Cub Scout Food.... Thanksgiving Edition

I am involved in Cub Scouting. My husband is the Cub Master and I have served on Committee and as Tiger Cub Den Leader playing such roles as popcorn chair and Blue and Gold Banquet coordinator. I also serve as the food consultant of sorts for camping food and pack meeting food activities. This next week we are having our annual Thanksgiving meeting and we have decided to do a "Thanksgiving meal in a foil packet" activity. Cooking in foil packets is a camping technique we use with Cub Scouts for campfire cooking. The boys cook a meat and veggies in a packet made of foil over coals until done. Once the meat is done the rest is done. Today I spent lunch experimenting with our newest venture in foil packet cooking. Here is what I did...

I made small patties out of ground turkey and a bit of salt and pepper.



Then I chopped sweet potatoes into cubes



and I premixed some stuffing mix - to go with turkey (Used Albertson's brand for $.99 a box)


You will need sliced onion as a barrier under the meat in the packet to add moisture and to keep the meat from burning on the bottom. Then you add it all into the folded foil packet.

We also added a marshmallow on top of the sweet potatoes and I recommend a pat of butter, too. The last one I did had the butter and it was MUCH BETTER.... 'cause butter is just better, right? LOL


My daughter folding her own packet... it is BEST to use heavy duty foil for this.

My son getting ready to put his on the fire...

The fire...
The finished meal after cooking.... just open and enjoy! :)

The marshmallow, btw, disappears but the flavor is there. The heat melts it completely.
The bottom picture is a packet of potatoes and stuffing we made extra for us to share - almost done but I opened it to show progress...

You can be creative and add more spices to the meat or some cinnamon and brown sugar to your potatoes.

You could also add some fresh green beans or other veggies as you choose, too.

The final step in all of this is adding one ice cube to the packet to make more moisture and steam for quicker cooking.

On a good hot fire it takes about 25 to 30 minutes to fully cook the meal in a packet.

If you have any questions feel free to ask and I will do my best. I will also be taking pictures at the meeting as the boys do this, too.

Happy camp cooking!!!

Camp Menu

It is that time of year again... CAMP FOOD!!!!!!!!!!

This is my Menu Plan Monday - Camping Edition complete with recipes and three square meals a day.

Tonight - leftovers from the weekend

Tuesday July 31, 2007

First Night in Camp Casserole

• 2 cups milk
• 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 8 ounces uncooked macaroni
• 2 6 ½-ounce cans chunk chicken
• 6 ounces grated cheddar cheese
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• ½ green pepper, diced
• Handful of parsley

Whisk together milk and soup to make a smooth sauce. Arrange remaining ingredients evenly in a buttered 3-quart bake and serve casserole and cover with milk mixture. Cover and refrigerate for a t least 8 hours. Bake covered casserole at 350 degrees F for about 75 minutes, remove from oven, and let stand 10 minutes. Serves 6.

If you’ve brought split and buttered rolls, a bag of washed and cut up celery and carrot sticks and a bag of tootsie pops for dessert, your first night’s meal is complete.

Wednesday August 1, 2007

Breakfast

Cereal, toast, fruit

Lunch

Sandwiches and whale crackers for lunch

Dinner

One Step Casserole

• 2 ½ cups cooked meat mixture
• Salt, pepper
• 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 28-32 ounce can tomatoes
• 1 ½ cups water
• 8 ounces uncooked wide noodles
• 8 ounces grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Sprinkle uncooked noodles in a baking pan and top with meat mixture, seasoning, tomato sauce, tomatoes, and water. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. Remove from oven, take off foil, add cheese, and bake a few minutes more until cheese melts. Let stand 10 minutes and serve with Italian bread and a leafy salad. Serves 4 to 5.

Thursday August 2, 2007

Breakfast

Biscuits, gravy, low salt bacon, eggs

Lunch

Sandwiches, chips or whales, drinks

Dinner

Chicken Skewers with peanut sauce

• 1 ½ pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons ginger
• Juice of 2 limes
• Salt and pepper
• Peanut sauce

Thread the chicken pieces onto bamboo skewers, leaving about 1 inch at one end. To make the skewers easier to handle on the grill, thread a second skewer through the same chicken pieces, parallel to the first. Place the skewers in a large ziplock bag (you may need to use more than one bag). Mix the ginger, lime juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl or saucepan until well combined. Pour into the bag with the skewers (divide evenly if using more than one bag). Zip the bag and shake to make sure all the chicken is coated with the marinade. Put the bag in a cooler until ready to grill the chicken. Marinate the chicken for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. Grill the chicken skewers over medium-high heat, 6-7 minutes per side, until cooked through. Serve with peanut sauce on the side for dipping, or drizzle sauce over each skewer. Serves 4 (make 2 recipes worth for family)

Peanut Sauce

• ½ cup peanut butter
• ¼ cup soy sauce (optional)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
• ¼ to ¾ tsp cayenne
• ¼ cup water

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Makes about 1 ¼ cups sauce.

Grilled Zucchini

Corn on the cob roasted over the fire

Friday August 3, 2007

Breakfast

Oatmeal, fruit, nuts, juice, toast or other bread

Lunch

Sandwiches, drinks, fruit

Dinner

Camp stew

• Dried mushrooms
• Barley
• Lentils
• Carrots
• New potatoes
• Sun dried tomatoes
• Spices, salt and pepper
• Water to cover about an inch or two above

Dumpling mix (see Leave No Crumbs)

• ¾ cup flour
• 4 tsp powdered egg whites
• 1 tsp dried herbs de Provence
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp paprika
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp oil

In a small pot or pot lid, mix the powdered egg whites, herbs, baking powder, salt, paprika, cayenne, oil, and enough dribbles of water to form a thick paste with the consistency of biscuit dough. Drip by spoonfuls into boiling soup or stew.

Cover tightly and cook 12-15 minutes without lifting the lid. When done, the dumplings should be fluffy, with no trace of raw-flour taste. Makes 4 adult sized servings (about 8 to 10 small dumplings

Saturday August 4, 2007

Breakfast

Pancakes…

Lunch

Sandwiches, quesadillas or something like that

Dinner

Taco Bake

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 envelope taco seasoning (I make my own)
• 1 16 ounce can refried beans
• 2 Cups medium or mild salsa
• 2 Cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown ground beef until cooked throughout and drain skillet of fat. Stir in taco seasoning and mix well. Transfer mixture to a 9” square baking dish. Spread half the can of refriend beans over meat mixture in baking dish. Top with salsa and shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Bake in oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until heated throughout and cheese is melted. I will often top with lettuce, tomato and more shredded cheese once it comes out of the oven and has cooled a bit on the counter before serving. I will also serve it with chips on the side for dipping. This recipe serves 4 so I also double it.

Sunday August 5, 2007

Breakfast

Grits, sausages, juice, toast

Lunch

Sandwiches, raw veggies, drinks

Dinner

Grilled Cheese sandwiches, oven fries, birthday cake (all for Davy)

Don’t forget the catsup

Chile Relleno Casserole for the grownups

Got a plan for camp food...

Here is my menu plan for camp food. I make my grocery list off of the things used to make these dishes and it is loaded into the ol' RV and taaaadaaaa - Camping Meals!

Breakfast
Breakfast burritos
Oatmeal
Grits
Dry cereal
Biscuits
Omelets and other egg dishes (maybe even a spinach quiche - YUMMO!!! - I will have to share that one with you...)
Pancakes
Muffins

If I can find them I will get some low salt and nitrite free meats (that is a HUGE IF!!!) Freshly milled flour does not last for more than about three days so we are carrying some white flour up but I will mills some before we head out for the first few days we are out and use the white flour only after we run out of the other. I sure wish there was a little travel mill for such occasions.

Snacks
Fruit
Make granola bars and bread to take
Yogurt
Cheese sticks
Raisins
Craisins
Pistachios
Walnuts

Lunch
Sandwiches
Tuna melts pg.16
Sloppy Joes pg.29
Chicken and tuna salad sandwiches for lunches
Black bean burritos pg. 77
Black bean soup pg. 79
Quesadillas pg. 119
Peanut butter and jelly or lunch meats and cheese

Dinner
Green chili casserole
Spaghetti and meatballs
Chili and cornbread
Chicken spectacular pg.19
Hot dogs
Lentils and rice bake see pg. 63 for idea
Chicken pot pie pg. 100
Chicken tortilla soup pg. 113

We are packing lots of veggies and fruits to eat fresh, too. They store under my bunk in a big plastic bin for travel. Since I am eating more vegetarian these days I gotta have those!!! We will hopefully catch some trout while we are there, too, and that will be dinner one night if we do.

Drinks
Tea bags (decaf)
Kool-Aid packets (We LOVE the invisibe kind with no dyes!!!)
Juice boxes (only 100% juice)
Coffee (decaf)
Herbal teas, too
Water bottles (small and big)
Milk for cereal and Rice Milk for me

Page numbers are from a book I am taking with me.

Buttermilk Biscuit Mix...

I am allergic to soy so there are very few things that I can actually eat from the grocery store that are prepackaged. That is the biggest reason I choose to make my own when it comes to things like Biscuit mix. Here is a great recipe that I found back in 2000 in the Quick Cooking Magazine (it has a new name now but I am not sure what it is...) It was submitted by a lady named Katie Koziolek and I want to make sure you know it was her's and not mine. That being said, here it is...

Buttermilk Biscuit Mix

8 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups buttermilk blend powder
4 Tbsp baking powder
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/3 cups shortening

In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; cut in the shortening until crumbly. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 6 months. Yield is about 13 1/2 cups of mix. This is a MUST HAVE when we take camping trips so I am making a batch of it tonight. I will share a picture when I get a chance... :)

Taking it on the road...

I just ordered a few new cookbooks - like I needed more right??? I only own about 200 or so now. LOL ;) I am making some changes in the way we travel and eat. The last two weeks have been a little rough on the system. In our home we are eating low salt, lower fat and lower sugar as we head into middle age. When we head north in the old truck and trailer we have been accustomed to packing lots of canned things to get us through our time there but canned goods are LOADED with "bad for you" stuff. The books I ordered are about RV and Camp Cooking. I am going to be menu planning from these and adapting them to fit our dietary needs for our upcoming road trip. Here they are...

Oh, the things we do for our Boy Scouts...

As a young Boy Scout, JoNathan is learning many things. There are lots of things he has to do with the troop and lots of things his Daddy is teaching him but there is one thing I must do to make my boy a well-rounded citizen. It is going to be hard and a huge sacrifice on my part but it must be done. I am going to have to break down and purchase a few things to help us. It will be hard but I will do this because I love my boy and I love scouting. The task... * Break down and buy cookbooks that teach how to cook in cast iron and dutch ovens. * I will have to help him research and find recipes online * I will have to help him meal plan and shop * Spend time slaving over hot equipment creating and cooking recipes that MUST be consumed by our family. * Let JoNathan cook dinner for us using said equipment and recipes so that he can earn his badge. He has to prepare the meal from start to finish and all I do is make sure he doesn't get hurt. Can I just sit back and read a book while he cooks? We shall see... It will be hard... but I think I am up to the task. *giant tongue in cheek here* For a Cookbook Addict and Culinary Student this is going to be SUCH A SACRIFICE!!! ROFLOL