Not sure why but fall camping is my favorite time of year for dutch oven cooking. I'll share my favorite recipe if others share theirs. We'll be taking our annual fall/halloween/last camping trip of the season in about a month and I'd love to have some new recipes to try.
BTW, this isn't technically written for cooking in the fire but it works just great and tastes better this way [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Autumn Ragout With Roasted Vegetables
INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
2 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled rutabaga
2 cups (1-inch) cubed carrot
1 small red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1-1/2 pounds skinned, boned chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound turkey kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups (1-inch) pieces napa (Chinese) cabbage
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup Pennsylvania-Dutch Apple Butter or Spiced Pear Butter
1 (15-ounce) can navy beans, drained
INSTRUCTIONS
Estimated Total Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine the first 8 ingredients in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Add squash, rutabaga, carrot, and onion, and toss well. Bake mixture at 450 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven, and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Combine squash mixture, chicken, and remaining ingredients in a large Dutch oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
Here's one our favorite meals while camping is made with a dutch oven. We too prefer this fixed on the coals rather than the oven for the slight smokey taste. Hmmmm.....good! [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]
OK, Not to sound dumb, but whats a Dutch Oven? It that that big cast iron pot, with a cast iron lid? I have seen people burying them in hot coals to cook. Is that it?
Paul, you won the Dutch oven award for answering your own question--Congrats! [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] The oven is such a verstible creature. You can bury it to cook in, put it over a fire, use it on the stove top, or place it in the oven.
I can't give you the recipe, but one of the BEST dutch oven treats I ever had was a pineapple upside down cake. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] It was made as part of a cooking demonstration for a bunch of Scout leaders.
If you're looking for new recipes, why don't you get a hold of some of the dutch oven cooking books the Boy Scouts put out.? Cooking was never my forte when I was in Scouting, although I did excel at eating!! [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]
okay, twist my arm....here's the Pineapple Upside Down Cake from the Scouting site:
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Yellow cake mix (Jiffy cake mix doesn't require eggs)
Pineapple slices
Brown sugar
Maraschino cherries
Butter or margarine
Use a metal pan that will fit into the dutch oven *or* use foil. Put the pan into the oven so that it rests above or on top of 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the oven. If you are using foil, wrap the foil over the sides of the dutch oven, so that you have a "pan" inside that just rests on top of the water/other but won't fall in. Use several layers of foil. Put dots of butter in pan. Sprinkle brown sugar over bottom. Place pineapple slices in a single layer on the bottom. Place maraschino cherries in the holes in the pineapple slices. Pour cake batter over this. Close up dutch oven, place coals on top if desired or possible, and bake until done. Also, you can include walnuts.
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