Friday, May 15, 2009

VGNO

ok, so I am spending my VGNO with a group of CUB SCOUTS and their families at our annual family camp. There is nothing like sitting around a fire with friends, drinking a diet coke, roasting marshmallows and talking like there is nothing in the world that you cant handle. Hearing the newness of spring in the woods, and the clear ( i hope) sky over head. Its almost picturesque.

This is me last year at our family camp....
Last year we had bats in our shelter house, it rained 2 inches in 3 hours in the middle of the night, and there was a skunk roaming between the tents - right when i had to go visit the little girls room. YIKES!! So why do I enjoy it soooooo much? Cause Im with my family, my friends and nature all at once!

This is my fabulous hubby- he loves the great outdoors as much as I do.....that is my daughter to his right- reading.....

We spend a lot of time outdoors- we go camping hiking and wandering until its too cold to set up a tent and go- usually october is our last trip. We go close to home and far away- depends on time mostly, and where we need to be that week.

Tonight I will be with some new girls- the moms from the troop and pack are all new to me, as most of our vets have moved on, or cannot come this weekend- I will miss AMANDA though- she is my sister and i love her dearly- she will be at Lake Erie fishing with her family-- we are getting the best weekend - both of us!


I have my smores ready, and bag packed.....I am the "resident chef" I cook over the open fire for everyone all weekend...its soooo much fun and quite a challenge! Takes talent to bake a cake in a cast iron dutch oven over an open flame= but im doing it this weekend! You can do it too! If you are looking for adventure, try this out....

If you do not have a "fire pit" you can use the coals for this right out of a charcoal grill......



1- line a dutch oven with foil- several layers - and spray with non stick cooking spray- dont forget to line the lid!



2-mix 2 cake mixes- white or yellow- with the oil eggs and water, then add 2 lbs frozen friut- give it a whirl= but dont stir the fruit in too much...


3- pour into dutch oven, place lid on top



4-put the oven on top of 15-20 hot coals from charcoal you have lit and gotten ready in your pit or grill



5- put 10-15 on top of the dutch oven as well

Check the cake after 1 hour, then every 15 minutes once it gets close to being springy


This is really good for when you are camping, or if you just want to learn a new way to cook- really helped out when we lost our power for a week last fall too- we ate better that week than we did the rest of the month!



This is the next best thing to using a crock pot- we start our cake first, then fix dinner- usually the cake takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours- depending on how much we put in the oven.

Dutch ovens are not always seasoned, so if anyone goes out and buys one- please read the directiond before using it! Cast is a forever kind of cooking equip- and you cannot use it on the top of a ceramic stove!
But you can use it in an oven, brick oven, over ta flame....its verstile~and easy to clean~
I hope everyone has a GREAT VGNO and I hope to see you all here nextweek- I got a new crock pot cookbook and Im excited to share it with you all!!!!!
PS- Id like to start a weekly post about funny stories and things that "get your goat" Coming soon........
And a big thank you to ALI at http://theblessedcountrymom.blogspot.com
for all of her guidance and help- I love this blog community and Im grateful to her for introducing me to it!!!
see other things I blog about at -http://angelinadawn.blogspot.com






This way to cook seems a little extreme, but if you enjoy the great outdoors, and you spend time there, this is the best desert!















13 comments:

  1. I remember camping with my boys for years and also the boy scouts too! HAPPY VGNO

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the outdoors and camping.

    Have a great time!

    Happy VGNO!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, that sounds neat! I'm not much for the outdoors, but I envy those who enjoy it (I wish I did). Happy VGNO!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Honestly, I'm not a camping girl. But Hubby and my 2 boys are still trying to convince me. You make it look so fun. Hope you have a great time.
    Have a great VGNO.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Really cool post. I love the great outdoors, especially in the springtime. Your kids are lucky you are willing to do what it takes to get them out there. Happy VGNO.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am so jealous, I wanna come too!! =) Hope you have a wonderful weekend in the woods, happy VGNO

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love camping! My favorite is the Indianan Dunes. Have a great VGNO!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for the great info. We camp a few times a year but haven't gotten out there yet. Cake cooked outdoors sounds wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love camping. We have a pop-up camper and go a lot in the summer. Wow you are a lot braver then me - cooking a cake over a fire! Wow that's talent. We cheat and cook everything on a grill - lol!

    Hope you have a great camping Trip. Happy VGNO

    ReplyDelete
  10. I will be back to check out your crock pot recipes. That is the kind of cooking that I can actually do!

    Happy VGNO!!! I'm so glad that you are a part of it. :->

    ReplyDelete
  11. Stopping by from the VGNO

    I was camping with the Girl Scouts a few weeks ago!

    ReplyDelete
  12. one of my best friends just did the cub scout camping thing last weekend! hope it all goes wonderful. Happy VGNO

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yummy! Hope you had an awesome time! I love camping, I guess it's the Native Oregonian in me!

    Hope you had a fun VGNO! I'm a little late getting around! The school carnival was fun for the kids if unorganized for the volunteers!

    ReplyDelete