Camping food

Now that we're finally getting into some warmer weather, our family's thoughts have turned to camping. We're planning on one big family vacation this summer and a few shorter trips. We tent camp and cook over a Coleman stove, sometimes a campfire. When we're camping, we usually keep things pretty simple, partly due to what we can cook on, partly because we usually want something quick. We spend time hiking, sightseeing, enjoying the day, and don't have the energy at the end of the day for something much more than hot dogs and beans or spaghetti. I'll be posting a few of our favorite camping recipes as the summer progresses. Tonight's is one that I found online, s'mores trail mix.

S'mores Trail Mix
makes lots

1 small box of Golden Grahams
1 bag mini marshmallows
1 bag chocolate chips

Mix all together in a large container. Portion out into sandwich or snack bags to take with you on a hike.

Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe a year or more ago and have made it several times. It's pretty easy and the family always likes it. It's from Eat at Home and it's another that doesn't have specific measurements. For the four of us, I use two chicken breasts, a whole can of chilies, and it makes 7-8 enchiladas. You can check out her blog for detailed pictures.

Last night for Cinco de Mayo I served the enchiladas with Mexican black beans and rice. The enchilada isn't pretty in the picture but it sure tasted good!

Chicken Enchiladas
serves 5-6

cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
enchilada sauce, either homemade or store bought
shredded cheddar cheese
small can of diced green chilies
tortillas

Mix the chicken, chilies, and cheese together. Spray a casserole dish (I use a 9x13 dish) with non-stick spray. Spread a layer of enchilada sauce over the bottom of the dish. Put some of the chicken mixture onto a tortilla, roll up, and put into the baking dish. Repeat until you've used up all the chicken (if you have more chicken than you need, you can freeze the extra chicken or if you have too many enchiladas, you can start a second pan). Spread more enchilada sauce over the top and cover with more cheese. Bake at 350* for about an hour.

A Busy Day in the Kitchen

Today was a busy day in the kitchen. We had several bananas that needed to be used and I was tired of banana muffins. I didn't really feel like banana bread either, especially since I have to make some later this week. I found a recipe for banana cake so made that. I was looking around for frosting since the recipe made two round layers. At first I thought I might go with a cream cheese frosting (that goes with banana cake, right?) but then I looked in another cookbook. The banana cake there called for chocolate ganache glaze/frosting. That sounded really good so that's what I went with. We like to occasionally snack on bananas with chocolate so I knew that would work. It was yummy!

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, a holiday all about the food (really, there's no other good reason for it), I made chicken enchiladas, with Mexican black beans and rice. The enchiladas were good, I've made them several times (and am surprised to see that I hadn't put the recipe here yet) and the family likes them. The black beans were pretty good but I was the only one that liked them. Trying to bring some variety to their lives; they appreciate it, but don't always like it. I'll have recipes up soon.