Now that the weather has turned cooler in many parts of the United States, warm comforting food is always welcome while camping. And what could be better than warm cheesy fondue?

Here is a recipe for an easy campfire fondue.

CAMPFIRE FONDUE
Ingredients:
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons flour
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 cup beer (a domestic brand like Bud works great but avoid using light beer. Use something you like to drink though because the recipe only calls for 1/2 cup and somebody has to drink the rest of the can or bottle!)

Directions:
Place cheeses, flour, and paprika in a resealable plastic bag. Close and shake to coat cheese in the flour and paprika.
In a medium pan or small dutch oven, heat the soup and beer over medium until it bubbles. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cheese mixture. Stir constantly until cheese is melted.

Serve with french bread cubes and sliced Granny Smith apples.

For some great dutch oven recipes, check out the The Geezer Cookbook by Dwayne Pritchett.

The cookbook has over 350 recipes that Dwayne compiled into an electronic format and which you can download and print for FREE! All you need to be able to download and print the cookbook is Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Dwayne was a Scoutmaster who loved Dutch Oven cooking and spicy foods. Like many of us, he collected recipes on various scraps of paper. Dwayne eventually decided to compile his recipes and share them with his fellow Scouts and Scoutmasters.

Dwayne passed away in August of 1995 after batting cancer. Mark Michalski, who had the opportunity to know Dwayne “Medicine Man” Pritchitt is sharing Dwayne’s story and recipes so his spirit of friendship and sharing can continue on.

You can download and print the cookbook, and also continue the spirit of sharing by letting others know about the cookbook.

There are recipes for appetizers, breads, desserts, breakfast, main dishes (from beef to pork to chicken to fish and other seafood to venison), salads (the dutch oven isn’t needed for every salad but there’s some great salad dressings you can make in the dutch oven), sandwiches, pasta and rice, gravies and sauces, soups, vegetables, and there’s a great “hints and tips” section that first time dutch oven cooks as well as experienced dutch oven cooks will find helpful.

Some of the recipes in the cookbook include: Geezer Come and Get it (a yummy dip), firebird casserole (spicy), armadillo eggs (an armadillo free recipe!), road kill stew (for venison lovers), monkey bread (made from scratch and a little time consuming but who doesn’t love fresh, warm bread?), camper’s breakfast (made with Spam, a favorite of my husband’s), black bear chili (no black bears, just black beans and flank steak), and blackberry cobbler (if you’ve never eaten blackberry cobbler, you’re missing out).

I’ve been doing dutch oven cooking on my camping trips for a little over a year and I love it. The food is great. With a little dutch oven know-how there’s no need to eat burgers, hot dogs, and marshmallows your entire camping trip (unless you want to).

To great this great FREE cookbook, go to macscouter.com.

One way to make cooking easier and less work while camping is to do some of it at home before you leave.

Muffins are easy to eat on the go and are delicious anytime of day.

And this muffin recipe is not only easy, but super delicious.

PUMPKIN SPICE MUFFINS
Ingredients:
1 spice cake mix,, unprepared,
1, 16 ounce can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 cup cinnamon baking chips (Hershey’s)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake/muffin pans with 22 paper cupcake/muffin liners.

Pour cinnamon chips into small bowl. Take one tablespoon of dry cake mix out of box and mix with the cinnamon chips (this keeps the chips from sinking to the bottom of the muffins while cooking)

Pour remaining dry cake mix into medium bowl. Add pumpkin, egg whites, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Mix for about 1 minute or until dry clumps are gone. Stir in cinnamon chips.

Fill baking cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-21 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on baking rack.

Wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and store in freezer until you leave for camping. By the time you get to the campground, the muffins will be thawed and ready to eat.