Easy Lemon Thyme Dressing Recipe for Salads

So I know this is not the most exciting recipe but it is such a delicious and easy to make dressing, that you can whip up with so many options. I personally love it in any arugula and spinach salads. Also, this is a quick recipe to make before a camping trip. Just pour into a mason jar and you have dressing on the go for any camping meals you want to add it to!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. Olive Oil
1/4 c. Champagne Vinegar
2 tbsp. Shallot
Juice of one Lemon
1 tsp. Fresh Thyme
1 tbsp. Dijon Mustard
Splash of black pepper & salt

Directions:

Wash thyme and remove from stems. Finely chop
Mince small shallot – enough for at least 2 tbsp.
Add olive oil, champagne vinegar, shallot, thyme, and Dijon mustard to a bowl
Cut lemon in half and juice into the bowl with other ingredients
Whisk together until combined
Add salt and pepper to taste
Use immediately or pour into a mason jar and refrigerate.

** One note on this dressing – when refrigerated, it will harden. Before use, let the dressing sit out at room temperature for a bit to loosen back up. Or run mason jar under warm water. Once it loosens up, just give the mason jar a good shake to combine!

I would love feedback! If you have tried this recipe, please rate below and/or comment!

Easy Summer Salad with Kale and Avocado

Happy Summer Solstice! The longest day of the year and one of my favorite days. I love summer even though it is a little different this year. I miss baseball, barbecues, hanging by the pool and of course camping. At least I have my family. One thing my family loves is salads. We are usually trying to find new ones especially when we are starting to get tired of some of our favorites. So in honor of summer solstice, I thought I would share one of my favorites. In my family kale and almonds is a hit especially with my mom and sister but I prefer fruit/citrus in my salads. So combining the kale and almonds with some fruit was the inspiration for this one. Also, making your own dressing is so quick and easy once you find one you love, make sure to write it down. Saves on the calories in the bottled stuff!

Ingredients –

Salad:

Kale
Spinach
Strawberries
Sliced Almonds (toasted optional)
Avocado
1/4 cup feta cheese
Sea salt

Dressing:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (usually 1 lemon)
1 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. poppy seed
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Directions –

To make dressing, add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk until blended (or add to a mason jar and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds to a minute)
In a bowl, toss half spinach and half kale with sea salt
If toasting almonds, line on a baking sheet and toast at 350 degrees for about 5-8 minutes keeping a close watch
Slice strawberries and and avocado and add on top of the lettuce blend
Add almonds and feta cheese
Toss with dressing and enjoy!

I would love feedback! If you have tried this recipe, please rate below and/or comment!

Delicious Camping Side Dish: Red Potato Packets

California is being teased with an early spring right now. It’s either that or sadly we might be headed back to a drought. Either way, I’m going to enjoy the 70 degree sunny days with some delicious bbq!

While I might not be camping right now, bbq’ing gives me a great opportunity to try out new recipes. Potato packets have always been an easy side dish option for me when camping, but I love to try out different varieties.

I’m doing a community garden with some friends and right now we have some delicious parsley, green onions, rosemary and thyme! As for type of potatoes, I’ve done russet and red potatoes but I think I prefer the small red ones for this. I always start with a butter and garlic base and then add from that. Also my friends know how much I love garlic that if I see a recipe for 2 cloves, I immediately change it to 6. For this recipe I will keep it at a normal amount but if you love garlic at me, definitely double or even triple the amount.

Ingredients:

4-5 small red potatoes
2-3 tbsp. butter
2-3 garlic cloves
Thyme
Rosemary
Oregano
Salt
Pepper (optional)
Green onions (optional)
Aluminum foil

*One note – when I am camping, I will just use Italian Seasoning or Herbes de Provence instead of fresh

Directions:

Rip a piece of aluminum foil that is big enough to hold potatoes and close into a packet loosely
Cut red potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes (cut in half or quarters depending on size)
Cut butter into 1 tbsp pieces and then quarter into quarters
Align potatoes into the center of the foil and place the small cubes of butter evenly on top of potatoes
Mince garlic and add also to the tops of the potatoes
Chop herbs and green onions and place on top of potatoes
Sprinkle with salt and pepper
Wrap foil into packets with a loose opening on top
Place on campfire or grill and heat for about 45 minutes
Remove, open and either place on a plate or even eat out of the packet!

I would love feedback! If you have tried this recipe, please rate below and/or comment!

Super Easy Game Day (or Camping) Pasta Salad

So one of my easy go to side dishes for any event and definitely easy to throw together for an addition to any meal while camping.

I’ve recently joined a community garden with some girlfriends and right now our parsley is growing like crazy and is so fresh so I added it.

Also if you are not making this while camping and instead at home, I highly recommend this pan from Ayesha Curry. The lock lid is a lifesaver!!

Ingredients:

1 box of pasta like rotini
1/2 to one bottle of Italian dressing
Grape tomatoes
3-5 celery stalks
1 can of black olives
Italian seasoning
Celery salt
Salt and pepper
Parsley (optional)
Cucumbers (optional)

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package
While pasta is cooking, chop celery and cut tomatoes into quarters
Drain pasta
Allow pasta to cool. Tip for camping – add to a large ziplock bag and add to cooler for quicker cooling
Add pasta to a large bowl
Add the tomatoes, celery, black olives and cucumber (if using)
Add about 1/3 Italian dressing and a few shakes of all seasonings. Mix well and continue to add more – testing periodically until you have the amount of dressing and seasoning that you like
Top with chopped parsley

I would love feedback! If you have tried this recipe, please rate below and/or comment!

How to Make Jalapeño Cornbread Over a Campfire

Sorry for the hiatus! The last week of August was spent getting everything together for my largest camping trip to date. I then went traveling for a month! For this last camping trip, I bought extra cast irons for the campfire and definitely had to use my new Coleman grill for additional items for the amount of people we had. Before the trip I really wanted to get this griddle but it was out of stock until yesterday. Thankfully there was a big cash back event yesterday and it is back in stock so I grabbed it for next year shenanigans!

So in the meantime for this past camping trip, I had to rely on my trusty cast irons! If you are in the market, Macy’s has one on Last Act for under $20 so I would grab one now before they are gone (I know I am getting one for backup!)

A lot of camping trips I like to make chili the last night. What goes best with chili but cornbread! I like to spice up my cornbread with jalapeños but if you want plain omit those and the cheese. Also feel free to add any of your favorites!

Ingredients –

2 packages Jiffy Cornbread mix

2 eggs
2/3 c. Buttermilk (or milk)
Chopped jalapenos
Cheddar cheese
2 tbls honey (optional)

Directions –

Mix corn mix, eggs and milk in a bowl and stir until well blended
Add honey (if desired), chopped jalapeños, and shredded cheddar or mexican cheese
Stir again until combined
Add 2 – 4 tbls butter in a cast iron pan over campfire
Swirl butter around in pan until melted
Add cornbread to middle of pan and spread evenly around the pan with a spatula
Cover pan with foil
Cook medium-low heat away from direct flame for about 15 minutes or until sides start to tan
Let pan rest covered for about 5 minutes
Cut into slices and serve!

* Note: if you want to have easy cleanup, add foil to the bottom of the pan and skip the melted butter step. Just pour directly into foil lined pan. I usually like easiest cleanup on the last night!

I would love feedback! If you have tried this recipe, please rate below and/or comment!

Fresh and Simple Salads for Camping Adventures

I find salads easy to do for camping since almost everything can be prepped before the trip, stored and then just thrown together at the campsite. Also they go great with almost anything. I like to serve this one with my campfire lasagna and garlic bread recipes

Ingredients–

6 cups arugula (store in ziploc bags prior to trip)
1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced (store in ziploc bags prior to trip)
1 to 1 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup – 3/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
1 lemon
1/2 cup pepitas
1 lime
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne

Directions–

Note: I do the first four steps before camping trip and store in a small mason jars

In a small bowl, combine juice of half of lime, pepitas and dash of cayenne. Stir until combined
Heat oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add limed pepitas and toss frequently until lighter color and toasted
Coat with juice from other half of the lime and stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool. Store in a small mason jar if making prior to trip

Make dressing by combining olive oil, juice from a lemon and salt and pepper (to taste). Store in a small mason jar prior to trip
Combine in a large bowl, arugula, fennel, pomegranate seeds and shaved Parmesan.
Drizzle with dressing and toss until coated
Top with limed pepitas and serve!

I would love feedback! If you have tried this recipe, please rate below and/or comment!

Homemade Spicy Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

This was a new one for last season and since then, I’ve been messing around with my homemade teriyaki sauce. I love spicy and this one definitely has a kick. But if you don’t want spicy, omit the cayenne and red chili peppers.

Ingredients –

2/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup seasame oil

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons honey

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 inches garlic, grated – I bought one of these at an Art & Wine Festival and it has been great for grating garlic and ginger!

3 to 4 oz. pineapple juice

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

Green onions, chopped

Skewers

Directions –

Blend or whisk all together

Add green onions to bag
Add cut chicken in cubes, veggies (red onion, bell peppers, mushrooms) and cubes pineapple
Add marinade
Marinate for a few hours or preferably over night before leaving on your camping trip. (Another fun tip, if you don’t plan to have this until the second or 3rd night of your trip, marinate a few hours and then freeze. It helps keep your ice chest cool!)
Also another fun tool that makes coring a pineaple so easy to cut is this! One of my favorite purchases that I didn’t think I needed but now am so grateful to have
When ready, alternate chicken, veggies and pineapple on skewers like these and place on grill. Grill for about 4 minutes on each side.

Remove, serve with some sides like the garlic bread I previously shared and enjoy!

I would love feedback! If you have tried this recipe, please rate below and/or comment!

Fun Tailgate Food: Goat Cheese & Meat Stuffed Peppers

Baseball season is finally here and with that being an Oakland A’s fan means many tailgates. I love tailgating for the friendship bonding time and getting to test out new recipes that sometimes make the camping menus on our trips.

Usually my bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers are a staple for tailgates but lately it seems like all my friends are either Keto, Paleo or vegetarian so for our first tailgate of the season, I wanted to come up with something that everyone could eat. So here I give you a meat option for those Keto and Paleo friends and a goat cheese option for the vegetarians.

Keto & Paleo Friendly Bell Beppers –

Ingredients:

Mini bell peppers – I grabbed the 1.5 lb at Costco
1 lb. Ground beef (or turkey but I feel beef has a lot more flavor)
Taco seasoning packet
1/2 to 3/4 cup Tomato sauce
Small onion
Tomatoes (optional)
Black olives (optional)

Directions:

Slice mini bell peppers in half and scrape out the seeds
Add a little bit of olive oil to pan and add and saute onions for a few minutes. Then add ground beef and cook fully.
Add taco seasoning to ground beef and the tomato sauce. I added enough sauce that it was coated but not watery. Let beef simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Fill bell peppers with meat mixture
Top with tomatoes and olives if you want. The people in our group preferred no tomatoes or olives but really up to your audience
Create foil packets and add bell peppers to them. Grill for about 10 minutes or until the inside of the bell pepper looks heated through

Goat Cheese Mini Bell Peppers –

Ingredients:

Mini Bell Peppers
10.5 oz. Goat Cheese Log – I find the Kirkland brand 2 pack goat cheese logs at Costco the best for value
2/3 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Three cloves of garlic, minced
2 – 4 Jalapenos (depending on spice level), seeded and chopped

Directions:

Slice mini bell peppers in half and scrape out the seeds
In a large bowl, combine softened goat cheese, diced jalapenos, minced garlic, and shredded parmesan cheese
Fill the mini bell peppers with the goat cheese mixture. Note: I find just using your hands is the easiest for this and I fill them to almost overflowing the brim of the peppers
Create foil packets and fill packets with bell peppers. Grill for about 10 minutes or until cheese looks heated through and oozing.

I would love feedback! If you have tried this recipe, please rate below and/or comment!

How to Make Flavorful Grilled Corn for Camping

Ok I love rain but I am officially tired of this constant rain in California right now. I saw blue skies the other day for a couple hours and my body rejoiced! Now I know this is what people in other states feel all the time and I swear I love the rain and so much patience but for once in my life, I never felt so happy to see sun and then realize how spoiled I normally am.

In any case, warm sunny weather normally gives me the ability to try out campfire meals on a grill before I go camping. This recipe actually came from something I normally make and my friends said “you should do this when we are camping”. What makes me so excited about this item is there are so many variations I can mess with!

Ingredients –

Ears of corn (however many you are doing – for this I will do 4)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup cotija cheese

Chili powder

Lime
Cilantro (optional)

Directions –

Mix mayo, chili powder, cilantro and lime in a bowl until well blended.

Rub generously over each ear of corn

Sprinkle with cotija cheese

Top with cayenne pepper

Now here you can also mix it up on how to cook – grill corn before you smother it with ingridents or after. I personally like to prepare and then throw on grill but honestly up to you

If you want to mix things up even more add other butter blends, herbs and spices!

I would love feedback! If you have tried this recipe, please rate below and/or comment!

How to Make Addictive Garlic Bread for Camping Trips

I love to make at least one pasta dish on a camping trip (see previous lasagna recipe) and what goes best with pasta? Garlic bread! It also just make a great snack or side dish for many meals. Warning – this garlic bread is highly addicting and I usually triple the portion you think normal people would eat when planning for the meal.

I think the first time I did this recipe while camping was at Mary Smith campground up near the town of Shasta. It’s a bit of a drive from the Bay Area but a pretty drive and the campground has nice hiking. Sadly when we went it was too cold to get into the water. Maybe next time!

Ingredients –

Loaf of French bread
2 to 2 1/2 sticks of butter – accept it, love it, trust me!
Garlic – I use at least 8-9 cloves
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese – shredded
Foil

Directions –

Cut french loaf in half longwise
Mince garlic to fine pieces
Mash room temp butter, minced garlic, a little bit of shredded Parmesan cheese and a couple teaspoons of Italian seasoning in a bowl until well combined
Spread garlic, cheese, butter mixture evenly on the two layers of bread
Top with more shredded Parmesan cheese
Put each loaf separately in a piece of foil and fold up so foil creates a boat and top of bread doesn’t touch top of foil
Place on indirect heat on campfire and cook for about 10 min or until bread is warmed and cheese on top is melted
Remove from heat and slice into 2 inch pieces or eat as whole (just kidding but you’ll want to)

I would love feedback! If you have tried this recipe, please rate below and/or comment!