Honey Bacon-Wrapped Dates

 Ingredients:

• 2 oz. cream cheese, softened

• 1 Tbsp. thinly sliced chives, plus more for garnish

• ¼ tsp. paprika

• 20 medjool dates, pitted (12 oz. package)

• 10 slices bacon (thin cut), halved crosswise

• 2 jalapeños, cut into 20 thin slices

• 2 Tbsp. honey

• Toothpicks

Directions:

• Preheat oven with 29 briquettes (19 on top, 10 on bottom) for 12” oven

• Stir together cream cheese, chives, and paprika in a small bowl

• Cut dates in half, enough so they can be opened like a book but not cut all the way through

• Stuff each date with the filling and fold closed

• Wrap each date with a bacon piece. Top with a jalapeno slide and secure with a toothpick

• Bake dates until bacon is beginning to crisp

• Remove from oven and drizzle the hot dates with honey. Sprinkle extra chives on top

Note: Tastes best when served hot!

Texas Twinkies

Ingredients:

• 15 large jalapeños 

• 1 lb. chopped beef brisket or roast

• 1 cup grated pepper jack cheese

• 8 oz. block of cream cheese

• 2 packages of bacon

• Bbq sauce

• 2 tsp. salt

• 2 tsp. pepper

• 2 tsp. garlic powder

• Toothpicks

Directions:

• Prepare beef brisket/roast in smoker/oven

• Here’s the link to the roast recipe I used: https://www.aforkstale.com/crockpot-pepperoncini-pot-roast-recipe/ 

• Cut from the stem to the bottom of the pepper, being careful not to slice through the other side

• Scrape all the seeds out with a spoon

• Combine cream cheese, pepper jack, chopped brisket, and spices together until fully combined

• Preheat oven with 27 briquettes (18 on top, 9 on bottom)

• Stuff each pepper with the filling until almost overflowing

• Tightly wrap each pepper with 1-1½ slices bacon. Secure with a toothpick

• Bake until bacon is crispy

• Take jalapeños out of oven & slather generously with bbq sauce. Return to oven for about 10 more minutes

Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients: 

Rolls:

• 12 Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls, thawed but still cold 
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons chopped pecans 

Caramel Icing: 

• 2 packets cream cheese frosting (included with rolls)
• 1/3 cup caramel ice cream topping 

Instructions: 

1. Cut each roll into 4 pieces and arrange in the bottom of a 12-inch Dutch oven sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cover with lid and let rise 1-2 hours. 
2. In a bowl combine apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, cracker crumbs and pecans. Remove lid and sprinkle evenly over cut (and risen) rolls.
3. Cover with lid and bake at 350 degrees (16 coals on top and 10 on bottom) for 25-30 minutes 
4. For icing, combine cream cheese frosting with caramel topping. Drizzle over cinnamon rolls while still warm. 

Stuffed Mushrooms

This recipe is easy to put together and we loved it! I overcooked mine slightly and they still came out tasting great.

Prep time: ~10 minutes

Cook time: ~30 minutes

Total time: ~40 minutes

Ingredients

• 24 fresh mushrooms
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 4 oz feta cheese crumbles
• 4 green onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ cup bacon cooked and chopped

Instructions

• Remove stems from mushrooms.
• Combine cream cheese, feta cheese, green onions, garlic, and half (1/4 cup) bacon in a bowl and mix well.
• Stuff each mushroom with filling and place in a 12″ Dutch oven.
• Sprinkle remaining bacon over the stuffed mushrooms.
• Bake mushrooms at 350°F until mixture is melted, but not soupy (20-30 minutes)

This recipe comes from this article: https://www.dutchovendaddy.com/dutch-oven-stuffed-mushrooms/

Cast Iron Dutch Oven Meatloaf Camping Recipe

This recipe is from the article written by Kim Hanna and titled "Dutch Oven Meatloaf: Bacon-Topped Best Meatloaf Recipe Ever" on the website campingforfoodies.com (https://www.campingforfoodies.com/dutch-oven-meatloaf/#recipe). The article recommends making one's own parchment paper to cook the meatloaf; however, I used regular store bought parchment paper and it worked just fine.

Ingredients

Meatloaf Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork mild Italian sausage
• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 3 large eggs beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 4 slices regular cut bacon strips not thick cut

Glaze Ingredients

• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard

Instructions

• Special Equipment: Make your own Dutch oven parchment paper liner (or use a pre-cut liner). This post has detailed instructions and a VIDEO to show you how to make your own: How to line a Dutch oven with parchment paper. https://www.campingforfoodies.com/how-to-use-dutch-oven-liners/
• Pre-heat a standard-depth 12-inch Dutch oven to bake at to 350 degrees F. (25 total coals = 17 on top of the Dutch oven lid / 8 under the bottom of oven.) For RV and conventional ovens, see Note 5 below.
• Combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl and set aside: ketchup, brown sugar and mustard.
• In a large bowl combine the meatloaf ingredients starting with the ground beef, ground pork mild Italian sausage, salt, black pepper, onion, garlic. Then mix in breadcrumbs. Followed by mixing in the eggs. Then mixing in the Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce.
• Mix with your hands, until thoroughly blended. Do not over mix. Mold the meat mixture into a round, about 7 to 8 inches in diameter.
• Layer bacon slices over the top of the meatloaf in a tic-tac-toe or hashtag pattern. Sort of like making a lattice top on a pie.
• Place meatloaf mixture in the center of the parchment paper and use the exposed paper corners as “handles” to lower the loaf into the preheated oven.
• Place the loaf of meat into the center of the oven, then pour the glaze mixture over the top.
• Cover with lid and place coals for baking at 350 F degrees until the meat loaf is done. Use a meat thermometer to verify the internal temperature reaches 165 F degrees. Every 15 minutes or so, rotate the lid and oven 1/4 turns in opposite directions throughout the baking process for even heating.
• Remove the Dutch oven from the coals and let rest for 10 minutes then lift out using the parchment paper handles, slice and serve.

Notes

NOTE 1: You can use campfire coals or charcoal briquettes. If you use a propane camp stove, use a Dutch oven dome and heat diffuser plate. If you use an RV oven or conventional oven, just pre-heat the oven with a 12-inch oven-safe baking dish.

NOTE 2: You will need TWO sets of coals because of the length of the baking time. If you are using charcoal, start the second batch of coals about 20 minutes in to the cooking process so they are ready as the first set is burning out.

NOTE 3: Deep Dutch ovens are designed to be used for cooking soups and stews, I don’t recommend one for this recipe because the coals sitting on top of the oven the lid are too far away from the food. The bottom of the meatloaf will burn before the top is fully cooked. And, it will be almost impossible to cook the bacon. If you decide to use a deep Dutch oven you will need more coals and you’ll have to monitor the meatloaf through the baking process and move more coals to the lid to build up the heat above the meatloaf.

NOTE 4: If you use a 10-inch Dutch oven, your meatloaf will be thicker so you’ll need to allow for a bit more cooking time.

NOTE 5: If you use an RV oven or conventional oven, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and use an oven-safe baking dish that is approximately 12 inches in diameter. A parchment paper liner is not necessary because you will just lift the entire dish out of the oven to slice and serve. If using a different Dutch oven size, check out our Dutch oven temperature chart. https://www.campingforfoodies.com/dutch-oven-temperature-chart/

NOTE 6: For the bottom coal placement under the oven, avoid setting a coal in the center. If there is a “center coal” the meatloaf will burn because even if you are rotating the lid and the oven in opposite directions during the cooking process, that center part of the oven is constantly over that center coal.

NOTE 7: If the meatloaf reaches the proper temperature but the bacon is not crisp, the only way to finish cooking the bacon without drying out the meat loaf is to create a “broiler effect”. Remove the coals from the bottom of the oven and place all of them on top to concentrate the heat. Allow plenty of time, it might take about 10-15 minutes, be patient, you want to make sure the bacon is fully cooked and has a nice crispy texture.

NOTE 8: When baking Dutch oven recipes with ground meats, use an instant-read thermometer to quickly check the temperature of the food. Replace the lid quickly to minimize heat loss if you need to continue cooking.

Strawberry Lemon Blondies w/ strawberry glaze

🍋🍓This refreshing dessert is perfect for summer!🍓🍋

INGREDIENTS:

BLONDIES

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup diced fresh strawberries

GLAZE

• 1 cup powdered sugar (original recipe recommends you sift your sugar after measuring out, I didn't sift it and it turned out fine)
• 1 Tbsp strawberry puree, you'll need about 2 large strawberries, instructions below.
• Lemon juice, about 1 tbsp, or just enough to thin the glaze to a spreadable consistency.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Start lighting around 30 coal briquettes.
  
• Line a baking pan that can fit in the ditch oven with parchment paper with long edges or line the Dutch oven itself with parchment paper. This will help you lift out the blondies for easy glazing and slicing later.

• Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg.
• When the egg is fully incorporated, beat in the lemon juice. The lemon juice will probably not completely incorporate at this point, that's ok.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and add to the wet ingredients, mixing until no more dry flour is present.
• Gently fold in the diced strawberries. Spread the mixture into your pan and spread out as evenly as possible. The dough is thick, so take your time. I like to use a large offset spatula for this job. (A spoon will do as well)
  
• Put 10 coals on bottom and 14 on the lid (Amount doesn't have to be exactly this just make sure more coals are placed on the lid to ensure proper cooking without scorching the bottom). Bake for 18-30 minutes, just until starting to turn golden around the edges and the center is set. Turn the Dutch oven and lid in opposite directions about every 10 minutes. When done a toothpick inserted in the center will be moist but not wet. Don't over-bake these, or they will dry out. Let cool outside of the oven to finish setting up.

• (This would be best to prep at home) Trim the strawberries for the glaze and puree in a small food processor or blender or by hand. Strain the puree through a small strainer to get 1 Tbsp of puree. Whisk together the sugar, puree, and lemon juice until no lumps remain. If your glaze is too thin, add a touch more sugar. If it's too thick, add more lemon juice or water.
• Once the bars are mostly cooled, pour the glaze all over the top and spread evenly. Wait for the glaze/icing to set up a little bit before cutting in to it. Enjoy! 😊

Batter before baking:

Finished product:

Sour Cream & Noodle Casserole

 This is a childhood favorite of mine, and adapting it to the dutch oven was not that hard to do. 

 

2 lbs ground beef 

16 oz container of sour cream 

16 oz container of cottage cheese 

2 bundles of green onions 

1 15 oz can of tomato sauce 

1 bag of egg noodles 

2 cup bag of shredded cheese (I usually add more cheese than 2 cups) 

Garlic powder 

Onion powder 

Salt 

Pepper

1. Pre cook your noodles about 3/4 of the way to done before you start with the dutch oven. I cooked mine for 6 minutes and then put them in a bag that I took to the park. 

2. Once you get to the park, mix sour cream and cottage cheese in a bowl and cut up your green onions. Add the green onions to the sour cream and cottage cheese mixture. Then add your noodles and mix. 

3. Heat up your oven to brown your meat. Use salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder to season meat. Once meat is cooked add the can of tomato sauce and let it simmer for 5 or so minutes. Then you will want to take maybe 2/3rds of it out and put it in a bowl, leaving a layer of the meat mixture on the bottom of the dutch oven (about 1/3rd of it).

4. Lay down a layer of the sour cream noodle mixture you made over top of the beef, followed by a generous layer of shredded cheese. 

5. You will then repeat until you run out. Beef, noodles, cheese. You will want the most amount of shredded cheese on top so it forms a crust. 

I used about 12 briquettes on bottom and 14 on top. Everything is already cooked so the dutch oven is playing the part of finally warming it up. You will know its done when the cheese on top is starting to turn a golden brown. (thats when it tastes the best!)