Dutch Oven Chili Pie

This is hands-down one of the best variations of chili & cornbread that I have ever had.

Mmmmm... Chili Pie!

Here's the full recipe from the book Dutch Oven Cooking by John G. Ragsdale

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GUADALUPE CHILI PIE 

2 lbs ground beef                                 1/2 t chili powder
1 medium onion, chopped                    1/2 t salt
1 T butter                                              1-8oz can tomato sauce
1-15oz can chili bean, undrained         2-6oz pkg corn bread mix (Jiffy)
                                                                + eggs and water as called for on corn bread mix

Directions: Brown beef and onion in the butter in open ovens.
Add beans, chili powder, salt and sauce and cook for about 15 minutes in covered oven.
Mix the corn bread as directed and add to top of meat and beans.
Place lid on oven. Cook for 20-30 minutes, until corn bread is done.  

Serves 8

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Here's my two-cents:  You can pre-measure most of these ingredients before heading out to go camping. If you really want to be prepared, you can pre-cook and mix everything, dump it into a tupperware container and then freeze it to help keep your ice box cold(er) for a day or two before you get a chance to make this.  Making this on-site is super easy though, so it's not really worth the trouble of pre-cooking!

                   Aha!  A perfect fire with just-right coals          That is one hot cooking area!

                                          (thanks Steve!)                             Cook the beef & onion carefully

We have a small dutch oven (6") so I usually only make half this recipe and skimp on the corn bread.  I mix the cornbread up in a paper bowl, starting with beating one egg into a little bit of water and then adding as much Jiffy mix and water as will fit into the bowl while keeping the right consistency for the batter.
It's a bit of a guessing game for figuring out when the cornbread is done. You don't want to take the lid off too frequently, but do keep an eye out for smoke (if is starts smoking, then yeah, it's probably too hot or done!)  Here's how the top of a perfectly done cornbread turns out:

Mmmm...crunchy cornbread!      

 
What you can't see from these pictures is how much of the good tasting chili mix the corn bread absorbs.  The top is yummy & crunchy and the bottom is tasty with all the chili seasonings.
 Pretty much any combo of beef +chili powder + beans + cornbread should turn out pretty good.  Not only is this tasty, but it's easy to clean up and makes a minimal amount of dishes!  Try it at home if you've got a casserole dish or dutch oven for your home oven but this is really a great camping meal.

Up Nort Trip

We're back from another great trip.  This one was very relaxing, since we just puttered around Wisconsin in the bus for the week.  I feel so lucky to live in this state, we have so much to see!

We started out our trip on one of the best sites at Brunet Island.  Thankfully, the mosquitoes weren't bad and we could spend our time focusing on the important things- fishing & reading like a bunch of bums.

 Steve catches a Tree-Shaker! Meanwhile, on the other side of camp, Jenny identifies wildflowers.

 At Copper Falls, we took time for fishing and hiking.  If you are ever in the area of Mellen (which I don't suppose you will be just by accident, since it is in the middle-of-nowhere up north) you should make a point to stop in and check out the water falls.  The Doughboy hike is pretty easy, and you'll be surprised by what you see along the way.

You betchya- those are some big waterfalls right here in Wisconsin!

Our "real" destination on the way was Madeline Island, just off shore from Bayfield.  Madeline is the largest of the Apostle Islands and has a long sandy beach (with VERY COLD water) and nice sand-dune boardwalk. This park also has a few great hiking trails to check out the rock formations, in case you don't have a kayak to paddle up near them.  After Arches in Utah, the Apostle Islands have the largest gathering of unique formations like sea caves & arches right along the shore line.

Check out that clear water & the cool formations

Not only did we get to see a lot of interesting places along the way, we ate really well too!  I can not say enough about how great Dutch Ovens are for camping.  Not only are they easy to use, the are also really, really, really easy to clean up.  I am all for not doing dishes when I'm out camping.

 mmmm.... Chicken Pot Pie!

We tried a bunch of new recipes this trip and I can't wait until we get out camping again to try some more.  I'll follow up with some of my favorites later! -Jen