and cherry pie from a box renamed “cobbler” and stuffed in tin foil buried under the coals.

Throughout the years I’ve been blessed with many out-of-this-world camping adventures including a Thanksgiving spent in Mount McKinley (Denali) National Park with a gourmet meal of Campbell’s Turkey Noodle Soup cooked on a single stove.  When the topic of camping recipes was given for this blog I thought about the various fun recipes, gourmet campfire experiences, and great meals we prepared along they way.

Grilling

 

Kabobs

This is one of the most universal meals we have ever cooked as some of our guests are vegan, some meat eaters and others don’t like onions.  Kabobs make it easy for everyone to make there own.  Here are some of our favorite ingredients:

  • Sirloin cubes
  • Chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
  • Shrimp
  • Scallops
  • Red/Yellow/White onions cut into wedges
  • Red/Yellow/Orange/Green Peppers cut into squares
  • Miniature peppers that are the size of jalapenos and use them whole
  • Jalapenos
  • Corn -sweet corn cut into 2” lengths
  • Mushrooms
  • Pineapple chunks
  • Zucchini chunks
  • Baby potatoes
  • Carrots
  • Tomatoes
  • Garlic cloves

You get the idea, just about anything someone would like can be put on a skewer and cooked.  If everyone likes the same things, you can put all the meat on one skewer, veggies on another and cook them to the desired finish, however we cut all the ingredients up before leaving and put them into storage bags.  Each camper then gets to customize their own skewer and regulate the cooking time.  The ingredients can be enhanced with olive oil garlic and various salts/herbs.  We like to marinate all the ingredients in Italian Dressing in a bag for 1 hour before assembling.  Wooden skewers should be soaked in water for at least 30 minutes to keep them from burning.  Place the customized skewer on the grill and cook for the desired time. Grilling time varies with the ingredients, however 12 minutes is a good rule of thumb for medium meat.  You can experiment with different marinades like teriyaki sauce with balsamic vinegar and garlic, lemon juice with white wine for fish, and others.

Tin Foil

HashbrownsWhether you cook on a grill, oven, or campfire, there is no end to the types of meals you can create wrapped up in tin foil.  The easy to make cobbler, breakfast sandwiches, or just veggies thrown together.  These are often referred to as “Hobo Meals” as early traveling nomads seldom carried cooking utensils.  Here is one of my favorites:

Everything Hash Browns

  • Hash browns, or cut up potatoes
  • Red, yellow, green peppers cut in squares
  • Sausage (you can substitute your favorite meat)
  • Red onion sliced and cut in strips
  • Butter – 2 T
  • Olive Oil  2 T
  • Non stick spray
  • Cheese to please!  Pick your favorite and the amount you want.  I use a little shredded sharp cheddar and a little shredded pepper jack.  Get creative, Havarti and other exotics are fun too!

Notice there is no reference to how many cups of potatoes and other veggies as it depends on how much you want to make and how much you like onions!  Typically one cup of potatoes, ½ cup of veggies and ½ cup of sausage is enough for one medium serving.

  1. Lay out a sheet of tin foil twice the size of the mixture and spray with a non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Add the ingredients
  3. Slather on some olive oil and garlic if preferred
  4. You can also add eggs to the mix if desired.
  5. Sprinkle or cover with cheese.
  6. Cover and cook for 12-15 minutes depending on how soft or al dente you want your potatoes and veggies.  

Coffee

Coffee

Granted coffee pods are very convenient at home, especially if you have a family with different preferences in coffee tastes, but they are not very practical for camping and can be expensive!  We have experimented over the past few years and our favorite was a pot of coffee brewed in an old fashioned glass percolator on a campfire.  Unfortunately, that broke on a bumpy road during a winter trip when I forgot it wasn’t protected in the compartment.  Since then, I have found a much more primitive form of a pod using a small sized coffee filter with a scoop of coffee tied up with dental floss!  Start a cup of water boiling on a campfire or grill and drop the “boondocker’s pod” into the water for at least one minute and adjust the cooking time to your desire strength.  Maybe we can come up with a cool name for this and be the next one hit wonder?

Breakfast

Omelets are a staple for camping and a cast iron skillet is the perfect pan to make any type of omelet or even frittata.  One secret I learned a few years ago is to whisk the egg or eggs in a bowl with a fork prior to pouring them into the pan.  Do this without any milk or cream and the air infused into the egg will create a fluffy yellow omelet that will amaze you!  I know, I didn’t believe it myself as I was a diehard milk believer.  Once you have the base, you can add anything from ham to shrimp and even salmon. We often had several ingredients individually prepackaged and spread out an omelet bar so everyone could make their own with individual small cast iron pans.

Lunch

Tacos and fajitas are easy to make in a cast iron skillet as well. Here is my favorite:

  • 1 lb. chicken breast strips
  • 1 packet fajita/taco seasoning
  • 2 cups red, yellow, green peppers cut into 2-3” strips
  • 1/2 cup red onion cut into 2” strips
  • 3 T. olive oil 3 tbs
  • 1 T garlic chopped
  • Lemon juice
  • Franks Hot Sauce
  • Tortillas
  • Fajita/taco toppings
    • Cheese
    • Sour Cream
    • Lettuce chopped
    • Green onions chopped
    • Salsa
    • Guacamole
  1. Add olive oil to the skillet on the fire and brown the chicken strips first
  2. Add in fajita/taco seasoning
  3. Brown the chicken for about 5 minutes and then add the veggies
  4. Cook for another couple of minutes or until veggies get to the crisp or soft as you like
  5. Heat the tortillas on a skillet or flat pan
  6. Add chicken fajita ingredients and toppings as desired
  7. This also can be set up as a fajita station and guests can customize their own fajita.

Fun Stuff

And finally, a couple of fun recipes that will have everyone talking about the trip for years.

Scrambled Eggs In a Bag

Camp Fire BreakfastThis one came from my assistant who camps in a 5th wheel almost every weekend also attends Hobo Days every year.  The grandkids love this she says!

  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/2 c. Ham or sausage cut into chunks
  • 1/2 c. Red peppers, green peppers, onions cut into chunks
  • 1 qt freezer bag
  1. Place two eggs in a freezer bag and squeeze out all the air possible and close the bag
  2. Squeeze and shake the bag to mix the eggs
  3. Add the ingredients you desire and close the bag
  4. Bring a pot of water to a boil and place the bag into the pot
  5. Cook for 10-12 minutes and remove from the heat
  6. Open the bag and the omelet should roll right out

Eclair On A Stick

This is one of my granddaughters favorite and it really makes the neighboring campers look!

  • Croissant dough
  • Cherry pie filling, chocolate pie filling, blueberry pie filling – your choice
  • Broom stick
  • Non-stick spray
  1. Use a clean broomstick without paint or a wooden dowel long enough to use as a roasting stick
  2. Spray it with non-stick cooking spray and wrap the croissant dough around the end
  3. Roast over an open flame until the dough is toasty and crisp
  4. Slide off the stick and add filling as desired
  5. You can also add whipped cream to the top
  6. Enjoy!  It’s fun seeing the neighbors watching what you are doing with a broom stick!

About the Author: Dave Solberg: Managing Editor, RV Repair Club

For the last 25 years, Dave has conducted RV maintenance and safety seminars, developed dealer and owner training programs, written RV safety and handyman articles, authored an RV handbook reference guide and logged over 100,000 miles on the road in an RV.

RV Repair ClubRV Repair Club is your go-to online resource for enthusiasts who want quality RV maintenance, repair, and upgrade information – a community where passionate RVers can come together to gather knowledge and share their experiences.

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Dutch Oven Stuffed Bell Peppers | Camping Recipe

06 Friday Oct 2017

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Stuffed Bell Peppers

Hearty and delicious, these stuffed bell peppers are always a camping favorite. You can follow this recipe or adjust it to suit the spices and ingredients you have on hand.  Also, you can prepare this meal at your campsite or pre-assemble to allow for extra time making fun memories.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

  • 6 bell peppers
  • 2 lbs ground beef or turkey
  • 2T olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 4 c. cooked rice
  • 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 1/2 t. ground black pepper
  • 1-1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 t. basil

Directions

  1. Lightly oil your dutch oven
  2. Prepare your campfire so there will be a bed of hot coals to place the dutch oven on
  3. Cut the stems from the peppers and remove the seeds, stems, and veins
  4. Saute onion until translucent
  5. Add in garlic cloves.  Cook until softened.
  6. Add in ground beef or turkey
  7. When meat is browned, drain and return to skillet
  8. Add Worcestershire sauce and mix well
  9. Season with ground black pepper
  10. Add in rice and 1/2 of the tomato sauce
  11. Place your stuffing mixture inside the peppers
  12. Place peppers in dutch oven
  13. Spoon remaining tomato sauce on top of the peppers
  14. Place dutch oven on hot coals
  15. Cook until bell peppers are soft or easy to cut through
  16. Sprinkle cheese over the tops and cover for about 5 minutes to allow cheese to melt
  17. Add avocado slice and fresh basil to top

bell pepper

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S’mores Dip

16 Friday Jun 2017

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s'mores dip

This easy and delicious dessert includes only 3 ingredients.  WOW!!  We can’t decide what we enjoy more about it.  The fact that it takes less than 10 minutes to make or that you don’t end up with a gooey mess all over your hands like you do with traditional s’mores. Enjoy this camping favorite any time of the year!

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 8 large marshmallows; cut in half
  • Graham crackers for dipping

s'mores dip ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
  2. In a small cast iron skillet, spread chocolate chips
  3. Arrange the marshmallows on top of the chocolate
  4. Bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes, until marshmallows are lightly browned
  5. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes
  6. Serve with graham crackers alongside the dip

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Campfire Pizza Nachos

18 Thursday May 2017

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campfire pizza nachos

We love pizza and we also love nachos.   So what happens if you combine both of these into one dish?  Pure magic!  Add in a campfire and you have a drool-worthy and fun meal that will please any camper.  Enjoy!

Garlic Cream Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1.5 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
  • ½ Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 2-3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
  • ½ cups Heavy Cream
  • ¼ cup Milk
  • 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Red Pepper Flakes

Nacho Ingredients:

  • 1 Bag of Tortilla Chips
  • ½ cups Garlic Cream Sauce
  • ¼ cups Onion, diced
  • ½ cups Pepperoni, cut into quarters
  • ½ cups Black Olives, sliced
  • ½ whole Bell Pepper, diced
  • 2 Green Onions, sliced
  • 1 cup Colby-Jack Cheese, Shredded

Directions:

Garlic Cream Sauce:

  1. Melt the butter and olive oil in a saucepan
  2. Once the butter is melted, add the minced garlic
  3. Stir
  4. After a minute or two, add in the cream and milk
  5. Stir until it comes to a boil
  6. Add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and cheese
  7. Stir until sauce has thickened
  8. Once it has thickened, remove from fire and set aside

Nachos: 

  1. Grab your cast iron skillet and add the tortilla chips
  2. Drizzle the garlic cream sauce all over the chips
  3. Top with the onions, pepperoni, olives, bell pepper, and colby jack cheese
  4. Layer toppings between tortilla chips so every bit gets plenty of toppings.
  5. Place over the open fire and cover
  6. Cook until the cheese is nice and bubbly and the veggies are warm

Source: Cooking with Janica

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Thanksgiving Foil Packet Dinner

16 Wednesday Nov 2016

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Thanksgiving Foil Packet Dinner

Thanksgiving is centered around food – turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce and all the pumpkin pie you could ever want! But what happens if you decide to spend your Thanksgiving camping?  Don’t worry — you can still enjoy your turkey and all the fixings with just this one simple recipe.  It’s fun to make and even more fun to eat.

Happy Thanksgiving campers!

Ingredients:

  • 1 turkey cutlet
  • 1 c. prepared stuffing
  • 1/2 c. turkey gravy
  • 1/2 c green beans
  • 1/4 c. dried cranberries
  • salt
  • pepper
  • thyme
  • marjoram

Directions:

  1. Place turkey cutlet on sheet of foil
  2. Put the stuffing on top and the green beans around the cutlet
  3. Pour gravy over everything
  4. Sprinkle the dried cranberries
  5. Season to taste
  6. Wrap in a tent pack (see instructions below)
  7. Place on hot coals for 20 minutes

Tips for creating a tent pack

  1. Tear off a sheet of foil
  2. Place food in the middle of the foil
  3. Bring the long sides together in the center and tightly fold them together towards the food
  4. Stop folding a few inches before you get to the food, leaving a pocket of space and creating a “tent”
  5. Tightly roll up the shorter sides, leaving an inch of space between the end of the fold and the food

Source: The Art of Manliness

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