Teardrop City 2018

The main camping event for us this year was Teardrop City held in Max Meadows, Virginia on July 25-29. There are so many activities to choose from, new friends to meet as well as old friends to greet. I would say that a good time was had by all! It's always fun to see what people have done with their teardrop campers and new things that they have added. This event is put on by volunteers through the Tearjerkers website. Thank you to Eric, the creator of this event.

I should also say that thanks should also go out to Karin and all the people who volunteered their time to make this such a fun event! At this event, you share a campsite with another fellow Tearjerker member. It can be with someone you know or a newbie. You get to choose and if that makes you uncomfortable or you bring a larger camper, you can have a campsite all to yourself. Sharing a spot makes a tight community and hence the term Teardrop City. It's all great fun! There were lots of activities from which to choose. We had hiking, kayaking, board games, card games, cornhole tournament, community meals, swimming, needlework, beer can stove making, how to conserve your ice in your cooler, dutch oven cooking demonstration, silent auction and we toured all of campers! The list goes on and on as to the activities!

This is a shot of our galley during the event. Take note of the Ohio State Banner because it will be important in just a minute.

We shared our campsite with this Tab made my Little Guy out of Ohio. It's a teardrop you can stand up in! It's owned by newbies to the Tearjerkers group.

Meet Mike and Cindy! They are a great couple in which to share a campsite! They were great fun and we hope to see them again soon at another Tearjerker event.

This is John and Ida. We met them at Teardrop City 2016 where they camped beside of us. We quickly became friends when I saw them setting up their campsite with an Ohio State camping chair. I shouted O-H and Ida replied I-O and the rest is history! You never know where you will meet Ohio State graduates! We have camped with them at several Tearjerker events and once again at Teardrop City 2018. The camper in the background with the red stripe belongs to John and Ida. John designed and built it himself.

This year they shared their campsite with Mike. The funny thing is that during the last Teardrop City we shared a campsite with Mike. I believe he has a Polar Bear Teardrop made by Rustic Trail Teardrop Campers out of North Carolina. Mike has added lots of new things to his camper since we last saw him!

 That about wraps it up for today's post but rest assured that I will be sharing much more from Teardrop City 2018 in the near future!

Teardrop City 2018 Dutch Oven Cooking

Once again we headed to Teardrop City 2018 located in Max Meadows, Virginia at the Fort Chiswell RV Park. It was held July 25-29 and I taught a Dutch Oven Cooking Class. It was popular enough during the Teardrop City 2016 event that Eric asked if I would do it again this year. I willingly signed up to do it again. I share those recipes with you now and hope that you enjoy them as much as I do. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find out what cookware etc. that I use.

Join Tearjerkers to join in the fun!

Dutch Oven Cooking 2018

Roast Chicken

4 chicken legs or thighs                                         Olive oil

Dry ranch dressing mix                                         3-4 Carrots, peeled and sliced into ½” pieces

1-2 Potatoes , cut into 1” pieces                            1  Onion, sliced into ½” thick wedges

3 cloves garlic                                                          Salt

Any other root vegetables such as parsnips and turnips may also be added.

Place onion in a bowl with a drizzle of oil and mix. Add a sprinkle of ranch dressing seasoning and place in the center of a 2 qt. dutch oven. Repeat with the remaining vegetables and place around the sides of the dutch oven to the outside of the onion. Rub oil on chicken and sprinkle with ranch seasoning and salt. Place chicken on top of onion and bake at 425 degrees for about 1 to 1 ½ hrs. Until chicken juices run clear.  Serves 2.

8inch oven- 17 top coals and 5 bottom coals.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

3 Jalapeno Peppers, seeded & minced                    3 Cups Mexican shredded cheese

12 oz. Bacon cooked crisp & chopped                     ½ teaspoon Salt

8 oz. Cream cheese                                                    Black pepper to taste

8 oz. Sour cream or Greek yogurt
(Itend to use Greek Yogurt)                                     1 onion, chopped fine

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil                                Hot Sauce, several drops if desired

In a 2 quart dutch oven, saute onion in oil. Add the remaining ingredients except for a bit of bacon and pepper which you will use as a garnish. Heat to 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes and stir every few minutes to prevent sticking and burning. When melted and well mixed, add the garnish. Serve with vegetables or corn tortillas.

8 inch oven- 12 top coals and 4 bottom coals.

Camper Galley Travel Tips

Hello happy campers! In an earlier post I told you I would talk about how I stow and go with the galley. I do this without breaking the glass fronted cabinet doors during transit. All of the hanging cups are removed from their hooks and stowed in the main cabin while on the move. The upper shelf gets packed so that everything is snug and it doesn't move left or right. Pretty much as you see here and I pack cups in the center hole. The glass canning jars do not break. I have plastic netting on them and this keeps them from clanking together. The electric burner stows in the top drawer along side the induction burner and the water jug sits on the floor in front of the cabinet doors. Amazingly things stay put even though hubby races down the back roads of America! I swear that sometimes the camper goes airborne!!!!

Behind the glass door is a box insert that hubby made. I can move most of the vertical slats to change the size of the cubby holes. Sometimes I change my gear out between hot and cold weather. I have a cutting board, cast iron griddle, cast iron pots, enamelware pots and pans etc. in these cubbies.

When it is time to travel, I simply place this thin piece of plywood in front of the opening, close the cabinet doors and add extra security by using a bungee cord around the door knobs. This helps prevent the doors from opening during a sudden stop. After three years of camping, everything has stayed put pretty well!

Do you have great ideas to keep your galley secure during transit? Share them with me here!

Grilled Seafood while in camp

While camping in Charleston, South Carolina this past spring, I grilled a seafood meal consisting of scallops and fresh caught shrimp. I seasoned the shrimp two ways. Some were seasoned with chili lime garlic seasoning and some were seasoned with Old Bay. I grilled corn and slices of  zucchini which were seasoned with Canadian Steak seasoning. Some sliced tomato and cucumber sprinkled with garlic salt rounded out the meal.
For those of you wondering...yes, I do carry a small stainless steel charcoal grill with me when I camp in the teardrop. It's small and stores easily in the under bed storage on my rig. Many RV parks do not have grills and we like to use them when camping.

Spring Camp Set Up 2016

Our camping trip in the Spring of 2016 looked like this. The weather was warm and we had little rain so the ten by ten tent was set up over the galley without walls. At the side of the teardrop camper I set up the umbrella with curtain as a privacy area. This takes about seven minutes to set up. The umbrella goes in the stand and is moved into the proper position. I unfold the curtain and clip it to the umbrella and add a few weights to the bottom of the curtain. A few tie downs are used to keep everything in place during windy weather.

On the left you can see I used a TV tray table for the electric cooler.  Now we have side tables that attach to camper and the TV tray no longer travels with us. Under the galley you can see an extra water container and a piece of wood. The wood is used to prevent dishes from sliding through the glass cabinet doors while in transit. I will give you more information about this in a future post.

A view from the other side shows the fly over the top of the camper. We forgot to bring the tent poles for this but it still worked out fine without them. The fly is important because it prevents rain from coming in the roof vent while the fan is in use and it provides some rain protection while getting in and out of the camper. It also allows quicker set up and tear down because it stays attached to the tent frame and we don't need to haul a second tent around. The red umbrella and tent were purchased and I made the walls for the umbrella changing room and the fly. Many people have asked me about these items when we set up camp so I will share where I purchased the vinyl canvas.

Dutch Oven Cooking Demo

Hello everyone!  I hope you are finding ways to beat the heatwave we have been having across the country over the last week. We were able to join other teardroppers last week for Teardrop City 2016 which was held at Fort Chiswell RV park in Max Meadows, VA. It was hot during the day but it cooled off nicely at night. It was nice to be in higher elevations to beat the heat. If you have never been to a Teardrop City event, I highly recommend going. The next one will be held in 2018. Just join the Tearjerkers website to find out about all upcoming Tearjerker events. It's a free website so go check things out. Just click on the Tearjerker logo to get into the sight.

I volunteered to do a Dutch Oven (D.O.) cooking demonstration during the Teardrop City event and will share some recipes with you. I consider D.O. cooking outdoors as an extension of my kitchen and adapt my everyday recipes to fit my different size ovens.  For teardrop camping I usually use a two quart D.O. for most meals. This will serve two to four people quite nicely.

 Here are the attendees of the D.O. demo. They braved the heat to hear what I had to say. Thanks go out to all of those who attended! As promised, here are the other recipes for the food cooked during this demonstration.

I hope you try these recipes on your next camping excursion!

Ham and Noodle Casserole

1 1/2 cup diced ham
1/3 to 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup carrot cut into matchsticks
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
6 ounces frozen cut green beans
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, crumbled
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup - 10 1/2 ounces
1/2 cup water or milk
3/4 cup uncooked medium egg noodles (1/4 inch wide by 1 1/2 inches long)
1/2 cup crushed potato chips
Place ten hot charcoal briquettes under a two quart dutch oven. Add fat to the bottom of the pan and place lid on the oven. When the oil is hot (after about five minutes), place the ham, onion and carrot in pan and cook until vegetables are tender. Keep the lid on the pan and remove only to add ingredients. Add the beans, tarragon, soup, liquid and noodles to the pot and stir until you have a creamy consistency. Place about 9 coals on the top of the lid and cook until noodles are done. Leave the coals on the bottom too. After about twenty minutes. Stir and sprinkle with crushed potato chips once sauce is thickened.
Serves 3 to 4

Pearl's Apple Pie Breakfast

4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 can jumbo size flaky buttermilk refrigerator biscuits
1 can apple pie filling
Place butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small pan and heat until butter is melted and set a side to cool.  Line a nine inch spring form pan with parchment paper so that paper comes about one inch up the side of the pan. Cut biscuits into quarters and place evenly across the bottom of the pan. Stir the butter mixture well and pour evenly over the biscuits. Spread the pie filling over the butter mixture and place in a prewarmed twelve inch dutch oven. Prewarm the oven by placing 7 coals on the bottom and 18 coals on the lid about five minutes before adding the spring form pan to the oven.  Bake for 40-45 minutes. Halfway through the cooking process, turn the lid 1/4 turn clockwise and the oven base 1/4 turn counterclockwise. This dish is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and is not doughy although there will be pie filling on the toothpick. The biscuit that peaks out on top of the pie filling should also brown nicely.

In a small bowl, use a fork and mix together:
2 tablespoons softened butter
4 ounces cream cheese
Slowly add
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Spread over the warm pie.

Welcome!

 My husband picked up this six by ten foot Silver Shadow by Little Guy in July 2015. It is white aluminum with black fenders on a black steel frame. The vintage fenders and baby moon wheels were a selling point for us.  We like vintage and antique things.
I spent hours on the internet researching gear until I came up with a plan and began to execute it.  It tooke days to compile the list of items we would need.  I scoured the house to see what we already had that we could use and then I searched some big box stores and the internet to find the rest of the items.  It took me over a month to track down most of the gear we would need and then I had to customize several of the items to fit our needs and the camper.

I spent several days looking at 10' x10' straight leg tents for the back of the camper. Many people set up two tents side by side. One tent goes over the camper so that the top vent can be opened during bad weather and you have some protection from the elements when you get in and out of the camper.  The second tent is set up behind the first one or beside of it so you have an outdoor room.  The straight leg tent allows you to set up two tents together quite nicely.  The tapered leg tents do not allow you to place two tents side by side so keep that in mind if you are tent shopping.  I finally decided on this little red number because I like red and it came with walls.  It's a Quictent brand and I cut the window out of the front wall so that it fit nicely over the camper. I had to hem a few feet on each side to finish the seam once I cut out the plastic window.

  I then ordered the red and white striped outdoor fabric so that I could make a curtain for the back window and the fly for the top of the camper. There is a vent with a fan on top of the camper and it needed covered so that it could still be opened when raining.The galley is back there under the rear hatch and I want some protection from the weather while I am cooking. I opted for the fly instead of setting up a second tent to cover the camper. It's less work to set up.  We just leave the fly on the tent frame all of the time. The striped fabric lends to the vintage feel.  Wait till you see how I have used more of this striped canvas fabric to customize our campsite!  More about that in an upcoming post.

This camper photo was taken on our second outing in October 2016. It was cold, windy and rainy that trip.  It rained every day except  for the day we left. I was so glad to have the tent walls and the fly over the camper. We were able to enjoy meals in the tent without getting soaked. It rained sideways on this trip and we stayed nice and dry!  The top of the tent did collect water and we had to dump that off every now and again but it only took a minute to take care of. 

 It's all a work in progress so I will be sharing new things as I add them and give you a tour of our little glampy camper!

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