Recipe - Baked Hot Dogs (in Cast Iron)



I copied this right from the website Every Day Dutch Oven Cooking. I think this is going to be a good one.

Forget the grill this weekend, for your Memorial Day cook out why not try these Baked Hot Dogs in your dutch oven? I was so intrigued by this recipe when I saw it, one of my favorite ways to eat a hot dog is with a soft, steamed roll. By baking the hot dogs with all the toppings together, everything is wonderfully heated through and piping hot at the same time. I thought maybe the rolls would burn in spots but they were perfectly baked, warm inside and a little crispy on the outside.


Ingredients

  • 8 hot dogs
  • 8 hot dog buns
  • 1 14 oz can chili with beans
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 1-2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • Mayonnaise
  • Mustard
  • Sweet Relish

Directions

  1. Lightly oil or spray Dutch Oven
  2. Spread the inside of each hot dog bun with mayo, mustard, and sweet relish
  3. Fill the hot dogs and place side by side in the oven
  4. Top each dog with chili, cheese and onion
  5. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes
  6. Remove with large spoon or and spatula


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Entry #1,591

Recipe - Queso Dip (in Cast Iron)



Queso in the afternoon with chips is a real treat in the campground. You don’t just open a package and throw it into a pot. This one takes a fair amount of skill and care in the preparation. This is a real treat. Dip the chips directly in the Dutch Oven.


Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup finely diced white onion
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 4 oz can fire roasted diced green chilis drained
  • 1/4 cup canned diced tomatoes (drained)
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/3 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
  • 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
  • Dash of cayenne pepper for a spicier queso, optional
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/3 tsp table salt plus additional to taste as needed
  • 12 oz can full-fat evaporated milk
  • 8 oz freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese see note
  • Corn chips for serving

Directions

  1. Melt butter in a large pot or skillet
  2. Add onion and cook until softened and translucent
  3. Add garlic and cook until fragrant then add tomatoes and chilis and cook until well-combined
  4. Add minced garlic, diced Roma tomato (or canned), fire roasted diced green chilis
  5. Sprinkle cornstarch over the ingredients and use a spatula to stir and cook until absorbed and no lumps remain
  6. Add cumin, chili powder, paprika, cayenne, pepper, and salt
  7. Gradually drizzle evaporated milk into the pot while whisking. Cook, stirring or whisking, until milk is completely combined, warmed, and slightly thickened
  8. Turn heat to low (remove most of the coals) and add shredded cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and completely combined. Taste-test and add additional spices as needed.


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Entry #1,590

Recipe - PB (no J) Brownies (in Cast Iron)



Use either 10” or 12” Dutch Oven. This recipe bakes up very nicely but it should be allowed to cool before serving.


Ingredients

Item 10” Oven 12” Oven
All Purpose Flour 3/4 cup 3/4 cup + 3/8 C
Cocoa Powder 1/3 cup 1/3 cup+ 2 tbsp + 2 tsp
Baking Powder 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp
Sea Salt 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp
Granulated Sugar 1 cup 1 cup + 1/2 cup
Unsalted Butter 1/2 cup 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup
Eggs 2 3
Peanut Butter 1/2 cup 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup

Directions

  1. Melt butter in melting pot add sugar to incorporate
  2. Mix dry ingredients
  3. Best eggs
  4. Fold butter/sugar mixture and eggs into dry mixture
  5. Spread into parchment lined Dutch Oven
  6. Dab bits of peanut butter here and there on the top
  7. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top (optional)

Bake 15 to 25 minutes. For 10” oven use 7 coals on the bottom, 14 coals on the top. For 12” oven use 8 on the bottom, 17 on the top. Cool before cutting.



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Entry #1,584

Kitchen Measurements



1 Gallon 1 Quart 1 Pint
4 quarts 2 pints 2 cups
8 pints 4 cups 16 fl oz
16 cups 32 fl oz -
128 fl oz - -
1 Cup 1/4 Cup 1 Tbsp
16 Tbsp 4 Tbsp 3 tsp
8 fl oz 2 fl oz -
Fluid Ounces Teaspoon Tablespoon
1/8 fl oz 1 tsp 1/3 Tbsp
1/2 fl oz 3 tsp 1 Tbsp
1 fl oz 6 tsp 2 Tbsp
2 fl oz 12 tsp 4 Tbsp
2-3/4 fl oz 1 tsp + 5 Tbsp -
4 fl oz 24 tsp 8 Tbsp
8 fl oz 48 tsp 16 Tbsp
Cups Pints Quarts
1/16 cup - -
1/8 cup - -
1/4 cup - -
1/3 cup - -
1/2 cup 1/4 pint -
1 cup 1/2 pint 1/4 quart
2 cups 1 pint 1/2 quart
4 cups 2 pints 1 quart


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Entry #1,577

Joshua Tree 2026



I’ve been nominated to be the camp chef for our little group of misfits. It was actually more self-selected than nominated. I volunteered. I love cooking in the wild. Dutch Oven cooking is the only way to go. I’m excited for this year’s conclave. Cast Iron Cooking in Joshua Tree National Park


Night 1 - Pork and Beans, Corn Bread, Peach Upside Down Cake
Night 2 - Beef Stroganoff, Crispy Red Potatoes, Pumpkin Pie
Night 3 - Sloppy Joes, Apple Slaw, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars



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Entry #1,576

Recipe - Beef Stroganoff (in Cast Iron)



It’s hard to beat a good beef stroganoff in the wild.


Ingredients

  • 1 medium yellow onion chopped
  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1/4 tsp celery salt
  • 1/4 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 C water
  • 3 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 C sour cream
  • 1 (12 oz) bag egg noodles
  • salt and pepper

Directions

  1. Brown meat, onion and spices in Dutch Oven
  2. Mix water, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and sour cream
  3. Combing meat and sauce mixture
  4. Pour half into Dutch Oven
  5. Spread noodles evenly on top
  6. Pour remaining mixture over top, moistening all the noodles
  7. If additional moisture is needed, add beer
  8. Cover and cook 30-45 minutes, 10 coals on bottom, 15 coals on top


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Entry #1,572

Recipe - Red Potatoes (in Cast Iron)



Nothing better than crispy little baked potatoes to go along with your casserole. These guys are sure to please.


Ingredients

  • 24 oz bag small red potatoes cut in half
  • 1/2 stick butter (or less)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 tsp Lawyer’s Seasoning Salt

Directions

  1. Melt butter (or slightly less than called for)
  2. Add spices and herbs
  3. Coat potatoes with butter, spice, herb mixture
  4. Put potatoes into preheated Dutch Oven
  5. Cook at 450 until crispy

If doubling the recipe, it’s better to use two 10” Dutch Ovens than it is to overfill a 12” Dutch Oven.



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Entry #1,573

Recipe - Apple Slaw



This is a yummy recipe that you can make in a campground and it tastes terrific. It satisfies the urge for a salad when camping.


Ingredients

Slaw

  • 3 C grated cabbage
  • 2 C grated apple (Granny Smith or Rainier or 1 of each)
  • 1 C grated carrot
  • 1 or 2 chopped green onions

Dressing

  • 1/3 C mayo
  • 1/4 C brown sugar (or slightly less)
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • dash of salt and pepper

Directions

  1. Grate and combine slaw ingredients
  2. Squeeze out excess moisture with paper towel
  3. Mix dressing
  4. Add dressing (not all of it)

Don’t mis all the dressing into the slaw to start with. Reserve the remainder for those that want a bit wetter salad.



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Entry #1,571

Cast Iron Baking Temperature Chart



10” Dutch Oven

Temperature Coals Top Coals Botton
325 13 6
350 14 7
375 16 7
400 17 8
425 18 9
450 19 10

12” Dutch Oven

Temperature Coals Top Coals Bottom
325 16 7
350 17 8
375 18 9
400 19 10
425 21 10
450 22 11


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Entry #1,570

Recipe - Peanut Butter Swirl Bars (in Cast Iron)



These are finger licking good. A 12” Dutch Oven is recommended for this recipe.


Ingredients

  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 3/4 C brown sugar
  • 1/3 C butter
  • 1/2 C peanut butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 C flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 12 oz milk chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Cream butter and peanut butter with sugars.
  2. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well
  3. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt
  4. Stir into wet mixture
  5. Spread into 12” Dutch Oven
  6. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top
  7. Bake at 350, swirl chips after 5 minutes of baking, bake 20 minutes more

Cool thoroughly before serving. See cast iron baking temperature chart.



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Entry #1,569

Recipe - Pumpkin Pie (in Cast Iron)



This isn’t the type of thing you would normally associate with camp cooking, but why not? This is typically made in a 12” Dutch Oven.


Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 (29 oz) can pumpkin
  • 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 C evaporated milk

Topping

  • 1 package yellow cake mix
  • 1 C butter

Directions

  1. Mix filling ingredients
  2. Cut butter into cake mix
  3. Pour filling into parchment lined Dutch Oven
  4. Sprinkle topping over the filling
  5. Bake for 1 hour (or more) 8 coals on the bottom, 16 on the top

Serve with Cool Whip, of course.



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Entry #1,568

Recipe - Peach UpDown Cake (in Cast Iron)



A great camping desert. For deserts in a Dutch Oven, always line with parchment paper.


Ingredients

  • 1/2 C butter
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 1 (20 oz) can peach slices (enough to cover bottom of oven)
  • 1/2 C vegetable oil
  • juice from peach slices plus enough water to make 1-1/4 C
  • 1 yellow cake mix
  • 1 box cheesecake instant pudding mix
  • 4 eggs beaten

Directions

Use 12” Dutch Oven. Melt butter in bottom of dutch oven. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of butter. Place pineapple slices on top of butter brown sugar mixture. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and spoon into dutch oven. Cook with 6 coals underneath and 18 coals on top. Place serving plate over dutch oven and invert onto plate.



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Entry #1,567

Recipe - Corn Bread (in Cast Iron)



This is the perfect accompaniment to the Dutch Oven Baked Beans. It is important to use a parchment lined Dutch Oven to prevent the bread from absorbing flavors from the previous oven use.


Ingredients

  • 3/4 C corn meal
  • 1-1/4 C flour
  • 1/4 C sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 C buttermilk
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 1/4 C vegtable oil
  • Honey butter for topping (optional)

Directions

Measure and mix dry ingredients at home to simplify preparation.

  1. Preheat Dutch Oven to 350. 21 briquettes. 14 on top, 7 underneath.
  2. Mix all ingredients in preheated, parchment lined Dutch Oven.
  3. Cook 30 minutes (approximately) rotating the oven and lid 1/4 turn in opposite directions every few minutes.


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Entry #1,558

Recipe - Sloppy Joes (in Cast Iron)



This recipe uses similar ingredients to the Baked Beans recipe but it does not use BBQ Sauce or Molasses, the result is surprisingly different. This recipe yields 5 or 6 Joes. Most people if they are hungry are going to want 2 of these babies!


Ingredients

  • Butter and Olive Oil for sautéing the Onions and Green Pepper
  • 1 lb Ground Beef
  • 2 large Italian Sausages, casing removed
  • 1 Green Pepper chopped
  • Medium Yellow Onion chopped
  • 4 cloves of Garlic
  • 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 2/3 C Ketchup
  • 1/2 Can Guinness
  • 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 1 tsp Yellow Mustard
  • 3/4 tsp Chili Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Instructions

  1. Sauté hamburger and sausage, drain.
  2. Sauté onions and green pepper using butter and oil, add garlic at the end of the cooking time.
  3. Light charcoal
  4. Combine meats in Dutch Oven and add remaining ingredients.
  5. Cook using 10 coals on top and 5 - 8 coals on the bottom

Cooking time is about 30 minutes, but could be longer to reach desired consistence. If mixture is too moist, add corn meal to thicken.

Serve over toasted Potato Buns.



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Entry #1,557

Recipe - Polly’s Baked Beans (In Cast Iron)



I had to really coax Polly to give me this recipe. This is a recipe that you can make in cast iron (my preferred method) and works well in the campground. It tastes even better in the wild than it does at home. There is an homage here for my Irish friend. I’m sure you won’t have any trouble picking it out. I’ve always had a bit of a beef with the Irish because they keep the good Guinness in the homeland and they send the shitty Guinness to America. I suppose in a lot of ways we deserve that.


Ingredients

These ingredients are for starters, once the beans come up to temperature in the cast iron, you can adjust the ingredients to suit the flavor profile you are shooting for.

  • Pinto, Black, White and Kidney beans in the can, rinsed and drained.
  • 3 or 4 Kosher Dogs cut in medallions
  • 1/2 can of Guinness
  • 1/4 C Molasses
  • 1/2 C Ketchup
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1/4 C Brown Sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 1 Yellow Onion cubed and sautéed with 4 cloves of chopped garlic
  • Dash of olive oil
  • 1 tsp smoked or sweet paprika
  • 1/4 C of your favorite BBQ Sauce

Ya, that’s a lot of ingredients, but nothing good comes easily, even in the campground.

Directions

Mix and cook. It doesn’t take a bunch of charcoal, just a few cubes on the lid and a few underneath. If you want to add more protein, Sauté some nice sausage sliced in the diagonal and add to the pot wile simmering.




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Entry #1,554

Recipe - Pie Crust in a Stand Mixer



Using a Kitchen Aid stand mixer is the quickest, easiest, and most foolproof way to make pie crust.


Ingredients

  • 6 Tablespoons (3 ounces or 85 grams) very cold water
  • 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup ice
  • 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces or 227 grams) very cold unsalted butter
  • 2 ½ cups (11.25 ounces or 319 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
  • 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

It’s best to use ingredients straight from the refrigerator. Slice the cold butter and freeze it for 5 minutes is recommended. Mix the water, vinegar, and ice mixture and keep it refrigerated while you measure out the dry ingredients.

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter all at once and beat on low until the mixture has the texture of a coarse meal for about 3 minutes. Add 6 tablespoons of water from the water-vinegar-ice mixture and beat until the dough clumps around the paddle.

If the dough seems too dry, add more liquid from the ice water mixture 1 teaspoon at a time.

Quickly knead the dough into a rough ball then divide the dough into two even halves, forming them into a flat disc. Wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap and flatten into a small disc. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.



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Entry #1,553

Recipe - Orange Rolls



Helen Adkins Orange Rolls. This is a very special treat that Mom would make. As a kid, this was one of my favorite things that she made.


Dough

  • 2 packages dry yeast
  • 1/2 C warm water
  • 1/2 C sugar
  • 1-1/4 C milk
  • 1/2 C butter
  • 2 eggs beater
  • 5 C flour (or a little more)
  • 1 tsp salt

Filling

  • 1/2 C butter softened (or a little more)
  • 3/4 C sugar (or a little more)
  • grated peel of two oranges (orange part only)

Directions

  • Dissolve yeast in warm water (105 to 115 degrees). Add 1/2 cup sugar. Set aside.
  • Scald milk (180 degrees) add butter and stir to melt. Pour into a large mixing bowl and cool to lukewarm (105 to 115 degrees).
  • Stir eggs and yeast mixture into the large mixing bowl. Combine flour and salt and slowly add to egg, milk, yeast mixture, add flour until it becomes too stiff to stir.
  • Turn out onto a floured surface and kneed any remaining flour in by hand. (It may take slightly more then 5 cups of flour to being the dough to the correct consistency.)
  • Form the dough into a ball and place into a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise at room temperature for about one hour.
  • Punch dough down and refrigerate covered for another hour.
  • Place dough onto a floured surface and roll out into a thin rectangle. Spread filling mixture evenly over dough. Roll up and cut crosswise into 3/4” slices. Place in muffin pans.
  • Let rise until double. Bake in 375-425 oven for 10-15 minutes.

I handed out this recipe card to all the guests at Mom’s Memorial.



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Entry #1,535

Recipe - Rice Pudding



This is not your mother’s rice pudding. I find it especially delicious. Don’t be tempted to prepare the rice first in a rice cooker.


Ingredients

  • 3/4 C white rice
  • 1-1/2 C water
  • 2 C coconut milk (Unsweetened)
  • 1/3 C (or less) Muscovado brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 2/3 C golden raisins
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Cook rice until tender. Add 1-1/2 C coconut milk, brown sugar, and salt. Continue cooking over medium heat until thick and creamy. Remove from stove. Stir in remaining coconut milk. Temper egg and add to pudding mixture stirring constantly. Stir in butter and vanilla until combined.

The secret to this recipe is the coconut milk and the Muscovado brown sugar. Muscovado brown sugar is less refined than normal brown sugar and has more molasses in it. Along with the coconut milk, It adds a unique flavor to the pudding. These two ingredients arguably make this recipe healthier than your mother’s rice pudding.

Try not to eat it all in one sitting…



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Entry #1,528