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Camp Cuisine

Camp Cuisine - Camping Recipes

Inspire your inner camp chef with recipes for camping trips.  It doesn’t matter if it’s shared around a campfire, cooked in your RV's gourmet kitchen, or take-out from the local deli, food just tastes better on a camping vacation!
Find and share more great camping recipes at CampingCafe.com

Holiday Treats and Christmas Cookies

Holiday Treats and Christmas Cookies

christmas-cookies


Aside from the fun of spending time with your family and friends, the best part of the holidays is the cookies and treats. Many of us have holiday recipes that we only break out during this special time of the year.  Here are a few of Camping.com's favorite holiday recipes.

see recipesHoliday Treats and Christmas Cookies

Spice Up Pasta with a Delicious Sauce

Spice Up Pasta with a Delicious Sauce


Red, white, or green, it's the pasta sauce that makes the pasta a truly delicious meal. Whether you make pesto, cheese, or red sauce, making your own homemade pasta sauce can be a rewarding experience.  Best of all, the  fruits of your labors will be delicious! Below are a three different pasta sauce recipes. They are all simple to make, but fantastic to eat.



Pesto Sauce
The exact proportions of this recipe can be altered however you like.  If you want more oil, add a little more; more parmesan, etc. You should alter this recipe to taste the way you like your pesto.

When using this pesto as a pasta sauce, be sure to reserve some of the water from cooking the pasta. Pesto has a tendency to make pasta a little dry, and adding a little pasta water will keep your pesto sauce and pasta moist and fresh. Homemade pesto also freezes well for use later.

1.5 cups fresh basil
.25 cup pine nuts
2 gloves garlic
.5 cup grated Parmesan cheese
.5 cup olive oil
1 cup pasta water

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.

Mix pesto and pasta, adding reserved pasta water slowly until desired consistency is reached.



Four Cheese Sauce

Cheese sauce is one of the tastiest sauces to put on pasta.  It is thick, delicious, and very rich. Try rich cheeses like Gruyere or use a milder cheese for a milder sauce. The Fontina cheese in this recipe is very important; it is adds an essential flavor. Use this recipe as the base for the four-cheese sauce of your dreams.

The base of this sauce is called a roux; most roux recipes are very similar and quite simple. The essential step to making a thick, smooth sauce is to make sure the butter and flour are smooth before you add the milk.

2 oz Mozzarella
2 oz Gruyere
2 oz Fontina
2 oz Mild Provolone
2 Tbsp Butter
1 1/2 Tbsp Flour
1 1/8 cups Milk
12 oz Pasta
Salt
Pepper

Heat the butter in a saucepan. When the butter is melted, stir in the flour.  You want the butter and flour mixture to be smooth, not lumpy. If your butter and flour is lumpy, your roux will not thicken correctly.

When butter and flour begin to bubble, add the milk and mix well, making sure it is not lumpy. Cook over low heat for approx. 5 minutes, stirring often. The mixture will begin to thicken.  Continue to stir, making sure the sauce is not lumpy and does not stick and burn.

Cut all of the cheese into small strips; add the cheese gradually to the roux, stirring well as the cheese melts.

The sauce should be smooth and velvety.  Season generously with pepper and add salt to taste.

Serve hot over cooked pasta of your choice.



Basic Red Sauce

This is a red sauce that tastes great on all sorts of pasta, including lasagna. It is flavorful, filling, and delicious for any occasion. If you do not eat meat, simply leave out the sausage.

1 large can whole tomatoes
1 large can pureed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 lb Italian sausage (sweet or spicy)
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup celery, chopped
1 red/green bell pepper (optional)
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp honey

Fry the sausage, breaking into small pieces in the large saucepan. A potato masher works well to break up the sausage, but a spatula can do the job as well. Once the sausage is done, pour out any extra grease if it has any, reserving some to saute the onion. Remove sausage from saucepan.

Using the same saucepan, saute onion, garlic, and celery in large saucepan, using reserved fat. This step is essential to giving your sauce the perfect flavor. If you are using pepper, add the pepper after the onion and celery are done, sauteing only lightly.

Squish the whole tomatoes in the can with your hands; this will give the sauce a delicious chunky texture.

Add the squished whole tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, tomato paste, and sausage to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently.

Add basil, oregano, and thyme.  Continue to simmer gently for an hour or so, stirring occasionally.

Stir in honey. The honey will mellow the bitter flavor of the tomatoes. Continue to simmer over low heat until sauce is properly reduced.

Serve hot over pasta, or use in lasagna, eggplant parmesan, etc.

Scrumptious Lentil Soup

Scrumptious Lentil Soup


Lentil soup is a filling, healthy, and delicious treat for cold winter evenings. There are many variations of the basic lentil soup recipe.  You can alter and add ingredients to this recipe as you choose. If you desire more spices, try adding a little cayenne pepper to give the soup a kick.  Cumin, coriander, and cinnamon are also nice additions to your hearty lentil soup.

Scrumptious Lentil Soup
2-3 oz bacon or prosciutto, diced (optional)
1 large onion, diced
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 medium celery stocks, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups water
1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
14.5 oz canned tomatoes (one can), drained
1 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme
1.5 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt (more if leaving out meat)
ground pepper

1. Heat bacon in large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, about 3 minutes.  (If you are not using meat, heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in your pot instead.)
2. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and tender, but not browned, about 3 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes and thyme; cook for approximately 30 seconds, until fragrant.
4. Add water and lentils, increase heat to high and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 30-40 minutes.
5. (Optional) For a smoother soup remove 3 cups of lentils and blend until smooth; return to pot.
6. Stir in vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste; heat over medium-low heat another 3-5 minutes.


For a vegetarian lentil soup, leave out the bacon or prociutto.  Instead heat a bit of olive oil in the soup pot before adding carrots and celery in Step 2.

Variation

You can make a more flavorful soup by replacing some of the water with chicken broth and white wine.

For soup with wine and broth, change liquid proportions to:
.5 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken broth
1.5 cups water

Steps 1-3: Same as basic lentil soup.
Step 4: Increase heat to high, add wine and bring to a simmer. Add chicken broth, water, and lentils.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30-40 minutes.
Step 5-6: Same as basic lentil soup.

Lentil Soup with Greens

Another variation on this lentil soup recipe is the addition of greens. Greens will add more substance and flavor to your soup. You can also add greens to the wine and broth variation of the basic lentil soup. All ingredients remain the same; simply add 5-10 ounces of chopped fresh greens like spinach or kale.

Steps 1-6 are the same as basic lentil soup recipe.
Step 7: Add greens to finished soup; cook stirring occasionally about 3 minutes, until greens are wilted and tender.

Comments
Lentil soup refrigerates well. If you choose to add greens, only add greens to the part of the soup you plan to eat immediately.  The greens taste the best when they are fresh.

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