New Cooking Ideas

[clemlaw]

I actually have very little experience with a Dutch oven, but my inexperience is actually a good thing, since I naively believed that it was a form of oven, and just like the oven at home, can be used to bake things, such as bread!

 

My inexperience paid off, since the bread baked just fine. We have a bread machine at home, so I used it to mix some dough a few days before the trip, and refrigerated it. I let it rise for a while (in the DO, I believe) and then added some charcoal. I believe I let it bake for about the same amount of time specified by the recipe for a normal oven.

 

I suspect this would also work well with frozen bread dough from the supermarket. I haven't used that stuff since we got the bread machine, but I believe it has simple directions on the package of how long to thaw and how long to rise.

 

I suppose the purists would say that I cheated by making the dough at home and/or bought frozen dough at the store. But since I'm not a purist, I don't care what they think. :-)

[qwazse]

For one of our winter camps, we usually do trash can turkey. (Maybe in your parts that would be an oil barrel.) this is obviously a plop camping kind of thing, but the boys like helping to set it up. (Minding the fire, not so much.)

 

This is all dependent on burn bans being lifted, but teaching boys how to manage an old fashioned barbecue is a skill in itself. Converting mama's favorite recipes to outdoor treats is often a great challenge. Start with what you really want to eat. Figure out the equipment you need and plan what you will have to set up. Some things, like ground meat patties, are better in a foil pack, others like whole chickens are better roasted, etc ... Tripods, and cooking tables lash together on site.

 

Some mess kits, with a little wire, can be rigged into a double boiler. Think fondue! That's an ideal patrol dessert.

 

All it takes is one kid staring down at his last meal of lukewarm franks and beans and saying "never again".

[SM_Travis]

Update: Made a pork loin roast with rice/vegetable mix for lunch. Dinner was beef stew and biscuits. Cobblers for desert/left over cobbler for breakfast, along with quiche. Spent less than $8 per Scout. Boys all were impressed. Hopefully we will see the food improve at campouts. Also we are going to try the "pick an item to make" idea from above. Also going to try a "mystery ingredient" that each patrol gets a few weeks before the campout that has to be incorporated into the menu. Maybe give some special prize or privilege to the winner of the best dish using the ingredient (as judged by the SM, of course).

[Twocubdad]

Here's a recipe I stole from my mom. High praise! Adapts well to a D.O. and is perfect for this time of year:

 

Pumpkin Pie Cobbler

 

1, 16oz can of pumpkin pulp

1, 12oz can of evaporated milk

3 eggs

1.5 cups of sugar

4 tbs. pumpkin pie spice

1 box yellow cake mix

1 cup pecan chips

1 cup melted butter.

 

Mix pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar and spice directly in the Dutch Oven

 

Spread cake mix over other ingredients (DO NOT mix in). Sprinkle pecan chips on top of cake mix. Drizzle butter on top. (I don't bother dirtying another pan melting butter, just drop slices on top of mix. I also sprinkle a little sugar on top of everything which gives the crust a little more crunch.)

 

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. I put a little more heat on top and a little less on bottom. The pumpkin mix is pretty light and it takes a little more heat for the crust.)

 

Really good with a shot of Redi-Whip or ice cream, if you have it.

 

 

 

Made it this past weekend and it was a big hit. One of my ASMs said it was the best dessert he ever had on a campout.

[Twocubdad]

duplicate(This message has been edited by Twocubdad)

[EagleBeaver]

Travis - If you have no refrigeration, eating left overs is a great recipe for trouble. If that cobbler isn't consumed in about two hours, it should be thrown out.

 

A few fun recipes - Egg in an Orange, Pig on a Stick, Chinese to Go, Monkey Bread, Ticks on a Toilet Seat, Mountain Dew Chicken, Hamdogs-n-Beans, Cowboy Stew, PECS - see http://boyscouttrail.com/recipes.asp

[SM_Travis]

Thanks for the tip, I am guilty of sometimes pushing the envelope on leftovers. However, with this cobbler it was probably colder than my fridge by the time it was finished, and it was a bit frosty in the morning. So I think we were ok.

[qwazse]

2C,

The pumpkin cobbler was awesome! But don't take my word for it. Here's what s few of our scouts had to say ...

 

: it's food! It tastes like pelican eggs in a universe where pelican eggs taste good.

: magically delicious

: I ate it all up. Raaawwwrr!

: a great sequel by James Cameron. That'll never happen.

: I'm thinking ... A flavorball went off in my mouth.

 

Okay, so the boys don't have the best focus when you ask them for a quote, but the pot was empty! That should say it all.

 

Thanks.