Newfoundland Meal Prep -- Sloppy Joe Sliders & Salad

Sloppy Joe Sliders & Salad

On long driving days when we're focused on getting from Point A to Point B, we aren't usually very hungry at dinner time--probably because we didn't get enough exercise!  Sloppy Joe Sliders & Salad is a perfect small meal that satisfies with a taste of comfort food, but keeps it healthy with a fresh salad.  It's also a great meal for rainy or windy nights since it easily heats up in an RV galley.

This is another recipe that isn't really a recipe.  Everyone has a favorite Sloppy Joe recipe so go ahead and cook up a batch, divide into bags, and pop in the freezer.  When you're on the road, just defrost and heat in a skillet or microwave.

The Sloppy Joe recipe I've been making for decades is from my friend, Sharon.  On rainy days at her lake house, Sharon make a double batch of Sloppy Joes and it's always a hit with her large extended family.

Make Ahead Ingredients

2 lbs lean ground beef (or turkey)
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon of hot sauce (or more to taste)
salt & pepper to taste

In a large preheated skillet, brown diced onion with meat in two batches to not crowd the pan, pour off any grease.  Combine the other ingredients in a small bowl.  Add all the cooked meat mixture back to the skillet and stir in the sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes.  Cool mixture, fill freezer bags removing as much air as possible, and place flat in the freezer.

Notes: Like green peppers, chopped celery, chopped carrot?  Garlic?  Sloppy Joes are a great way to use up veggies in your fridge.  Just chop and add when you add the onions.  Vegetarian?  Use Beyond Meat Crumbles to replace the beef or turkey.

2. Since we make small sliders with this recipe, we fill at least 4 freezer bags with the 2 lbs of beef.  If you want full size Sloppy Joes, just divide among fewer bags.

3. Adding crushed tomatoes to the sauce will make them 'extra' sloppy for easy reheating.

4. Serve on small toasted dinner rolls (those Hawaiian ones are a guilty pleasure) with a side salad.

Rosie's Pet Friendly Tip:  Make sure some of the Sloppy Joes 'accidentally' slide off your plate!

Newfoundland Meal Prep--TexMex Chicken Bowls

Why all the meal prep for long RV trips?  We have three reasons: 1) eating healthy, keeping an eye on our expenses, and preparing quick meals, so we don't cut into adventuring time.  I mention the quick meals because we take shortcuts! At home I cook with dried beans--on the road--canned. I also don't do much any baking on the road.  I find myself watching the timer and thinking about what I'm missing while I'm waiting.

Maybe when we retire the timer won't have as much power over us, but for now, it's about quick meals so we can catch a sunset or a ranger program.

One of my shortcuts (don't judge me!) is 'boil-in-bag' type grains to make bowl meals.  There are several different brands of these available in local grocery stores. Trader Joe's has some great options too.  I usually get "Success" brand--it's non-GMO (thank you Vermont for being first in the nation to ban GMO products) and available in several varieties of white rice, brown rice, and quinoa.  In 10 minutes we have brown rice, and a pot that doesn't need to be cleaned! That totally works in our little RV galley.

Oh and did I mention, one box of Success Boil-in-Bag brown rice contains four 2-serving bags. Think Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Thai...

Here's a TexMex Chicken Bowl I prepped for our trip.

TexMex Chicken Prep

3 chicken breasts
3 small cans of tomato sauce (no sugar added)
3 Tablespoons taco seasoning
Hot sauce (optional)

Heat a medium sized skillet with a tsp of olive oil.  Brown chicken breasts (about 4 minutes per side).  Add 3 cans of tomato sauce and taco seasoning.  Simmer until chicken is heated through (about 20 minutes).  Remove from heat, cool, and shred chicken.  Divide chicken into three freezer ziplock bags to prep for three meals, and place flat in freezer.

Note: You can make this with chicken and a jar of salsa, but the day I made it, I only had tomato sauce in the house. A can of Rotel tomatoes and peppers would work well too.  Vegetarian?  Black beans heated with a can of Rotel and some taco seasoning is yummy.

TexMex Bowl

Ingredients
1 bag of defrosted TexMex Chicken
1 bag of 'boil-in-bag' brown rice
cilantro, 5 or 6 sprigs of fresh
1 lime, cut in quarters
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Other toppings--avocado, tomatoes, corn, sour cream, broken corn chips

Prep The Meal
1.  Boil the rice, split between 2 bowls and stir in a little chopped cilantro for flavor.
2.  Reheat chicken adding a little water in a foil lined small skillet.
3.  While chicken is heating, make chimichurri in a small bowl by combining minced jalapeno,  a tablespoon olive oil,  the rest of the chopped cilantro, and juice from half a lime. Set aside.
4.  Add chimichurri on top of rice, then the warm chicken, top with whatever else you have--Monterrey Jack or cotija cheese, avocado slices, tomato... have any sour cream or corn--toss that in too...and squeeze remaining lime over the top.

Rosie would honestly rather have a restaurant doggie bag, because there are usually more leftovers.  But a little chicken and rice to top off her kibble is always a good thing.

Newfoundland Meal Prep--Pork Roasts Were BOGO!

Pork roasts were Buy One Get One Free at the grocery store, so meal prep for our Newfoundland trip is Pork Carnitas! The recipe I use is modified from iheartkitchen.com which uses leftover cooked pork roast.  I changed up the spices a bit, and substituted orange juice and juice from a lime--I didn't have a lemon.

Here's my version.  I think the lemon would have made this a little bitter, so I'm glad I didn't have one.  I also increased the amount of onion and only used garlic powder.

Pork Carnitas

In a heavy dutch oven, combine the following and simmer about an hour until liquid is reduced by half.

Carnitas Ingredients to make ahead and freeze:

4 cups of cooked pork roast, trimmed of fat and cut in 1 inch pieces
2 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 medium onions, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/4 cup orange juice
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon cumin
1 1/4  teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander
3/4 teaspoon salt
cayenne pepper (optional if you like more of a kick)

After liquid is reduced by half, shred the pork with a fork.  Cool, and divide between freezer bags (I filled 3 quart bags and each bag serves two.

Making Dinner: 

Remove pork from freezer and defrost the day you plan to eat. You'll need these additional ingredients to make dinner:  small soft tacos, a bag of coleslaw mix, 1 jalapeno, cilantro (fresh or dried), sour cream (or mayonnaise), 1 lime including zest, and any toppings you might want--tomato, cheese....

In a small bowl, combine a quarter to a third of a bag of coleslaw mix with 2 tablespoons sour cream, lime zest, lime juice, minced jalapeno (remove seeds), cilantro, salt, and pepper to taste.  Chop tomato, grate cheese.

In a nonstick skillet, add a teaspoon of olive oil and reheat the pork on high to crisp it up a bit.  Remove pork to bowl, wipe out pan and heat tortillas in the same pan.

In warm tortillas, add pork, coleslaw, and garnish with chopped tomato and cheese.

So Tom is probably shocked, that I prepped three dinners using pork, his favorite,  since I usually eat pork a just three times a year!  But between the 'buy one, get one deal, ' and this flavorful recipe, I won't have any trouble eating carnitas 3 times in 6 weeks with just a tiny taste leftover for Rosie.

If you're keeping track, I've got 9 dinners prepped so far!

Newfoundand Meal Prep--Pizza, Pizza!

Naan Grilled Pizza

This is so simple it doesn't even count as a recipe, you can totally customize, and there's next to no prep!  Perfect for camping.

We grill our pizza on a small Coleman Fold n Go Grill that fits easily under the bed in our Travato- K model, but a campground grill would work too as long as you're using a pre-cooked flatbread type crust. The one trick to successful pizza grilling is coating the grill with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.  Boondocking and no grill?  You can cook this in a cast iron skillet on your RV's stovetop.

Pre-planning Prep
We use whole grain naan for our pizza crust, but any flatbread will work.  Then we pack a jar of prepared pizza sauce and a few other toppings which can easily be re-used in salads or pasta dishes. We usually go vegetarian with pizza and our favorite toppings are artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, olives, and walnuts for some protein.  Once we're in Newfoundland, we'll look for mozzarella and parmesan, but goat cheese and feta are yummy too.


Grilling the Pizza

Prep the grill with a little olive oil and preheat.  Spread a think layer of pizza sauce on the naan and top with mozzarella and parmesan.  Add toppings of your choice and sprinkle a little oregano or Italian seasoning and pepper on top. Place naan on hot grill. Part way through grilling I cover with foil so the cheese melts.  Check bottom of Naan often to make sure it doesn't burn.  When heated through, remove from grill and serve with salad!


Ingredients for 2 individual pizzas

Whole wheat Naan (package of 2)
4 oz mozzarella
1 oz parmesan
sliced olives
1/4 can of quartered artichokes, drained
2 Tbl julienned sun dried tomatoes
1/4 C walnut pieces
pinch each of oregano and pepper

Leftover cheese and toppings can be saved for pizza night next week or use them in pasta dishes or salads.

Rosie definitely likes leftover pizza even if it's vegetarian!

Newfoundland Meal Prep Korean Beef Tacos

WooHoo! It's prep time for our epic bucket list trip in our Travato camper van to Newfoundland!

We love these long 6-week trips with time to get to know an area and the people, but travel can be expensive. One of our secret weapons for cutting costs is cooking most of our meals.  An added benefit is that we usually eat much healthier, have better portion control, and can eat when and where we are hungry! To make this work, I food prep, pack some staples, carefully choose recipes that are camping friendly, and repeat meals to keep it simple.

For this 6-week trip I'm selecting 12 recipes that I'll prep 3 times each for 36 dinners and for the rest of the time we'll be enjoying fresh local Newfoundland seafood!  Our breakfasts are simple -- coffee, cereal or oatmeal, fresh fruit, and occasionally egg burritos or a smoothie.  Lunch is usually cold cuts, tuna, or hummus in a salad bowl or a pita.

So really the only cooking I do is for dinner.  Anything I can pre-prep goes in the small freezer in our Travato K.  It's narrow, but deep, so anything I freeze, I freeze flat in ziplock bags.  Don't forget to label the contents of those freezer bags!

Here's the recipe I'm prepping today--Korean Beef Tacos.  I'll make three portions of the beef (each portion feeds two people).  After it cools, it gets divided into 3 ziplock bags.

Korean Beef Tacos

Prep Ingredients: 
12 oz    Thin sliced ribeye steak (you could sub lean ground beef)
1/2       Onion, diced small
4 oz.    Teriyaki marinade (we love the brand        pictured--it's organic and not too sweet)
1 tsp     Olive oil
couple dashes of tabasco (we like a little kick)

Prep Method:
Add a tsp of olive oil to hot skillet.  Toss in minced onion and beef.  Cook 5-6 minutes or until browned. Add Teriyaki marinade and dash of tabasco (optional).  Cool and add to a quart size ziplock freezer bag.  Label bag's contents and lay flat in freezer.

Dinner Ingredients:

Defrosted, prepared beef
6 small whole wheat soft tacos
1 cucumber
4 oz of a package of coleslaw mix
1 lime, cut into wedges
1 Tbl Mayonaise
Sriracha

Dinner Method:
Defrost the beef in the morning--I usually put the freezer bag on a plate in the sink before we head out for the day).  At dinner time, warm up defrosted beef in the microwave or a skillet with a little added water.  Wash and peel skin from cucumber.  Peel cumber lengthwise in long peels until you reach the inner seeded part which you can discard.  Add cucumber peels to small bowl with 1 tbl of lime juice 1 tbl water, and a little salt. Toss and set aside.  In another small bowl, add coleslaw mix, 1 tbl mayo, 1 tsp lime juice, and sriracha to taste, mix and set aside.  Warm the soft tacos, and to each taco pile on beef, slaw mix, and cucumber, squirt a wedge of lime over the top.  Yum!

The fresh ingredients--coleslaw mix, cucumber, soft tacos, and lime should be easy to find in a local grocery store.  As far as prep goes--I keep is simple with paper bowls for mixing veggies, and just one skillet to warm the meat (if you line it with aluminum foil, you can remove the meat in the foil to a plate and heat the soft tacos in the same skillet.

Korean Beef Tacos is a nice change from burgers on the grill and easy to prepare indoors if it's raining! The whole wheat tacos add healthy carbs, and of course there are lots of flavorful veggies.

Rosie said to be sure to let you know she approves of this recipe and that there's enough beef left over to top off her dry dog food!

                                                                                                                                    

Wallydocking Quesadillas

One of our go-to dinners when we're on the road is a simple, quick, and relatively healthy meal that is Rosie-approved! We call it Wallydocking Quesadillas since boondocking at Walmart is usually when we make it!

Here's your Walmart shopping list:

• a rotisserie chicken
• package of whole wheat burritos
• jar of salsa
• can of of black beans
• Monterrey Jack cheese

You can of course dress this up with other ingredients--black olives, jalapenos, hot sauce, and of course sour cream would be yummy--this is just the basic version.  And if you'll be boondocking at multiple Walmarts along the way,  have quesadillas the first night and taco salads the next night (which will use up the extra beans, salsa, and cheese)--just change it up a bit with bagged lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and corn chips.

Still have leftover ingredients?  Add eggs to your Walmart shopping list, and make breakfast burritos the next morning with scrambled eggs, leftover salsa, cheese, and anything else you have in your fridge--like baby spinach, cherry tomatoes...

I usually warm up a non-stick frying pan on the stove while Tom takes the chicken off the bone. Rosie supervises the chicken de-boning process with laser-like focus.

Place a burrito in the warm pan, spread a thin layer of black beans (mash them with a fork so the'll warm up quickly), followed by salsa, then add the shredded chicken,  grate a little cheese, and top it off with another burrito.  When the quesadilla starts to brown on the bottom, flip it to the other side for a few more minutes.  Cut into wedges and serve.

Rosie is always very happy to score any leftover chicken, but if you're traveling with a furry friend be safe and dispose of the bones in a Walmart garbage can right after dinner.

Rosie says 'bone appetit!'