Pan Fried Steak with Mushrooms and Onions

Has this happened to you? You are ready to grill a juicy steak and found the campsite grill was so gross you didn't even want to put your food on it? If not, your lucky. We use tin foil with slits cut in it to cover them for burgers but we did not think that would work for steaks. So once again when camping--improvise. We never go anywhere with out our cast iron skillet (see Granny Knows Best post). We do fish in it a home so I thought, why not steaks? I marinated them for about an hour in lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and McCormick Grill Mate BBQ seasoning(which is great by the way). I don't add salt because salt can toughen meat. Add salt at the table.
We were staying in a cabin at Blue Spring so I pre-cooked the potatoes in a microwave and then wrapped in foil to put on the grill with the meat. Raw potatoes would take forever on an open grill. You could pre-cook them before your trip and re-heat on the grill, or cut them up into cubes, par boil them on a camp stove,then finish in foil and butter on the grill. They are very yummy!
After heating a little oil in the skillet we pan fried the steaks for about 10 minutes on each side with sliced onions and mushrooms. The meal was a success. It makes my mouth water just looking at the picture I added to this post.
So next time you want steaks, give it a try. This method also holds in more of the meats natural juices and the marinade.
The Happy Camper

Alexander Springs - Ocala National Forest

Alexander Springs is one of our favorite places to cool off in the summer. On a 96 degree day, nothing feels better than a refreshing swim at this freshwater spring. The constant 72 degree crystal clear water is just what the doctor ordered on a hot, humid summer day. There is a sizable swimming area ranging from wading depth for kids to the deep boil. You can snorkel, free dive or scuba dive in this spring. Scuba divers must be certified and register with the Park. There is also a sandy beach area for sunbathers and for kids to play. In addition, there is a large day use picnic area with many tables, BBQ grills and several pavilions. After we bought our camper, this park was at the top of the list of campgrounds we wanted to visit.
We stayed there in March of 2009 at site 59 loop 'D'. The campground is wooded and well shaded. All of the sites are beautiful and many offer good privacy. The loop roads are paved and each site has a paved pad for camper and car parking. Do not park your camper or car off this pad as we found out the hard way. The campground hosts will ask you to move it.
This park was a challenge to us since it does not have electric or water hook ups. We managed just fine since the weather was still cool. It was even quite chilly at night. We took several gallon jugs of water and there are potable water stations with in easy access. So we just kept refilling them. We did all our cooking on the campfire or propane stove. Camping lanterns were our lights at night. It really was a lot fun, roughing it a little.
Since our visit was in the spring, we did not swim although many people swim year round. Some wore wetsuits which is what we would like to try. But there are lots of other activities to do besides swimming. There are several good hiking trails,our favorite follows the spring run through the hardwood hammock. You can also canoe the spring run and river(the park offers canoe rentals). In addition you can fish from two fishing docks along the river or from your canoe. This campground is also great for star gazing. It is far enough away from any cities so the night sky, if clear, is absolutely gorgeous.
Many campers used generators and that was a little annoying to listen too. Also, I would not recommend the south side of loop 'D' or and sites close to the road which goes to the park. Traffic noise was somewhat bothersome. When we visit again we plan to stay in loop 'B'.
The bathrooms and showers were clean. We were not troubled by animals or bugs on this trip although the Ocala National Forest is known for its large black bear population. So be sure to follow all the campground guide lines regarding food storage. We definitely want to go back to this campground. The Happy Camper recommends this campground during the fall through spring months. Check out the spring on a hot summer day as well. If you go during the summer, go early, the park fills up fast and the thunderstorms come early.

Remember to keep a green site, only wash dishes in approved areas.

Granny Knows Best

My mother in law Doris,aka Granny,knew a secret that took me years to learn: cast iron is the best type of cookware for many meals and recipes and is a must for camping. We inherited Granny's cast iron skillet. I did not really use it until my own mother got cancer and began researching some of the poisons we put in our bodies. One of the first things she discarded was her Teflon pans. It is reported (though I can't substantiate it) that these pans give off toxins when heated at high heat. I cooked everything in them and it did give me the creeps when they would get old and start to "shed" some of the coating. So I started cooking in cast iron or stainless steel only. At first the cast iron seemed cumbersome and hard to clean. It is so heavy.
I had people tell me not to wash it. That just did not seem right. So, wash them I did and stuff would stick. I would have to soak and then wash them again. I learned how to re-season them and this would make them non-stick for a while. Over time I began to appreciate them and became stronger by handling them. I bought a new Lodge brand skillet and read the instructions on how to care for it. It said "Do not wash with soap, only rinse and wipe with warm water".
Ok, ok I gave it a try and have never looked back. They are truly non-stick. I use them almost daily and of course, for camping. I could forget many things and get by with out them camping but I could never forget my cast iron skillet and Dutch oven. They are perfect for campfire cooking. You can cook anything in the Dutch oven and the skillet is great breakfast, steaks, sandwiches, the list could go on and on. And the best thing is they are tough. We throw them in the back of the truck and go. You can heat a little water in them over the fire when you are done cooking, then wipe them out and they are ready for the next meal. I have seen so many campers struggling with all sorts of pots and pans. All you really need is a cast iron skillet and Dutch oven. I really don't know about the Teflon thing but hey, I know the cast iron won't hurt anyone unless you drop it on your foot! Seriously, do be careful--they get very hot! Always handle with a pot holder or oven mitts. It takes some practice but once you get used to them, you will never go back. I would not however recommend them for back pack camping, unless that is you are a glutton for punishment.
The Happy Camper

Lake Louisa State Park

We stayed at Lake Louisa State Park in Oct. of 2008. It was our first camping trip with our pop up camper. We live 10 minutes from this park and are familiar with it so it was the perfect place to try out our new camper. We stayed at site #30 next to one of the fishing docks with a good view of one of the lakes. This site did offer good sunsets but if you like privacy, you may not like this site since the walkway to the dock was right next it. The campground is nestled between two small pristine lakes, Dixie and Hammond. Both lakes have fishing docks and you can launch a canoe or john boat. No gasoline motors are allowed in these lakes. You can also access Lake Louisa from the park. It is a large lake and is part of a chain of lakes in Clermont. This site offers a swimming beach and picnic areas at this lake. This park also has many hiking and horse trails. We have hiked many of them. Some are in the forest and hammock, some are in the scrub and some are in the open. Our favorite trail runs along Big Creek a creek which runs out of the Green Swamp and into Lake Louisa. We enjoyed fishing, hiking and just relaxing by the campfire. This is a new campground and everything is top notch. There are 3 main loops, very nice bathrooms and washer dryers. There is not much shade however but this will increase as the trees planted by the park begin to grow.
We would recommend this park in the fall and winter months, epically if you like to fish. Some of the biggest speckled perch we have ever caught were out of Lake Dixie off the dock. Alligators can also be seen on these lakes, but don't feed or harrass them. Otters can also be spotted and well as eagles.
The Happy Camper

Squiddo Lens: Crazy about Florida

Who knew, what's a Squiddo? A month ago we had never heard of it. Squiddo is another site where you can create a web site for free. They call it a lens. It is so easy and fun to create a lens on Squiddo. We decided to create a site that has a broader content base. It includes camping but also boating, beaches, hiking, and exploring Florida in many different ways. We may even touch on antiquing. Who knows, check it out, its lots of fun.
The Happy Camper

Grilled Pork Kabobs

Another Easy Recipe
I know, I know, another pork one. But this recipe could also be used for chicken or shrimp.
Ingredients:
1 clove garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 tsp olive oil: olive is best but regular vegetable is ok
2 tsp lemon juice
pepper to taste
cherry tomatoes
pineapple chunks
2 to 4 boneless chops or white meat of choice

Combine all ingredients and left over pineapple juice and marinate in zip lock bag for one hour. Make into kabobs and grill approx. 10-20 minutes, depending on the fire and portions, and voe la, that's it!
And as always if you are camping and don't have all these ingredients, improvise. A little vinegar could substitute for lemon. Any tasty veggies will do. Have fun and be creative.
The Happy Camper

Camper Awnings

This may seem like something we should know but if it had not been for a fellow campers misfortune, we may not have thought about it. We typically camp in the fall to spring months and had not encountered any large amounts of rain. However, our friends did and during the night water ponded on their awning until it collapsed. Lesson learned always make one end a little lower to allow water to run off. On a trip to Sebastian Inlet it rained quite a lot and this saved our awning. Also if you have time and a storm is approaching, it's a good idea to take down the awning. Several campers lost their awnings in one of the storms.

Keep it simple

Always take tin foil camping. It has so many uses. Of course you can cook in it, then wrap up the leftovers. No messy plastic bags to fool with, then re-heat in the foil.
Use it to cover a dirty grill or better yet, ball it up and scrape heated grill grate to clean. We forgot our grill brush once and the foil worked great.
Even been camping and it would not stop raining long enough to keep a fire going or cook? Use foil to "tent" the fire. Use sticks or a campfire tripod for support. Just leave a small opening for a vent and your fire will stay lit in the rain.
Use it to cover a pot if you don't have lid.
I am sure there are many others, just take some along and see.