Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Tropical Blend Campside Coolers

1/2 cup ice cubes

1/2 cup cubed cantaloupe

1/2 cup chunk pineapple

1/3 cup sliced banana

1/2 cup cranberry juice

1/4 cup pineapple juice

1 tbsp honey

3/4 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp lemon zest

Put everything in your a blender or food processor.

Cover and blend until smooth.

Pour into thermos and keep cold.

This will serve 3 to 4 people.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Morning At The Camp Chai Tea Mix

1/2 cup powdered coffee creamer

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 cup white sugar

1/3 cup instant black tea

Put all ingredients in a ziploc bag or plastic container that has a tight seal. Seal and shake to combine.

To prepare one serving of Chai Tea:

Put 2 to 3 teaspoons of tea mix in a big mug and add hot water.

Sweeten as desired with honey or sugar.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Cookie Cake For Campers

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups rolled oats

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (your choice)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking pan.

Stir or sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.

With an electric mixer in a large bowl, cream the butter and both sugars together until fluffy.

With mixer running, add eggs, one at a time, mixing until blended.

With mixer running, slowly add in the flour mixture and continue mixing until blended.

With mixer running, add the vanilla, rolled oats, chocolate chips, and nuts.

The mixer will stop about this time, so just take a rubber spatula and continue mixing until everything is combined well.

Turn this mixture into your prepared pan and press mixture in gently to evenly distribute. Bake in a preheated oven 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

Cool and transport to campsite as is. You can also cool and cut into cookies to take along as you hike and explore nature.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Recipe of the Week: Mediterranean Dressing

Recipe of the Week: Mediterranean Dressing

Camp Ready Strawberry Shortcake Mix

1 1/2 cups biscuit baking mix

1/2 cup powdered milk

2 cups dried strawberries

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 pkg whipped topping

1 cup hot water to rehydrate strawberries

To prepare your ready mix for camp:

Put biscuit baking mix and powdered milk in a ziploc bag and seal tight, labeling "shortcake mix".

Put dried strawberries into another bag, and seal tight, labeling "strawberry mix".

Put cornstarch into another bag, and seal tight, labeling bag "cornstarch".

NOTE: If strawberries are unsweetened, add 1 Tbsp sugar to cornstarch, then seal.

Combine all these bags into one bag to transport to camp.

To cook on campfire:

Make shortcakes first by putting the contents of the "shortcake mix" bag into a bowl and add 1/2 cup water, stirring with a fork just until combined. Form into flattened rounds like biscuits.

Put a skillet over low coals and get a second skillet or pie tin ready to use as a cover to form an "oven." Put the shortcake biscuits into the skillet, cover, and let bake, turning as the bottoms brown. Remove as they brown and keep warm.

Meanwhile, dump the "strawberry mix" into another bowl and add 1 cup hot water, and let sit until soft. Stir gently, then drain the liquid off into another bowl.

To the bowl with the liquid, add the cornstarch, and mix until cornstarch is dissolved.

Put a skillet over coals (or use the skillet you had set up to bake the shortcake biscuits if you're done with that one) and pour in the cornstarch liquid.

Heat and stir this liquid until thickened, then gently add in the re-hydrated strawberries and stir to combine, then move to lower heat source and let simmer gently.

Put the shortcake biscuits on plates (you can split them in half) and spoon the hot strawberry mixture from skillet over the shortcake, then top with whipped topping.

Makes 4 to 8 desserts.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Deep Dish Apple Crisp Campfire Style

20 graham crackers, crushed fine

1/2 cup chopped nuts (your choice)

2 Tbsp white sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 reg. can apple pie filling

Heavy Duty deep dish aluminum foil pan

aluminum foil sheet for sealing pan

In a big bowl, mix together the cracker crumbs, nuts, sugar, then pour in the butter and mix until crumbs are moistened.

Sprinkle 2/3 of the crumb mixture into the pan, then spread the apple pie filling evenly over.

Top with remaining 1/3 of crumb mixture, making sure it's evenly distributed.

Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil.

Put pan on top of grate over slow coals and cook, moving around the grate several times during the cooking time, for about 25 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

This will make about 8 dessert size servings.

Use different pie fillings for different desserts.