Make ahead recipes for campers & RVers!

[MontanaCowgirl]

I like to make some make ahead recipes for taking along with us on our camping trips. These are things I can pop in the oven or microwave for a quick meal when we don't want to spend the money on dining out. Here's one of our favorites!

Saddle Bag Sandwiches

Your favorite bread dough recipe can be used in this recipe!

1 - 2 recipes bread dough (can be prepared in bread machine)

several slices cold cuts
several slices co-ordinating cheese
italian seasonings

or

recipe of 1/2 inch diameter meatballs & sauce & mozerella

or any other filler you may like!

Roll out dough gently to 1/4" thick after 2nd rising, & cut into as many 8 inch squares as you can get out of the recipe.

On the middle of each square place slices of cold cuts & cheeses, or meatballs with just a little sauce(just enough to cover the meatballs, to much will make it soggy) & add some mozerella cheese. Season to taste. Do NOT add mayo, mustard, etc. Fold the dough around the filling & pinch the edges to seal shut the dough.

Bake in 350 F degree preheated oven until lightly golden, or for about 30 minutes. Cool completely & place in individual ziplock type bags & freeze.

When ready to eat, heat in oven at 350 for about 20 minutes or until hot completely through. Or let thaw at room temp for the morning hours to be ready for lunch. You can also let thaw in refrigerator the night before till lunchitme the following day. I don't recommend microwave reheating for these.

The natural oils in the fillings make mayo, mustard or extra tomato sauce unnecessary, but you may want to have them handy for dipping if you prefer.

These are great to have on hand & freeze very well. DH carries a frozen one with him in his saddle bags (thus the name)when he leaves at 5am & by lunch time at noon the warmth of the horse thaws & warms it just ever so slightly for a great sandwich that won't fall apart! Of course you can buy those ready made pocket type sandwiches but these are soooo much better!

Would love to hear anyone else's recipes they pack along!

 

[Rhonda]

These sound great! I will definitely try them!

I like to have baked potatoes all baked and ready to just heat back up again. I also use the baked potatoes to make potato salad! I usually bake up a whole bag of them to bring with us!

 

[MontanaCowgirl]

I also bake potatoes ahead of time but I use them for home fries at breakfast. Makes a nice change from hashbrowns & they don't leave you hungry an hour later! Just season them with your favorite seasonings (onion, pepper, garlic, diced red pepper, salt, whatever) fry them in yummy olive oil or butter & mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!! You can premix these & freeze them in portion sized ziplock bags! Makes a nice change at dinner time also! If you mix them ahead of time coat them with the olive oil first, then add the seasonings, stir well, & they can be baked!

For my potato salad I boil my taters with the skins on & the skins just slide right off afterward. Wear the rubber dishwashing gloves while peeling to keep from burning your hands!

Another filling for the sandwiches you can freeze is; potatoes, cooked chicken (or ham or beef), peas, sliced or diced carrots, pearl onions(or other favorite veggies) & a little gravy. They are called pasties over in Butte Montana & are a staple in homes there. But they freeze very well. Pasties are made with a pie crust but I like the bread dough better. More filling & stick with you longer! Kind of like a potpie without the dish!

Hey before to long we will have enough ideas here to save lots of money for other goodies! Like souveniers! Toys! LOL

 

[funhouse8]

We always freeze meatballs & sauce for spaghetti and precook bbq chicken (I also freeze this so it stays longer) I never thought of precooking the potatoes, what a great idea. Thanks, gina

 

[Colleen A.]

Keep 'em coming! We just got a microwave for the camper yesterday and need some quick meal ideas!!

 

[ktorrez]

I read in an earlier post about bringing cooked frozen hamburger meat to make sloppy joes, spagetti, etc. with. My question is how do u keep your meats frozen. Our freezer is so small in the camper only big enough for ice trays. I plan on bringing them cooked in zip lock bags. Will they stay frozen in an ice chest? I guess I could just not use ice trays and stack a few of them in there.

Thanks for the tips.

Karen

 

[MontanaCowgirl]

In my pickup camper my freezer is 2 cubic feet so we have lots of space. I would suggest you pack a well insulated cooler with ziplock baggies full of ice (they don't leak). Make sure you replace the ice as it melts to avoid premature thawing & food poisoning. Keep your ice packs on the top since cold settles to the bottom. I do this whenever I drive to Florida to visit my mother in Orlando. I use the cheap-o styrofoam coolers & bring her 1/2 a cow! So I know it works! Good luck!

 

[funhouse8]

I don't have a freezer in my pop-up so we pack two coolers. One for drinks(because this is the one they are always opening) and one for food. I pack everything I can frozen in zip-lock bags so they don't leak as they defrost. We use frozen water bottles and ice to keep everything cold. Just keep replacing the ice and use the meats that defrost first. You can start to drink the water bottles as the defrost. Hope this helps, Gina

 

[old camper]

No freezer, no problem.

http://www.dryiceinfo.com/


Joe

 

[MontanaCowgirl]

Dry ice is great, but not for people with kids & those who don't want to mess with so many precautions. I would rather mess with baggies of ice cubes you can pick up at any rest stop or gas station or convenience store along the way!



From the above mentioned site:
SAFE HANDLING OF DRY ICE

Caution: Keep Dry Ice away from children if they cannot be closely supervised at all times.

HANDLING
Dry Ice temperature is extremely cold at -109.3°F or -78.5°C. Always handle Dry Ice with care and wear protective cloth or leather gloves whenever touching it. An oven mitt or towel will work. If touched briefly it is harmless, but prolonged contact with the skin will freeze cells and cause injury similar to a burn.

BURN TREATMENT
Treat Dry Ice burns the same as a regular heat burns. See a doctor if the skin blisters or comes off. Otherwise if only red it will heal in time as any other burn. Apply antibiotic ointment to prevent infection and bandage only if the burned skin area needs to be protected.

STORAGE
Store Dry Ice in an insulated container. The thicker the insulation, the slower it will sublimate. Do not store Dry Ice in a completely airtight container. The sublimation of Dry Ice to Carbon Dioxide gas will cause any airtight container to expand or possibly explode. Keep proper air ventilation wherever Dry Ice is stored. Do not store Dry Ice in unventilated rooms, cellars, autos or boat holds. The sublimated Carbon Dioxide gas will sink to low areas and replace oxygenated air. This could cause suffocation if breathed exclusively. Do not store Dry Ice in a refrigerator freezer. The extremely cold temperature will cause your thermostat to turn off the freezer. It will keep everything frozen in the freezer but it will be used up at a faster rate. It is the perfect thing if your refrigerator breaks down in an emergency.

VENTILATION
Normal air is 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen and only 0.035% Carbon Dioxide. If the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air rises above 5%, carbon dioxide can become toxic. Smaller concentrations can cause quicker breathing but is otherwise not harmful. If Dry Ice has been in a closed auto, van, room, or walk-in, for more than 15 minutes, open doors and allow adequate ventilation before entering. Leave area containing Dry Ice if you start to pant and breath quickly. This is the sign that you have breathed in too much CO2 and not enough oxygen. Dry Ice CO2 is heavier than air and will accumulate in low spaces. Do not enter closed storage areas that have or have had Dry Ice before airing out completely.

PICK-UP TIME AND TRANSPORTING
Plan to pick up the Dry Ice as close to the time it is needed as possible. It sublimates at 10%, or 5 to 10 pounds every 24 hours, whichever is greater. Carry it in a well-insulated container such as an ice chest. If it is transported inside a car or van for more than 15 minutes make sure there is fresh air. After 15 minutes with Dry Ice only in its paper bag in the passenger seat next to me, I started to breathe faster and faster as though I were running a race. I couldn't figure out why I was so out of breath until I saw the car air system was set in the re-circulated position, not fresh outside air.


DISPOSAL
Unwrap and leave it at room temperature in a well-ventilated area. It will sublimate from a solid to a gas.


TILE COUNTERTOPS
Do not leave Dry Ice on a tiled countertop as the extreme cold could crack it.

DO NOT leave Dry Ice unattended around children.

 

[Rhonda]

We always use dry ice in one of our coolers. We get 2 five-pound pieces, and place each piece at an end of the cooler, with the frozen food in the middle. The dry ice is always wrapped securely in layers of brown paper. The food stays frozen until the dry ice "melts" - which is usually about 4-5 days.

Oh - and when the dry ice "melts" there is no mess (except empty brown paper!) because it actually evaporates, it doesn't really melt. For us, this is much easier than constantly changing baggies of ice cubes. In our normal cooler, with just the cold stuff like pop, eggs, etc. we use bags of ice cubes though. The dry ice is just for the frozen stuff.

 

[MontanaCowgirl]

Kewl Rhonda! Sounds like a good plan! Unfortunately I have to start out with regular ice since I have to drive for a day before I can get to a place where I can buy the dry ice. But I found out where I can get it! At Wal Mart! What don't they have!!!

 

[welovemickey]

Another idea to keep food frozen . . .

We bought a plug in cooler (Thermos and Coleman both have them). If you pack the meats close to the fan in the cooler, they will stay frozen for about 5 days. We actually bought two of those coolers because they work so well. This trip (our first in our new RV) we'll bring the plug-ins for drinks because the refrigerator is small.

I can't believe I'm actually doing the "Single-Digit Dance"!!

 

[beaglebiz]

Pick up an extra crockpot for your camper.....you can make all kinds of great stuff, and have it ready when you come "home"...here is one of my favorite recipes....
get a large beef roast (a cheap one is fine, there is no tough meat in a crockpot), cut off any visible fat, put it in the crockpot and cover with a whole bottle of BBq sauce...allow it to slow cook all day. after 6 - 8 hours, shred the roast up (pull it apart into shreds with two forks) and serve on rolls....YUM
another good camping take along is chili, you can always have chili dogs with the leftovers!

 

[beaglebiz]

here are a couple more good camping ideas (although not make ahead>)
everyone eats pancakes camping...well , how about corn cakes?? pack a few boxes of jiffy or martha white corn muffin mix, and fry it up on a griddle like pancakes...YUM!
also, a great pancake topper is canned apple pie filling... You can also use the pie filling in the pie iron .

 

[MontanaCowgirl]

Swedish Meatballs are a great make ahead recipe too! If you don't make them Schwans does Speaking of Schwans & other premade frozen food services...they have lots of items that are great for traveling with! Of course it depends on how much freezer space you have. But if you pack it right you can really load up in a small freezer!



Now I can say we are going THIS year!!!! Yaaaayyyyy!!!!