Small Boat, Crew Pleasing Meals

Copyright Janet Groene 2024. To ask about rates to reprint this content or to place an ad on all six Groene sites for one year, one low rate, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

 

 

GALLEY RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Beefy Spelt Potage
    

 Spelt is a wheat relative, chewy, nourishing and  satisfying. Traditionally this thick soup is made with fresh vegetables, a little pork or bacon and a drizzle of olive oil. I prefer to beef it up for cold weather cruising. 

 

14 to 16 ounces lean beef for stew, cut in small bits
 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, lard or bacon fat
1 cup spelt
4 cups diced mixed root vegetables (potato, carrot, parsnip,  onion)
2 cups chopped  greens ( kale, spinach or Swiss chard)
2 teaspoons each celery seed and dried rosemary
1 can white beans (cannellini  or Great Northern), drained and rinsed
Salt, pepper to taste

Sizzle beef in hot fat. Gradually add spelt and vegetables, scraping up brown bits to coat vegetables.  Cover with water, bring to a boil, cover pot and simmer until everything is tender. Stir in beans. Heat through, adjust seasonings and serve. Makes 6 to 8 servings to serve with hearty chunks of a peasant bread.
Cook’s note: pearl spelt cooks to chewy tenderness in 20-30 minute; whole spelt cooks in 40-60 minutes.

See more of Janet Groene’s shortcut recipes for boating and camping at https://campandrvcook.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

PANTRY RAID: WHEN THE FRESH STORES ARE GONE, REPLY ON ....

SURVIVAL FOOD HANDBOOK is a guide to survival when you're Out There and out of fresh provisions.  It's written just for sailors and campers who have limited storage space.

 Whether it's fridge failure, or you're broke,  or quarantined or weathered in, stuff happens. See provisioning information, lists, tips and recipes made solely with stowed foods from supermarkets (not those expensive  doomsday rations).  Create a three-day standby pantry for your home, boat, cabin or camper with familiar, affordable staples.

Kindle or paperback, it's a great gift idea for yourself or a friend.  https://amzn.to/3mIfryC 

Tips for the Galley Chef

    *Not everyone has a fireproof palette. Keep dishes mild, then stock a cluster of hot sauces to pass at the table. “Collecting” native hot sauces from around the world is fun, and they also make good souvenirs to send home.

* A hot toddy at anchor under the stars? Bring two quarts apple juice to a boil. Stir in 1 packet dry cherry Jello dessert mix. Serve in mugs with a tot of rum.

    * Cut a medium zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out a shallow tunnel. Put a hotdog in the tunnel. Season, add cheese if you've a mind to, wrap in foil & roast slowly, turning over medium heat on the grill until zucchini is crisp tender.

* For more moist meatloaf or burgers add up to 2 cups grated raw potato, apple, carrot or onion per 3 pounds ground meat

 

 PANTRY RAID: WHEN THE FRESH STORES ARE GONE, REPLY ON ....

 

SURVIVAL FOOD HANDBOOK is a guide to survival when you're Out There and out of fresh provisions.  It's written just for sailors and campers who have limited storage space.

 Whether it's fridge failure, or you're broke,  or quarantined or weathered in, stuff happens. See provisioning information, lists, tips and recipes made solely with stowed foods from supermarkets (not those expensive  doomsday rations).  Create a balanced three-day standby pantry for your home, boat, cabin or camper with familiar, affordable staples.

Kindle or paperback, it's a great gift idea for yourself or a friend.  https://amzn.to/3mIfryC 

PANTRY RECIPE OF THE WEEK
    When you are gunkholing or passagemaking and fresh foods are gone, these recipes can be made with ingredients from the pantry. No fresh ingredients required. 

 

Spanish Rice
3 cups cooked rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
14.5-ounce can tomatoes with green pepper and onion
Small jar diced pimentos, drained
1 tablespoon dried potato flakes 

Olive oil ad lib
Hot sauce

    Saute rice in oil with garlic until it’s fragrant. Add pimentos, undrained tomatoes and potato flakes.  Cover and cook, stirring until thick. Drizzle with more olive oil ad lib. Serves two. Pass the hot sauce.

SKILLET MEAL OF THE WEEK
Savory Bread Pudding Supper

 

 

2 cups cut up cooked or canned meat, seafood or chicken

4 cups cubed artisan bread
1 can evaporated milk
Water
4 eggs
1 teaspoon each garlic powder, celery seed, lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground sage

1/4 stick butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Medium onion, diced

Prepare meat or seafood and set aside. Put  bread in a bowl or plastic bag. Add water to evaporated milk to make 2 cups. Whisk with eggs and the seasonings. Add to the bread and mix until everything is evenly moistened. Set bag aside.

Heat butter and oil  in a heavy skillet and sizzle onion until it’s soft. Add to bread mixture. Mix in meat or seafood and spread in the skillet. Cover tightly and cook over medium heat until pudding is set as for custard, and bottom and sides are crusty. Serves 4. 

 

APRIL SHOWERS BRING 

MYSTERY MURDERS
 

    Curl up in your bunk tonight with Book 4 in the Yacht Yenta “cozy” mystery series, April Avenger  by widow Farley Halladay. Once a sailor, Farley now operates an online boat booking business that lets her sail virtually all over the world. She shares her shortcut galley recipes throughout the books. As a salty widow she is also a cook, caregiver and kickass crime solver. For Kindle, Nook, Google Play and most other ebook formats.   https://amzn.to/3EKgaoP   

 

BONUS RECIPE
Butter Dumplings

Add a starch and egg protein to any thin soup or stew with these tasty nuggets. When made with broth this is a good tummy soother for crew who have mal de mer or  a head cold. 

  

 2 tablespoons butter (no substitutes)
2 eggs
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

    Cream butter and eggs. Stir in flour and salt. Bring soup or stew to an active simmer and drop dough by teaspoons. Cover and simmer 8 minutes until nuggets are firm. Serves 3 or 4. 

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  Farley Halladay spills scuttlebutt, cues, views and nautical news for budget wise, small boat cruising liveaboards at https://farleyhalladay.blogspot.com   

 Send this link to your boating friends, https://boatcook.blogspot.com





 

Small Boat Galley, Big Appetites

 

 

Copyright Janet Groene 2025. To ask about rates for using this content or placing an ad, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

 As a 10-year liveaboard I had to budget for three meals a day, 365 days a year.  We were constantly underway or at anchor, usually without an oven nor refrigeration. Dockage with water and power was an infrequent splurge.  My tips and recipes are for you in the small boat with a small budget, living the dream of cruising. 

 

 GALLEY RECIPE OF THE WEEK
 Mariners Marinade
    In a plastic bag, seal bite-size portions of meat, chicken or vegetables with this marinade. Chill and you’re good to go. Then light the stern grill and thread kebabs as needed. This makes enough marinade for up to three pounds of meat or poultry.

 

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

    In a large, zip-top bag, mix all ingredients well. Add up to 3 pounds of cubed meat, poultry or vegetables.  Chill, turning occasionally for 8 to 36 hours. Using tongs, lift out as many pieces as needed each time. Thread pieces on skewers and grill. Discard marinade. .

Marina Potluck Recipe of the Week
Green Flash Rice

 

10-ounce package frozen peas
2 tablespoons olive oil
Medium onion, finely diced
About 1 ½ cups finely diced ham
2 cups short-grain or arborio rice
1 quart chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

    Thaw peas and set aside. In a large skillet or saucepan, sizzle onion in olive oil over medium-high heat, gradually stirring in ham Stir in rice to coat. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and cook 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in peas, butter and Parmesan and keep warm. Serves 8 to 10 as a potluck dish or 4 to 6 as a dinner main dish.
    Cook’s note: Snipped parsley makes a nice garnish if you can manage it. 

BAKE-AND-TAKE RECIPE
Tunnel of Love Cake

    Bake this show-off cake in a tube pan or bundt pan. Wrap it whole or in slices. Ir travels well from your house to the boat for a weekend raft-up. 

 
1 box yellow cake mix
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped nuts
½ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla or rum flavoring

    Grease and flour a tube pan or bundt cake pan and set the oven for 350 degrees. Put 2 heaping  tablespoons of the cake mix in a small bowl with the brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts.
    Beat remaining cake mix with oil, water, eggs and flavoring until you have a smooth batter. Pour half the batter into the pan, sprinkle with the nut mixture and carefully add remaining batter.
    Bake the cake until it’s springy to the touch, about 50 to 55 minutes. Cool it in the pan, remove from pan and cool completely. 
Variations: substitute 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder for the cinnamon and increase brown sugar to 1/4 cup to make a chocolate tunnel. Nuts optional.

 

 

    For tips on getting the most nutrition into your emergency food locker my Survival Food Handbook is a guide to stocking an emergency pantry with the most nutrition per inch, per ounce and per dollar using familiar, affordable supermarket staples.   http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

 

 

 

Tips for the Galley Cook

    * When adding melted butter to a recipe that contains egg, cool the butter somewhat or it will cook and toughen the egg.

    * Soak leftover sandwiches in beaten egg, fry as for French toast and you have a hot meal.

    * Make quick cookies. Melt a pound of candy making chocolate with a cup of peanut butter. Chop pretzels coarsely and mix in as man as the melted chocolate will hold. Drop by tablespoons on waxed paper and let it harden. 

ONE BURNER MEAL OF THE WEEK
CurryFlower Skillet
 

    Make this spicy chili as a one-dish meal or serve it over a starch. It can be meaty or vegetarian. Once you finish the chopping, it throws together very quickly over one burner. PS. The cauliflower and onion (but not potato)  can be chopped, bagged and kept cold for a day or two ahead. 

 

Small cauliflower, cut in bite size
Medium onion, diced
Medium potato, scrubbed or peeled and diced
1 tablespoon each sugar and curry powder
1 teaspoon each ground cumin, turmeric, ginger
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 pound ground meat OR  2 cups drained, rinsed chickpeas
1 cup water
1 teaspoon powdered bouillon (chicken, beef or vegetable)
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup thawed peas

     Put spices in a  bag with the cut vegetables and shake to coat. Set aside.
    Heat oil and garlic in a large skillet. Stir in ground meat, breaking it up, until it’s done. If using chickpeas, heat them instead.  
    Keep stirring over medium-high heat while adding spiced vegetables. When they are well mixed in and fragrant,  add water, powdered bouillon and raisins. Cover and cook over low heat 25 minutes, adding a little more water if needed. When vegetables are tender fold in peas.   Heat through.
    Serve plain or over rice, pasta, noodles, couscous, grits, etc.  Serves 4 to 6 as is, or up to 8 to 10 if spooned over a starch.

    

 Get acquainted with sailing widow Farley Halladay, whose husband died in a mysterious fall from the mainmast of the ketch they operated as a crewed charterboat out of St. Thomas. January Justice  is the first in the Yacht Yenta series.

Now on shore and operating an online charterboat booking agency, Farley relives life at sea while coping with caregiving, cooking her favorite galley recipes, a crazy cast of friends and their kickass crime solving. The series is now six, January through June Jeopardy. You'll want to read them all, in any order.   https://amzn.to/3BIioU7

 

 .   
BONUS RECIPE
Idaho Chili

    One pan makes one big, hearty meal for a hungry crew while potatoes add needed carbs. Add more potatoes and beans to increase servings. Use any beans,  from red to black, kidney light of dark, Great Northern or pinto.

 

1 pound lean ground beef, chicken, turkey,  lamb or sausage
2 ½ cups hash brown potatoes
Medium onion, diced
Small green pepper, diced
2 cups  water
2  beef , chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes
6-ounce can tomato paste
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 can mushrooms, drained
1 can beans,drained and rinsed

    In a large skillet or pan sear meat, breaking it up and gradually adding potatoes, onion and green pepper. Add water, bring to a boil and add tomato paste, bouillon cubes, Stir to dissolve. Add chilli powder. Cover and simmer 15 minutes until meat is thoroughly done and vegetables tender. Stir in mushrooms and beans. Heat through. Adjust seasonings.

Cook’s note: In the US, Ore-Ida  dehydrated hashed browns are sold in a carton. Just add hot water.  I stock them by the dozen. Other brands of dehydrated hashed browns include Hungry Jack and Idaho Spuds. You can also also use thawed hashed browns or grate a couple of scrubbed potatoes.

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Big Meals, Small Boats

 

Blog copyright Janet Groene 2024.

 

Skillet Meal of the Week
    This easy-mix quiche makes its own crust.
Skillet Quiche

6  slices bacon, cut up
Medium onion, diced
1 cup bits of vegetables such as broccoli or cauliflower

1 ½ cups milk
4 eggs
½ teaspoon each salt, pepper, ground nutmeg
½ cup biscuit mix
1 cup grated mild cheese such as Swiss or Gruyere


    In a skillet, fry out bacon, gradually stirring in onion and vegetables until  crisp-tender. When becon bits are crisp, remove skillet from heat. Transfer bacon and vegetables to paper toweling, leaving drippings in the skillet.
    In a bowl whisk eggs, milk and seasonings until light and smooth. Whisk in biscuit mix.    

     Return skillet and bacon drippings to the heat. Pour in the egg mixture. Add bacon bits and vegetables.    Cover skillet and cook over medium heat until quiche is puffy and firm.  Serves 4 to 6.
 

Marina Potluck Recipe of the Week
Quick “Dirty” Rice
    Dirty Rice is a soul food favorite that is traditionally made with giblets such as heart, liver and gizzard. Here is our shortcut version. It’s usually made quite spicy but we prefer to provide hot sauce at the table. This recipe is easily multiplied.

 

2 slices thick bacon, cut up
1 pound boneless chicken, cut in small bits
1 tablespoon  minced garlic
2 ribs celery, diced
Large onion, diced
Medium green  pepper, diced
1 tablespoon powdered chicken bouillon
1 tablespoon dried, crumbled oregano
3 1/4 cups water
3 cups instant white rice

    In a large skillet or saucepan fry out the bacon.  When the fat renders, keep stir-frying as you add the chicken. Keep stir-frying to add garlic, celery, onion and green pepper. Add water and bouillon.
    Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until chicken bits and vegetables are very tender. Stir  oregano and instant rice into the hot mixture. Cover and set aside to steep according to package directions. Serves 8.
    .
    Cook’s note: To make this a vegetarian dish, omit bacon. Finely chop one or two unpeeled small eggplants and saute briefly in olive oil. Proceed, using vegetable broth or bouillon. The small flecks of eggplant provide the “dirt” in dirty rice.

PANTRY RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Carro-tropic Salad
    Here’s an emergency recipe. All ingredients keep in the pantry for days, even weeks, until you need a fill-in dish in a hurry.  

 

2 cans, 15 ounces each, julienne carrots
2 teaspoons vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar or equivalent
8-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 cup shredded coconut
½ cups raisins
1/4 cup French dressing or other bottled sweet salad dressing

    Drain carrots well and toss with vinegar and sugar.  Drain pineapple. Fold everything together with enough dressing to moisten. Serves 5 to 6.
    Cook’s note: For an adult meal, heat 1/4 cup rum to steaming and pour over raisins. Let soak until cool, then add to this salad.
    
 
Tips for the Boat Cook

    * No rolling and cutting needed. Make biscuits by stirring full-fat sour cream into self-rising flour mixed with a pinch of baking soda. Drop the thick dough on a hot griddle by the heaping tablespoon. Brown one side, flip, brown the other side and flip again until biscuit is no longer doughy in the middle. To bake, set the oven at 425 F.  

* Think of crisp ice cream cups as edible dishes for anything from scrambled eggs and sloppy joe to instant pudding.

* Grease spots in porous  galley surfaces?  Before using a harsh cleaner that could bleach out the color, work in cornstarch with a soft brush. Let it absorb oil, then brush it off. Clean with mild soap solution. Rinse.

* Rehydrate any flavor ramen and drain, saving broth.  Whisk 2 to 4 eggs, stir in ramen and cook as an omelet. Broth can be discarded or thicken it to make a sauce.
                                
* Make a nice pot of creamy polenta and stir in canned chili, black olives, corn kernels, shredded cheese.  Plop on plates for a thick potage that’s easy to serve and eat in heavy weather.


Pantry Recipe of the Week
    No fresh foods are needed in my weekly Pantry Recipe. Food is boating insurance. Stuff happens. Have an ample back-up food supply, even if it’s just for a day sail.

Oat Bannock
    Make these tasty griddle breads with fresh or UHT milk, reconstituted dry milk or diluted evaporated milk.

  

2 cups milk
1 raw egg or equivalent
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal flakes
½ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

    Whisk egg and milk. Heat to like warm and stir in oat flakes.  Let stand while oatmeal softens, then stir in salt and baking soda. Drop by tablespoons on a hot, greased griddle. Cook as for pancakes.

 

 

    Canned and packaged foods are good boating insurance. Even a day sail can turn into a longer-than-planned, hungry and even life-threatening adventure. For a book on provisioning a boat with familiar, affordable pantry foods from the supermarket see Survival Food Handbook, published by International Marine division of McGraw-Hill.   http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

 

 

    
    
Galley Recipe of the Week

With 14 to 16 ounces of economical surimi you can create this tasty, colorful, seafood main dish for eight. Serve it warm,  at “room” temperature or chilled on beds of shredded lettuce.

Surimi Salad 

 

1 each red and green bell pepper, trimmed and sliced in slivers
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Medium cauliflower, chopped
7- to 10-ounce can mushroom pieces, drained
1 cup sliced black olives, drained
10-ounce jar salad olives with pimento, drained
15-ounce jar tiny pickled onions, drained
14-ounce bottle ketchup
16-ounce package shredded Alaska Surimi (imitation crab)
15-ounce can whole green beans, drained
10-ounce jar tiny sweet pickles, drained

    In a big skillet or wok, stir-fry  peppers in hot oil, gradually stirring in the cauliflower and mushrooms. When the cauliflower is crisp-tender, stir in olives, onions with their juice and ketchup. Keep stirring over medium heat while adding surimi, green beans and pickles.
        Bring on bread sticks, then complete the meal with pound cake slices spread with lemon flavor yogurt.  

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Let's Eat on the Boat! Big Recipes, Small Boats

 Copyright Janet Groene 2024. To ask about placing your ad on all six Groene sites for one year, one small price, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

 

Galley Recipe of the Week
Deep Sea Steamed Dumplings
    One burner and one pot to wash! Add puffy dumplings to a soup meal and you have a  feast. 

    
3 cans condensed Manhattan style clam chowder
3 cans water
Small can V8 juice AND/OR
Small bottle clam juice
1 ½ cups biscuit mix
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
Milk or water
Small can clams, picked over to remove any shell bits

    In a large saucepan mix soup, water and juice including juice from canned clams. Bring to an active simmer, not a hard boil. Mix paprika and parsley flakes into biscuit mix and add milk or water to make a thick dough.  Fold in drained clams.  
    Drop dough by teaspoons into simmering chowder and cook 10 minutes uncovered, then 10 minutes tightly covered.  Serve at once. Makes 5 to 6 portions. 

 

SURVIVAL FOOD HANDBOOK is a guide to survival when you're Out There and out of fresh provisions.  It's written just for sailors and campers who have limited storage space.

 Whether it's fridge failure, or you're broke,  or quarantined or weathered in, stuff happens. See provisioning information, lists, tips and recipes made solely with stowed foods from supermarkets (not those expensive  doomsday rations) .  Create a three-day standby pantry for your home, boat, cabin or camper with familiar, affordable staples.

Kindle or paperback, it's a great gift idea for yourself or a friend.  https://amzn.to/3mIfryC 

 

 BONUS RECIPE
Creamy Baked Fish

6 portions fish fillets
1 cup sour cream
½ teaspoon each salt and hot sauce
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 to ½ cup fine cracker crumbs
½ stick butter, melted

     Preheat the oven to 350 F. Arrange a layer of fillets in a generously buttered baking pan. Whisk sour cream, hot sauce, paprika and Parmesan and spread over fillets. Sprinkle with  cracker crumbs and drizzle with melted butter. Bake 20-30 minutes until fish flakes nicely. (Time depends on thickness of the fillets.) Serves 6. 

 

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Walk to downtown Palm Springs, California restaurants and smart shops from your RV site at the Happy Traveler RV Park. Hike scenic trails in the surrounding mountains. Laze by the shimmering pool. Soak in the spa. Summer is family time.  In summer it's family friendly. Starting November 1 the resort is adults only. Bonus points: the night manager speaks most Scandinavian languages. The calendar is packed with parties and special events. Call (760) 325-8518 or email happytrav@hotmail.com/ 

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    For news, views and cues about all things boating, cruising, cooking aboard and living aboard see https://farleyhalladay.com   Farley is the salty  Yacht Yenta, a fictional sailor, now widowed, who solves mysteries ashore and lives vicariously at sea through her online charterboat booking business.

Tips for the Galley Chef

    * Toss 2 cups of cauliflower “rice” with 2 tablespoons flour and ½ t. salt. Add 1  beaten egg. Fry as for pancakes. Serves two.

    * Make a different icebox pie each time. Make crumbs from different cookies, wafers, graham crackers, pretzels. To  2 cups crumbs add 1/4 cup each melted butter and brown sugar.  each. Press into pie plate and chill. Add filling o your choice. Chill.   

    * Before rolling out pizza dough, gently knead in grated cheese, finely chopped pepperoni, finely chopped hazelnuts, minced fresh basil and/ or shredded coconut (for ham and pineapple pizza)  just until well distributed.

    * Make Thai-style Red Chicken. Whisk together 1 cup water, 1/4 cup each ketchup, soy sauce and Worcestershire and 1 tablespoon each sugar and Tabasco sauce. Pour over browned chicken parts. Cover, braise until chicken is tender. 

 

APRIL SHOWERS BRING 

MYSTERY MURDERS
     Curl up in your bunk tonight with book 4 in the Yacht Yenta “cozy” mystery series, April Avenger  by widow Farley Halladay. Once a sailor, Farley now operates an online boat booking business that lets her sail virtually all over the world. She shares her shortcut galley recipes throughout the books. As a grieving widow she is also a cook, caregiver and kickass crime solver. For Kindle, Nook, Google Play and most other ebook formats.   https://amzn.to/3EKgaoP   

 

Pantry Recipe of the Week
Mixed Bean Soup
    Gourmet? No, but our Pantry Recipe feature is a way to make a real  meal in a short-term emergency such as fridge failure, quarantine or mandatory evacuation, using only shelf-stable supplies. Let these recipes inspire your provisioning list for a stand-by pantry.   

 

 
2 cans different beans (such as kidney, navy, pinto, lima, etc., drained and rinsed
1 can mixed vegetables
2 cups water
1/4 cup dried diced onions
14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 bouillon cubes (beef chicken or vegetable)
Small can chunk ham, chicken or turkey, broken up
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Optional: 1/4 cup rice and/or 1 can evaporated milk

    Bring everything but the evaporated milk to a low boil. Cover and simmer over reduced heat until everything is tender. Turn off heat and add evaporated milk if using.  If soup is too thick, add water or broth. If it’s too thin, stir in potato flakes over medium heat,  one tablespoon at a time, allowing a minute or two for thickening before adding more. 

 

Check out Janet Groene's featherweight Thumbnail Recipe of the Week each Friday. You put some stuff in a little plastic bag, take it to the boat,  add fire and more stuff, and it's a whole meal https://campandrvcook.blogspot.com

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Skillet Meal of the Week
Fajita & Rice Skillet

One burner, one big meal.  

 

 
12 to 16 ounces beef or chicken  for fajitas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Medium onion, diced
Medium green pepper, diced
1 cup water
1 teaspoon or 1 cube beef bouillon
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 cups ready-to-serve rice

15-ounce can red beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Garnishes: sour cream. grated cheese, diced avocado, minced cilantro or sliced scallions

    Brown the meat in hot oil, gradually stirring in onion and pepper. Add remaining ingredients, stirring to mix well and dissolve bouillon. Bring to a boil until  liquid is absorbed. Serve with one or more garnishes. Serves 4 to 6.

City Chicken Drumsticks

    Serve them hot from the skillet or or oven, or make these finger-lickin’ chicken treats ahead and wrap each in foil for easy warm-up later. See instructions for oven or fry pan cooking. I wear disposable kitchen gloves for mixing messy ingredients job like these.

 

2  pounds ground chicken
1 egg
Small onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
10-ounce jar of apricot preserves

About 2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
16  6-inch wood skewers or popsicle sticks
Oil for frying or pan spray for baking

    Thoroughly mix chicken, egg, onion, garlic, mustard and apricot preserves. Divide into 16 portions. Mold each portion around the end of a  skewer or popsicle stick to create a drumstick.
    Holding the bare end of the stick,  roll  in bread crumbs, pressing crumbs to adhere.  Fry in hot oil until firm and crusty. For oven baking, arrange on nonstick foil, spray with pan spray and bake at 400 degrees until chicken is firm and crusty. (For food safety, ground chicken should be cooked to a temperature of 165-170 F.) Serve two or three per person.

BONUS RECIPE
Recovery Sauce
    To adapt an old joke, it’s said that doctors bury their mistakes and boat cooks cover theirs with mayonnaise. Here is a warm, tangy and showy sauce that can turn a so-so omelet, over-cooked vegetable or dry chop into a gourmet dish.

1 packet country gravy mix
2 cups cold water or milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

    Prepare country gravy according to package directions and stir in Worcestershire sauce and horseradish. Spoon warm sauce over almost any bland dish.


   

 

Rafts of Recipes for the Boat Cook

Blog copyright Janet Groene 2024.  This site has had more than 89,000 views. To ask about placing your ad on all six Groene sites for one year, one low rate, email janetgroene at yahoo.com

 

 

Galley  Recipe of the Month
Perfect Pan-Seared Mahi-Mahi

 

4 portions mahi-mahi-, 4 to 6 ounces each
Seasoned flour (salt, pepper, thyme ad lib)

2 large Persian limes
½ stick butter, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic

Small can eggplant caponata

2 cups cooked rice

2/3 cup white wine

    Pat fish dry. Juice  one lime and cut remaining lime into wedges. Dredge fish in seasoned flour. Heat half the butter and brown fish on both sides, drizzling with lime juice along the way. Continue cooking and turning fish, gradually stirring in garlic and adding a little more butter if needed. 

        Stir caponata into cooked rice and mound some atop each piece of fish. Cover and cook  until mahi is done and rice is heated through. Remove to plates. Add remaining butter to the pan with the wine. Bring to a boil, then drizzle over fish. Serve with lime wedges.

Cook's note:  It's unconventional, but I like Vermouth as the wine used here. 

 

 
    How to make a meal when you’re at sea and out of fresh food? How to provision the pantry with shelf-stable foods for extended cruising, convenience or emergencies? See Survival Food Handbook (International Marine Publishing) , a guide to stocking a boat or camper with familiar, affordable supermarket staples.  https://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

 

TIPS FOR THE GALLEY CHEF
            
    * Instead of cookie crumb layers in your next parfaits, use honey nut oat cereal. 
    
    * Add a spaghetti claw to your galley. It serves pasta, sauerkraut, spaghetti squash, shredded cabbage and other stringy foods. It’s also the best way to lift eggs or potatoes out of boiling water.

* Beer marinade for 3-4 pounds of meat, fish or poultry:  12-oz. can beer. 1 T. minced garlic, 1 t. ea. salt, pepper, 2 sliced onions, 3 bay leaves, 2 c. ketchup, 1 T. Liquid Smoke.. Refrigerate overnight. 

* When a recipe calls for bread crumbs, try cheese cracker crumbs instead.


MASTER RECIPE OF THE WEEK
    For the ideal lunch in the cockpit, make a different version of this main dish salad recipe every day. 

 

 

 

Grains-as-Mains Salad

3 cups cooked and cooled rice, quinoa,  ferro, barley, wild rice or other hearty grain
2 cups chopped raw vegetables (red and green pepper, celery, sweet onion, asparagus tips, sliced scallions, etc.)
1/3 cup bottled dressing

 2 cups cut up cooked meat, fish, chicken, hard-boiled eggs, drained and rinsed kidney beans or diced tofu
½ cup sesame seeds, sunflower “nuts” or sliced almonds
Chopped fresh basil, parsley, cilantro, tarragon, thyme or other herb
Grated cheese ad lib

Additional dressing to taste

    Cook the grain, drain and cool it and fold in vegetables, protein and fresh herbs.  Sprinkle with seeds or nuts and  grated cheese. Serves 4 to 6.
    Optional:  serve the salad on a bed of shredded lettuce or in lettuce cups.

MAKE AHEAD RECIPE OF THE WEEK
    Make a big batch, then portion and package for the freezer in right-size portions for your crew. These meatballs come with a LOT of sauce.

 

Fruit-Sauced Meatballs
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 pound lean ground pork
½ cup bread crumbs
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon each salt, pepper, mixed Italian seasoning

    Mix well and form into golf ball-size meatballs. Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees until browned. Internal temperature should reach a minimum of 160 degrees. Set aside to cool.

Sauce:
Pan juices
14- to 16-ounce jar apricot or pineapple preserves
8-ounce jar Grey Poupon mustard
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup brown sugar
20-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained

    Drain pan juices from the meatballs into a saucepan and spoon off excess fat. Add preserves, mustard, curry powder, brown sugar and pineapple. Bring to a boil, stirring  to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and cool.
    Put meatballs in freezer bags, allowing 3 to 4 meatballs per serving. Divide cooled sauce among packages. Freeze. To serve, thaw and heat to serve over rice or noodles, crisp chow mein noodles or steamed, crisp-tender French-cut green beans. 

Tip: if you freeze meatballs in boilable bags, you can heat in the same pan with boil-in-the-bag rice.

 

 

 

 

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 BONUS RECIPE    

MEXICAN "STREET CORN" RICE

2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
Medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Medium green pepper, cut in thin strips
14.5-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
3 cups cooked rice
1 cup sour cream
Shredded Mexican blend cheese ad lib
Minced cilantro
Lime wedges

 

 Heat fat in a large skillet and sizzle onion and garlic, gradually stirring in green pepper. Drain corn and save liquid. Continue stir-frying while adding rice and corn. To moisten to taste, add a little liquid from the corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Fold in sour cream and about a cup of grated cheese. Cover and heat through. Sprinkle with minced cilantro. To serve, pass more grated cheese and a plate of lime wedges.

          

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