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Camping Comfort Food
Fluttering leaves. Frosty mornings. Sunny but cool afternoons. Geese flying south for the winter. Autumn brings about fresh weather and an appetite for comfort food. We can’t seem to help wanting to make foodstuffs
that are warm, hearty, saucy, and spicy during off-season camping. If you go fall camping, then you get to experience quieter campsites, a different view, and fresh seasonal flavors.
DUTCH OVEN STUFFED PEPPERS –
DIRTY GOURMET
This has long been a family favorite for the authors at Dirty Gourmet, because of the delectable combination of steaming hot vegetables, hot tomato sauce, and melted cheese. The cooked rice rounds out the ingredients for the inside of the pepper and complements the meat. Serve with crusty bread or garlic bread.
Ingredients
• 6 bell peppers
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil, plus more for greasing the
Dutch oven
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 ounces mushrooms, chopped
• 14 ounces ground meat
• 4 cups cooked rice
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 Tablespoons ketchup
• 3/4 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar
Instructions
1. Grease your Dutch oven. Get your campfire going and prep it so there is eventually a nice bed of hot coals to place your Dutch oven on.
2. Cut the tops off of the peppers. Remove the seeds from the main part of the pepper, and set them aside. Trim the remaining pepper off of the pepper tops. Chop and reserve for stuffing.
RECIPES FOR FALL
put it around the peppers (just make sure you greased
your Dutch oven well).
5. Add the ketchup to the remaining tomato sauce and stir to
combine. Spoon some of the tomato sauce mixture on top
of the stuffed peppers. Sprinkle the peppers with cheese.
6. Place Dutch oven hot coals, making sure it is stable and
level. You may have to shift some of the coals around, or add a rock under the Dutch oven to get it just right. Cook the peppers until they’re softened and the stuffing is heated through.
DUTCH OVEN CHICKEN MARBELLA –
FRESH OFF THE GRID
Looking for a specialty dish for an occasion or just something different to try out at the campsite? The Mediterranean-themed Chicken Marbella is that dish. Thanks to the folks at Fresh
Off the Grid who did all the heavy lifting, there’s a recipe for this gourmet dish that’s been refined for cooking in a Dutch oven at the campsite. According to them, it’s easy to make and takes only 45 minutes to cook – and it really packs a punch. If you read the complete article, they recommend using chicken thighs, combining the ingredients in a large freezer bag at home to allow the flavors to marinate and cut down on on-site prep work, and not skipping on using white wine. It’s sweet. It’s savory. It’s worth a try.
Ingredients
• 1 cup chopped prunes
• 1 cup olives, pitted and halved • 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup capers
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped • 2 Tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 chicken thighs, skin on
• 1 Tablespoon olive pol
• 4 teaspoons brown sugar
1. MARINATE THE CHICKEN: Place all ingredients except for the oil and brown sugar in a freezer bag to marinate. Place in your ice chest for at least 6 hours and up to 48 hours.
2. PREP YOUR CAMPFIRE: Prepare 27 coals. You can use wood embers if you must, but you’ll have to guestimate the
3. Sauté the onion in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic,
mushrooms, and chopped peppers. Cook until vegetables Instructions
are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the meat and cook for a few minutes more. Mix in the rice and about half the can of tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Place the stuffing inside of the peppers and then into the Dutch oven. If you have any additional stuffing, you can
60 • 2022 MICHIGAN RV & CAMPGROUNDS
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