Campground cooking … two easy recipes
Today’s recreational vehicles are well-out tted to provide all of the comforts of home for their owners when needed. at usually includes kitchen areas that are equipped with ovens or microwaves, as well as stovetops with propane burners. Cooking outside is not really necessary if RVers choose not to. But for many RVers, one of the greatest joys of getting away from cities and into a campground is cooking and eating outdoors. Whether it’s using your portable barbeque to grill some burgers or steaks, or baking potatoes and corn on a camp re grill, there is something about preparing and eating food outdoors that makes everything taste great! Campground cooking also gives you an opportunity to experiment with some easy and fun recipes that you aren’t as likely to try when you’re at home a er a long day at work or school. Here are a couple of our camp favourites!
BANNOCK
is biscuit-like bread was regular fare for Canada’s Aboriginal peoples as well as early European explorers, with good reason. All you need to make bannock is some our, baking powder, a pinch of salt, butter or margarine and water. It can be fried in a pan or baked in an oven at medium heat. Hence, it was easy for Aboriginal people and voyageurs to make wherever they camped (although they used lard, not butter or margarine!). Plain bannock with butter is great as a dinner side, just like a bun or bread. But by adding some raisins, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries or other fruits, bannock can become a tasty breakfast or dessert item, too! Little wonder that it remains a favourite of Aboriginal people today as well as many others. My recipe for four to six servings: 3 cups of our (can be regular, whole wheat, corn… no matter); 2 tablespoons of baking powder; 1 tablespoon of sugar; a pinch of salt (no more than ½ teaspoon); ½ cup of butter, margarine or shortening; and 1 cup of water (or milk). Slowly mix the our, baking powder, sugar and salt, then work in the butter or margarine and slowly add water as you knead the mixture until so , but not sticky. If you want to add berries or other fruit, do it now. en, you can atten the entire mixture into a greased frying pan, until you have a cake about one-inch thick. Cook it on a burner or over your camp re at medium heat and ip (much like a pancake) a er about 15 minutes, allowing an equal amount of time for side two. Enjoy! You can also bake bannock in an oven at about 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, checking it until brown and baked through. And you can make smaller biscuit-like portions rather than a large at cake if you’d rather.
TACOS-IN-A-BAG
is definitely not a recipe of Aboriginal people or early explorers! Rather, it’s a fun way to make a popular menu item that’s easy to eat outside in a camp chair. Kids especially love to eat tacosin-a-bag, yet, it’s di erent than the standard burgers and hot dogs that they’re o en fed in campgrounds.
Simplicity is also key for this dish! All you need is some individual bags of taco chips, ground beef, chopped onion, diced tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cheese, and a package of taco seasoning mix. A little salsa or sour cream will nish it o great! To eat it, you need no more than a spoon and a napkin to clean up. My recipe for four to six servings: 1 pound ground beef; 1 package taco seasoning mix; 1 diced tomato; 2 cups shredded lettuce; 1 chopped onion; 1 cup shredded (or Tex Mex) cheese; and 4 to 6 individual bags of taco chips. Salsa and sour cream are great too, if you have them. Just fry up your ground beef and onions in a skillet over the camp re or your camp stove, and stir in the seasoning mix as directed on the package. Crush the taco chips inside the bags, and then cut the bag open lengthwise (to make a bowl) and spoon in your taco lling, adding diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and cheese as you like. You can nish these o with a bit of salsa and/or some sour cream. Grab your spoon and enjoy, then crumple up your empty bag and throw it away. Dishes are pretty much done, always a huge bonus in a campground!