Cooking simple for Camping and Motorhome Trips
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Camping and RV Recipe of the Week
Rave-About Sauce
In the cookbooks its called Ravigote Sauce and it can easily turn a plain-jane meal into something festive. Spoon the sauce over hard-cooked eggs, chops, steak, chicken, vegetables. Its truly a lifesaver for canned or frozen vegetables that have lost that just picked appeal.
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon each dried, crumbled chervil, tarragon, chives and sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
In a small saucepan, mix dry ingredients and stir in cold milk. Stirring constantly over low/medium heat, cook until sauce thickens. Stir in lemon juice and vinegar. Remove from heat, stir in butter until it melts and serve. Makes 1 1/4 cups sauce.
Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Skinny Orange Cream
2 16-ounce tubs of low-fat or non-fat cottage cheese
1 packet sugar-free orange gelatin dessert mix
Small can crushed pineapple in its own juice, drained
15-ounce can mandarin oranges in its own juices, drained
8-ounce tub of lite whipped topping
Mix the dry gelatin dessert mix with the cottage cheese. Drain fruit and save juices for another purpose. Fold fruit and whipped topping into the orange mixture. Serve at once or chill. Best served the first day its made. A good way to serve this at a potluck is in small, clear, disposable plastic cups. Provide plastic spoons too. Serves 12.
Tips for the Camp Chef
* Check campground fire regs before you leave for the campground and again each day of your camp-out. In some areas they change often depending on wind and rain conditions.
* To quick chill beer, put the can or bottle it in a sock and soak the sock in rubbing alcohol. As it evaporates it cools the beer.
* Headed for the mountains? Note label instructions for high altitude baking on baked products such as cake mix.
* Before Cool Whip there was Dream Whip, a dry mix that weighs almost nothing. I found that it's still on supermarket shelves and a plus for the camping pantry.
* Save Tic-Tac containers to use as salt and pepper shakers in camping.
* When youre camping on short water rations but want to rinse canned beans for a recipe, put them in a sieve or colander. Then add canned corn, tomatoes and other canned foods you are draining to add to a soup, chili or casserole and let their juices rinse away the sludge in the beans.
Freeze Ahead Recipe of the Week
Crabby Salmon
16-ounce package small shells, cooked and drained
stick butter, cut up
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon dried, crumbled thyme
1 can condensed cream of mushroom, celery, chicken or potato soup
1 soup can water or milk
2 cups cut up cooked or canned salmon
2 cups lump crabmeat
2 cups frozen peas
Drain shells, saving some of the pasta water. Stir butter into hot pasta. In a bowl whisk flour, thyme, soup and milk or water. Stir into pasta over low heat, stirring until it thickens. Add some of the pasta water to thin to taste. Cool and stir in frozen peas. Measure portions into packages and freeze, allowing one to 1 cups per serving.
Thaw, heat and serve sprinkled with Parmesan, crushed croutons, minced parsley or shredded Cheddar. Garnish with lemon wedges if you have some.