I enjoy camping, except for all the parts of it that I hate. Aside from every trip being book-ended by having to set up and break down your camp, the thing that I've always hated about camping is the cooking and cleaning. We have a camp stove, and we've always cooked at camp much the same way we cook at home, and the end of each meal requires you to wash all your pots in cold water, and has always struck me as highly unsatisfactory.
So as part of an effort to improve the camping experience, I decided to bring a dutch oven, and focus on cooking simple one-pot meals. Dutch ovens are cast iron, and the clean-up is super simple, and actually calls for not using soap. So in the weeks before our trip, I entertained myself researching meals and equipment, and then on the trip I entertained myself putting it to use. Rachel was skeptical from the beginning, but she was swayed by the first forkful, and I'm completely sold that this is the only way to cook at a campsite.
Our first night I'd prepared spaghetti in advance, so I used the dutch oven to make a cobbler. Empty two cans of peached into the pot, dump a box of cake mix on top, dot with butter, and 45 minutes later you've got a pot of sweet goodness, which Rachel deemed, "Very good."
The second night, in order to get Rachel fully on board, I cooked the ribs. They were simply as can be to cook, and turned out beautifully, very tender and juicy, and falling right off the bone. Rachel and Elizabeth ate most of the ribs between them, and would have had more if there'd been some. I don't seem to have collected a direct quote on the meal from Rachel, but three days later when we were playing what was your favorite part of the trip? in the car, she cited the Ribs as her favorite part.
The morning after Ribfest, we had left over baked potatoes, so I used them in the cowboy hash I made for breakfast. Cook up some bacon, mix it up with some frozen or leftover potatoes, cover it with eggs, cover that with cheese, and you've got a big pot of breakfasty goodness. Rachel is a great potato lover, and when saw this, she said, "it looks like the most delicious thing ever." And later she confirmed this assessment.
I'd cooked the first three meals over coals on the barbecue. All of the recipes specify how many coals beneath and how many up top, in fact, so rather than try to get tricky, that's how I did it. I got a charcoal chimney, and it was very easy to keep my dutch oven cooking.
On the third night, I wanted to cook over the fire, so I made chili. I'd gotten a nice tripod to hold the oven, and I'd gotten enough sense for the heat with the coals, so I spent the late afternoon building up a good the cooking fire, and getting my chili cooked up. It was a hot afternoon, but I had cold beer and a nice bit of shade among the rocks, and it was a really lovely afternoon. Later, it rained, and that made it even more fun.
I started with a pound of ground beef. I'd been tempted by the bison, but I wanted to maximize the chances that my kids would eat it, so I went with the safe choice. Grass fed organic, of course.
I set that aside when it was cooked and cooked up some onions, peppers, and garlic. As a handy travel tip, you should chop you're veggies ahead of time for ease, and double bag them, even though everything in your cooler will reek of onions the duration of the trip.
After that, I added back the beef, added a can of diced tomatoes and my chili spices, and then after a while I added a can of kidney beans. And I stirred from time to time, and stoked my fire, just like the cowboys used to do on the trail, you know. The coals from the fire were much hotter than the briquettes, and I had to raise the pot several times to reduce things to a high simmer.
And then, half an hour before we were ready to eat, I glopped two boxes of jiffy corn muffin mix onto the top of the simmering chili, and then put some coals on top so it would bake. I'd never done this, but I had faith in my sources from the internets.
The result was delicious, and well received by the whole family, except for Parker who begrudgingly ate 2/3rds of a hot dog. Rachel deemed it, "very good" and later remarked that she wished there'd been more.
Cleaning the dutch oven was a snap, by the way. When each meal was done, I simple scooped out any extra food, filled the pot with water, and put if back over the coals. I worked the chunky bits off with a spoon, and then after I dumped out the water I would just wipe up the inside with a couple of paper towels, and then give it a squirt of Pam.
I'd had a chicken and rice dished planned for the 4th night, but we were so beat from the day boating on the lake that we opted for burgers and fries in town, with ice cream afterwards for those with good sense and shave ice for the rest.
