Dave’s Camping Chili

2019 Summer Challenge:
15 hill repeats 
with the final repeat as a
fireman carry of a teen...
and 1.5 hours to do it! 

My future PJ was the first to
complete the challenge!
He MADE SURE he was ahead
to get the teen recruit he wanted. 

:0)

Any way you look at it -
from the bottom of the hill or from the top...
a HUGE, AMAZING accomplishment!
(As for me:  I was happy with my 5 hill repeats!)

This dinner is a family favorite!  

It always goes camping with us because I love how quick the pre-camping prep is and how fast I can get dinner ready once the tent is up.

With a chimney full of briquettes ready to go under your Dutch oven, this will be a camping dinner ready fast! 

- Easy, hearty, AND TASTES AMAZING!!  

- Even if you’re NOT camping, or had a day of challenges and fun... this dinner is hard to beat.  :0)

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Dave’s Camping Chili

1-2 bags of "lightly salted" Frito chips 

1 lb pork sausage - hot/Kroger brand preferred  

1 (1-2 lb) boneless pork loin cut into bite size pieces and fat removed 

2 cans Green chilies 

1  large onion, chopped  

2 cans kidney beans (don't drain)

3-4 cans chili beans (don't drain)

3/4 teaspoon coarse cracked pepper

2 teaspoons Kosher salt 

Brown meats, chopped onion and green chilies together.

When browned, add remaining ingredients. 

Heat to a simmer and remove from heat.

If you have time, let simmer stirring very regularly for 30 to 60 minutes for very tender pork chop bites. 

Serve chili over Fritos (I usually need 2 -3 bags to deal with leftovers).

Add a can/cans of chili beans if you need to stretch out the leftover amount.

If camping: take 2 - 1 gallon ziplocks to double ziplock leftovers in your cooler.

Gluten-Free NOTE:

READ your meat labels; read your bean labels; read your corn chip labels...

This is readily a GLUTEN-FREE dinner with what sausage you pick 

(yup! sometimes those crazy companies will sneak it in there!!!) 

and with what beans you go with. 

READ.


A huge "THANK YOU" to Dave Francom, his "I've never written it down" chili recipe, and the fun night of Dutch oven dinner at Surfside beach.  :0)  Miss you guys!!!

...And another huge thank you to my family!  Thanks for always making summer memorable and fun.  Sure wish we could be together more often.  The food is always better, and the laughter nearly tangible.  Love you all.  See you next summer!

Back-Flippin' off the beach sand...
Adam White,
your skills are AMAZING!!!

Camping in Oregon with my nearly-twin sister.
LOTS  of campfires and cooking, beach runs,
4th of July parade and fireworks,
kite-boarding winds and cold.

2020  Camping  Trip... 
(Before COVID)

Camping in Texas happens
in the winter Y'ALL!!!

I take this recipe completely prepped -
onions are chopped and meat is cut and ready; 
including the sausage taken out of its wrapper and 
everything gets shoved into a gallon ziplock
ready to dump in the dutch oven.

Cook the meat, onions and
green chilies throughly.
ADD all the required cans of
beans and cover to finish cooking.

Everyone will be waiting.

My camping kitchen box!
Everything I need for Dutch oven
cooking and clean up.

Don't forget your chips!!!
Serve over Frito chips

- save your leftovers in your
cooler in clean gallon ziplock.

I  LOVE  CAMPING...
and my hammock views.

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GLUTEN-FREE Sugar Cookies

Let's be personal for just a moment... this original recipe was a labor of LOVE!  It took nearly 10 years to find!  We went through  A  LOT - (A  WHOLE  LOT!) of sugar cookie recipes before finding one that my handsome man loved.  

Then, I had the task of wrapping my head around making it gluten-free. 

Without further procrastination, (it has been a "draft" since December 2017...) I give you:  Bret Sr.’s Favorite Sugar Cookie

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1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 ½ cups sugar

1 egg

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

½ teaspoon almond extract

3  cups Gluten-FREE flour mixture

1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 375 F.  

In a mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar with a hand mixer (or a Kitchen Aid) mixer until combined.  

Once combined, beat sugar and butter on HIGH for 10-12 minutes until light and fluffy.

Beat in egg and extracts.  

In separate bowl, mix flour, and baking powder; add to butter mixture 1 cup at a time and mixing in completely after each addition.  

DO NOT CHILL DOUGH.  

Divide dough into two balls.  

On your counter sprinkle an Tablespoon or two of the gluten-free flour mixture to roll out each ball ¼ inch thick - one at a time.  

Monitor your use of the cookie dough.  

Do not roll out and cut more than 3 times.  

TOSS whatever is left over after rolling it out 3 times.  

(WARNING:  your cookies will be nasty… Don’t be tempted to roll out more than 3 times.)

Dip cookie cutter in flour before each use.  

Bake cookies on a baking sheet with parchment paper for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are just barely, barely brown.  

DO NOT transfer them to a cooling rack immediately.  

Let sit on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring.  

Lift parchment paper gently on opposite corners and let cool completely before icing.

NOTES AND TIPS:  I use what’s left as a lump cookie with pretty sugar sprinkled on top instead of rolling out into another shape.

If you want to skip icing just sprinkle your cookies with colored or large granulated sugar before baking!  Skipping the icing makes these cookies incredibly fast since there is NO CHILL TIME... (HECK YES!)

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Sugar Cookie Icing:

When sugar cookies are baked and cooled make the following in desired colors.  I usually make 3 or 4 to accommodate the number of cookies made.  I use fairly large cookie cutters.  For smaller cookies, more icing will be needed.

For each color:

1 cup powder sugar

2 teaspoons milk

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

¼ teaspoon almond extract

food coloring

In a small bowl, stir together powder sugar and milk until smooth.  

Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy.  

If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.  

Add food coloring until desired color is achieved.  

Use the back of a spoon to distribute icing and then to paint sugar cookies.

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NOTES  FOR  G-FREE  FLOUR  BAKING:
You are using a white rice-based flour...
Be careful to note that the cookies will remain extremely
WHITE and you will over-cook and/or burn your
cookies if you are waiting for a
"light-golden brown" color on top.

...It's never gonna happen! 

I realized when Payton made these on her own
(to give out to her friends! So cute...)
that there needed to be a visual
on how thick the cookies need to be!

And a  1/4  INCH  is pretty thick guys...

I have squished enough of these over the years
to know what it "feels" like when the right thickness.
But here's something for y'all to LOOK at.  :0)

The fastest way to make these sugar cookies is to
squish a ball of cookie dough out to a  1/4 inch thick,
cut a shape with a cookie-cutter within the circle,
(DON'T CUT ALL THE WAY DOWN!),
finish off your cookies with some colored sugar
before baking and then BAKE.
Easy-peasy...

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(It's a recipe FOR your recipe!)

CLICK TO GO TO: 

Gluten-Free Flour Mix

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Baking with Natural Yeast - PIZZA (BONUS: with sauce recipe!)

Our Version of "Hawaiian" Pizza:

- BACON! (cooked)
- Fresh Pineapple
 - Mozzarella
- Homemade Sauce (recipe below)
- 1/2  of the dough from
a READY TO USE
natural yeast basic bread dough
(recipe linked below)
- grapeseed oil

Baking with Natural Yeast Basic Bread Dough - 
mixed the day before and now READY TO BAKE! 

NOTE:      2 large pizzas per basic bread dough recipe

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Click Link for Basic Bread Dough:             Baking With Natural Yeast - BASIC BREAD DOUGH

Mama Jo’s Pizza Sauce Recipe: 

1/2 cup Bertoli’s EXTRA virgin Olive Oil
1 and 1/2 cups chopped onion

In a large cooking pot heat the oil and then add onions.  
Cook until dark golden yellow and caramelized - constantly stirring.


Then add: 

1 bundle of minced garlic  (8-10 cloves)
3 TABLESPOONS oregano
2 TABLESPOONS basil
2 TABLESPOONS sugar
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper 
20 (individual...) red pepper flakes 

1 (30 oz.) can tomato sauce 
1 (8 oz.) can tomato puree 

Simmer for 15-30 minutes

Makes enough  sauce for 4-5 homemade pizzas.
Refrigerate  or freeze  any extra sauce you do not use. 

Bake at  425°  for 15-18 minutes.

Be sure to caramelize your onions 
BEFORE
adding the garlic or you will 
scorch/burn your garlic.

Garlic just needs a few minutes of
cooking before you add the spices.

I know... It may seem funny.
But this is the "just-right" amount of both!

Your sauce should have a lovely
SHEEN of olive oil.

If not, add a few more Tablespoons
until it does!

Spray with Pam cooking spray and then
sprinkle a coating of cornmeal on
your FLAT baking stone.

I use my hand at first, wet with water
so the dough doesn't stick...

And then a roller also wetted with water
to roll out the dough.
Keeps the crust CRISPY!  Not soggy...

OR  - Use a bar pan with parchment paper.
Spray with Pam cooking spray and then 
sprinkle a coating of cornmeal on
your parchment paper.

I use any where from 1 - 1 & 1/2 cups of sauce.

TIP: Use the bottom of your measuring
cup to spread your sauce.

MEAT  LOVERS

- Bacon (cooked!)
- Pepperoni (uncured)
- Sausage (cooked!)

HAWAIIAN

- Bacon (cooked!)
- Pineapple (fresh)

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FOR PITA PIZZAS:

Prep on a baking tray lined with foil.

Set your oven to HIGH BROIL and “toast” the side of the pita that will eventually be the bottom (I prefer the bumpy side for my bottom so that the sauce is on the flatter side…)

Broil for 2 minutes and then pull out of the oven 

- FLIP YOUR PITA OVER - 

layer what you want on the side of the pita that was not “toasted”.

HIGH BROIL for 2-4 minutes - be careful not to burn your pizza! 

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Gluten-Free UPDATE for Coconut / Pecan Granola

6 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups Unsweetened coconut flakes (it's really just 1 whole package...)

1 cup pecan pieces

1 cup raw pepitas (these are GREEN unshelled pumpkin seeds)

2/3 cup milled flax seed

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup unrefined, coconut oil

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

(optional:) 1 teaspoon coconut extract 

2 baking sheets (preferred: pampered chef bar pans)

parchment paper

In a large bowl mix together oats, unsweetened coconut, pecan pieces, pepitas, milled flax seed, cinnamon and sea salt.  

Combine well. 

In a small or medium sauce pan, combine water and brown sugar.  
Bring to a boil for 1 minute.  

Remove from heat.  
Add unrefined coconut oil, vanilla and almond extract to the water and sugar mixture. 

Last combing step!  
Add your sugar mixture to the large bowl.  
Combine wet and dry ingredients until mixture is uniform and not clumpy.

Line  2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  
Divide 1/2 of the mixture between the baking sheets and level.

Bake in the oven at 250, with your racks evenly spaced, for your first set of 18-20 minutes.  

Remove both pans and gently remix your granola on each baking sheet.  
Replace baking sheet to your oven - SWITCHING THEIR POSITION.  

Bake another 18-20 minutes, your second set... and... 

REPEAT:

Remove both pans and gently remix your granola on each baking sheet.  
Replace baking sheet to your oven - SWITCHING THEIR POSITION.

Bake for your third and LAST TIME!  18-20 minutes... and... 

REPEAT:  
Remove both pans and gently remix your granola on each baking sheet.  

Let cool completely before transferring it to an air-tight container. 

Enjoy this form of "oatmeal" as a quick snack, as cereal with milk, or with your favorite yogurt.  (Definitely makes Non-fat Greek yogurt happier... as well as "oatmeal" traumatized children!!!)





Click Link FOR original post:            Coconut & Pecan Granola

Click Link FOR:   Mama Jo's Recipe Blog TABLE OF CONTENTS