Grilled Fish in Foil

At our most recent trip to the beach we decided to have some meals with seafood. We had a shrimp boil one night. Then the next we had grilled fish in foil. We used Mahi Mahi but any firm white fish will do. We have done this with grouper, snapper and sea trout as well.
Ingredients:
any firm white fish
salt
1 lime (preferred) or lemon
1/2 med. onion
1 Anaheim pepper (Anaheims are best but any pepper can be used)
olive oil
1 tomato
Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic

Make a foil pan large enough to cover fish. Squeeze lime over both sides of fish. Sprinkle both sides with salt and Chef Paul's Seafood magic. Cut up vegetables and in separate bowl toss with olive oil and a little white wine if you have any. At this stage I also cut up and added the left over shrimp from the night before. Pour over fish. Place foil bag (closed lightly) on grill over hot coals for approx. 20 minutes. At this point, carefully open foil and check fish. If it flakes easily and is no longer opaque inside, it is done. This entire process takes less than 40 minutes, is easy and most of all, DELICIOUS! Enjoy.
I have to give my brother Craig credit for this recipe. He fixed it for us once with some variations from this. Be creative, you can add whatever you like to this dish.
Tip: You can find Chef Paul's seasonings at most groceries or through the Amazon link on this page. I always keep the Seafood magic at home and on the camper. It makes any seafood a culinary delight.

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

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

Grilled Tarragon Pork Chops

Here's an easy one!
Ingredients:
pork chops
potatoes
corn or vegetable of choice
salt and pepper to taste
tarragon
soy sauce
butter
olive oil
Marinate chops in soy sauce, olive oil(any vegetable oil will do but olive is best),tarragon and pepper (use a little salt if you don't have soy sauce) for up to one hour. Parboil cubed potatoes on camp stove for approx. 10 minutes or until just tender but not soft. We used left over corn from night before. Cut off cob and place in tin foil with salt, pepper and butter. When potatoes are done also put in foil with butter and season as desired. Grill all over camp fire or camp grill. Chops, depending on size, will take 20 to 30 minutes. If you don't have any of these ingredients, improvise. That's the fun of camping. You could substitute parsley, rosemary or thyme for tarragon or just use salt and pepper. We save the little packets from eating out like catsup, mustard or soy sauce and keep them with our camping stuff. Butter and foil are a must in the camping supplies. Butter adds so much flavor when other ingredients are scarce. You can hike it off later! We also do a lighter (olive oil instead of butter) version of this recipe on our BBQ at home. We try many of our meals at home first. The BBQ grill is a great place to experiment! Once again, remember to keep a GREEN site. Don't burn any plastics on the campfire.
The Happy Camper

Camp Fire Pizza Recipe

Ever been out camping and had a craving for pizza? Well you can have it. Of course it takes some planning before you leave or a quick trip to the store. You will need dough. Some groceries have pre-made pizza dough like Publix which works well 0r pizza dough in the refrigerated section. A cast iron skillet is essential and really is essential for all campfire cooking. Coat the bottom of the pan with vegetable oil. After rolling the dough ( a plastic water bottle works in a pinch) spread on the bottom of the pan.
I used thinly sliced tomatoes rather than sauce as the base. Then add the toppings of your choice and cover. If you do not have a cover, tin foil works too. Place over campfire grate at least 6" over hot coals. This is not an exact science so check your crust often. Ours took about 45 minutes and it was great! Happy Camping.

Ingredients for this pie:

pizza dough

4 small tomatoes

2 cups mozzarella cheese

turkey pepperoni

thinly sliced onion

garlic powder

pinch of red pepper

fresh basil leaves