Once the prep work is done, dishes can be ready when you are.
By Janet Groene, F47166
May 2015
May 2015
Are you a bake-and-take cook? Whether the prepping is done before a trip or you assemble things in your galley on the go, a motorhome has everything you need for safe, convenient, jump-start meals. Few things are more satisfying than relaxing carefree at a leafy campsite while a sumptuous dish cooks in the oven.
The old rule of “keep it hot or keep it cold” applies doubly here. For food safety, uncooked dishes should be kept at 40 degrees. If cooked meals are not served hot, they should be cooled and promptly refrigerated. Some tinkering with cooking times may be necessary. A chilled casserole, for example, takes longer to bake. If the dish has been frozen, it also needs time to thaw, preferably in the refrigerator.
It’s also important to know your cookware. Some brands can go directly from the freezer to a hot oven or broiler, but delicate pieces, such as pottery and clay, may come with instructions to start them in a cold oven. Some disposable ovenware can’t take extra-high temperatures, making them a choice for baking but not for the broiler.
Grandma’s Refrigerator Rolls
Fresh, hot rolls with every meal? If you have room in the fridge, keep this dough for up to a week and pinch off only as much as you need each time. The dough should be covered but not tightly sealed.
2 tablespoons dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg, beaten
6 to 7 cups flour
Using a large bowl, mix the yeast and warm water and set aside to activate the yeast. After about 10 minutes, stir in the sugar, salt, oil, egg, and enough flour to make a stiff dough. Cover the bowl with waxed paper and then cover the waxed paper with a damp kitchen towel. Refrigerate. Each day, about 90 minutes ahead, remove the amount of dough needed. Shape the dough, let it rise, and bake at 400 degrees for about eight to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Breakfast Pizza
1 8-ounce package fully cooked sausage links
6 to 8 eggs
2 tablespoons water, milk, or cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 baked pizza shell
shredded cheddar cheese
Slice the sausage links into bite-sized pieces. Beat the eggs with water, milk, or cream and cook them in a pan with the butter just until set. Sprinkle the pizza shell with some of the shredded cheese. Distribute the eggs and sausage pieces on the cheese and top with more cheese. Wrap and chill in the refrigerator. To cook, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Unwrap the pizza and bake just until it’s heated through and the cheese is melted. Serves four.
Spinach Salad Supper
The secret to this salad is to have the vegetables very cold and toss them at the last minute with warm bean dressing. If you like, add other vegetables, such as celery or scallions.
1 10-ounce package washed baby spinach
1 medium red sweet pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium yellow sweet pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese or blue cheese
2/3 cup bottled Italian dressing
1 15-ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
In a salad bowl, combine the vegetables and cheese. Chill. Just before serving, heat the beans and dressing. Pour over the salad, quickly toss, and serve. Makes four servings as a main-dish salad.
Tuna Broccoli Hot Dish
1 1/2 cups small pasta shells (uncooked)
1 can condensed cream of chicken, cream of celery, or cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can of milk
2 5-ounce cans of tuna in water, undrained
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
In the morning, mix all ingredients except the cheese in a greased casserole. Cover with foil and refrigerate all day (at least 8 hours). Cover and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the dish with the cheese, and return it to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Makes four servings.
Chicken And Potato Roast
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup regular yogurt
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
4 potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
Put mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard, and garlic powder in a one-gallon plastic bag and squeeze the bag to mix well. Add the chicken and potato pieces and “work” the bag so they are coated with the mayo mixture. Seal the bag and refrigerate several hours or overnight, turning the bag occasionally to distribute flavors.
Grease a baking pan (I like disposable foil pans for dishes like this). Set the oven to 350 degrees. Using tongs, remove the chicken and potato pieces and place them on the baking sheet. Cut off a corner of the bag and drizzle the chicken and potatoes with the remaining marinade. Discard the bag. Bake 35 minutes or until the chicken tests done (170 degrees) and the potatoes are tender.
Chicken-Stuffed Shells
Cooked or canned bits of chicken also can be used here, but raw bits are easier to stuff in the brittle shells.
1 8-ounce package of large pasta shells or tubes
1 16-to-20-ounce package of boneless, skinless chicken, cut up
1 30-ounce jar spaghetti sauce
1/3 cup water
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1 8-ounce package of grated mozzarella cheese
Working quickly with cold chicken, put chicken pieces in uncooked pasta shells or tubes. Spread some of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a greased 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish. Stir the water into the remaining sauce. Put the stuffed shells in the baking pan and cover with the remaining spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with olives and cheese. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate at least 24 hours or freeze for up to four weeks.
To bake from the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake, covered with foil, for one hour. To bake from frozen requires 1 1/2 hours. When testing for doneness, make sure the chicken reaches 170 degrees. Makes four to six portions.
Orange Pecan Chicken
1 6-ounce box of long rice and wild rice mix, such as Uncle Ben’s
2 cups orange juice
1 teaspoon dried orange zest
1 16-ounce package boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans
In the morning or the night before, grease a casserole dish. Set the rice aside and mix the contents of the rice seasoning packet, orange juice, zest, and chicken. Cover with foil and refrigerate all day. When you’re ready to bake, stir the rice in with the chicken; cover; and bake for 35 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees until the rice is tender and the chicken reaches 170 degrees. Mix the sugar and cinnamon. Remove the foil, sprinkle with pecans and cinnamon sugar, and bake another 10 minutes. Makes four portions.
Turkey Dinner In A Pie
1 unbaked pie shell
1 package stuffing mix for turkey, such as Stove Top
2 cups diced, cooked turkey or the equivalent in canned chunk turkey
2 eggs, beaten
Flute the pie shell and set it aside. Cook the stuffing mix according to package directions and fold in the turkey. Let it cool 30 minutes, and then fold in the beaten eggs. Turn the mixture into the pie shell, wrap, and chill or freeze. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until the pie shell is golden and the filling reaches at least 160 degrees. Serve in wedges. Makes six portions.
Chocolate Freeze
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup Kahlua or other liqueur (such as orange or raspberry)
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
Whip the cream and fold in the liqueur and the chocolate syrup. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 8-inch-by-8-inch pan or dish. Wrap and freeze for up to two days. Cut in squares and serve frozen. Makes six to eight servings.
Baked Alaska
This recipe has dozens of variations and always delivers a wow factor. The cake can be any flavor. Ice cream, sherbet, or frozen yogurt in any color, flavor, or mix of layers can be used. The one essential is the meringue. This is a celebration dessert, yet it’s remarkably easy.
1 8-inch-round layer of cake
1/2 gallon ice cream
3 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar, regular or superfine
1 teaspoon vanilla
Place the cake layer on bakeware that can go from freezer to oven and then put it in the freezer to chill. Line an 8-inch bowl with plastic wrap, allowing some overhang. Let the ice cream soften enough to press it into the bowl and then put it in the freezer until it hardens. Meanwhile, make the meringue. Begin by beating the egg whites until they start to get frothy. Gradually beat in the sugar until stiff mounds form. Beat in the vanilla.
Remove the ice cream from the bowl, discarding the plastic wrap. Place the ice cream atop the cake. “Frost” the ice cream completely with the meringue to resemble an igloo. Put the dish in the freezer for 15 minutes until it skims over; then, wrap it and keep it frozen. Remove it from the freezer 15 minutes before baking and take off the wrap. Bake the “igloo” in a 350-degree oven and watch it carefully until the meringue turns golden. Cut in wedges. Makes six to eight servings.
More Make-Ahead Ideas
- Icebox cookies can be sliced and baked, fresh and fragrant, as needed. Don’t be tempted to binge. Bake as few as one or two at a time using a toaster oven.
- Ingredients for stir-fry dishes can be chopped ahead and then flash-fried just before serving.
- Add raisins or other dried fruit to coleslaw, and then chill it several hours or overnight to plump up the dried fruit.
- When using the grill, make extra meat or vegetables to use for sandwiches or salads the next day. Such “planned leftovers” have great grilled flavor.
- Make rafts of sandwiches ahead. Use deli meats, a few strips of crisp bacon, and a generous amount of dressing made by mixing shredded cheese, mayonnaise, and a little horseradish. Wrap the sandwiches individually in waxed paper to heat in the microwave oven, or in foil to heat in the oven or on the grill. Eat them cold in a pinch. When heated until the cheese melts, their flavor is entirely different.
- Put a roast in a baking bag with the seasoning packet according to package instructions, but don’t pierce the bag (or add a tablespoon of flour, as some instructions say) just yet. Refrigerate up to 24 hours, turning occasionally. Then vent the bag (and add flour, if called for) and bake as directed.