Recently I had the opportunity to take what I call the Easy Bake Oven with me on a camping trip. I cooked for three and could have just as easy cooked for six. The oven allows me to “bank” the food as I produce it on the top two burners.

The first morning all we did was pancakes and a hot drink. The other few days we created some recipes that were pushing the 5 star limit.

I found these dehydrated hash browns in a Cal Ranch Store in Idaho Falls. I’d heard they were the way to go so picked up a carton. I couldn’t believe how much they produced. It feed four easily. After they were finished I put them in the oven to keep warm while I produced a venison sausage and roast omelet on the griddle.

Tim – Montana

The question is this. Where are my wife, myself and Colleen at in this photo?  Your one and only hint is that we are standing by the thirteenth largest river in the United Sates. 

You have one week to figure it out, and the person who guesses the closest by the time the contest runs out wins.  The winner will receive one of our 12” – 20th Anniversary Dutch Ovens! 

Contest ends Wednesday, August 4th at midnight.  Good Luck!

I’ve been attempting to ruin this camp oven for about three months now.  I just left it outside on the patio not dried well when I put it up. It has been rained and rained on. Finally enough moisture got inside to cause some flash rust. This was the oven that was raw cast that I seasoned in an earlier blog post this spring.

It was kind of messy but certainly not as messy as some of my friends ovens I’ve worked over. I added a little conditioner and let it sit for a few minutes and then I just started wiping it down turning the cloth to a new spot every time. Eventually the rust was removed. That took maybe five minutes total.

The marshmallow dessert I did in a previous blog was cooked in this oven. Tasted great. I left some rusting on the outside after I had rinsed my charcoal dust off. When it gets good and orange I’m going to show you the alfalfa pellet clean up method that Colleen Sloane taught me.

Get out and cook!

GP

I’m quickly becoming a fan of the Mountain Man Grill. I used the charcoal tray and was a bit skimpy with the charcoal for the wind there was the other night.  I moved the griddle down over the BBQ grate to help hold the heat. Being used to cooking with propane I had to muster some patience.

But what else was there to do but sit and watch it cook while nursing a beverage? It is BBQ after all and not a race!

Afterwards it was “roast the mellow” time. I didn’t spend quite enough time in the woods with my oldest son. He has not quite figured out the efficient or “Native American Fire”. He chose instead a “white man” fire which almost melted the siding on the house. Thirty Year Olds….all amped up and nowhere to go!

It was a great evening,

GP

I bought some crescent dough, chocolate chips, marshmallows and Reese’s baking pieces. I laid out the dough and then patted evenly the chocolate chips and Reese’s into the dough.

I then placed a large marshmallow on it and rolled it up.

I placed them in a Deluxe Camp Chef ten inch oven.

I put 8 coals in a circle around the outside edges. Then 14 on top. After thirty minutes I removed the oven from the bottom coals.

In 45 minutes I took off all but three of the remaining coals from the top. Those I left to keep it warm. And well, what I got was a pretty good product.

I did try a bite with a scoop of ice cream and that really took it over the top!

GP

2.  Grandpa will roll them out of bed at 5:00 a.m.

3.  Grandpa will then miss calculate the morning temperatures and get their teeth to chatter a bit. Being cold makes one hungry.

4.  Let them catch a few fish as the sun begins to warm them up.

5.  At 9:00 am haul them to a café.

Problem solved!

Life seems to move by in a blistering pace! Often times we forget that we really can control the speed of it all. So with that in mind we ventured into a neighborhood breakfast gathering.

The morning was over cast with no wind or rain and it just couldn’t have been a nicer day. We left it a come as you can deal from 7:30 – 9:30.

Hash browns, Bacon, Eggs, Fruit, Juice and Milk, The effort was pretty simple for the two of us to manage thanks to our Camp Chef, griddles and Dutch ovens.

Fried Catfish

1 lb. catfish fillet
¼ tsp. lemon pepper
½ cup bread crumbs
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
½ cup corn meal
1/8 tsp. red pepper
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 egg with 2 Tbsp water beaten
¼ tsp. salt
Cooking oil for frying

Mix together the dry ingredients.  Dip fish into the egg followed by the dry ingredient mixture, coating well.  Heat oil in fry pot or Dutch oven.  Oil should be heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (use thermometer for best results).  Gently place fish in hot oil.  Cook until brown then turn and brown other side.  Cook until fish flakes easily, about 3 to 5 minutes.  

Pineapple Salsa

1 small can crushed pineapple
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed), optional
4 Roma tomatoes
3 tsp. sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cider vinegar
2 finely chopped jalapeno peppers
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp lime juice
2 diced green onions
¼ cup diced cilantro (more if desired)
1 mango, diced
1 avocado, diced

Mix all ingredients until well blended, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to overnight then serve. 

For dessert we took refrigerated biscuits, rolled thin, and filled with chocolate chips and marshmallows.  Those were then deep fried, and topped with whipped cream…delicious!

Bar-B-Que Chicken Quesadillas

2 cups cooked chicken
1 tomato chopped
1 green pepper chopped fine
Spicy barbecue sauce
1 red onion sliced thin
8 flour tortillas
1 cup cheese

Spread barbecue sauce on the tortillas, or mix in with cooked chicken. 

Layer the ingredients on tortillas, and place on a griddle.  Top with another tortilla, and let cook until cheese is melted. 

Quesadillas are done when filling is hot and tortilla is crisp.  Serve with additional barbecue sauce or ranch dressing.