Ok I'm in!

[3montes]

Becky's posts finally pushed me over the edge to give this DO cooking a try. I picked this up at Wal Mart yesterday. She makes it look so easy but I'm sure it's not as easy as she makes it look!
So I need a easy foolproof recipe to try for my first cook to bank some confidence. Maybe that chocolate pudding cake she did awhile back??

ch

We kept having strong rain showers move through today so I did a little improvising. I put a patio block on top of one of my propane burners on the trailer rig which was in the garage. Put the dutch oven on top of the patio block and cooked away in the garage!



This was after the cook I was too busy fussing with stuff to get pics during the cook.



This is whats left of my first attempt with the DO. A strawberry chocolate dump cake!! I'd give it a 3 or 4 out of 10 stars lots of room for improvement! But it was edible at least! I'm going to enjoy learning how to cook with this new DO!

[PreacherRodgers]

A great big pot of chili would be good

[Slanted88]

Hard for mr to say...got several DO's...one is for bread only...got a big one for charcoal...the other we use on the stove or in the oven.

[hit or miss]

Dump cake is easy. Melt a stick of butter in the bottom of the DO. Dump in two cans of fruit pie filling. Take one cake mix, whatever flavor you like, and mix it with one can of soda. Pour the cake mix over the pie filling and bake until done.

I do suggest lining the DO with foil or using a liner to make cleanup easier!

[3montes]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I have some fresh raspberries and fresh strawberries in the fridge that need to be used. Found a simple apple cobbler recipe using fresh apples I wonder if I can substitute strawberries in place of apples.

[RowdyRay]

That's the same one I have. Had it at least ten years now. Take care of it, and it'll put out some good eats.

Any fruit, sugar and a yellow cake mix will work. :thumbup:

Sent from my PH44100 using Tapatalk 2

[3montes]

I have fruit, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon on hand. I don't have yellow cake mix but I do have a chocolate one. So I'm thinking strawberry/raspberry chocolate cobbler??

[curious aardvark]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I have some fresh raspberries and fresh strawberries in the fridge that need to be used. Found a simple apple cobbler recipe using fresh apples I wonder if I can substitute strawberries in place of apples.

yes - both are fruits with ahigh water content. So pretty close for cooking.

As far as cake mix goes.

it's equal [weights eggs:sugar:flour (self raising or add 1tsp baking powder per 1.5 cups flour):butter
Throw in mixing bowl and mix it all up with hand mixer and pour over your fruit mix.

5 minutes, job done :-)

[Dale]

Here's a little video from Phylis Speer, pretty easy recipe to get started...

[sweet_magnolia]

Becky's posts finally pushed me over the edge to give this DO cooking a try.

Congrats!! Nice black pot! And fantastic job on the dump cake! Strawberries and chocolate are always a good combination! Great improvisation, too...you wanted to cook in the DO and you didn't let the weather stop you! Looking forward to see what else you will do! It's really not hard, is it?

[sweet_magnolia]

ch

Just noticed the green apple in the pic....you should try the Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings soon.

[3montes]

Just noticed the green apple in the pic....you should try the Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings soon.

Just seen your post on the Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings! Going to give that a try but I think next up is a pineapple upside down cake as I got a pineapple that needs to be used. Thanks darlin'!!

[sweet_magnolia]

...but I think next up is a pineapple upside down cake as I got a pineapple that needs to be used. Thanks darlin'!!

I haven't done one of those yet so I can't wait to see how your cook goes!

[RowdyRay]

Interesting combination. Glad it was edible. Pineapple upside down cake is delicious too. But, the Mountain Dew apple dumplings are to die for. If you're going to make them in the DO, cut it in half. A very good friend of mine says that 1/2 cup of butter, sugar and Mountain Dew works great for a half batch. Plus the vanilla and cinnamon.

[eDJ]

Re:

I think you got a fine first time out cake there.

Those things aren't the prettiest to start with and even those with lots of experience bite their lip before they lift the lid. LOL

Beef Stew's, Chili (even with corn bread on top of it), Mac & Cheese,
scalloped potatoes etc are all good places to start out with. And of those things the people you're cooking for may want it over and over again. That in itself will allow you to get plenty of experience cooking the same recipe till ya got it down pat. It may be better to fix the same things when first starting out before branching out to more exotic things.

If you really want to try something a little different that almost always
turns out fine, try this one.



HOBO Stew (some call it Mulligan)


1 tablespoon of oil

1 cup of chopped onion

1/2 cup of chopped mixed sweet and hot peppers

1/2 cup of celery

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1-1/2 pounds of ground beef (you can use stew beef or smoked sausage)

2 tablespoons of all purpose flour

1-1/2 cups of beef stock or broth

3 (11.5 ounce) cans of original or spicy V-8, or tomato juice

1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes

2 large potatoes, peeled and diced

2 cups of fresh diced carrots (about 2 large)

2 cups of corn (a 14 oz can)

2 cups of cut green beans

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Couple dashes of hot sauce

1/4 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon of coarse ground black pepper

Instructions

In the bottom of a Dutch oven heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, peppers and celery; cook and stir until softened, about 4 minutes.

Next add the garlic and meat, cook and stir until meat is browned and cooked through. Dip up any excess fat and remove. Sprinkle meat with flour then cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add the beef stock, V-8 juice and diced tomatoes. Stir in the potatoes, carrots, corn and green beans. Add Worcestershire, hot sauce and seasonings to taste. Stir, cover and simmer over medium to medium low (a low bubble) for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. I also add a TB of
prepared Mustard to mine as there is vinegar and turmeric in it.

If you have a pan of corn bread or some bread to go with this, then you'll have some good Dutch Oven eatin. Some cold beverage of choice goes good with it too.

The idea here is to give someone new to this kind of cooking a recipe or two where they will have a pretty good chance of a successful experience
on the first tries. Then the biggest thing to watch is the heat of the fire
you're cooking on.

Good luck and I hope this grows on ya !