With 2 camping trips under my belt this year, and the knowledge that building campfires is much less stressful for my husband than it used to be, I decided that we would do our cooking over the campfires this trip.
Our first breakfast was apple pie filling with cut up Snickers bars. Good, but too sweet and there was too much waste. In the future, I would make the pie filling at home and take it along. I was too stressed to do that this time.
We also had spam & cheese pies. Also good, but I think I put too much spam on each one and it seemed kind of heavy. (I had purchased the spam to go with a different recipe suggested by Mary, but decided to take it camping instead. I'm still planning on trying the German Pizza one of these days. This was the first time I had ever bought spam - I think.)
By far the kids' favorite were the peanut butter and marshmallow pies. Yum.
We didn't feel like making a campfire on our last morning, so we had graham crackers with peanut butter and chocolate bars. Also a big hit.
Showing posts with label Camping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Camping. Show all posts
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Camping With a Rice Cooker
So, we went camping again last weekend. I really don't like to spend much time cooking or cleaning up while camping. Since I knew we were going to have a campsite with electricity, I decided to take our rice cooker along to do the majority of the cooking. We still used our cookstove to heat up water, but I didn't get out any other pans.
The food was a hit with everyone.
Here were our breakfasts:
RICE COOKER SCRAMBLED EGGS
I had mixed 6 eggs together before we went camping, and froze them flat in a ziploc bag. I had also put some ham cubes in ziploc, maybe 1/2 c. cheese in a baggie, and 2 T. butter in a little sandwich bag. When it was time to cook, I put the butter in and let it melt a little, then I added the ham to mix it with the butter a little. I poured the eggs in and stirred. It cooked pretty fast, maybe about 5 minutes, with me stirring it every couple of minutes. Then I added the cheese, stirred and let it all mix together. (This would have been great by itself, but I had about 1 1/2 c. leftover shrimp and rice that I stirred in until it was warm. Very good.)
RICE COOKER COCONUT RICE PUDDING
3/4 c. rice
1 1/2 c. water
1/4 t. salt
2 cans coconut milk
1/2 c. sugar
Cinnamon
Cook the rice, water and salt in the rice cooker. When rice is done, stir in the coconut milk and the sugar. Cover and turn the cooker back on. After maybe 15 minutes, start checking and stirring the rice every 5 minutes or so until it has the right consistency. I don't remember how long this took, but it didn't seem too long. It was a big hit and very filling.
RICE COOKER OATMEAL
The day before we left home, I soaked 2 c. oatmeal with 2 cups water and 2 T. yogurt in a bowl on the cupboard. Before we left, I put it in a ziploc, and then into the cooler. We used it 3 days later. When it was time to cook it, I emptied the oatmeal ziploc into the rice cooker and then added a can of coconut milk. It did not take very long to cook at all, maybe 5 minutes, and I liked the consistency. I served it with dried cranberries and some half and half. (I had planned on having it just plain, but I happened to be in a grocery store the day before we had it and I splurged on a small container of half & half)
I like this method of making oatmeal. I think during the school year, I'll set it up in the rice cooker (using water instead of coconut milk) the night before so Dave can turn it on when he gets his coffee. That way, he can have fresh oatmeal without having to work for it, and it will stay warm for the rest of us.
BONUS RECIPES:
SHRIMP & RICE
Before we had left home, I'd cut up a green pepper and onion and placed them in a baggie. We also had a quart sized baggie of cut up broccoli.
Put in rice cooker:
1 stick of butter
onion and pepper - let it cook for a minute or two.
Add:
1 1/2 c. rice
1 can broth
Bag of broccoli
1 lb shrimp
Old Bay Seasoning
Turn cooker on, stir, and let it cook. You might want to add the shrimp close to the end so it doesn't get too chewy.
RICE COOKER MACARONI AND CHEESE
In rice cooker, add:
2 c. uncooked macaroni
1 c. broth
1 c. milk or cream
Ham cubes (optional)
Broccoli (optional)
Cook until the macaroni is done. Then, add:
1 1/2 c. shredded cheese
2 T. butter
Salt & pepper
Stir and keep warm until ready to serve.
The food was a hit with everyone.
Here were our breakfasts:
RICE COOKER SCRAMBLED EGGS
I had mixed 6 eggs together before we went camping, and froze them flat in a ziploc bag. I had also put some ham cubes in ziploc, maybe 1/2 c. cheese in a baggie, and 2 T. butter in a little sandwich bag. When it was time to cook, I put the butter in and let it melt a little, then I added the ham to mix it with the butter a little. I poured the eggs in and stirred. It cooked pretty fast, maybe about 5 minutes, with me stirring it every couple of minutes. Then I added the cheese, stirred and let it all mix together. (This would have been great by itself, but I had about 1 1/2 c. leftover shrimp and rice that I stirred in until it was warm. Very good.)
RICE COOKER COCONUT RICE PUDDING
3/4 c. rice
1 1/2 c. water
1/4 t. salt
2 cans coconut milk
1/2 c. sugar
Cinnamon
Cook the rice, water and salt in the rice cooker. When rice is done, stir in the coconut milk and the sugar. Cover and turn the cooker back on. After maybe 15 minutes, start checking and stirring the rice every 5 minutes or so until it has the right consistency. I don't remember how long this took, but it didn't seem too long. It was a big hit and very filling.
RICE COOKER OATMEAL
The day before we left home, I soaked 2 c. oatmeal with 2 cups water and 2 T. yogurt in a bowl on the cupboard. Before we left, I put it in a ziploc, and then into the cooler. We used it 3 days later. When it was time to cook it, I emptied the oatmeal ziploc into the rice cooker and then added a can of coconut milk. It did not take very long to cook at all, maybe 5 minutes, and I liked the consistency. I served it with dried cranberries and some half and half. (I had planned on having it just plain, but I happened to be in a grocery store the day before we had it and I splurged on a small container of half & half)
I like this method of making oatmeal. I think during the school year, I'll set it up in the rice cooker (using water instead of coconut milk) the night before so Dave can turn it on when he gets his coffee. That way, he can have fresh oatmeal without having to work for it, and it will stay warm for the rest of us.
BONUS RECIPES:
SHRIMP & RICE
Before we had left home, I'd cut up a green pepper and onion and placed them in a baggie. We also had a quart sized baggie of cut up broccoli.
Put in rice cooker:
1 stick of butter
onion and pepper - let it cook for a minute or two.
Add:
1 1/2 c. rice
1 can broth
Bag of broccoli
1 lb shrimp
Old Bay Seasoning
Turn cooker on, stir, and let it cook. You might want to add the shrimp close to the end so it doesn't get too chewy.
RICE COOKER MACARONI AND CHEESE
In rice cooker, add:
2 c. uncooked macaroni
1 c. broth
1 c. milk or cream
Ham cubes (optional)
Broccoli (optional)
Cook until the macaroni is done. Then, add:
1 1/2 c. shredded cheese
2 T. butter
Salt & pepper
Stir and keep warm until ready to serve.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Pasties for Breakfast
One more remnant from our camping trip - Since we were camping in the U.P. of Michigan, we made a point of buying pasties several times during our trip. They went over well with the kids, were quite filling, and weren't that expensive. We had a couple of halves leftover when we arrived home.
The next morning, I put some butter in a skillet and broke up the pasties in the pan. I stirred it around for a little bit, and then added some eggs. I think I added 3 eggs, but given the amount of veggies in the pan I probably should have added about 6. It still made a nice breakfast skillet.
I'm thinking of playing around with some doughs and making pasties to have on hand around here for breakfast. Maybe with an egg, bacon and potato filling instead of the more traditional fillings. I prefer a flakier crust to a breadier crust. I'm going to see how the yogurt dough from the Nourishing Traditions books will work. I'll report back if I have success.
The next morning, I put some butter in a skillet and broke up the pasties in the pan. I stirred it around for a little bit, and then added some eggs. I think I added 3 eggs, but given the amount of veggies in the pan I probably should have added about 6. It still made a nice breakfast skillet.
I'm thinking of playing around with some doughs and making pasties to have on hand around here for breakfast. Maybe with an egg, bacon and potato filling instead of the more traditional fillings. I prefer a flakier crust to a breadier crust. I'm going to see how the yogurt dough from the Nourishing Traditions books will work. I'll report back if I have success.
Camping Breakfasts
We went camping last weekend. This was the first time we've been tent camping in probably 5 years. In the past, I've always opted for the little boxes of cereal as a camping treat. This year, we had big breakfasts.
A couple days before we left, I mixed up a bunch of eggs in the blender and put them in a ziploc bag in meal size portions. Then, I put that ziploc along with a mealsize portion of bacon and froze them flat. They were thawed by the time I needed them, and they didn't take up much space in the cooler. It worked great. I should also mention that cut up leftover french fries cooked in the bacon fat a little before adding the eggs lended a nice hash brown feel to the breakfast.
The original plan was to have pancakes with the eggs and bacon, but I just couldn't get myself to prepare that much. (I should mention here that I tend to get irrationally stressed out when planning for camping trips - hence the 5 year gap since our last trip) Instead, we had cinnamon rolls, Trenary Toast, and donuts on respective days. Not exactly healthy, but better than little boxes of cereal. Maybe we'll do pancakes on the next trip.
A couple days before we left, I mixed up a bunch of eggs in the blender and put them in a ziploc bag in meal size portions. Then, I put that ziploc along with a mealsize portion of bacon and froze them flat. They were thawed by the time I needed them, and they didn't take up much space in the cooler. It worked great. I should also mention that cut up leftover french fries cooked in the bacon fat a little before adding the eggs lended a nice hash brown feel to the breakfast.
The original plan was to have pancakes with the eggs and bacon, but I just couldn't get myself to prepare that much. (I should mention here that I tend to get irrationally stressed out when planning for camping trips - hence the 5 year gap since our last trip) Instead, we had cinnamon rolls, Trenary Toast, and donuts on respective days. Not exactly healthy, but better than little boxes of cereal. Maybe we'll do pancakes on the next trip.
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