Go Camping – Life’s An Adventure

While there are several different ways to cook eggs when you are camping, the fact is the best way to prepare eggs in the morning is in a fashion that keeps the number of dishes down.  No one wants to have to do dishes before they hit the trail.  The recipe below is one of my favorites for mornings when I want something beyond cereal but do not want a lot of cleanup.

Camp Fire Recipe:  Eggs in a Tart Pan Breakfast

Ingredients

3 foil bowls that are 4.5 inches in size

Cooking spray

Aluminum foil

6 eggs

1/3 cup of milk

1/8 teaspoon of salt, black pepper, and garlic powder]

½ cup shredded cheese of choice

¼ cup chopped green pepper

4 precooked breakfast sausages

4 slices of cooked bacon

2 green onions, optional

Steps

1. Build fire.
2. While the fire is burning, chop the breakfast sausages and cooked bacon.
3. In a mixing bowl, crack the eggs into the bowl.
4. Add the milk, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
5. Beat egg mixture.
6. Spray the three tart pans with cooking spray.
7. Divide the egg mixture between the three tart pans.
8. Divide the green pepper, sausage, and bacon between the three tart pans.
9. Top each tart pan with shredded cheese of choice and sliced green onions, which the latter is optional.
10. Cover each tart pan with aluminum foil.
11. Place grilling rack above campfire.
12. Put covered tart pans on grilling rack and cook for 20 to 25 minutes.
13. Remove from heat and poke knife into the center of each pan to check for doneness.  If the knife comes out clean then the eggs are down.  If the knife comes out with egg mixture on it, place the pan(s) back on the grill rack for another 10 minutes.
14. Once the eggs are done, remove from grilling rack and serve.

As delicious as this dish is, there are a few variations you can try.  First, if you are a pepper purist and do not like to see little black dots in your eggs, use white instead of black pepper.  Second, if you have leftover vegetables from last night’s dinner, why not use these in place of the green pepper and green onions in this recipe.  Finally, do not limit your meat choice to those listed in the recipe.  You can use leftover meat from the night before, smoked sausage or Canadian bacon.

Have you ever wanted a camp fire dessert that was easy to make but healthy at the same time.  If the answer was yes then I have the recipe for you.  It is easy enough to make that you can even get the kids involved in the process.

To begin the recipe, one will need to build a fire.  While the fire is burning, wash four apples and run a simple stick through the stem.  If the kids are helping, you may want to do this step to make sure it is done safely and securely.  Once that is done, take a mixing bowl and combine one cup of granulated sugar and one tablespoon cinnamon. 

Once the fire is ready, place the four apples over the fire so that they stick up about two three inches above the hot coals.  Turn the apples often over the fire but once the skin begins to sag, remove the apples from the fire.

Allow the apples to cool slightly and then begin to pull off the skin.  Next, take your peeled apple and roll it in the sugar and cinnamon mixture you created earlier.  After that is done, place the apples back over the fire until the sugar mixture begins to melt.  Once that happens, remove the apples from the fire and allow to cool before eating.

As delicious as this recipe is there are a few different things you can do to change it up a little bit.  First, take a look at the sugar and spice mixture.  To make the recipe more true to life as an apple pie, consider mixing in not only cinnamon but also some nutmeg.  Do not have granulated sugar then give brown sugar a try.  It will actually produce more of a crunchy texture when it is placed back over the fire compared to the granulated sugar.  If you want a more a la mode effect, take a jar of marshmallow crème and top your apple pie on a stick.  Or, make a dipping sauce for your apple pie out of caramel ice cream sauce.  Finally, if you are an apple pie purist, take a walk on the wild side and melt some extra sharp cheddar cheese.  This can either be poured over the apple or used as a dip but regardless of which “extra” you choose, I promise you that you will not be disappointed.

What do you do if you want to create a clam boil without clams?  Well, you make a beef and summer vegetable boil in your Dutch Oven.  It is so good that it will become one of the repeat go to recipes you want to make for every camp outing. 

Campfire Recipe:  Braised Beef Roast and Summer Vegetables in a Dutch Oven

Ingredients

6 cloves of garlic

Fresh rosemary

Oil

Salt and pepper

2 pound boneless beef chuck roast

1 pint of cherry tomatoes

2 ears of corn

1 onion

½ pound of fresh green beans

6 small zucchini

¾ pounds of potatoes

2 Tablespoons of butter

3 cups of chicken broth

Charcoal briquettes

Steps

1. Mince the 6 cloves of garlic, and mix with 2 tablespoons of oil in a bowl.
2. Chop 2 tablespoons of rosemary.  Place the rosemary in the bowl from step 1.
3. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ pepper to the bowl.
4. Mix completely and rub onto meat.
5. Place meat in a resealable bag and store in the cooler for at least 2 hours.
6. About an hour before you take the meat out of the cooler, build your campfire with wood and 50 charcoal briquettes.
7. While you are waiting for the fire, you can begin to prepare your vegetables.
8. To do this, wash all produce.  Remove the stems from the cherry tomatoes and husk the corn.  Cut each cob into 3 pieces each.
9. Cut onion into 6 wedges.
10. Remove ends and bad spots on green beans.
11. Remove the ends of the zucchini.
12. Slice potatoes into 1 inch squares.
13. Next, place the grilling rack on top of the fire.
14. Place Dutch Oven on grilling rack.
15. Once hot, add the 2 tablespoons of butter.
16. After the butter has melted, remove the meat from the resealable bag and place in the Dutch Oven.
17. Brown the meat on all sides.
18. Add 2 cups of chicken broth to Dutch Oven, top with lid.
19. Arrange 20 charcoal briquettes in a circle on a heat resistant surface.  Place Dutch Oven on this circle and adjust accordingly. 
20. Top with the remaining 30 charcoal briquettes.
21. Cook for 1 hour.
22. While the meat is cooking, add more charcoal briquettes to the fire.
23. After the hour in step 21 has passed, remove lid, turn meat, add additional broth, and vegetables.
24. Replace lid and add new charcoal briquettes.
25. Cook for 1 hour.
26. Once the hour has passed, remove lid, stir the meat and vegetables.
27. Place the lid back on and cook for an addition 15 to 30 minutes.

Serve and enjoy.