Camping provides you with an excellent opportunity to enjoy nature and also create quality memories with your family. It doesn’t matter if you’re pitching a tent in your backyard, or if you’ve decided to venture deep into the wilderness. You can enjoy good food during your adventure! With a little advanced planning it’s possible to enjoy every single meal you prepare during your camping trip.

Be Resourceful!

You don’t need fancy cooking utensils like jet boils, fancy propane stoves, and fold up pans. These items are nice, and if you go on camping trips several times a year, they can be a sound investment, but casual, resourceful individuals find they do quite well with items they already have in their kitchen and a fire pit.

Grabbing your favorite cast iron skillet or large pot might is definitely a preferred way to go.  But if you’re still waffling on a longer-term purchase, all you need is one or two good aluminum pie pans, a pair of tongs, and a full roll of heavy duty aluminum foil. You will be able to purchase everything you need for a few dollars at a grocery store.

The variety of items you can cook on your fire pit with these tools will astound you. Whenever you want to eat anything hot, you simply wrap the food in an aluminum packet and toss it on the fire pit. In ten minutes you’ll be ready to dine. Since the foil will be hot when you remove it from the pit, you’ll want to use the tongs to unwrap your dinner.

Not only will you have hot, delicious food, but cleanup will be a breeze!

Having the pie tins makes it possible for you to fry any bacon you might have brought along, or to heat soup and chili.

A few simple tools make it possible for all foodies to enjoy great cooking while camping!

Simple is Simply Delicious!

As a foodie, you want your cooking to net delicious results. The type of camping you’re doing and the amount of food you bring along will determine what you can make. The good news is that you’ll be able to use your campfire to make a number of simple meals which will appeal to your taste buds, and provide you with the energy needed for a full day of exploring.

A few pounds of good hamburger can go a long ways.  With the addition of some brioche rolls, a little seasoning and some butter you won’t need the condiments you use at home. When preparing the meat, take a thin pat of butter and place it in the center of each patty.  Wrap the meat in aluminum foil and place it on the fire for a few minutes. The burger will explode with flavor—and you can even toast your buns!  In the morning you can mix a little burger into some cream of mushroom soup and add a little seasoning and prepare it the same way you would make sausage gravy.

A cooking fire and your pie tin make preparing scrambled eggs easy, and they’re a great source of protein which will keep you going all day long. Add a handful of diced peppers and a pinch of your favorite savory spice blend for an extra dose of flavor.

S’mores might be the standard campfire dessert, but they’re not your only option. Take an apple. Put it and some butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a foil packet, and bake in your fire pit. It will be the tastiest apple you’ve ever eaten!

Keep an Open Mind

Just because you’re camping, there’s no reason you have to subside on trail mix, granola bars, and jerky.  Anyone can use a campfire and prepare some simple, delicious meals.  The types of meals you enjoy will be determined by the ingredients you bring along. When shopping look for food that you can use for a couple of meals. Don’t forget, the better the quality of your ingredients, the better you meals will taste.

In addition to cooking on the camp fire, you might also want to prepare a few meals ahead of time and bring them along.

Do you have favorite campfire recipes? Helpful tips? A campfire cooking story? Feel free to share in the comments below!

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A camping recipe for your Dutch Oven

Most of you that have seen our set up at shows know one of the things we always have going over the weekend is a skillet or two of Hawaiian chicken.
Fried Potatoes and onions & some fried potatoes & onions with eggs fro breakfast is a normal thing to smell when you pass through our tents.
All cooked in cast iron skillets and Dutch ovens so you can actually see our products in use. I can actually say that one of my all time favorite  for one or two people
is the Universal Cookware stock pot that is a smaller version of a dutch oven with a handle, a skillet lid and can be used as a sauce pan.
So many of you have asked for this recipe.  I thought it was past due and should be shared with you. This is the full version that can be cut in half If you don’t
have the need for 8 chicken breast all at once.

Recipe

Family size package of skinless chicken breasts, 8.
One can sliced pineapple.
Twelve ounce jar of your favorite BBQ sauce.
Marichino cherries.

Place four chicken breasts on the bottom of the 12″ Dutch oven. Use half of the sliced pineapple to place on top of the breasts,
pouring the entire juice over the chicken. The pour half of the BBQ sauce on top of this. Place another layer (the remaining four
breasts) on top of the previous chicken/pineapple layer. Layer again with the remaining pineapple slices, placing a cherry in the
center of each pineapple slice. Pour the remaining BBQ sauce on top. Place the lid on the oven. Place the oven on the coals and
cover the top of the oven with coals. Cooking time is 30 to 45 minutes, remove and check at about twenty minutes. When
finished, make sure that the chicken is thoroughly cooked before serving.

A One Stop Solution to Explore Culinary

Baking cake, frying chicken or stir-fry is incomplete without utensils made out of cast iron. With this metal pan, you can explore a wide gamut of culinary wonders. It is fun to cook in this pan. Use of these utensils, date back to the Han Dynasty, when they were used for the evaporation of salt. In kitchens across the globe, this cookware is treasured by generations owing to its manifold benefits. Over the years, appearance of this appliance has evolved. For the convenience of users, handles and stands are attached to these cooking vessels. Durability and even heat distribution are two important attributes that have made it a must have for any kitchen.

An age-old asset

You do not require any special utensil to cook food in this. Be it oven or stove, you can cook anything in a Cast Iron Cook Pot. A seasoned pot improves with age and lasts for a lifetime. These pans are made from a single sheet of metal and helps in uniform distribution of heat while cooking. Professional chefs, as well as your mother and grandmother, depend on this cookware owing to its temperature control attribute. Around the globe, enthusiasts opt for this vessel for fat-free cooking as food glides its surface seamlessly. Owing to even circulation of heat, you can use this cookware for searing, frying and baking.

Take care of seasoning 

Versatility of cast iron pans and skillets makes it stand out. In fact, you can utilize your creative best and experiment with different cuisines. Cast iron is non-stick in nature. Curing and seasoning prevent food particles to stick to the surface and appearance of cracks. If you are using a frying pan, then preheat it. Avoid pouring cold liquid on a hot surface, as it will lead to cracks. While cooking in Cast Iron Cook Pot on the electric stove, you need to take extra care. Preheating and setting the temperature should be done with utmost care. If you heat the pan too fast then, it might form hotspots.

Maintenance of utensils

Every time you cook in these pans, the surface will appear smooth as seasoning fills the microscopic pores of cast iron surface. Maintenance of pots decides durability of Cast Iron Cook Pot. You can wash utensils in brief intervals and then dry to get rid of excess oil. Unlike utensils of other makes, you cannot wash a cast iron cookware in dishwasher. You can use water and dishwashing soap for cleaning utensils. Never let the water rest on the surface, as it will lead to the formation of rust.

Prevent it from rust formation 

In case, your food tastes metallic or has a blackish appearance then know that layer of seasoning has depleted. In Cast Iron Cook Pot, avoid storing food as it affects the curing level. Refrain from boiling water in these pans as it affects seasoning applied on the surface and causes it to rust. Metal pans are preferred for its unique cooking properties. Those suffering from iron deficiencies can benefit from the process of absorption of iron. However, quantity of iron absorbed depends on the age of cookware and duration of cooking.

Capt’n Salsa’s Grill Roasted Yard Bird

By: Capt’n Salsa
Wow I have a hankering for some really good grill roasted chicken, the melt in your mouth variety with some fresh homemade salsa slathered right on top. Just seems that we never have time during the lazy days of summer to get everything done. You know, you have to mow the grass, weed the garden and if you’re lucky harvest a bounty of fresh produce from your own little truck farm.
Now you expect me to cook supper too? It’s time to tell you my secret and go hunting for my favorite “yard bird”, Capt’n Salsa’s Grill Roasted Yard Bird, to be exact.
Yes.

Delicious golden brown moist and tender some of the best melt in your mouth grill roasted chicken you will ever eat. Now, don’t let the hunting phrase concern you. The extent
of hunting chicken for me is looking for a big plump 3.5 to 4 pounder at the local grocery or meat market. I always bag my limit of two because it is just as easy to cook two at the same time to guarantee some leftovers…
“Come on, Capt’n Salsa, quit beating around the bushes and just give us the recipe!”
Oh, Okay.
Capt’n Salsa’s Grill Roasted Yard bird is so easy you will probably laugh. Of course it goes with out saying you need to rinse the chicken in cold water before you cook it. All you are going to need is a generous amount of Lemon Pepper Seasoning. Mix up a solution of 1 part vegetable oil with 4 parts of Apple Cider Vinegar, remember that’s the brown vinegar, together in a squirt bottle, an empty syrup bottle will do just fine.
Now we are going to cook our grilled chicken whole on your favorite charcoal or 2 burner gas grill using the “indirect heat” method. Your grill needs a lid that will close, too. Most of the time now I just use the gas grill, heating the grill with both burners, then turn one of them
totally off, yes, off and the other burner turn it all the way down to low.
I’m getting a little ahead of myself. Preheat your choice of grills. Then rinse and clean the birds. Now hose down the chicken with the mixture of oil and vinegar using the squirt bottle and sprinkle a generous portion of Lemon Pepper Seasoning all over the chicken. Don’t forget the body cavity.
Place the chicken breast side up on the grill away from the heat source, above the burner that is turned off, indirect heat method remember. Squirt a little more oil and vinegar into the cavity of the chicken until it “overflows.” Now close the lid. You want a low to medium low heat level. The objective is to take at least 2 to 2 1/2 hours to cook the chicken, nice and slow. Don’t worry after a couple of times you will have it “down to a science” and know what works best for you.
Once you have your chicken on the grill go mow the grass or work in your garden for the next 2 to 2 1/2 hours without even looking at the birds… well, if you insist on looking after about an hour, you can raise the lid and give the birds a good squirt of the oil and vinegar solution… Now, close that lid and get back to work.
You will know the chicken is done by grabbing the tip of one of the legs with a paper towel, careful it will be hot, and gently twist the leg bone in a circle. If the leg bone easily breaks free at the joint, the chicken is done – a beautiful golden brown, moist and tender every time.
Easy huh?
Place the chicken on the grill, mow the grass and when you are finished with your yard you have Capt’n Salsa’s Grill Roasted Chicken make that Yard Bird! Serve it up with one of your favorite homemade salsa recipes.
Roasted Corn Salsa or tasty Salsa de Tomatillos Delicious! Wrap it all up in a warm tortilla, complete with your favorite thirst quenching beverage and you will marvel about how great your yard looks.
Imagine. Mowing the grass and cooking supper all at the same time. Enjoy!

Author Bio
Capt’n Salsa provides an outstanding collection of free homemade salsa recipes at his web site, Great Salsa. Submit your favorite salsa recipe for publication at: http://www.great-salsa.com/submit_your_favorite_recipe.html

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com

Dutch oven lamb stew

This is a great way to cook lamb in your cast iron cookware at home or at your camping adventure.

2 1/2 pounds leg or shoulder of lamb
4 tablespoons oil
1 onion chopped
1 minced clove garlic
2 large carrots cut in chunks
2 potatoes cut in chunks
4 cups lamb stock or water
1 small can tomato puree
1 tablespoon dry cooking sherry
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon kelp powder
2 – 4 tablespoons corn starch (optional)
1/2 cup cold water (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Cut meat in 1 inch cubes , trimming off excess fat

In 5 or 6 quart cast iron Dutch oven lightly brown lamb on all sides
use minimum oil

Add onions and garlic & sautee briefly

Add carrots , potatoes, lamb stock or water, tomato puree, sherry and seasoning, cover and bring to a boil then turn down heat and simmer 45 minutes.

If you are using a campfire and tripod, lift your chain so it is away from the coals and not boiling.

Check and correct seasonings to taste.
thicken with cornstarch dissolved in water if desired.
garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

         Iron cooker

Iron Cooker is your total resource for cast-iron cookware and camping supplies.  Our company has been providing quality cookware since 2009. We specialize in cast-iron skillets, Dutch ovens and accessories for your cooking and camping enjoyment. We offer brands like Camp Chef, Universal, Old Mountain and many more! We are adding new products all the time so be sure and drop by often to check it out at www.ironcooker.com

If you live in the Traverse City area, you can now see our products at 2 locations! You can find us at:

Roy’s General Store
963 Hammond Rd. E.
Traverse City, MI 49686

And

Square Deal Country Store
900 Woodmere Ave.
Traverse City, MI 49686

Now that spring has finally arrived, summer won’t be far behind. We will be taking our products on the road this year with 6 different shows, starting with Cheboygan

May 16-18.  June 26-29, we will be at the 70^th National reunion of the National Threshers Assoc. at the Fulton County Fairgrounds, north of Wauseon, Ohio. We’ll follow that up with the Michigan Steam Engine and Threshers club in Mason, MI July 25-27 and the Mio River Festival August 23.

And, of course, you can count on us for the Old Engine Show in Buckley in August and Imlay City in September. Hope to see you there!