Firestarters (Doritos)
Did you know that Dorito Chips make the best fire starters? Each chip stays lit for a couple of minutes.
Our son was making a fire and hadn’t collected any kindling. I asked him if he had any Doritos. He did and was so impressed that they actually worked!!!
Firestarter (Toilet Paper roll)
During the year when you clean out the lint trap in your dryer, stuff it in a toilet paper roll.
These make great fire starters .
Securing your Tablecloth
This is a simple tip but very useful.
Camping stores sell clips that are suppose to hold your tablecloth in place while camping but – they don’t work! Most camping tables are much too thick for these clips.
Simply take some string and tie it around the table in a couple of places. Works like a charm!
Also, we used to use the same tablecloth through the years but have found that it is easier to buy a cheap plastic one at the Dollar Store and just throw it away at the end of the camp.
Shortbread Caramel Bars
If you love SHORTBREAD – If you love CARAMEL – these bars are for you. They are delicious!
Our friend, Jason suggested eating them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!!! Heaven!!!
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
CRUST:
1 pound unsalted butter, softened *
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Soften butter in the microwave – see “Softening Butter” under the Tips tab in this blog.
In a large bowl, combine butter and both sugars. Beat together until creamy.
1 T. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
Add vanilla and salt. Beat until combined.
4 cups unbleached flour
Add flour about a 1/2 cup at a time, beating at low speed until all flour is added and a soft dough forms.
Spray a 9 x 13 pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and lay the dough on it. Shape it into a size that you can divide into thirds easily.
Press one-third of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust.
Flatten the rest of the dough just a bit and wrap it in the plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Bake the crust for 25 minutes until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown.
CARAMEL:
14 oz. caramel, unwrapped
Place the caramels in a microwave-safe bowl.
1/3 cup heavy cream *
Add the cream.
Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until all the caramels are melted and smooth. (Be patient and feel the side of the bowl. Towards the end, the bowl will be warm/hot. Continue to stir caramels and the heat of the ingredients will melt the remaining caramels. (I did 1 min 30 sec. 30 sec. 30 sec.)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Stir in vanilla.
1 cup nuts (pecan, walnuts or cashews) (optional)
Sprinkle the nuts over the bottom of the crust.
I used pecans the first time.
I used cashews the second time.
Reheat caramel for about 15 – 20 seconds in the microwave so it is runny enough to spoon over the nuts.
Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel. It will look like A LOT of dough!
Return pan to the oven and bake until the shortbread topping is firm – about 40 minutes.
Cool completely.
powdered sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)
Dust with powdered sugar.
Use a sharp knife to cut the bars evenly into 15 large squares. Remove the bars from the pan and cut into triangles, if desired.
The bars will keep, covered tightly at room temperature, for 1 week, or 1 month in the freezer.
TIPS:
* SOFTENING BUTTER – see Softening butter under the TIPS tab. Note – different brands of butter are wrapped differently. Tillamook is wrapped in paper and Challenge is wrapped in foil. I prefer the paper so I can soften it in the microwave.
Land O Lakes is also wrapped in paper.
* HEAVY CREAM: Measure out remaining cream and freeze in zip lock bags
RECIPE SOURCE: Revised (name change) from cookiecrumbsandsawdust.blogspot.com (found on Pinterest)
FULL RECIPE WITHOUT PICTURES —
SHORTBREAD CARAMEL BARS
CRUST:
1 pound unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 T. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
4 cups unbleached flour
CARAMEL:
14 oz. caramel, unwrapped
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup nuts (pecan, walnuts or cashews) (optional)
powdered sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine butter and both sugars. Beat together until creamy.
Add vanilla and salt. Beat until combined.
Add flour about a 1/2 cup at a time, beating at low speed until all flour is added and a soft dough forms.
Spray a 9 x 13 pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and lay the dough on it. Shape it into a size that you can divide into 1/3’s easily.
Press one-third of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust.
Flatten the rest of the dough just a bit and wrap it in the plastic wrap and refrigerate about 30 minutes.
Bake the crust for 25 minutes until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown.
CARAMEL FILLING:
Place the caramels in a microwave-safe bowl.
Add the cream.
Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until all the caramels are melted and smooth. (Be patient and feel the side of the bowl. Towards the end, the bowl will be warm/hot. Continue to stir caramels and the heat of the bowl will melt the remaining caramels.
Stir in vanilla.
Sprinkle the nuts over the bottom of the crust.
Spoon caramel filling over the nuts.
Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel. It will look like A LOT of dough!
Return pan to the oven and bake until the shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden about 35 – 40 minutes.
Cool completely.
Dust with powdered sugar.
Use a sharp knife to cut the bars evenly into 15 large squares. Remove the bars from the pan and cut into triangles, if desired.
The bars will keep, covered tightly at room temperature, for 1 week, or 1 month in the freezer.
RECIPE SOURCE: Revised (name change) from cookiecrumbsandsawdust.blogspot.com (found on Pinterest)
Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffins
Made with whole wheat flour, applesauce and oats, these are very healthy muffins. Super moist and super tasty!
The next time I make them I am going to try adding little bits of apples. Stay tuned.
1 cup old fashioned quick oats
1 cup buttermilk
Combine the oats and buttermilk and let this soak for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line muffin pan with 12 liners and set aside.
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
To the oat and buttermilk mixture, add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup nuts, chopped (optional)
Add the applesauce, eggs and vanilla.
Mix until well combined.
Add the chopped nuts if desired.
Spray muffin papers with non-stick spray.
Fill each muffin well 3/4 full.
Bake 15 – 15 minutes.
Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
RECIPE SOURCE: ladybehindthecurtain.com (found on Pinterest)
FULL RECIPE WITHOUT PICTURES —
BUTTERMILK OATMEAL MUFFINS
1 cup old fashioned quick oats
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup nuts, chopped (optional)
Combine the oats and buttermilk and let this soak for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line muffin pan with 12 liners and set aside.
To the oat and buttermilk mixture, add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Add the applesauce, eggs and vanilla.
Mix until well combined.
Add the chopped nuts if desired.
Fill each muffin well 3/4 full.
Bake 15 – 15 minutes.
Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
Ranch House Pork Chops
It doesn’t get much easier than this. 3 ingredients, no work, and you’ve got a delicious dish.
The Hidden Valley Ranch dressing seasons the pork to perfection.
1 can cream chicken soup – 98% fat free
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
Mix soup and dry dressing in crock pot.
Pork chops
Add pork chops, spreading the soup mixture on top.
Cooking time will depend on the thickness of your pork chops. Approximately 4 hours on LOW, would be the average. Watch carefully – overcooked pork is very dry 
NOTE: You can put the pork chops in frozen – just increase the cooking time.
Spicy Avocado Chicken Enchiladas
These Chicken Avocado Enchiladas are delicious! We absolutely loved them! They have just the right amount of spiciness.
Thank you Lynette for sharing this great recipe with me!
In this picture: Served with Cilantro Lime Rice (under the Rice tab)
NOTE: The next time I make this recipe I am going to make an additional 1/2 recipe of sauce and put a spoonful of sauce inside each burrito.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Before starting to cook, have all ingredients prepared ie – chopped, minced, shredded
1 medium onion, chopped
In a medium fry pan or sauce pan, saute onions. Set aside in another bowl.
1 1/2 T. butter
In the same pan, melt butter over medium/high heat.
1 Serrano pepper, minced NOTE: If you want it HOT – include the seeds. If you want it SLIGHTLY SPICY, use 1 Serrano pepper, seeded and minced. If you want it MILDLY SPICY, only use half of a Serrano pepper, seeded and minced.
This is a Serrano pepper. You can find them at most stores. I always wear gloves when handling peppers because I wear contacts and DO NOT want pepper in my eyes when removing my contacts.
3 garlic cloves, minced
Saute Serrano peppers and garlic for 1 minute.
1 1/2 T. flour
Stir in flour, constantly stirring – cook 2 minutes.
1 1/2 cup chicken broth, 99% fat free
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Whisk in the chicken broth, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a low boil.
1 1/2 cups salsa verde
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
3/4 cup fat free sour cream
Once boiling, whisk in the salsa verde, cilantro and sour cream.
Remove from heat.
ENCHILADA ASSEMBLY:
Spray 9 x 13 pan with non-stick spray.
Add 3/4 cup of sauce to the bottom of pan. (I split this recipe into 3)
8 – 10 flour or wheat tortillas NOTE: We used very low calorie wheat tortillas. They were very good but when using these tortillas again, I will brown them slightly on a comal or other fry pan before filling them. Healthy wheat tortillas are very thin and can get mushy.
3 cups chopped cooked chicken (about 4 breasts) – roasted chicken works great
8 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded and divided
3 avocados, peeled and chopped
Lay tortillas out on the counter top. Divide chicken, 3/4 of the cheese, sauteed onion and avocado evenly to the center of each tortilla.
Roll, placing seam-side down in the dish.
Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas.
Bake 15 – 20 minutes, covered.
Top with remaining cheese.
Bake another 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
RECIPE SOURCE: Lynette R.
FULL RECIPE WITHOUT PICTURES —
SPICY AVOCADO CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
NOTE: The next time I make this recipe I am going to make an additional 1/2 recipe of sauce and put a spoonful of sauce inside each burrito.
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 T. butter
1 Serrano pepper, minced NOTE: If you want it HOT – included the seeds. If you want it SLIGHTLY SPICY, use 1 Serrano pepper, seeded and minced. If you want it MILDLY SPICY, only use half of a Serrano pepper, seeded and minced.
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 T. flour
1 1/2 cup chicken broth, 98% fat free
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 cup salsa verde
3/4 cup fat free sour cream
ENCHILADAS:
8 – 10 flour or wheat tortillas NOTE: We used very low calorie wheat tortillas. They were very good but when using these tortillas again, I will brown them slightly on a comal or other fry pan before filling them. Healthy wheat tortillas are very thin and can get mushy.
3 cups chopped cooked chicken (about 4 breasts)
8 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded and divided
3 avocados, peeled and chopped
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Before starting to cook, have all ingredients prepared as stated above.
In a medium fry pan or sauce pan, saute onions. Set aside in another bowl.
In the same pan, melt butter over medium/high heat.
Saute Serrano peppers and garlic for 1 minute.
Stir in flour, constantly stirring – cook 2 minutes.
Whisk in the chicken broth, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a low boil.
Once boiling, whisk in the sour cream, salsa verde and cilantro.
Remove from heat.
Add 3/4 cup of sauce to the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.
Lay tortillas out on the counter top. Divide chicken, 3/4 of the cheese, onion and avocado evenly to the center of each tortilla.
Roll, placing seam-side down in the dish.
Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas.
Bake for 15 minutes or until bubbly.
Top with remaining cheese.
Bake for another 5 minutes. to melt cheese.
Serve immediately.
RECIPE SOURCE: Lynette R.
Campfire Blueberry Orange Muffins
My niece, Chelsie made these Orange Blueberry Muffins the last time we went camping. THEY ARE DIVINE!!! I made the mistake of not taking pictures of her preparing them, so these picture are borrowed from BuzzFeed Community – found on Pinterest.
These were a special treat while camping!!!
Cut oranges in half and scoop out the inside, leaving just the orange peel.
Prepare a boxed Blueberry Muffin mix according to the package directions and fill ONE HALF of each orange.
Put the empty orange peel on top and wrap in 3 layers of foil.
Place them over some nice hot coals, turning every couple of minutes. They will take about 10 – 15 minutes to cook all the way through. (Just to be safe – take one out and check it make sure they are done all the way through.)
Thanks Chelsie!!! These were the BEST!!! ENJOY!!!!
Parmesan Bread Twists
I love making these bread twists – First, because they are REALLY good and I always eat way too many! Second, because they are easy to make and only take 20 minutes to raise. They are a great compliment to any meal.
I also added a little garlic salt which is not shown.
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 T. sugar
Mix water and sugar in stand mixer – stir lightly to dissolve.
1 T. yeast
Sprinkle yeast over the top. Let sit 5 minutes until yeast is bubbly.
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
Add flour and salt. Mix with the dough hook until smooth.
Let it sit and raise for 10 minutes.
With floured hands, remove dough onto a floured surface.
Roll dough into a large square.
4 – 5 T. butter
Brush dough with about 3 T. melted butter.
garlic granules
parmesan cheese (the kind in the green can)
garlic salt
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, garlic granules and a little bit of garlic salt.
Fold the dough in half with the buttered side to the inside.
Lightly roll with a rolling pin, especially on the folded side to flatten it out a little bit.
Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half the long way and then in 1″ strips. (These will look kind of small but when you twist them, they stretch out.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Twist the strips and place on a cookie sheet. Let them sit for another 10 – 15 minutes to raise.
Bake at 400 degrees for 14 – 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Immediately after baking, brush with more melted butter and sprinkle with more garlic granules and parmesan cheese.
Serve with marinara sauce, alfredo sauce, or ranch if desired….or just eat them as is!!!
This dough also makes excellent pizza dough.
RECIPE SOURCE: The Recipe Critic (found on Pinterest)
FULL RECIPE WITHOUT PICTURES —
PARMESAN BREAD TWISTS
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 T. sugar
1 T. yeast
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
4 – 5 T. butter
garlic granules
parmesan cheese (the kind in the green can)
garlic salt
Mix water and sugar in stand mixer – stir lightly to dissolve.
Sprinkle yeast over the top. Let sit 5 minutes until yeast is bubbly.
Add flour and salt. Mix with the dough hook until smooth. Let it sit and raise for 10 minutes.
With floured hands, remove dough onto a floured surface.
Roll dough into a large square.
Brush dough with about 3 T. melted butter.
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and a little bit of garlic salt.
Fold the dough in half with the buttered side to the inside.
Lightly roll with a rolling pin, especially on the folded side to flatten it out a little bit.
Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half the long way and then in 1″ strips. (These will look kind of small but when you twist them, they stretch out.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Twist the strips and place on a cookie sheet. Let them sit for another 10 – 15 minutes to raise.
Bake at 400 degrees for 14 – 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Immediately after baking, brush with more melted butter and sprinkle with more garlic granules and parmesan cheese.
Serve with marinara sauce, alfredo sauce, or ranch if desired.
This dough also makes excellent pizza dough.
RECIPE SOURCE: The Recipe Critic (found on Pinterest)
Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Another great way to use overripe bananas. This is a tasty little cookie. The bananas make it very moist and delicious.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Whisk together flours, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.
3/4 cup ( 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
Beat butter and sugars until fluffy.
1 large egg
1 1/2 vanilla extract
Reduce speed to low. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined.
1/2 cup ripe banana (or a little more) – mashed. I didn’t measure – I used 2 very ripe medium bananas.
Mix in mashed banana.
Add flour mixture. Mix until just combined. (If you are adding more than the 1/2 cup of banana, like I did, add a spoonful or 2 of extra flour).
1 cup rolled oats, regular or instant
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
Stir in oats, chocolate chips and nuts. (I didn’t add nuts.)
Scoop rounded teaspoons onto a cookie sheet.
Bake cookies 12 – 13 minutes.
Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.
Makes 30 cookies
FULL RECIPE WITHOUT PICTURES —
1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup ( 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 1/2 vanilla extract
1/2 cup ripe banana (or a little more) – mashed. I used 2 medium bananas.
1 cup rolled oats, regular or instant
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Whisk together flours, salt and baking soda in a small bowl.
Beat butter and sugars until fluffy.
Reduce speed to low. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined.
Mix in mashed banana.
Add flour mixture. Mix until just combined. (If you have added more than the 1/2 cup of banana, like I did, add a spoonful or 2 of extra flour).
Stir in oats, chocolate chips and nuts.
Scoop rounded teaspoons onto a cookie sheet.
Bake cookies 12 – 13 minutes.
Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.
Makes 30 cookies
No Meals on Wheels 