Road Tested Recipes Have A New Home!

We are proud to announce that the Road Tested Recipe postings on this blog now have a new home. These postings have proven to be very popular, so Deb decided to dedicate a blog that will concentrate solely on recipes adapted to a smaller RV kitchen.

You can follow these posts at deblane.blogspot.com or through the FaceBook link titled RV Road Tested Recipes.

Although the focus of these recipes is on preparation in an RV kitchen, all will feature dishes that are delicious no matter where you prepare them!

Deb also welcomes all of our readers to forward your favorite recipes that will be featured (with credit in your name) in future posts.

Enjoy and we wish everyone Good Eats!

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Road Tested: Crockpot Salmon

This is another delicious recipe we have enjoyed numerous times. Once again, it saves us on LP gas because it can be easily prepared in our small RV kitchen using only a crockpot. It is best served with rice pilaf or mashed potatoes to soak up all the wonderful juices.

Crockpot Salmon

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) bag baby carrots
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 pound salmon fillet
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed

Directions:

• Place olive oil and butter in crockpot. Add onions, carrots and garlic, stir, cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours stirring once during cooking time. Continue simmer until vegetables begin to caramelize.
• Place salmon fillet over vegetables and sprinkle with salt, pepper and dill weed. Cover and continue cooking on low for 1-2 hours until salmon flakes when tested with a fork.
• Place salmon on plate and cover with vegetable mixture. Serves 4.

Enjoy!

copyright 2009-2010 Lane A Geyer

photos by Deb & Lane

Road Tested: Shrimp and Grits

We have been thoroughly enjoying the regional Southern cuisine here in the greater Greenville, SC area over the past three months. In this part of the country, there is nothing more truly "Carolina" than a hearty bowl of shrimp and grits. This is a recipe by Tyler Florence (a Greenville native) that we prepared and loved. For those of you who have not yet developed a taste for grits, try some that have been well-prepared in the Southern tradition; we guarantee you'll like them.

This is another recipe that can be easily prepared in a small RV kitchen using only an electric skillet and small electric burner. By using electric appliances as often as possible, we have saved a tremendous amount on LP gas expense. After almost ten months of living full-time in this unit, we are still on our original tank of LP.

Ingredients:

*For Grits Portion -

• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup stone-ground white cornmeal
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

*For Shrimp Portion -

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 pound spicy sausage, cut into chunks (we suggest Andouille)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 green onion, white and green parts, chopped

Directions:

• To make grits: Place a 3-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal. When the grits begin to bubble, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Allow to cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the mixture is smooth and thick. Remove from heat and stir in the cream and butter, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. (Tip: To maintain a smooth texture, stir often and do not allow grits to become dry. Add additional butter if needed before serving.)
• To begin shrimp portion, heat olive-oil in deep skillet over medium heat.
• Add onions and garlic to oil, then saute for 2 minutes to soften.
• Add in sausage and cook, stirring, until there is a fair amount of fat in the pan and sausage is browned.
• Sprinkle in the flour and stir continually with a wooden spoon to create a roux. (Tip: Be careful not to over heat the roux. It can burn quickly. Just cook for a few minutes until light beige and there is no raw flour taste.)
• Slowly pour in chicken stock and continue stirring to avoid lumps.
• Toss in the bay leaf.
• When the mixture comes to a simmer, add in the shrimp. Poach the shrimp in the mixture for 2 to 3 minutes until they are firm and pink and the gravy is smooth and thick.
• Stir in the parsley and green onion, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Spoon the grits into a large serving bowl.
• Add the shrimp mixture to bowl and stir well.
• Serve immediately.

Enjoy, ya'll!

copyright 2009-2010 Lane A Geyer

photos by Deb & Lane

Road Tested: Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes

Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes

Due to the winter weather here over the past few months, we have had plenty of time to try out new recipes. This is one we enjoyed a few weeks ago and immediately feel in love with. It is another one that can easily be made in the small space of an RV kitchen with only an electric skillet.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds ground chicken breast or ground turkey breast
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped or grated
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup Ken's Steak House Buffalo Wing Sauce
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 8 good quality burger rolls, split and toasted
• 1 cup blue cheese crumbles
• 2 large dill pickles, chopped

Directions:

• Heat extra-virgin olive oil in a large electric skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add meat and break up with wooden spoon, cook 5 to 6 minutes.
• Add in carrots, celery, onions and garlic, season with salt and black pepper then cook 7 to 8 minutes more.
• In a bowl combine Buffalo Wing Sauce, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and stock. Pour into skillet, stir to combine and simmer mix for a few more minutes until thickened.
• Pile sloppy joe mixture onto buns and top with blue cheese and chopped pickles.

Enjoy!

copyright 2009-2010 Lane A Geyer

Photo by Lane

Interesting Websites

My major endeavour these days is writing, which means I spend many hours on the computer. A lot of that time is connected to the Web for researching topics, updating this blog, generating ideas and reading many sites by other full-time RVers to garner feedback on their experiences with RV parks and road conditions throughout the country.

Sometimes, though, I do more play than work online checking out fun, interesting and outright goofy websites. Here are a few worth visiting:

1. refdesk.com - Billed as the Fact Checker for the Internet, this site is the mother lode for any information you might need from links to small town and big city newspaper worldwide, current gas and oil prices, daily diversions, pictures, quotes, random facts and much more. If you want an eye-opening (and outright scary) experience, click on the link from this site to U.S. Debt Clock:Real Time. It's one thing to hear the numbers about our national debt, federal budgets, consumer debt and other economic factors bantered around on the news. It's a whole different thing to see these numbers accumulate by hundreds of thousands of dollars per second right before your eyes.
2. thinkexist.com - This is a site where you could easily end up spending many hours. With more than 300,000 quotes by over 20,000 authors, you can find just the right words for any occasion or subject.
   
3. peopleofwalmart.com - Warning: This sites will make you laugh, moan, shake your head in disbelief and sometimes trigger spontaneous vomit reflexes. These are candid photos of the oddballs who hang out at Walmarts throughout the country. As I've written many times before, we spend a lot of time at Walmarts not only for the prices, but also because they are good to RVers. After seeing a photo on this site of a man we saw at the Clinton, TN store, I'm beginning to wonder if we're spending too much time among these oddballs.
   
4. mentalfloss.com - This is "Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix". Here you can find all kinds of interesting things ranging from people who were born on the same day as you to trivia to amazing facts and lunchtime diversions. Another site where you could end up spending way too many hours.
   
5. icanhascheezburger.com - This is the site for anyone who loves cute and humorous pictures of cats and dogs. The photos are submitted, and captioned, by real visitors. But beyond the cute animals, this site also has links to other interesting topics including the make-your-stomach-hurt-laughing-so-hard one titled Engrish.
   
6. postsecret.blogspot.com - This is one for the voyeur in all of us. Postsecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. Interesting in ways that range from funny to sad.
   
7. cakewrecks.com - This is the site of pictures "When Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong". I can't even begin to try and explain this one. Just check it out.
   
8. recipecurio.com - This site is "Preserving Recipes & Cookbooks From The Past Century". Here you will find charming handwritten recipes, old clippings, vintage recipe booklets & promo pieces submitted by people from all over the country. They are scanned onto the site in all of their tattered, stained and yellowed glory. You'll find both good eats and fond memories reading through these pages.

Have fun!

copyright 2009-2010 by Lane A Geyer

photo by Deb

Road Tested: Grilled German Bratwurst

It is a very rainy, damp day here at the Flower Mill RV Park in Taylors, SC. It's the kind of weather where I look forward to the aromas of a warm meal being prepared.

Here is another recipe we have found works well in an RV kitchen. It can be easily completed with only an electric skillet and toaster oven.

GRILLED GERMAN BRATWURST

Ingredients:

• 4 bratwurst
• Cooking oil
• 1 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 1 can (12 oz.) beer of choice
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 tsp. onion salt
• 1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
• 4 frankfurter buns

Directions:

• Cook bacon until crispy, crumble and set aside for topping.
• Brown bratwurst in cooking oil over medium heat in electric skillet.
• Add onion and beer with bratwurst, then simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes.
• While brats are simmering, stir together butter and onion salt and spread on buns.
• Make a lengthwise cut in finished bratwurst to within 1/2 inch from each end. Spoon in drained onion and sprinkle with cheese.
• Place filled bratwurst on foil "boat", leaving sides open.
• Broil in toaster oven, 4 inches from heat, for two minutes.
• Place in buns, top with crumbled bacon and serve.

For a different flavor, this recipe can also be done ahead of time and completed with final heating over a charcoal grill. Just place filled bratwurst on a baking sheet and bring to heat under covered grill. It does not take long to bring them to heat, so be careful that the bottoms don't burn.

Enjoy!

copyright 2009-2010 Lane A Geyer

photo by Lane

Road Tested: Spicy Southwestern Spaghetti

Here is another recipe that can be easily prepared in an RV kitchen using only an electric skillet and electric burner. It's tasty, reheats well and saves us on LP costs.

Spicy Southwestern Spaghetti

Ingredients:

• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 lb. lean ground sirloin
• 1 lb. thin spaghetti
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp. worchestershire suace
• 1-2 tsp. chipotle Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
• 1 28oz. can crushed fire roasted tomatoes (i.e. Muir Glen)
• 1 15oz. can tomato sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Shredded cheddar cheese and chopped scallions (to taste for final topping)

Directions:

• Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water, drain and set aside.
• In electric skillet over medium-high heat, brown chopped bacon then drain on paper towel and set aside.
• Remove bacon grease from skillet, reserving 1 tbsp.
• Brown ground sirloin in reserved grease until cooked and crumbled, drain and set aside.
• Heat olive oil in skillet, then saute onions and garlic until translucent.
• Return ground sirloin to pan. Stir in worchestershire sauce, chipolte Tabasco sauce, crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add drained spaghetti, mix well, bring heat to low and simmer for an additional 10 minutes or until thickened.
• Serve in pasta bowls topped with chopped bacon, cheddar cheese and chopped scallions.

Enjoy!

copyright 2009-2010 Lane A Geyer

photo by Lane

Road Tested: Ratatouille With Italian Sausage

One of the greatest gifts Deb and I received this Christmas was the opportunity to prepare dishes for our family gathering in my parents full size kitchen! It was pure joy to work together without bumping into one another and have enough oven space to heat more than one recipe at a time.

But we still love cooking in our RV kitchen. It provides less space, but has improved our culinary skills through learning how to prepare great recipes using smaller appliances like an electric skillet or toaster oven. Here's another one of our favorite meals that fits well with an RV lifestyle.

Ratatouille With Italian Sausage

Ingredients:

• 1 small to medium eggplant, cubed
• 2 medium zucchini, sliced
• 1 green and 1/2 red pepper, sliced into strips
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 12 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. basil
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seed
• 1/2 tsp. tarragon
• 1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage links
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

• Heat oil in an electric skillet, then saute eggplant and zucchini over medium-high heat for approx. 5 minutes. Add onions, peppers and mushrooms to mix and cook until soft. Add garlic and briefly continue to saute mix until fragrant. Remove from skillet, saving drippings for cooking sausages.
• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Layer vegetable mix, tomatoes, parsley and seasonings in a 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish. Stir gently to mix.
• Cover and bake for 35 minutes.
• While casserole is baking, saute sausages in reserved skillet drippings until browned. Drain on paper towels until cooled. Slice sausages into 1/2 inch thick pieces and return to skillet. Cook slices 2-3 minutes on each side.
• After vegetables have cooked for 35 minutes add sausages, pushing most down into mix, but saving some for the top. Return to oven and bake, uncovered, for an additional 20 minutes.
• Garnish with additional parsley, if desired.

Note: Flavors improve if dish is made a day ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before reheating.

Enjoy!

copyright 2009 Lane A Geyer