The Food - September 28 through 30

I've mentioned before that when Shane and I have a chance to get away without Kat, we often make sure our menu includes flavors we enjoy, but that Kat doesn't.  This was one of those weekends.

I had planned a simple supper for us on Friday night, but we gave in to our hunger on the way and stopped for some Mexican food.  The food wasn't very authentic, but we were hungry, the burritos were huge, and it tasted good all the same.

On Saturday morning, I made these bacon and egg enchiladas that were more authentic-tasting, I think, than the food from the restaurant the night before.  I used this recipe, cutting the amounts in half and making the change from flour tortillas to corn tortillas.  I also made my own enchilada sauce for these.  They fell apart when I tried to take them from the pan, but they tasted great.

We intentionally skipped lunch, but when we came back from exploring the area, I made this Guacamole Bruschetta appetizer.  My inspiration was this recipe, but with a few changes, such as brushing the bread with garlic butter I'd made previously, and using pre-made refrigerated guacamole instead of fresh avocado.  I added both basil and cilantro to the tomato mixture.  This was a BIG hit that I'll be making again.

While we snacked on the bruschetta, I put this Potato, Leek and Feta Tart in the oven.  We devoured the entire pie, and while I would make it again, I think I would omit the dill and use thyme or savory instead.

Sunday morning we tried Oatmeal in a Jar.  I made the jars up ahead of time, and it was a simple and easy way to enjoy breakfast.  Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of ours.


And finally, this:

A very large tenderloin from 254 Cafe, and a "treat" we discovered the first time we camped on Pomme de Terre years ago.  To give you an idea how big this tenderloin is, the bun in the picture is a standard burger bun, and it's served on a tray instead of a plate.  I cut mine into four pieces, ate one piece on the bun, and saved the other three pieces for our supper after we got home.  Shane ate ALL of his (and a bag of chips).  Should we visit again soon, we'll probably see his picture on their "Wall of Fame". 

I'm not sure whether to be proud or embarrassed...

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Parked at Damsite Campground, Pomme de Terre Lake
near Hermitage, MO
September 28-30, 2012

The Food - September 14-16, 2012

I never intended to focus on the food this weekend, but I suppose I could have done better than taking just this one photo.

This is breakfast from Saturday morning.  It's a frozen waffle, topped with some of the apple filling I canned last week, and also topped with store bought caramel sauce and canned whipped cream.  With a side of bacon.  Nothing healthy, and we had the same breakfast on Sunday morning, with the addition of scrambled eggs.

Friday p.m.:  We ate Smith's Restaurant in Bolivar, MO.  Decent food, decent prices, decent service.  I had Blackened Chicken on Fettucine Alfredo.  Shane and Kat both had all-you-can-eat fried chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans.

Saturday a.m.:  See photo above.

Saturday noon:  For some reason, we didn't eat lunch, although I think most of us were hungry.  Nothing was really going as planned and I think we just made an unspoken decision to not even bring up another topic that would need a decision.

Saturday p.m.:  I had brought a layered Mexican dip and chips with us, thinking we would have eaten lunch and would only need snack foods for supper.  Since that didn't happen, we stopped on our way back to camp and bought some pre-formed frozen burger patties and buns to help round out the meal.

Sunday a.m.:  See photo above.  Add scrambled eggs.

Sunday noon:  We stopped at Peggy's Restaurant in Collins, MO (no website to link).  This restaurant has been around as long as I can remember, which is a long time.  gain, decent food, service and prices.  I had a Reuben sandwich with fires, while Shane had an open-face tenderloin sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy, while Kat had a tenderloin dinner with potatoes and a side of cottage cheese.

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Parked at Mill Creek Campground, Table Rock Lake
near Kimberling City, MO
September 14-16, 2012

The Food - August 10-12, 2012

When Kat isn't with us at camp, we tend to eat spicier food and/or foods she doesn't care for.  Here is what we ate this weekend:

Friday p.m.:  One-Pouch Feast, home-canned potatoes fried with onions, Caramelized Sweet Corn and Zucchini

Saturday a.m.:  Bacon-Tomato-Cheese Crescent Rolls, additional bacon

Saturday noon:  Smoked sausage on buns, chips, dip

Saturday p.m.:  Spicy Grilled Shrimp,  leftover side dishes from night before

Sunday brunch:  We had planned to try the restaurant in the resort, but when we drove by, it didn't appear to be open, so we ate at the Country Pride Restaurant at the TA Truck Stop in Oak Grove, MO.  While it wasn't bad, it wasn't anything to write home about.

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Parked at Lake Paradise Resort
Lone Jack, MO
August 10-12, 2012

The Food - July 4 through 9

Eating at camp makes a longer trip like this one a lot more affordable.  Since we knew we'd be away from camp at midday many days, we decided to budget for lunch to be eaten out each day of our trip.  As it turned out, we only had three restaurant meals the entire time.  In addition to meals, we had plenty of snacks on hand.

It's so unlike me, but I didn't take food pictures on this trip.  You'll have to take my word that this is what we ate:


Wednesday a.m. - Homemade breakfast burritos at home.

Wednesday noon:  We stopped at Daisy Delight in Jefferson City, MO.  Originally opened in the 50s, it's a good old-fashioned burger and ice cream joint.  I would imagine the once had carhop service, but now they have a spacious, clean dining room where we enjoyed our sandwiches.  Kat, being the birthday girl, also enjoyed a very large ice cream cone.

Wednesday p.m.:  Store-bought pulled pork barbecue on buns, potato salad I made at home, and some chips and dip.  Also, 3-2-1 Cupcakes for Kat's birthday.


Thursday a.m.:  Waffles (storebought, frozen), bacon, fried eggs.

Thursday noon:  Sandwiches and fries and Baylee Joe's Barbecue in Ironton, MO.

Thursday p.m.:  Because we were away well into the evening, we stopped and bought Kat a half sub sandwich.  Shane and I waited and had snacks back at camp.


Friday a.m.:  Waffles, bacon, fried eggs.

Friday noon:  Grilled hot dogs on buns, chips and dips, lettuce salad, hummus

Friday p.m.:   Grilled pork chops, macaroni and cheese (yes, the boxed kind), green beans


Saturday a.m.:  Breakfast casserole, hash browns

Saturday noon:  Grilled hot dogs on buns, chips and dips, lettuce salad, hummus

Saturday p.m.:  Grilled steaks, cowboy potatoes, corn on the cob


Sunday a.m.:  Waffles, hash browns

Sunday noon:  Snacks/miscellaneous

Sunday p.m:.  Used up leftovers that were in the fridge, and still had some to take home with us


Monday a.m. - Kat had the last waffle; Shane and I had coffee, but skipped breakfast.

Monday noon: - On advice of the Osage Bluff Quilter, we stopped at Steve's Family-Style Restaurant just outside of Jefferson City, MO in Lohman, MO.  This was THE meal of the entire trip!  The homestyle fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, slaw and rolls were absolutely delicious.  And the meal stuck with us the rest of the day, meaning I didn't have to cook after our long drive home. 


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Parked at Onondaga Cave State Park
near Leasburg, MO
July 4-9, 2012

The Food - June 15 through 17

For us, food is always a highlight of any trip, whether or not we're camping.  Camping, though, presents an entirely different set of circumstances.

Back when we camped in tents, the challenges were how to keep things cold and how to cook over a campfire.

When we acquired our pop-up, it camp with small propane stove that could be used inside or out of the camper, and we began taking a small gas grill with us, too.  The pop-up had no refrigerator, so we relied upon coolers and a small dorm-sized fridge to keep food cold.

When we upgraded to the travel trailer, it came with a gas stove/oven, a microwave oven and a 5 cu. ft. refrigerator, which is the same set-up we have now.  We continue to bring our tabletop gas grill with us, and occasionally still cook over an open fire. 

Our challenge now is not bringing too much food.  I don't recall a time that we ever brought too little food, but we usually end up bring a lot of food home with us.  This isn't a bad thing, in and of itself; it's just more to have to carry back into the house.

When we camp, we try to have most of our meals at the camper.  This varies, of course.  Sometimes we are away from camp doing other things and know we will be eating lunch out.  Sometimes relatives are within a few miles and we are invited to eat with them.  Other times we go out to eat on the spur of the moment.  We never know exactly how it will turn out.

That said, we kept the menu simple on our first trip out.

Friday night we kept it simple with grilled cheeseburgers, chips and homemade hummus, with a salad on the side.

Saturday morning enjoyed coffee and some breakfast burritos (sausage, egg, cheese, salsa) I had made and froze ahead of time.

We were driving around at the Lake of the Ozarks at lunchtime and decided to eat at Franky and Louie's Beach Front Bar and Grill.  I had a Cajun Quesadilla and fries; Shane had a Franky's Club and fries.

By evening, my Dad, who lives nearby, was back from his own travels, so we invited him to have supper with us.  We had grilled venison steaks, cowboy potatoes, corn on the cob, and salad.  My dad brought some baked beans and also some ice cream to go with our feast.

Cowboy Potatoes

Dad invited us in for breakfast, so we did that on Sunday morning.  Later, my older brother joined us, and we'd hoped to take Dad out for lunch, but he preferred to stay in, so we ended up having frozen pizzas and other things we scrounged from his cupboards.

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Parked at Thibault Point Campground, Truman Lake
near Warsaw, MO
June 15-17, 2012