Camping, RV and Food Fireworks

 Copyright Janet Groene 2026. To ask about rates for rights to reprint Groene content, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

Happy hungry 4th of July, Campers & RV-ers! Let's eat! Here are recipes to enjoy on summer camping trips.  

Slow Cooker All Day Beef

Drop a pot roast in the slow cooker. No browning needed. Paste on a tangy sauce, and forget it while you enjoy your day. The secret is in the spices listed here. 

Medium onion

Paste:

1 tablespoon each flour, water, Dijon-style mustard, ketchup, minced garlic and Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon each vinegar, sugar

Trim excess fat from the roast and discard it where it won’t attract bugs or wild animals. Spray slow cooker with nonstick spray. Scatter onions on the bottom. Add meat.

Stir remaining ingredients into a paste and spread over  the top of the roast. Cook 10 to 12 hours on Low or 5 to 6 hours on High. Remove from cooker when it’s tender but not falling apart. Let stand 10-15 minutes before slicing. Serve as a knife-and fork meal or set up a choice of sauces to make roast beef sandwiches with buttered buns.  

See more of Janet Groene’s galley-ready recipes at https://BoatCook.blogspot.com

FAMILY CAMP DINNER OF THE WEEK

Creamy Chicken Haystacks

Pick up a rotisserie chicken or open a couple of cans of chunk chicken. Crisp chow mein noodles form a crunchy bed for creamy chicken. 

About 3 cups diced, cooked chicken

Crisp noodles make all the difference

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 ½ cup frozen mixed vegetables 

1 packet (2-cup size) country gravy mix

1 2/3 cups water

2 teaspoons mixed dried Italian herbs

14-ounce tub small curd cottage cheese OR

8-ounce brick of cream cheese, diced

Optional: 2 tablespoons dry sherry

Milk, water or evaporated milk as needed

1 package crisp chow mein noodles

Dice chicken. Thaw frozen vegetables or chop a medley of fresh veggies. Heat oil and sizzle chicken and vegetables to brown chicken and soften vegetables. 

Whisk 1 2/3 cups water and gravy mix. Stir into the pot with the chicken, vegetables and herbs. When the sauce begins to thicken, stir in sherry and cottage or cream cheese. Stir until cheese blends, then thin to taste with water or milk. Adjust seasonings. 

Make a stack of chow mein noodles on each plate and cover with a generous serving of creamy chicken. Serve at once. Serves 6 to 8. 

WHEN FOOD EMERGENCIES 

TRIP UP YOUR CAMPING TRIP

   Stuff happens when you're away from home too. Be prepared for delays, sudden evacuation, refrigerator failure, supply chain interruptions, civil disturbances.    http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe How much food will you need for a week in the woods for two adults and two kids?  A month in a remote fish camp? A two-week power outage camp? Survival Food Handbook for tips on buying, stowing, and make meals from ordinary supermarket supplies that need no fresh ingredients. 

Campers have limited storage space for emergency food.  Survival Food Handbook  is just for campers, truckers, RV travelers and boaters. Make the most of every ounce, inch and dollar. Have a stash of staples you will use and replenish.  http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

MAKE AHEAD DISH OF THE WEEK

Manicotti Surprise

This recipe takes time to assemble but it’s quick to heat up and serve. It will win smiles when everyone realizes the tubes are filled with tasty, juicy wienies.  

12 manicotti tubes

12 slender hot dogs

12 slender string cheeses

2 large dill pickles

4 cups spaghetti sauce, your own or store-bought

Cook manicotti al dente. Do not over-cook. Drain pickles well and cut in long, thin fingers. Carefully stuff each tube with a hot dog, pickles and cheese. Arrange tubes in pan(s) and cover with spaghetti sauce. Wrap and freeze. In camp, thaw and bake at 350F  until bubbly. Serves 12. 

NO BAKE DESSERT OF THE WEEK

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Everyone digs in when this nutty ball sits on the table. Surround it with a section of buttery crackers, Scoops, tortilla chips or apple slices. 

 8-ounce brick of cream cheese

1/2 stick butter (no substitutes)

½ teaspoon vanilla flavoring

½ cup powdered sugar

1 cup fine chopped pecans

1 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

About 1 ½ cups fine crushed potato chips

Let cream cheese and butter warm to “room” temperature and mix with the powdered sugar, vanilla, pecans and mini chocolate chips. Form into a ball and roll in crushed potato chips to coat completely. Surround with go-withs. 

CAMPGROUND POTLUCK DISH OF THE WEEK

This colorful side dish will stand out on the potluck table. 

Ruby Red Cabbage

Medium head red cabbage, shredded fine

Medium red onion, sliced thin

Medium Granny Smith apple, peeled and sliced

½ stick butter

1 teaspoon Better Than Beef bouillon

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

½ cup dry red wine or grape juice

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ cup red jelly such as currant, cherry or seedless raspberry

Salt, pepper to taste

Cut up vegetables and apple. Melt butter and stir in bouillon. Stir fry cabbage to coat. Add water. Cover, reduce heat and cook until cabbage is tender. Whisk cornstarch into wine and vinegar. Stir into cabbage. When it begins to thicken, add jelly a tablespoon at a time to melt and mix well with the cabbage. Adjust seasoning. Serve warm.

Discover the Yacht Yenta Cozy Mystery Series....

People are dying in Okecoochie County, Florida,  but nobody can guess how the deaths are related. Meet Farley Halladay, a salt-cured sailboat widow who has an online charterboat booking business. She dodges a wayward sister, cares for an old Navy SEAL veteran who was her husband’s mentor and wrangles  a large circle of wacky friends. She cooks, copes and solves crimes in this unusual cozy mystery e-book series. Go to Kindle,   https://amzn.to/3bB5XPh   

Throughout the books, Farley shares shortcut recipes from the days when she was a charterboat cook. 

BONUS RECIPE

Devilish “Crab”

Save a bundle by buying artificial crab. It’s an ideal provision for camping and RV trips because it comes in refrigerated vac packs for an expanded life in the fridge or ice chest. This simple recipe has taste, elegance and just the right bite.

1 cup mixed fine dice celery, red and green pepper, celery and onion

1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil

12-ounce package artificial crab, cut up or shredded

Small can evaporated milk

Water

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 ½ tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon each dry mustard powder and garlic salt

½ cup seasoned bread crumbs

½ stick real butter

Prepare vegetables. Add water to evaporated milk to make 1 cup.  Whisk milk with  sherry, flour, mustard and salt.  Sizzle vegetables in hot butter or oil until soft, gradually adding “crab”. Stir over medium heat until thickened. Divide into servings in ramekins or small bowls. 

Heat the stick of butter, stir in bread crumbs until toasty and sprinkle over each serving. Serve at once or finish in the oven to add a toasty top to the bread crumbs. 

CAMP BREAKFAST OF THE WEEK

Cheesecake Sausage Pie

10-count tube biscuits

8-ounce brick of cream cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon flour

½ teaspoon lemon extract

Cinnamon sugar:

Mix 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Set the oven to 350 F. In a large, greased pie pan or oven-proof skillet, arrange  biscuits and press to form a crust. Add sausages in spokes.  Bake 5 to 7 minutes. . 

Mix softened cream cheese with the egg, flour, sugar and lemon extract. Pour over biscuit layer and return to the oven for 18 minutes or until the crust is toasty around the edges and filling is set. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and cut in wedges. Serves 8. 

LIFESAVER SAUCE OF THE WEEK

Plain-jane dishes turn from blah to ballistic when you add just a taste of this assertive sauce. 

Burgundy Sauce

½ cup sugar

½ cup Burgundy wine

1/4 cup orange marmalade

½ teaspoon lemon extract

½ teaspoon apple pie spice

Stir together in a small pan and heat gently until sugar dissolves. Serve sparingly over fresh or canned fruit cup, sizzling steakburgers or grilled salmon. Makes a scant cupful of sauce. 

WHAT IS FULL-TIME RV TRAVEL REALLY LIKE? 

 We spill our whole story, start to end, warts and all.....

We traveled full-time for 10 great years. 

 Do you dream of living and traveling in a complete home on wheels? Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition by Janet Groene & Gordon Groene is a total guide to the full-time life on wheels. Should you sell the house or rent it out? Downsize possessions or put them in storage? Too young to retire? See our chapter on ways to make a living anywhere. Kids on board? We cover home schooling and also an exit strategy if and when it's time to settle down. Order at any book store or let Amazon gift wrap and ship it for you.   https://amzn.to/29XFEkq