Simple meals that reduce messes and cleanup without cutting back on taste.
By Janet Groene, F47166
March 2021
Offering cooking advice to RVers can be complicated. It must take into account the diversity of tastes, those who cook every meal outdoors, and even the wide range of appliances. Some RV families have the most modern RV ranges. Some have no oven. Some have only a microwave and a burner or two. Some rely on solar power. Some camp in parks that don’t allow outdoor fires.
However, one thing all cooks have in common is that we hate dish washing and cleaning up the mess. These recipes make great one-dish dinners — cooked indoors or out. Let’s go back to basics.
Chicken Pot Pie/Tot Pie
3 slices precooked bacon
1 medium onion
8-ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained
½ cup water, white wine, apple juice, or broth
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
8-ounce tub of sour cream
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 to 4 cups diced, cooked chicken OR 1 to 2 10-ounce cans of chunk chicken
5-count tube of refrigerator biscuits OR 2 to 3 cups frozen potato tots, thawed
Spray a saucepan, skillet, or kettle with nonstick coating. Heat the bacon and gradually stir in the onion and mushrooms. Add the water, wine, juice, or broth. Cover and cook over low heat until the onions are tender. Whisk in the soup, sour cream, and Worcestershire sauce, and then stir in the chicken. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Stove-top version: Stir an additional ¼-cup of water into the chicken filling. Cut the biscuits in halves or quarters, and arrange them over the hot chicken filling. Cover and steam the pot pie over low-medium heat until the biscuits are puffy, dumpling-like, and done through. They will not brown.
Oven version: Make the chicken filling in an oven-proof casserole or skillet. Arrange the biscuits or tots over the chicken filling. Bake at 425 degrees until the biscuits are puffy, browned, and done through, or the tots are browned and crisp.
Optional garnish: Top biscuits or tots with grated cheese or buttered bread crumbs.
Italian Hot Pot
This is the kind of recipe that campers love for outdoor cooking over a crackling campfire. It also works well indoors in a saucepan, pressure cooker, or slow cooker. It’s easily varied by using different beans. Italian sausage adds that special touch.
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
2 pounds stew beef cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large onion, diced
1 cup diced fennel (optional)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups water
2 beef or chicken bouillon cubes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 can white beans, such as chickpeas or cannellini, drained and rinsed
1 can red, lima, or black beans, drained and rinsed
Stir-fry the sausage in a large kettle over a hot fire, breaking it into pieces. Add the beef, onion, fennel, and garlic, scraping up browned bits from the bottom. Add the water, bring to a boil, and dissolve the bouillon cubes. Finally, add the Italian seasoning. Cover and simmer over reduced heat until the beef is tender. Add the potatoes and carrots; continue simmering until they are tender, adding water if necessary. Stir in the beans and adjust the seasonings to taste. Heat and serve. Makes 10 to 12 portions.
Pizza With Rice Crust
Rice makes a nice change, and the eggs add extra protein to this pizza meal.
3 eggs
3 cups cooked rice
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ cup (or more to taste) finely chopped pepperoni
1 cup (or more to taste) pizza sauce
Chopped onion, green pepper, black olives, etc.
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Whisk eggs until they are light, and fold in the rice, flour, Parmesan cheese, and seasoning. Heavily grease a large skillet and spread the rice mixture on the bottom. Cover and cook for 5 minutes over low heat until the mixture begins to set.
Scatter the toppings on the pizza crust; cover it and return to the heat until the crust is golden brown on the edges and done through. (Eggs test done at 160 degrees.)
Sprinkle 2 cups (or more to taste) of mozzarella cheese over the pizza, cover, and return to the heat until the cheese melts. Cut in wedges. Makes 6 servings.
Badger State Bean Bake
1½ pounds lean pork, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
1 cup water
1 chicken or beef bouillon cube
3 or 4 cans Great Northern beans, undrained
2 cups ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup Dijon-style mustard
In a large kettle or Dutch oven, brown the pork in hot oil. Gradually stir in the onion. Add the water, bring to a boil, and dissolve the bouillon. Cover and simmer until the pork is tender. Stir in the beans, ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard.
Simmer until thick and flavorful, or bake in a covered pot over a low fire, or in a 300-degree oven, up to 6 hours, adding water if necessary. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Slow cooker method: Brown the pork as stated above. Then add it and the other ingredients — cutting back to just ½ cup of water — to a slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.
Green Chile One-Pot Stew
A classic dish in the American Southwest, this stew is traditionally made with pork and hominy, but it also can be prepared with turkey or chicken and whole-kernel corn.
2 pounds bite-sized pieces of boneless lean pork, turkey thigh, or chicken thigh
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced
3½ cups water
2 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 or 2 tablespoons instant grits
1 to 2 cans rinsed hominy or white shoepeg corn
2 to 3 4-ounce cans diced green chilies, drained
In a large pan or Dutch oven, brown the meat in hot oil. Gradually stir in the onion, garlic, and potatoes. Add the water and bouillon, and bring everything to a boil. Stir to dissolve the bouillon. Add the seasonings, and cook over low heat until the meat and potatoes are tender.
Sprinkle and stir 1 tablespoon of instant grits slowly into the hot liquid. After one minute, add the other tablespoon of grits, if desired. Thicken to taste. Stir in hominy or corn and the chilies. Heat through. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Veal Patty Noodle Bake
Find breaded veal patties in the frozen foods department. They complement the noodles you’ll add to the pot later.
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 breaded veal patties
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained
Melt the butter in the oil. Fry the veal patties in the hot oil until they are crispy and thoroughly done according to package directions. Stir in the mushrooms to brown them. Remove the patties from the pan and set aside. When they’re cool, cut them in bite-sized pieces.
2 cups water
2 chicken or beef bouillon cubes
2 cups medium egg noodles
4 cups spinach or kale leaves, trimmed and chopped (optional) OR 1½ cups frozen peas (optional)
Add the water to the skillet; bring it to a boil and dissolve the bouillon. Add egg noodles to the mix, pressing them down so they stay covered in liquid. Cook the noodles until tender, adding the greens for the last two minutes if you’re using them.
1 can condensed cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
½ soup can water, milk, or dry white wine
In a bowl, whisk the soup and liquid until smooth, and then combine them with the noodles and diced veal patties. Cover and heat through over a low heat. Serve in shallow soup plates.
Optional garnish: Add lemon wedges, shaved Asiago cheese, or dried parsley flakes. Makes 6 servings.
Red And White Fish Soup
The vegetables can be diced in camp, at home ahead of time, or bought precut at the supermarket.
1 cup finely diced fennel
1 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1 cup finely diced onion
1 cup finely diced celery
1½ cups diced plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
32-ounce carton chicken or vegetable broth OR 4 cups water plus 4 chicken, fish, or vegetable bouillon cubes
3 cups scrubbed, diced potatoes
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless firm white fish
1 pound skinless salmon
Bottled clam broth, chicken broth, or water (optional)
¼ cup white wine (optional)
½ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
Mix the fennel, red pepper, onion, celery, tomatoes, and orange juice concentrate in a clean plastic bag; keep cold up to 24 hours.
Bring the broth, or water and bouillon, to a boil. Add in the potatoes, bay leaf, cayenne, and white pepper; cover and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender. Add the fennel mixture and continue simmering until all of the vegetables are tender.
Cut the fish into bite-sized pieces. Bring the potato and fennel mixture back to a boil, and then add the fish, letting it cook until it turns firm and opaque. Serve as is, or thin to taste with broth or water plus a little white wine, if desired. Discard the bay leaf and stir in the parsley. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Seafood Silverado
Stack everything on foil squares, seal them, and cook over a hot grill for 10 to 15 minutes. Eat a complete dinner right out of the foil.
2 cups French-cut green beans (thawed if frozen beans are used)
2 cups cooked white beans such as cannellini, drained and rinsed
8 grape tomatoes, cut in half
½ cup white wine vinaigrette dressing
10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
Salt
Pepper
Dried crumbled thyme
Olive oil
4 portions firm white fish such as halibut, orange roughy, or mahi mahi
16 fresh mussels or clams, scrubbed (optional)
Put green beans, white beans, tomatoes, and dressing in a plastic bag; set it aside to marinate. Once the spinach is thawed, press it dry with paper towels. Lightly season fish with salt, pepper, and thyme.
Set out four generous squares of foil and smear the center of each square with olive oil. Form the spinach into four flat patties, placing one patty on each foil square. Lightly sprinkle the spinach with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.
Top the spinach with the fish and the green bean mixture. As an option, you can arrange shellfish around the fish. Seal the foil and grill on both sides, testing one packet after 10 minutes. The fish should be firm and the shellfish open. Doneness depends on the thickness of the fish and the temperature of the fire. Open the foil carefully to avoid getting scalded by steam. Also, make sure to keep the sides of the foil high so the juices don’t spill out. Have chunky bread on hand to dip in the juices. Makes 4 servings.
Share your favorite recipes. If you have a recipe you enjoy making in your RV, share it with Janet at janetgroene@yahoo.com (put FMCA in the subject line). Visit Janet at CampAndRVCook.blogspot.com, where new recipes and tips are added weekly; a subscription for e-reader devices is available at http://amzn.to/1DsP67t. Janet’s books, including the second edition of Cooking Aboard Your RV, are available in bookstores and at Amazon.com.