Camp cooking

[sctmom]

My mind has been on camping and cooking this week. I remembered some of the best soup ever -- cooked over a wood fire some years ago.

 

1 pound of ground beef or turkey

beef bouillon cubes or beef stock if using turkey

water

tomato soup, tomato juice or V-8 juice

Vegetables of your choice canned or frozen

Such as: green beans, cabbage, lima beans, black eyed peas, corn, potatoes, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes

Optional : rice, macaroni, other pastas, ham hock, fatback, leftovers, etc.

 

Brown meat in pot; drain. Add all the other ingredients. Add any seasoning such as bouillon, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, hot saucewhatever you like. Cook until all vegetables are tender. This can vary depending on if you used fresh or canned vegetables. Serve sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese on top if desired. Great with cornbread.

 

The point is to use whatever you have or whatever is cheap at the store. My mother would make this when she defrosted the big freezer, so we called it "clean out the freezer soup". A trick she had to add things we didn't like was to run those items (like onions and okra) through the blender first. Then you can't find the "evidence" to pick out and fuss over.

 

Cooking over a wood fire adds a wonderful smoke flavor that can't be beat. Also, reheats easily and tastes great.

 

Excuse me while I go find my soup pot... I think my pantry is overflowing and "needs" cleaning.....

 

[Chief Decorah]

Sounds like it would work well in a Dutch oven too. Thanks for the recipe!

[morganfam7]

I absolutely LOVE soup or stew fixed like this, but I have never seen too many kids like it. I have noticed these type of recipes offered for campouts - do the boys eat it when they're camping? Maybe it's the romance of the outdoors and they don't notice?

 

I think I'll give the boys a choice of what they want to fix for the first campout and include this recipe. After that, they can find their own recipes. Do you have any others that I can add to this one that would be appropriate for Tenderfoot Scouts to prepare?

 

Thanks,

 

Marcy

[sctmom]

Try looking on the macscouter website. Some "dutch oven" cookbooks include other outdoor cooking. What I've done with my Cub Scout age son and his friend is start with stuff they like.

 

Precooked meats are good (like spam, canned ham, heat and serve sausages). Stuff from cans, stuff they like.

 

My son will eat stuff at campouts because other kids are eating it. Also, he and his friend will eat things burnt if they cook it (would cause a major scene at home).

 

As my son is moving into Boy Scouts in the next month (yippeee), he is excited about more outdoor cooking. But he likes to cook.

 

How do others get the scouts to try new recipes and foods? I would like to challenge the boys (and adults) to try one new food or recipe each campout. Just one new something, nothing extreme. Would that work with most troops?

 

 

[sctmom]

One other hint, one of our Webelos brought sloppy joes last fall to a campout. His dad helped him brown the beef at home the night before. Then just heat and add sauce at the camp. It might for a much less mess and less time to prepare.

 

[sctmom]

Along this same line, if you fix canned vegetables at home, tell your son what you do to season it. I can remember asking my mother to write down what she added to veggies out of the can so they tasted better....sounds obvious but if you don't know you can be very disappointed in those beans with no salt.

 

[morganfam7]

I got a good laugh out of

 

>>he and his friend will eat things burnt if they cook it (would cause a major scene at home).