Gone Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 I have a whole bunch more in my notes if anyone wants them, but the idea is pretty simple. Hot dogs, some grain, some sauce, some veg. We have our troop historian keep up the troop cook book. It is a pdf file we keep which the boys can consult any time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 (edited) I've been very impressed with the menus our Patrols come up with. However, I notice that some meals get repeated. An innovative SPL took a page out of our cooking MB class and created a "Top Chef" competition. Every camp out he pulls several recipes from the troop cook book. PLs then come up during menu planning and pull a recipe out of the hat. They are welcome to substitute items but need to keep the general spirit of the recipe intact. It varies from main courses to desserts, but it is mixed up each month. Cooks may submit their meal to the SPL (or his designee) for "judging". The winner(s) get a leather doggle they can wear. This has become a troop tradition....all started by an innovative SPL. Edited April 9, 2015 by Mozartbrau 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambridgeskip Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 I've never actually banned anything, mostly because I've never had to. My mob are pretty creative when it comes to menu plans. Ive seen patrols cook their own bread from scratch on camp. Pretty impressive! I also one patrol make a perfect Spanish Tortilla for breakfast. I've seen the same patrol completely wreck one as well! That's not to say I wouldn't intervene. I think if a patrol were showing me a menu made up of poptarts and the like I think that words would be being had in the PL and APLs ear along the lines of "I don't have many fixed rules, don't force me to introduce them". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 We have a Scout with a serious peanut allergy, so they're out. We have the same issue. I had a response ready to post here but decided to avoid the "thread jack" and start a new thread around how to manage food allergies and dietary restrictions in the cooking and meal planning process. New thread here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdidochas Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Okay another survey..... Now that I'm retired, I have way too much free time. What foods are forbidden in your troops? We don't allow: Pop Tarts Hot dogs We don't have forbidden foods, but if we did, poptarts would be at the top of my list. Followed by (at least for now), chicken alfredo (which is made by at least one (usually more) patrol every campout). I would probably add ramen as well. Our boys don't care for hot dogs much, have only seen them on one campout in the 30 something campouts I've been on with the troop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdidochas Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Seriously? My boys are always wanting a stir-fry! I'm thinking about getting patrol Wok's to go with the Dutch ovens. Woks are handy. I've been thinking about that idea as well. I may bring my wok on a campout to test it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdidochas Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 For those patrols who like hot dogs... moving to other sausage types is an easy step. Another idea is using hot dogs as the meat in one-pot meals. Recipes (amounts adjusted to number of mouths) "Hot Dog Stew I" macaroni hot dogs bell pepper onion spaghetti sauce "Hot Dog Stew II" Hot dogs onions bell peppers kidney beans tomatoes chili powder "Hot Dog Stew III" Hot dogs rice-a-roni peas onion "Hot Dog Stew IV" hot dogs sliced apples cabbage salt&pepper In my bachelor days, Hot Dog Stew I was a staple for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twocubdad Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 No PopTarts, no ramen noodles. And yes, by Scoutmaster fiat. Hot dogs are okay but Scouts are encouraged to make a meal of it, not just a naked dog on a cold bun. Years ago I and a couple ASM decided we needed to do something about the low state of cooking in the troop. We made sure the adults set a good example (that wasn't difficult), we encouraged the PLC to include cooking demonstrations in instruction time, had them set up patrol cooking challenges on campouts. One of the best things we did was created an "Iron Chef" campout where the patrols all set up their kitchens in a big circle and were given a set of ingredients they were required to use with additional spices -- just like the TV show. It worked great. We went from naked hotdogs to brat with grilled onions and peppers; from burned eggs to omelets. Everything was fine until one Sunday morning, most the patrols were busy cooking nice breakfasts when two of the "cool guys" came walking through the campsites munching cold PopTarts. "Why are you wasting all this time cooking? We're done with breakfasts and don't have dishes to wash." You could watch the enthusiasm deflate from the Scouts. So a new rule. No PopTarts and the SPL reviews menus before campouts. The ramen noodle thing was from the prior administrations, although they can be used as an ingredient in a dish, especially on backpacking trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonG172 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 I will add to the conversation that someone suggested mashed potatoes one time, they asked how big of a box they needed...Then I hit the ceiling! I said they come in 5lb or 10lb, which should I pick up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 I will add to the conversation that someone suggested mashed potatoes one time, they asked how big of a box they needed...Then I hit the ceiling! I said they come in 5lb or 10lb, which should I pick up? And then you tell the boys, 1) if it's instant mashed potatoes, "READ THE LABEL! If you can't read, have the nice lady next to you read it to you. Then apologize to her for your paying attention in school and thank her for her time." 2) if it's fresh mashed potatoes you're making, "go to the white potatoes and pick out one for every boy on the list going. Write down a description of each potato and put each boys' name next to it so he knows which one is his. This is important to remember this when you mash them after cooking. My boys never ask me to help with their menu planning, food lists, or shopping.... I have often wondered why. Don't get me going on how to make sure all the boys get the same number of kernels on their corn-on-the-cob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fehler Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Heh, when I started living on my own, I bought a box of instant mashed potatos for a post-college Thanksgiving party. I was surprised at how good hey were, they tasted just like the mashed potatos my mom made. Then it dawned on me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Heh, when I started living on my own, I bought a box of instant mashed potatos for a post-college Thanksgiving party. I was surprised at how good hey were, they tasted just like the mashed potatos my mom made. Then it dawned on me. It's priceless what one can learn in college! Love the story! made me laugh out loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAHAWK Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Learning is often a result of experience, and a good bit of that experience is bad experience. Try cooking competitions instead of prohibition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pargolf44067 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I'll take somewhat of a hit on this one. When I was SM, if we were going on a visit somewhere right before or right after lunch, we would let or have the boys do sandwiches for lunch, just from a convenience standpoint. However, I have gone on a few campouts lately where we were just hanging around the camp and the boys did cold cut sandwiches for lunch at almost every campout (the only one they didn't was Klondike where they had to make a hot meal as part of the competition). I think, as we start doing patrol cooking again, that I may need to coach them into thinking of actually "cooking" lunch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blw2 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 it has been discussed that marshmallows should be banned form our pack camps. They always end up as torches, falling out of the pit and stuck to a shoe, or flinging through the air..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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