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Camp like you mean it! Here's the menu: 

Camp and RV Recipe of the Week
Skillet Crumb Custard
    What a dynamite dessert! And you don’t need an oven to make it. A nonstick skillet is best. Take care that it doesn’t burn on the bottom. If your stove doesn’t go to low-low, use a flame tamer.

1 can of pie-sliced apples
1 cup dried apricots, snipped to bite size
1/4 cup fruit juice or apricot liqueur
1 box spice cake mix
1 stick butter
1 egg, beaten, or equivalent in egg substitute
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream

Mix butter, egg  and cake mix to make a crust you can press in the skillet

     Put apples, apricots and liqueur or fruit juice in a bag or bowl and let them soak. Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet and remove from heat.  Beat the egg in a bowl.  Stir cake mix into the melted butter in the skillet,  then stir in the beaten egg. (Save the bowl to use again.)
     Using the back of a wet spoon or spatula, press this dough into bottom and sides of the skillet to form a crust. Cover tightly and cook 10 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat and arrange apple mixture over the crust. Sprinkle with walnuts.
    Using the same bowl, whisk the remaining egg with sour cream and sugar and pour over apples. Cover the skillet and cook over low heat until the crust is toasty and puffy and the custard is set. Cool 15-20 minutes for easier cutting. Cut in wedges. Serves 8. 

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 Egg-Free Fudge Cookies
    These drop cookies don’t call for eggs, butter or oil. They are a snap to make in an oven or toaster oven. 
    Serve plain, under a drift of  powdered sugar, with frosting,  or make whoopie pies with them. 

12-ounce bag semisweet real chocolate bits
1 stick butter, cut up
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    Line cookie sheets with nonstick foil or parchment paper. Set the oven to 350 degrees. Melt chocolate bits and butter. Stir in condensed milk, then add remaining ingredients. Using two spoons, drop mounds of dough two inches apart on cookie sheets and flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass dipped in coarse sugar. Bake about 8 minutes until cookies are firm. Cool five minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.
    Variation: add a teaspoon of instant coffee or ground cinnamon with the dry ingredients


Camp Cook Tips

    * Make maple cream. Soften an 8-ounce brick of cream cheese and stir in ½ cup maple syrup or more to taste). Serve on toast, muffins, French toast, bagels, etc.

    * To make the juiciest burgers, mix 3/4 teaspoon baking soda with 1 teaspoon salt. Stir into 2 pounds ground chuck with other seasonings you prefer.

    * Make cider syrup for apple pancakes. Mix a can of thawed apple juice concentrate with an equal amount of pancake syrup. Stir in 1 teaspoon butter rum flavoring (or ½ teaspoon each butter and rum flavorings.)

    * Easy make-ahead sandwich. Buy a large, round loaf of bread and slice it into horizontal layers about 3/4 inch thick. Lightly butter cut sides. Spread each layer with sticky sandwich fillings such as ham salad, egg salad, chicken salad, crab salad or pimento cheese.  etc. Assemble like a layer cake and wrap in foil. Chill up to 3 days. In camp, cut in wedges like a cake.

Here’s a cookbook just for camper cooks. Cooking Aboard Your RV, 2nd Edition is filled with 270 recipes that take shortcuts to save  water, fuel, space and mess.  It's the perfect one-size-fits-all gift for any RV traveler.  http://amzn.to/1NdWI4o

Campground Potluck Recipe of the Week
Beets ‘n Bleu Salad
 

    Add color and class to the campground potluck with this easy,  affordable salad. Bring a #10 can of sliced or cut beets and feed a crowd with this economical, colorful salad. 

10 cups of canned sliced or cut  beets, well drained
1 cup bottled raspberry balsamic salad dressing.
4-ounce package of  crumbled blue cheese (or more to taste)
1 cup broken walnuts (optional)

    Put beets and dressing in a large plastic bag. Seal and chill, turning occasionally to blend flavors. Just before serving, cut a small hole in a bottom corner of the bag to drain beets well. Empty beets  into a large bowl, alternately with bits of blue cheese. Garnish with walnuts. Serves 10 to 14. 

               
BONUS RECIPE
Reuben Quesadillas
    Make a hot, multi-national camping meal for lunch or a simple supper. 

8 burrito-size whole wheat tortillas
1 can or jar sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
16 slices deli corned beef
8 deli slices Swiss cheese
Thousand Island dressing

    One at a time, heat tortillas in a large skillet until pliable, then, cover half of each one with a tuft of kraut, two slices corned beef, a drizzle of dressing and a slice of cheese. Fold over tortilla and brown on both sides to melt cheese. Makes 8 portions.     

FREEZE AHEAD RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Eggplant Creole
    Stretch ground meat with rice and eggplant for an economical one-dish meal that freezes well. This is traditionally made quite spicy but some cooks prefer to go easy on the hot spices and pass hot sauce at the table. Make a BIG batch, then freeze in right-size portions for future camping. 

4 large eggplants, peeled and cubed
1 pound each ground lean beef and lean pork
2 large onions, diced
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cups diced celery
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
5 cups water
2 cups raw rice
Seasonings to taste
Tabasco sauce

    Prepare eggplant, sprinkle with salt and set aside. Lightly salt and pepper meat.  In a large kettle, brown meats until crumbly, gradually adding onion, pepper and celery. When they are crisp-tender add Creole seasoning and water. 

    Pat eggplant dry with a paper towel and add to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook until eggplant is very soft. Bring back to a boil and stir in rice. Reduce heat, cover and cook another 25-30 minutes until rice is tender. Adjust seasonings. Cool completely and package for the freezer, allotting 1 ½ to 2 cups per serving. Bring Tabasco sauce to add in camp. Bonus points if you freeze portions in boilable bags.  

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SEE THE LATEST NEWS ABOUT CAMPGROUNDS IN YOUR  STATE OR PROVINCE. FRESH REPORTS OF NEW OPENINGS, PROPOSED ZONING CHANGES, NEW OWNERS,  RISING RATES FROM OUR LOCAL SOURCES . HTTPS://SOLOWOMANRV.BLOGSPOT.COM 

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