Budget Meals for Boat Life

Copyright Janet Groene 2025.  This site has had more than 92,000 views. To ask about reprinting this content or to place an ad on all six Groene sites for one year, one low rate, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

Travelwriter Janet Groene lived full-time on the go for ten years, wintering under sail and summering in a 21-foot RV. See more of her shortcut recipes at https://campandrvcook.blogspot.com 

GALLEY RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Chicken Propwash 

Never leave port without a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.. You’ll thank me later. 

6 large potatoes, scrubbed and sliced

4 Large onions, peeled and cut up

3 tablespoons red, brown or black rice

28-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

Meat from a whole rotisserie chicken, cut up

1 tablespoon ras el hanout seasoning

1 ½ cups water, broth or tomato juice

3 young scallions, sliced

Layer ingredients in a large pot, starting and ending with a layer of potatoes. As you fill the pot, sprinkle lightly with rice here and there.  Cover pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer over low-medium heat until vegetables and rice are very tender. 

Ladle into shallow soup plates. Sprinkle with sliced scallions. Serves 6 to 8. 

Combine 1 pound melted butter, 3 tablespoons anchovy paste and juice of one large lemon. Drizzle over any cooked seafood. (Especially good on brochettes of grilled shrimp.)

   Save those expensive doomsday rations for real emergencies and use this book for short-term food emergencies. Then stock a stand-by pantry with supermarket staples that can be combined to make a few balanced meals.  

This book is for sailors and campers who have limited storage space. 

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

 

NO OVEN DESSERT OF THE WEEK

Grasshopper Jiggle

This minty treat is especially refreshing after a seafood dinner. The gel is easily served with a spring-loaded ice cream scoop. I make this in a bowl with a cover to keep it from sloshing out in the reefer before it gels. 

8-serving package lime gelatin dessert mix

1/3 cup white sugar

2 cups boiling water

1 1/3 cups cold water

3 tablespoons creme de menthe liqueur

Whipped cream or whipped topping

In a quart-size container, stir sugar into dessert mix and dissolve in 2 cups boiling water. Stir in cold water, then the creme de menthe. Chill until it sets. Serve in small bowls. Crown with whipped topping.

It’s back. The Bay Bridge Boat Show is scheduled for Safe Harbor Narrows Point Kent Narrows  Annapolis, Maryland. See the show for boat boardings, tours,  seminars and showings April 11-13. Don’t miss the area’s restaurants, nature park, hotels and bars. Then see the Annapolis Spring Sailboat Show  at the city docks April 25-27. See a list of shows,  boats and details at (www.) Annapolisboatshows.com

Tips for the Galley Chef

* Stir unflavored gelatin into canned chicken broth at the rate of about 1 teaspoon gelatin per 2 cups broth.  Heat to dissolve. Flavor and texture will be richer. 

* To make a large banana cake with yellow cake mix combine cake mix, 3 eggs,  ½ cup each water and oil, 1 cup mashed bananas. Optional: add chopped nuts, 2 t. cinnamon. 

* For a change from ground meat, cut up turkey or pork cutlets in bite size. Brown, then proceed to make chili, stew or ragout. 

* Mix packaged French fried onions half and half with crushed cheese crackers or flavored potato chips. Just before serving, sprinkle on buttered baked potatoes or fold the mixture into drained vegetables. 

Brazilian Black Bean Dinner

Make these pretty plated meals vegetarian or flavor them with meat fat and beef bouillon.

Step One:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon flour

½ teaspoon each dried oregano and browning (e.g. Borvil or Gravy Master) 

1/2 cup water (or more if needed)

In a pan, mash beans with flour, bouillon and oregano. Stir in t water. Heat,  stirring until it forms a paste about like mashed potatoes. Cover pan and set aside.

Step Two:

2 tablespoons bacon fat, lard or vegetable oil

Medium onion, diced

2 to 3 diced Roma tomatoes

4 hard-cooked eggs, quartered

In a skillet, sizzle onion in hot fat or  oil. Then stir in tomatoes to heat through. Spread the bottoms of four dinner plates with a layer of the warm bean puree. Dot with the onion- tomato mixture. Arrange a quartered egg on each plate. 

SAVE-THE-SEA-COOK SAUCE

Doctors bury their mistakes. Galley cooks hide theirs under a fabulous sauce.  Here’s a savory sauce to save fish that’s too dry, burgers that need a boost or omelets that need a raison d’être. 

Small can crushed pineapple

2 teaspoons cornstarch

8-ounce can tomato sauce

½ teaspoon each onion powder, ground ginger, salt and pepper

Drain pineapple into a a small saucepan and stir with cornstarch.  Over low heat, add  pineapple and remaining ingredients. Stir until thick. Serve warm. Makes about 2 cups. .

  SCROLL DOWN TO SEE SAMPLES OF PAST POSTS

 

Budget Galley Meals for Liveaboards

Copyright Janet Groene. To ask about placing your ad on all six Groene sites for one year, one low rate, email janetgroene at yahoo.com

Small boat, small galley, big appetites

What is your favorite winter boat show? Even if you’re not shopping for a boat, spend a day or more at a boat show to see what’s new in accessorieS AND GEAR. Hobnob with factory reps and other boaters. Attend free workshops, demonstratins, seminars. Gets swab bags and brochures. Then see if this year’s souvlaki is as good as last year’s.

Here are some everyday recipes for the everyday cruising liveaboard on a budget.

Creamy Cheese Grits

Creamy grits can be topped with almost anything from the grill to make a pretty plate. Shrimp kebabs? Grilled chicken or a chop?  Marinated tofu? 

 ½ stick butter

2 to 3 tablespoons minced garlic

½ cup heavy cream

1 ½ cups water

1 chicken or vegetable  bouillon cube

½ cup quick (not instant) yellow or white grits

4-ounce package grated Cheddar cheese

Melt the butter and sizzle garlic until it’s fragrant. Stir in cream, water and bouillon. Bring to a boil and stir in grits. Stir over medium heat until thick. Fold in cheese and spread grits wall to wall on  plates. Add topper of choice.  Serves six. 

Discover the Yacht Yenta Cozy Mystery Series....

People are dying in Okecoochie County FL, but nobody can guess how the deaths are related. Meet Farley Halladay, a salt-cured sailboat widow who has an online charterboat booking business, dodges a wayward sister, cares for an old Navy SEAL veteran who was her husband’s mentor and wrangles  a large circle of wacky friends. She cooks, copes and solves crimes in this unusual cozy mystery series.  Check your favorite e-book seller for all formats or go to Kindle,   https://amzn.to/3bB5XPh   

Bonus points: Throughout the books, Farley shares shortcut recipes from the days when she was a charterboat cook. 

Marina Potluck Recipe of the Week

First Nation Wild Rice

Rutabaga adds a touch of tang and buttery color to this tempting side dish.

2 cups uncooked wild rice, prepared according to package directions

1/4 stick butter

    Stir butter into wild rice. Cover and set aside. 

6 to 8 ounces Canadian bacon, cut in small bits

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pint mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

1 to 2 cups diced rutabaga

In a large pan, wok or skillet, brown Canadian bacon in  hot oil over high heat, gradually adding mushrooms and rutabaga. Scrape up brown bits and add a little water. Cover pan, reduce heat and let steam soften vegetables. Stir in wild rice. Cover and heat through over low-medium heat. Serves 12. 

PANTRY RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Gourmet? Perhaps not, but cruising sailors know the value in having a Plan B for times when the fridge rails, or the village’s only ice machine breaks down, or you’re quarantined until all the fresh foods run out. For an entire cookbook for shelf-stable foods, see Survival Food Handbook.

    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

 

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

6 servings instant mashed potatoes, made according to package directions

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 can kidney beans, undrained

1 can baby carrots, drained and cut up

1 can Great Northern beans, undrained

1 can cut green beans, drained

1 can mushroom pieces, drained

8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon browning such as Bovril or Gravy Master

Olive oil

Make mashed potatoes in a heavy saucepan and fold in Parmesan. Cover and set aside to steep while you mix vegetables in a baking pan. Whisk browning and tomato sauce and drizzle over vegetables. Spread potatoes over top. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in a hot oven until potatoes are lightly browned. 

No oven? Assemble dish on a large skillet. Heat through and put a golden blush on mashed potatoes with a kitchen torch. 

Tips for the Galley Chef

* Make up a box of Kraft mac and cheese and a skillet of scrambled eggs with sausage or bacon. Then fold them together.

* Stir sour cream into softened cream cheese until creamy. Add sugar to taste and use s a topper for fresh or canned fruit.

* Heat a gallon of apple juice and stir in a 6-ounce can of limeade or lemonade concentrate. Ladle into mugs and add a tot of rum. 

* Make a boffo coleslaw. 1 cup vinegar, ½ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon each celery seed and salt, ½ teaspoon each turmeric and dry mustard. Heat to boiling. Stir to dissolve.  Pour over shredded cabbage. 

BONUS RECIPE

Pepperoni Dip

Make a quick lunch out of bread sticks, mugs of cream soup and this robust dip.

2 cups lite sour cream

1/4 cup pepperoni chopped very fine

1 tablespoon mixed Italian herbs

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup shredded cheese

Mix well. Add salt if needed. Refrigerate leftovers. 

     SCROLL DOWN TO SEE SAMPLES OF PAST POSTS

 

 

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. 

    SCROLL DOWN TO SEE SAMPLES OF PAST POSTS
  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





 

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.
 

Discover the Yacht Yenta Cozy Mystery Series....

People are dying in Okecoochie County FL, but nobody can guess how the deaths are related. Meet Farley Halladay, a salt-cured sailboat widow who has an online charterboat booking business, dodges a wayward sister, cares for an old Navy SEAL veteran who was her husband’s mentor and wrangles  a large circle of wacky friends. She cooks, copes and solves crimes in this unusual cozy mystery series.  Check your favorite e-book seller for all formats or go to Kindle,   https://amzn.to/3bB5XPh   

Bonus points: Throughout the books, Farley shares shortcut recipes from the days when she was a charterboat cook. 

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.  

     SCROLL DOWN TO SEE SAMPLES OF PAST POSTS

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. 

 

                ++++++++++++++++++++++

READY FOR A LAND CRUISE? 

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/ 

                ++++++++++++++++++++++

 
    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

    SCROLL DOWN TO SEE SAMPLES OF PAST POSTS
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.