Cooking on the Go
By Janet Groene, F47166
August 2006
These concoctions are surefire hits for summertime ease. Get your recipe act together and take it on the road!
Perfect Bran Muffins
Thanks to Marjorie Grubka, F283339, for this practical, delectable recipe. Start the morning with healthful muffins. This recipe is easy and ideal for one or two people, because it makes just six muffins in a conventional or microwave-convection oven.
3/4-cup whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons sugar or equivalent, such as Splenda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup Kellogg’s All-Bran cereal
3/4-cup natural, unsweetened applesauce
1 banana, mashed
1 egg
1/8-cup olive oil
Sift together the flour, sugar or sugar substitute, and baking powder; set aside. In a bowl combine the cereal, applesauce, and mashed banana. Let stand two minutes until the cereal softens. Beat in the egg and oil. Add the flour mixture to the cereal mixture, stirring just until everything is well combined. Spoon the batter into six muffin cups that are coated with non-stick spray and bake in a conventional oven at 400 degrees (or at Low-Mix 400 degrees if your microwave-convection oven has this setting) for 12 minutes or until the muffins are firm and springy to the touch. Serve warm. Marjorie recommends storing leftovers in the refrigerator.
Time-saving suggestion: Before leaving home, measure the flour, sugar or equivalent, baking powder, and cereal by batches into individual resealable bags. On the road all you have to do is mix up the wet ingredients, dump in the premeasured dry ingredients, and have fresh, hot muffins every morning.
Pickle-A-Dilly Beets
Carry a supply of these tasty, low-calorie condiments in your fridge and bring them out often to add tang and color to a simple lunch or dinner.
3 14.5- to 16-ounce cans sliced beets, drained (save 1/4-cup juice)
3/4-cup apple cider vinegar
1/3-cup sugar or equivalent
1 teaspoon whole dill seeds
1 teaspoon dried dillweed
Put the reserved beet juice and all other ingredients except the beets in a saucepan and stir well. Add the beets; bring to a boil; cover; and turn off the burner. When cool, put the beets and the liquid in a covered container and refrigerate. Use within one week.
Hurry-Up Turkey Hash
Almost a stir-fry, this one-dish meal cooks quickly and mess-free in a nonstick skillet or saucepan.
1 pound ground turkey breast
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground, dried sage or poultry seasoning
2 15- or 16-ounce cans diced potatoes, well drained
3/4-cup dried cranberries
1 cup cream (or non-dairy coffee creamer)
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Fry the turkey in hot oil with the garlic, breaking it up as you go and gradually adding the sage or poultry seasoning. When the turkey is no longer white, pour off any excess fat (ground turkey is fatty; ground turkey breast has less fat). Continue stirring and frying as you add the potatoes. When the potatoes are well coated, stir in the cranberries; reduce heat; add cream; cover; and simmer until everything is heated through. Add pepper to taste and spoon onto serving dishes. This recipe makes four to six servings. Complete the plate with steamed snow peas and crisp celery sticks.
Time-saving suggestion: Cook the turkey, garlic, and herbs ahead of time at home; place in resealable plastic bags; and freeze.
Tangy Tarragon Sandwich Spread
When you’re tired of the same old lunch meats, stir up a batch of this luscious spread. Tarragon has a unique taste, so it becomes a different dish if you substitute another dried herb such as thyme or dillweed. Note that this recipe calls for a full pound of crabmeat, plus shrimp and lobster. This makes a large batch of spread, enough for eight or 10 sandwiches.
8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2-cup mayonnaise
2 or 3 scallions, sliced
2 teaspoons dried tarragon or 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
16 ounces fresh crabmeat
1 small can shrimp, drained and picked over
1 small can lobster, drained and cut up
Mix everything together with a fork and chill. Use within three days. It’s delicious on rye bread for sandwiches or it can be served on party rye or crackers for a cocktail snack.
Tomatoes Galore Salad
It’s that time of year when gardeners are up to their ears in tomatoes and roadside stands are selling the juicy, red fruit for a song. This salad is all tomato, with just a little lettuce for crunch. The recipe makes six salads. If you’re cooking for only one or two people, refrigerate the leftover tomato mixture and spoon it over lettuce just before serving.
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, diced
1 medium Vidalia onion, diced
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1/3-cup virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Approximately 2 cups lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces
Put the tomatoes in a bowl with the onion and olives. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper; toss gently with the tomato mixture. Make a shallow bed of lettuce in each salad bowl and top with the tomato mixture.
Cream “˜N Sugar Pie
Preheat your oven or microwave-convection oven to 425 degrees. You’ll need it for just a minute or two to brown and cook the meringue. Be sure to use cook-and-serve pudding, not instant. If you don’t carry cream of tartar on board, it’s okay to omit it. The meringue just won’t stand up as well or as long.
1 graham cracker crust
1 packet cook-and-serve vanilla pudding (not instant)
1 3/4 cups milk
2 eggs, separated
1/4-teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2-teaspoon vanilla
Make your own graham cracker crust, or buy a premade crust at the grocery. Cook the pudding mix according to package directions, but use just 1-3/4 cups milk instead of the 2 full cups the recipe calls for. When the pudding is cooked, quickly stir some of it into the egg yolks; mix well; then stir the egg mixture into the hot pudding. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming, and set aside to cool. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, gradually beating in the sugar, until stiff peaks form. Add the vanilla. Put the somewhat cooled pudding into the pie shell, top with the meringue, and bake at 425 degrees just until the meringue turns golden. Watch it closely! The meringue will brown quickly. Chill until serving time.
BlueBottom Bars
When blueberries are in season and abundant, bake them into this moist cake to serve as a base for toppings such as butterscotch ice cream topping, mashed strawberries, warm cream, vanilla yogurt, and so on.
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, divided
3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries, washed and dried
1/3-cup milk
1/2-teaspoon lemon extract
1/2-cup vegetable oil
2/3-cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Coat a 9-inch-square baking dish with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together 1 cup of flour, the cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup of sugar. Toss together the blueberries with the additional flour and sugar. Whisk together the milk, lemon extract, and oil. Fold the milk mixture into the flour mixture until everything is evenly moistened, then fold in the blueberries and nuts. Bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes or until it is springy to the touch. Cut into squares and serve warm, cold, or at room temperature with the topping of your choice. Refrigerate or freeze any leftovers.
Time-saving suggestion: Mix up batches of the dry ingredients ahead of time and keep in plastic resealable bags. Attach a copy of the recipe to each bag so you’ll remember how to complete the bars.
Little Meatballs With Applesauce-Cider Gravy
This recipe from the new book Dishing Up Maine (see below) is ideal for the galley on the go, because the meatballs don’t have to go through a messy browning step.
I carry minced garlic in a jar and measure it by the teaspoon, using 1/2-teaspoon in this recipe.
1 pound ground meat (preferably a meatloaf mixture of beef, veal, and pork)
1/2-cup crushed cornflake crumbs
3/4-cup applesauce, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 egg
2 teaspoons dried thyme, divided
1/2-teaspoon salt
1/2-teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 3/4-ounce can condensed tomato soup
1 cup water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Combine the meat, cornflake crumbs, 1/2-cup of the applesauce, onion, garlic, egg, 1 teaspoon of the thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Shape approximately 30 1-inch meatballs and place them on a sheet of waxed pepper. Whisk together the tomato soup, the remaining 1/4-cup applesauce, the remaining 1 teaspoon thyme, and the water in a large skillet or Dutch oven with a lid. Bring to a simmer and drop the meatballs gently into the sauce. Return to a simmer and cook, covered, over medium-low heat until the meatballs are done, which should take approximately 30 minutes. Skim off any excess fat from the surface; stir in the vinegar; and serve. The recipe makes four servings. The dish goes well with noodles, rice, or potatoes.
Shortcut Stew
4 cups water
1 packet dry onion soup mix
10 3/4-ounce can condensed cream of celery soup
2 15- or 16-ounce cans whole potatoes, drained
1 can sliced carrots, drained
16-ounce package frozen meatballs, thawed
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
In a large pot, bring the water to a boil; stir in the onion soup mix; cover; and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Whisk in the condensed soup to make a smooth broth. Add the potatoes, carrots, and meatballs. Heat thoroughly, then stir in the peas and serve in shallow soup plates with crusty bread and a side salad. This recipe makes four hearty servings.
Rocky Top
Make up large batches of this crunchy topping and you’ve finished half the job of preparing a fruity dessert. This recipe makes enough topping for approximately four 8-inch-square dishes or two 9-inch-by-13-inch casseroles. You also can use it in small batches, using custard cups for one or two people as needed. For variety you might make this batch with walnuts, the next with pecans, and the next with macadamia nuts or dry-roasted peanuts.
2 sticks butter
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
Let the butter come to room temperature and cut it into the flour, oats, and brown sugar. Stir in the nuts. Keep cold for up to one month.
To make a Rocky Top dessert, fill a baking dish with fresh fruit or canned fruit pie filling, add a layer of the topping, and bake at 375 degrees until the topping is golden. A thin layer of topping means fewer calories. For a richer, sweeter dessert, pile on the topping up to 1 inch thick.
Note: When using fresh fruit, sweeten as required. Green apples and rhubarb need lots of sweetening, while fresh strawberries or golden delicious apples need little or none.
Book for cooks
Dishing Up Maine, by Brooke Dojny ($19.95, Storey Publishing), is a superb cookbook filled with comfort foods and traditional recipes. It’s also a picture book that gives armchair travelers a nostalgic trip through Maine. Learn about buying, cleaning, and cooking Maine seafood. The author includes suggested additional reading; addresses of Maine restaurants; and mail-order sources for genuine, Down East cooking supplies “” including seafood that can be flown to you in the campground.
My book Cooking Aboard Your RV, Second Edition has been published in French. Titled Cuisiner a bord de votre vehicule recreatif, it’s published by AdA. For more information, e-mail info@ada-inc.com.