Camping Recipes

The Long Awaited Recipes......

Yes. Those are canned biscuits. Don't hate. Aaron still hasn't forgiven me. I just wanted to make it a lil'bit easier this time. The sausage gravy recipe that I'm about to share is from a book called 'Cooking From Quilt Country' by Marcia Adams. It's an Amish cookbook. Many don't know, but it was all because of the Amish that I live in the house I do. I'll have to share that story sometime.....This is my favorite gravy. I make it the day before we go camping and then just reheat it.

Sausage Gravy

1 lb sage-flavored bulk sausage, as lean as possible

2 T finely chopped onion

6 T flour

1 quart milk

1/4 t. ground nutmeg, rounded

1/2 t. poultry seasoning, rounded

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Dash of Tabasco

Crumble the sausage into a large saucepan, and saute over medium-low heat, breaking the meat into small pieces while it cooks. Do not allow it to brown or get crisp. When meat is about three-quarters done, add the onion and cook until the onion is transparent.

Drain off all but 2 T of the meat drippings, you don't have to be too precise about this. Stir in the flour with a whisk and cook over medium low heat for six to seven minutes, or until the flour turns golden and bubbles up. Pour in the milk all at once. and add the seasonings. Cook and whisk until the mixture thickens. Place biscuit halves on each plate and top with sausage gravy.

Here is the recipe for Diva Don's great Italian Breakfast Strata. It's also a cook aheader and reheat. Hey, there are better things to do whilst camping than cook!

Italian Sausage, Bell Pepper and Fontina Breakfast Strata

INGREDIENTS

• 6 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup finely grated Romano cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound hot Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1 large red bell pepper, halved, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch wide-strips
• 1 1-pound loaf rustic French bread, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 2 cups (loosely packed) coarsely grated Fontina cheese

PREPARATION

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch ceramic or glass baking dish. Whisk first 7 ingredients in large bowl; sprinkle generously with pepper. Set aside.
• Place sausage in large nonstick skillet; push to 1 side. Add bell pepper to other side of skillet. Sauté over high heat, breaking up sausage with fork, until sausage is cooked through and bell peppers are brown in spots, about 7 minutes.
• Arrange half of bread slices in prepared dish. Pour half of egg mixture over. Sprinkle with half of cheese, then half of sausage-pepper mixture. Repeat layering. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on bread to submerge. Bake strata until puffed and brown, about 1 hour. Cool slightly.

You'd think I'd have some pics of the food that actually came out of this ashpile! It looked and tasted pretty darn good. I made a chicken and rice casserole in the large dutch oven and a basic yeast bread in the small top one. It's been years since I'd seriously done any dutch oven cooking, and I felt it time to dust off ye olde pots and do it again. I'm getting into it again, and will cook in the backyard alot this summer like this. It's hot. It's dirty. Why would I do that with a perfectly good stove in an air-conditioned house? I dunno.

Here is the bread recipe that I made. I really doubted it at first, with just a quarter of a teaspoon of yeast, but it worked! It had a nice texture and taste. It has to rise for 18 hours, so plan accordingly! Please note that I did not preheat my dutch oven, nor did I let it sit for an hour after baking!

No Knead, Dutch Oven Bread

1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting. You may use white, whole wheat or a combination of the two.
1 1/2 tsp salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal. Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but that’s OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes.
5. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Why do I have a black chicken?? Find out, and hear all about the carnage on the next blog post from.....Tales from the Coop Keeper!!!