Chicken Pesto Bake

     The beauty of this Chicken Pesto Bake from Land O'Lakes is that you can mix everything together in one bowl then pour it in your dutch oven, simple as that.  If you're making it outside, cook the pasta al dente ahead of time, toss with a little olive oil, store it in a zip lock bag then take it to your campsite.  In my 12 inch dutch oven it baked with 12 coals in a ring around the bottom and 28 on the lid.  I used panko but you can use fresh bread crumbs or your favorite store bought variety.  Substitute cooked and crumbled Italian sausage for the chicken or even leftover grilled or roasted vegetables.  Very creamy and filling, a great all round dutch oven casserole.

Chicken Pesto Bake
1 16 oz. package uncooked multi-colored rotini pasta
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup milk
1/4 cup purchased pesto
1 16 oz. jar Alfredo sauce
1 7 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup cubed fresh Mozzarella cheese (optional)
Topping
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 Tblsp butter, melted

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Cook pasta as directed on package; drain.
     Meanwhile, combine chicken, milk, pesto, Alfredo sauce, red peppers and pepper in large bowl.
     Stir in cooked pasta.
     Spread into prepared dutch oven.
     Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
     Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and butter in small bowl.
     Sprinkle over casserole.
     Continue cooking until edges are bubbly and topping is golden brown (10-15 minutes).
     Makes 6-8 servings.

Mix first 8 ingredients then pour into dutch oven

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes then sprinkle with topping

Continue baking for 15 more minutes or until topping is golden brown

A great pot luck recipe

Raspberry Baked Brie

     I treated myself to a pint of fresh raspberries the other day and when I saw this recipe I knew exactly what I was going to do with the few left in the bottom of the container.  This Raspberry Baked Brie is nothing short of sublime.  Made with a few basic ingredients and Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, it's so easy, a child could make it.  The only thing I would suggest is pressing the two pieces of dough on wax paper, it does tend to stick from the warmth of your hands.  You also need to line your dutch oven with parchment, I think it would be a challenge lifting out the soft, hot dough with a spatula.  This baked perfectly in my 8 inch oven with 8 coals around the base of the oven, 12 around the rim of the lid and 2 in the center.  After 15 minutes I removed the center coals and moved them to the outside to prevent it from burning, it was golden brown in 30 minutes.  You could easily make this in your 10 inch oven, better yet, try baking 2 in your 12 inch  oven, it's so good you'll be wanting one for yourself and one for the rest of your guests. 

Raspberry Baked Brie
1 8 oz. can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 7-8 oz. round Brie cheese
1 Tblsp seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup fresh raspberries (do not use frozen)
1 egg, beaten
Assorted crackers or French bread slices

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven; line with parchment paper.
     Unroll dough; separate crosswise into two sections.
     Press each section into 6-inch square, firmly pressing perforations to seal.
     Place cheese on center of one dough square; top with jam and raspberries.
     Cut small shapes from each corner of remaining dough square, one inch from center of square; set cutouts aside.
     Place square on top of cheese round.
     Press dough evenly around cheese, folding bottom edges over top edges; press to seal completely.
     Place in parchment lined oven.
     Arrange dough cutouts on top; brush with beaten egg.
     Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
     Lift from dutch oven; place on serving plate.
     Cool 10 minutes, serve warm with crackers.

Spread Brie with jam then cover with raspberries

Transfer dough covered Brie to parchment lined oven
then brush with beaten egg

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes

Let cool for 10 minutes

Serve warm with crackers and French bread

Amish Baked Oatmeal

      Oh boy, when I saw this recipe for Amish Baked Oatmeal from Food.com I could hardly wait until morning to give it a try.  What better way to start the day than with a bowl of warm, baked oatmeal topped with fresh fruit and milk?  We can thank the Amish for another hearty recipe that will stay by you all day.  It took no time at all to mix and only 20 minutes to cook.  In my 10 inch oven it baked with 10 coals in a ring around the bottom and 20 on the lid.  When I smelled the aroma of fresh baked oatmeal cookies, I knew it was ready.  Perfect for cool fall mornings, try doctoring it up with dried cranberries and raisins.  Kids will wolf this down, if you don't mind splurging on the sugar, it's really a healthy, nutritious and delicious treat.

Amish Baked Oatmeal
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup white OR brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter OR margarine
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

     Lightly oil or spray 10 inch dutch oven.
     In medium bowl combine egg, milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and sugar; whisk until well combined.
     Stir in oatmeal, salt and baking powder.
     Spoon evenly into prepared dutch oven.
     Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
     Spoon immediately into a bowl.
     Top with warm milk, fresh fruit or brown sugar if desired.
     Makes 4 servings.

Spread oatmeal mixture in prepared dutch oven

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until
brown around edges

Nothing like cookies and milk for breakfast

Savory Chicken Cobbler

     This recipe for Savory Chicken Cobbler from the Loveless Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee bakes buttery bread cubes over a layer of creamy chicken.  Mix the topping and filling in separate bowls before you begin cooking and the casserole will easily come together.  In my 10 inch dutch oven I started out sauteing the mushrooms and onions over a full compliment of coals.  Once they had softened I moved the bottom coals to a ring of 10 around the base of the oven.  After I added the rest of the ingredients it baked for 25 minutes with 20-22 briquettes on the lid.  Substitute leftover biscuits for the bread cubes but be sure to give this rich, savory cobbler a try.

Loveless Savory Chicken Cobbler
1 stick butter, divided
4 cups cubed leftover bread or biscuits
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley OR 1 tsp dried
1 medium onion, diced
1 8 oz. package fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup diced jarred oven roasted red peppers
1 cup milk
1 10 3/4 oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup
3 cups cooked chicken, cut or pulled into bite sized pieces

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Melt 6 Tblsp butter and toss with cubed bread or biscuits, Parmesan and parsley; reserve.
     In medium bowl whisk soup and milk until well combined; stir in chicken and red pepper.
     Saute mushrooms and onions in remaining 2 Tblsp butter over a full spread of coals until softened and browned.
     Move coals to a ring around base of oven.
     Add chicken mixture to mushrooms and onions, stir until well combined.
     Top with bread cubes.
     Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown.
     Makes 4 servings.

Saute mushrooms and onions in butter over a
full compliment of coals

Stir in chicken mixture

Top with bread cubes

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes

I know you'll like this

Baked Bratwurst with Onions and Fingerling Potatoes

     We're having a new refrigerator delivered this week, to simplify the move I have been on a mission to clean out and cook the food from the old freezer.  I had a package of Johnsonville Bratwurst and was thinking of an easy way to prepare them in my dutch oven.  Of course everyone knows the best way to cook them is to simmer them in beer then throw them on the grill, but you can also bake them with potatoes and onions in your dutch oven and they come out tender, juicy and full of flavor. In my 10 inch dutch oven I tossed them with fingerling potatoes and sliced onions then cooked them in a hot oven for one hour.  They baked with 10 coals around the bottom and 24-26 on the lid.  I got side tracked while they were cooking but would suggest giving them a stir halfway through cooking time.  An easy one pot dinner with very little prep work, slice up some hearty brown bread and enjoy! 

Baked Bratwurst with Onions and Fingerling Potatoes
4-6 uncooked bratwurst
4-6 fingerling or small new potatoes with the skin on
2 large onions, sliced
1 Tblsp olive oil
1 Tblsp spicy brown mustard

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Combine olive oil and mustard in small bowl; mix well.
     Place bratwurst and potatoes in prepared oven, cover evenly with onions.
     Pour mustard mixture over all, toss lightly until coated.
     Bake at 400 degrees for 50-60 minutes, stirring halfway, or until bratwurst are brown and potatoes are tender.

Toss brats, onions and potatoes with mustard and olive oil

Bake in a hot oven for 50-60 minutes

An easy cool weather supper

Australian Cheese, Garlic and Chive Damper

     Damper is an Australian traditional non-yeast bread often cooked in camp ovens.  This recipe comes from an article written by Margaret E. Walker in Outback Camping via food.com.  It is similar to a biscuit dough but shaped into a single loaf and cut into slices.  Very simple to make and almost foolproof to bake in your dutch oven, it is easy to see why dampers are so popular.  In my 10 inch dutch oven this baked with 10 coals in a ring around the base of the oven and the lid completely covered with 24-26 coals.  In 25 minutes the damper was golden brown and cooked all the way through.  Tangy and moist with a crispy, cheesy crust, this is a basic but wonderful bread for any time of the day.

Australian Cheese, Garlic and Chive Damper
2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tblsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
3 Tblsp grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 Tblsp chives, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Sift flour and salt together in large bowl.
     Using fingers, rub in the chopped butter until it is the consistency of breadcrumbs.
     Add Cheddar, 2 Tblsp Parmesan, garlic and chives; mix well.
     Combine milk and water.
     Make a well in flour and pour in all of the liquid, reserving 1 Tblsp for the glaze.
     Mix quickly into a soft dough, using a fork or hands.
     Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead lightly.
     Press into a round, place in prepared dutch oven.
     Glaze with remaining milk and water mixture and sprinkle with 1 Tblsp Parmesan.
     Bake at 425 minutes for 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown.
     Serve sliced with butter or olive oil.
     Individual dampers can also be shaped and baked for the same time and temperature.

Shape dough into a round loaf then sprinkle with Parmesan

Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes

The boys came running to the smell of a warm damper fresh
out of the oven

An Outback classic

Key Lime Pie Cinnamon Rolls

     In the time it takes you to zest a couple of limes and whack open a tube of Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon Rolls you can make these out of this world delicious Key Lime Pie Cinnamon Rolls.  Another convenient recipe, all you have to do is unroll the dough, sprinkle with the filling, reroll and bake.  Also, cutting the rolls with a serrated knife helps to hold them together.  I actually found a bag of key limes in my grocery store but you could substitute regular limes and they would be equally good.  In my 10 inch dutch oven they baked for 20 minutes with 10 coals in a ring around the base of the oven and 22 on the lid.  Make a double batch if you can, these are so tasty everyone will be lined up for seconds.
 
Key Lime Pie Cinnamon Rolls
1 can Pillsbury Grands Flaky Supreme refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs, separated
1 Tblsp grated Key Lime peel
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 Tblsp Key Lime juice
(Key Limes can be substituted with regular limes)

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven; line with parchment paper.
     Remove dough from can; do not separate dough into rolls. 
     Reserve icing.
     Carefully unroll cinnamon roll dough on waxed paper.
     Sprinkle dough evenly with 1/4 cup of the graham cracker crumbs, lime peel, and white chips; lightly press chips into dough.
     Reroll dough; using serrated knife, separate into 5 rolls.
     Place, cut side up, in prepared dutch oven.
     Bake 17-20 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes.
     Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine reserved icing and lime juice; stir until well blended.
     Drizzle icing over warm rolls.
     Sprinkle tops with remaining graham cracker crumbs.  Serve warm.

Unroll dough from package then sprinkle with
chips, crumbs and zest

Reroll dough, cut into rolls then place in oven

Bake for 17-20 minutes at 350 degrees

Drizzle with lime flavored glaze and devour while warm