Greek Stuffed Peppers

      You'll never miss the meat in these Greek Stuffed Peppers from Martha Stewart.  Filled with couscous, feta cheese and cannelini beans, the great thing about them is that you don't have to cook any of the stuffing ingredients beforehand.  The couscous fluffs up and steams along with the peppers.  I baked them in my 10 inch oven with 10 coals around the bottom and 22 on the lid, in 45 minutes they were tender and brown on top.  When they were ready I topped them with a sprinkling of cheese and let them cook for 5 minutes longer.  I should have known better by now but stuffed peppers always cook better in a 12 inch oven, smaller ovens are just a wee bit on the shallow side.  Filling, healthy and a terrific entree to make for the vegetarians in your family, these peppers can easily be assembled at home or by the campfire.

Greek stuffed Peppers
4 large OR 6 small bell peppers
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup (4 oz.) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup couscous
4 scallions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup water

     Lightly oil or spray 12 inch dutch oven.
     Slice off tops of peppers below stems; remove ribs and seeds from peppers.
     In medium bowl mix beans, feta, couscous, scallion whites, garlic and oregano. 
     Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
     Stuff peppers with bean mixture, place in bottom of prepared oven.
     Pour water around peppers.
     Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until peppers are tender.
     Top with cheese during the last few minutes of cooking time if so desired.
     Garnish with green scallions before serving.

Add water to dutch oven before cooking peppers

Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees

Fork tender peppers stuffed with fluffy couscous, melted cheese and beans

  

Baked Beans and Eggs

      There was a chill in the air this morning which had me craving a good, hearty breakfast.  I found a can of Boston Baked Beans on the shelf which instantly got me to thinking of a way I could make them with eggs in my dutch oven.  Beans for breakfast are quite common in many parts of the world.  My sainted grandmother used to start the day with a cold baked bean sandwich.   In the UK tomato based Heinz beans are often served with a full breakfast of sausage, eggs, bacon, black pudding, mushrooms, tomato and fried bread, now that's what I call a great way to start the day.  In New England a more traditional style of baked beans, as we Americans have come to know them, are dished up alongside fish cakes and dropped or poached eggs.  Mexicans have been eating beans for breakfast for centuries, they are after all a healthy way to add more protein and fiber to your diet. 
     I decided on sauteing up a little onion, adding a can of baked beans and baking the eggs with a sprinkling of cheese.  I started my 8 inch oven over a full spread, or about 10 coals, on the bottom and 14 on the lid.  Once your beans are at a full bubble, add the eggs and keep a close eye on them because they will be ready in under 10 minutes.  I served them over a toasted English muffin but they would also be delicious piled over thick slices of fried or toasted bread.  I actually liked the sweetness of the Boston style baked beans but there are so many interesting kinds on the market these days you could really switch up the flavor.  The recipe is geared for an 8 inch oven but you can double or triple the quantities if you are cooking for more.  Sprinkle the eggs with crumbled bacon or chopped scallions and chow down on a feast fit for a king.

Baked Beans and Eggs
1 tsp olive or cooking oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 16 oz. can baked beans
2-4 eggs
1/3 cup shredded cheese, optional
Chopped scallions or crumbled bacon for garnish
    
     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Saute onion in oil over a full spread of coals until softened.
     Add can of baked beans; mix well.
     Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until beans are heated through and bubbling.
     Make several indentations in beans; gently slide eggs onto the beans.
     Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes.
     When eggs are cooked halfway sprinkle on cheese.
     Cover and cook until eggs are done the way you like them.
     Serve beans with eggs over toast or English muffins.
     Makes 2 servings.

Saute onion over a full compliment of coals

Add beans

Gently slide eggs over simmering beans

Sprinkle cheese over partially cooked eggs

Bake for 5 more minutes or until cheese has melted and eggs have set

This stick to your ribs breakfast will keep you going all day

Caprese French Bread Pizza

     The original recipe for this French Bread Pizza from the Mazola company includes directions for making your own pesto from scratch.  If you have a bumper crop of basil in your garden it would be well worth the effort however if you're cooking at your campsite using the jarred variety is the only way to go.  Spread it on French bread, top with tomatoes and cheese and in 15 minutes you've got fresh tasting, crispy, soft, cheesy pizza.  I baked mine in my 12 inch oven with 12 coals in a ring around the bottom and about 28 on top.  It's another one of those amazing, few ingredient recipes that bakes beautifully in your dutch oven.

Caprese French Bread Pizza
1 loaf French or Italian bread, halved lengthwise
1-2 thinly sliced tomatoes
8 oz. shredded mozzarella
3-4 Tblsp prepared pesto

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Spread pesto evenly onto bread surfaces.
     Top with tomatoes and mozzarella.
     Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until cheese has melted and is lightly brown.
     Slice and serve immediately.
     The topping is also good on ciabatta bread, baguettes, focaccia or precooked pizza crusts.

Spread bread with pesto and top with tomatoes

Pile on the cheese

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees

Mangia

Caramel Peach Crunch

      This recipe won second prize in the dessert category of Woodall's 1969 Open Fire Camp Cooking Contest.  It's basically an upside down crisp, the bottom caramelizes when baked and tastes like a warm thick, peachy, oatmeal cookie.  Bake it in your 12 inch camp oven with 10 coals in a ring around the bottom and 18-20 on top.  Serve this hot, gooey crunch with your favorite ice cream or a big spoonful of whipped cream, from Woodall's Campsite Cookbook.

Caramel Peach Crunch
1 cup flour
1 3/4 cup uncooked rolled oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 29 oz. cans sliced or halved peaches, drained

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven; line with parchment paper.
     Combine all ingredients except peaches; mix well.
     Spread oat mixture in bottom of prepared oven.
     Top with drained peaches.
     Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Spread oatmeal mixture evenly in bottom of parchment lined oven

Top with drained peaches

Peaches bake over a giant oatmeal cookie

Gooey and good

Roasted Acorn Squash, Shallots and Rosemary

     This different and flavorful way of roasting acorn squash from Martha Stewart infuses delicate wedges of tender squash with a sweet syrup of olive oil, rosemary and balsamic vinegar.  An easy way to serve squash from your dutch oven, add more shallots if you can, they sweeten like candy as they cook.  I roasted mine in a 12 inch oven with 12 coals in a ring around the bottom and the lid completely covered with 28-30 coals, you'll need a blazing hot oven.  With only a few ingredients, the clean, simple flavors of this side dish will go well with any roast on your fall table.

Roasted Acorn Squash, Shallots, and Rosemary
2 acorn squash, halved and cleaned
8 shallots
6 small sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)
3 Tblsp olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Prepare acorn squash, carefully cut each half into four wedges.
     Peel shallots, leaving root ends intact (separate into lobes, if large).
     Combine shallots, squash, rosemary, olive oil and balsamic vinegar in dutch oven.
     Season with salt and pepper; toss well to coat.
     Bake at 450 degrees for 40-45 minutes, turning squash halfway through, until browned and tender.
     Makes 6 servings.

Toss squash and shallots with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and rosemary

Roast in a hot oven for 40-45 minutes

Sweet, tangy squash melts in your mouth

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

      Almost every one of my many spiral bound community cookbooks contains a recipe for King Ranch Casserole.  Named after one of the largest cattle ranches in Texas, but not necessarily invented there, some version of this creamy casserole can be found on pot luck tables all over south.  It's easy to see why it is so popular, layers of tortillas are drenched in a cheesy sauce, spiked with chilies and loaded with chunks of chicken.  The great thing about this recipe is that is does not require any precooking of the ingredients, all you have to do is open the cans, chop the vegetables and layer away.  In my 10 inch dutch oven this baked with 10 coals in a ring around the bottom and 18-20 on the lid.  After 30 minutes the casserole was bubbling and ready for the final cheese topping.  Let it sit for a good half hour before serving so the sauce can soak into the tortillas.  Like a creamier version of an enchilada pie, this is the ultimate Texas dutch oven comfort food. 

King Ranch Chicken Casserole
1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 (10 oz.) can Rotel tomatoes with green chili peppers
1 (12 oz.) package corn tortillas, cut into slices
3 cups cooked, diced chicken
1 onion, chopped
1 green OR red bell pepper, chopped
8 oz. grated Cheddar Jack cheese
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Combine chicken soup, mushroom soup, broth, tomatoes with chilies, chili powder and garlic powder. 
     Layer 1/2 of tortilla strips, 1/2 the chicken, 1/2 the onion, 1/2 bell pepper and 1/2 the cheese in prepared dutch oven.  Pour 1/2 of the soup mixture over the layers.
     Repeat the layers of tortillas, chicken, onion and bell pepper.  Pour remaining soup mixture over the top.
     Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until soup is bubbling and casserole is heated through.
     Top with remaining cheese, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until cheese is brown and melted.
     Serves 6.

Layer ingredients in a 10 or 12 inch dutch oven

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until hot and bubbling

Sprinkle on the final layer of cheese

Bake for 10 minutes more or until cheese has melted

Creamy, cheesy, cold weather comfort food

Pilgrim's Cranberry Apple Cobbler

     This cobbler from Duncan Hines is similar to a dump cake but when you cut the softened butter into the cake mix it becomes more of a streusel like topping.  The original recipe calls for a can of peach pie filling but since I couldn't find it at my grocery store I substituted it with the apple variety.  I baked this in my 10 inch dutch oven with 10 coals in a ring around the bottom and 16-18 on the lid.  After 30 minutes it was golden and bubbly.  If you decide to make this in your larger oven I would suggest doubling the amount of fruit filling but keeping the topping the same.  Really easy and incredibly good, serve it warm from your oven with your favorite ice cream, it's a seasonal winner. 

Pilgrim's Cranberry Apple Cobbler
1 21 oz. can apple or peach pie filling
1 16 oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 18.25 oz. package yellow cake mix (without pudding)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (one stick) butter or margarine, at room temperature
1/2 cup pecans, optional

     Lightly oil or spray 10 inch dutch oven.
     Combine pie filling and cranberry sauce in large bowl, spread in bottom of prepared oven.
     Combine cake mix and spices in medium bowl.  Cut in butter with pastry cutter or two knives until mixture is crumbly.
     Stir in pecans. 
     Sprinkle over fruit mixture. 
     Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until top is lightly browned and set.
     Cool slightly.  Serve warm with ice cream if desired.

Dump cake like dessert with buttery chunks of streusel topping

Serve with pumpkin ice cream for the perfect fall dessert