Posts filed under 'Cooking'
December 11th, 2006
spryken
This is a delicious and easy soup. It can be cooked stove top or in a dutch oven. And it really tastes like lasagna!
Yield: 8 cups - 4 servings for hungry scouts, so double or triple
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
2 cups onions, chopped
1 cup carrots, diced
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbs. garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, chopped (14 1/2 ounces)
1 can tomato sauce (10 3/4 ounces) we used jar marinara sauce
2 1/2 cup bowtie pasta
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup provolone cheese or fresh mozzarella, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
4 teaspoons thinly sliced fresh basil - optional
Brown sausage in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and carrots; saute’ 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and garlic, and saute’ another 3 minutes.
Add broth, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce, and bring to a boil. Drop in pasta and simmer until cooked, about 10 minutes or according to package directions. Stir in spinach and cook until wilted.
Place 1/4 cup cheese into serving bowls and pour soup on top. Garnish with Parmesan and basil.
Technorati Tags: boy scouts, scouting, bsa, scout, cooking, camping, recipe
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Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts, Camping, Cooking, Recipes
December 7th, 2006
spryken
A few months back, we were working on the Historic Trails award. I was the adult grub master. The other leaders have come to expect me to do Dutch Oven cooking on our campouts, at least the “flop and drop” campouts. I didn’t want to disappoint. I fixed the Chicken Chili Verdi for supper and my Mom’s Pound Cake for dessert. Mom always uses a tube pan to make pound cake. It provides more crust. So I adapted a dutch oven to make a tube pan. Really all I did was to cut the top off of a 12 ounce drink can, so that if fit under the lid of the dutch oven.
Here is the recipe…
- 1 cup butter or Crisco
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions. (This can be done the night before the campout, just bring to room temperature and mix lightly before adding the other ingredients.) Combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk to the creamed mixture.
Oil and flour the dutch over or tube pan. Spoon the batter into the pan and smooth. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until done. If cooking in a dutch oven on coals, I used about 8-10 coals on bottom and 12-16 on top. Rotate the dutch oven 90 degrees every 15 minutes and the lid in the opposite direction 90 degrees. This will help insure even baking. You may need to adjust the amount of coals on top if it browns too fast or not fast enough.
There is nothing like hot pound cake on a camping trip.
Technorati Tags: boy scouts, bsa, scouting, dutch oven, cooking, recipe, camping
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Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts, Camping, Cooking, Recipes
November 27th, 2006
spryken
This is the recipe the Boy Scouts use, super easy and very good. It is so easy, most boys and leaders that I explain it to have a hard time believing it.
2 cans fruit pie filling - any flavor
1 box cake mix - any flavor
butter or oil
Pour the pie filling into the bottom of the dutch oven. Spread the dry cake mix over the pie filling. Place some small bits of butter or drizzles of oil around the top to aid in browning. Place 8-10 coals under the dutch oven and 12-14 on top. Bake about 45 minutes, until bubbly and the top is browned. Rotate the dutch oven 90 degrees and the lid in the opposite direction 90 degrees every 15 minutes. This aids in even baking and browning.
Yes, you can use any fruit pie filling and any flavor cake mix. No, you do not follow the directions on the cake mix box, use it dry!!
Here are some flavor combination ideas:
- Peach pie filling, spice cake
- Apple pie filling, spice cake
- Blueberry pie filling, yellow cake
- Raspberry pie filling, chocolate cake
- Cherry pie filling, devil’s food cake — you add a few dollops of
Marshmallow Fluff to the pie filling (not mixing) to get a “Black
Forest” cobbler
You can always add some cinnamon or cloves to spice up the pie filling.
Have fun and experiment with the flavors.
Technorati Tags: Dutch Oven, Boy Scouts, bsa, scouting, cooking, recipe, camping
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Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts, Camping, Cooking, Recipes
November 15th, 2006
spryken
Our Boy Scout Troop likes to do dutch oven cooking on our flop-and-drop campouts. We have several dutch ovens, so each patrol can have at least one and sometimes 2 for their cooking. Every time the issue comes up, “how do we clean them?”
First, never, ever use soap. Soap will remove the seasoning. Some leaders in our troop say to never use water, that it will cause them to rust. They suggest we burn the stuck on mess out. Our last campout demonstrated the error of that logic. We had 6 or 7 dutch ovens, which we burned out. The result was dutch ovens with no seasoning. Of course it rained and now they are rusted.
The situation is correctable. Here are the steps I will use to reseason my personal dutch ovens which went on this trip.
First, I will have to clean off the rust. That means elbow grease. I use plain steel wool (no soap). After scrubbing the rust off, I will bake in the oven at about 250 degrees for about 1/2 hour to remove any moisture. Let cool so that you can just handle it. Apply a light coating of vegetable oil, inside and out. Return to the oven and bake at about 350-375 degrees for 1 hour. Repeat the cooling, oiling and baking. Now cool and oil. The pan should be ready to use or store.
After each use, I will wash with water and a nylon scrubber. Then I will heat in the oven to remove any moisture. I will season for the first few uses, but eventually a good black, hard coating should form.
I found the Wagner and Griswold site that explains how to use electrolysis to clean the rust off.
Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts, Camping, Cooking, Gear
November 7th, 2006
spryken
- 4 habenero peppers, chopped - seeded (some seeds and veins can be added if you want it scorching
- 4 large sweet peppers, chopped - bell, pablano, anaheim, etc
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4-6 cups chicken stock
- 2-4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons ground cumin - or to taste
- salt to taste
Heat a 12 - 14 quart dutch oven over coals until hot. Add oil to coat. Add the chopped peppers and onions. Saute’ about 2-4 minutes, add the garlic and saute’ until the peppers and onions are softened. Add the cumin, stir. Add the chicken breasts and just cover with stock. Season to taste with salt.
Bring to a boil and cover. Stew at a gentle boil until the chicken easily shreds with a fork, about 90 minutes, adding stock if needed. Uncover and shred the chicken. Continue to boil, uncovered until thickened.
Serve over rice, or in tortillas.
You can control the heat with the type of peppers and amount of seeds/veins you add. Habenero peppers are HOT!! If you are unfamiliar with them think cayenne on steroids!! You can substitute jalepenos for a milder version, but the great smoky/fruity habenero flavor will be missing.
It is best to err on the mild side. You can always add more heat!
Technorati Tags: cooking, camping, dutch oven
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Entry Filed under: Camping, Cooking, Recipes
