Easy Camping Meal

Truck Camper

Jul 8

Why It’s My Favorite Camp Cooking Method

Folks have been cooking stew for a long time. It's probably one of the oldest cooking methods and has to be one of my favorites. Here are five reasons I love it:

It's easy
It's a great way to introduce a variety of seasonal produce into your diet
It's satiating and nutrient-dense
Because everything is boiled, it's a safe and sanitary way to eat outside.
It involves very few dishes, which is awesome (super important if you're living in a truck camper)

My Chuck Box Stew

Today, I will show you how to make a super easy chuck box stew. I'm not a professional chef, but I'm really into health and nutrition. Before we begin, I want to clarify that this post is more about a cooking method than a specific recipe. The way I make stew varies, depending on what's in season and what I can find at the grocery store. Nonetheless, here's a list of tonight's ingredients:

Tonight’s Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

One medium sweet potato

A handful of carrots

One cup of snap peas

A bone broth packet

Blended herbs

Bay leaves

Water

Cooking

Let's get started.
Cook ground beef. Most traditional beef stews use a chuck roast, but I prefer ground meat when camping because it keeps raw beef off the cutting board and is easy to work with. So we're going to go ahead and cook this beef all the way through.
While it's cooking, we'll start chopping all of our produce. I like things cubed up on the smaller side, so they cook more quickly and conserve propane.
With that meat nearly finished, we'll transfer it to Tupperware to cool it.
Next, we'll toss in all of our vegetables except the snap peas and let them cook for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Now, we are going to add the water. We want the water level to cover all of our produce and then come to a boil.
While it's on its way to that boil, we'll add the bone broth powder and the spices, stir that up, and let it do its thing.
Once it comes to a boil, we'll reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer until the carrots and potatoes are almost done.
Once everything is softened up, we will add the snap peas and half of the meat and let it continue to simmer for a few minutes. (I save the other half of the meat in the cooler for tomorrow's lunch)
I like to test one of the potatoes or carrots; if they're cooked to my liking, it's time to eat.

Give It A Try!

That is it for the chuck box stew. I encourage everyone to get out and try this method of camp cooking; it is a lot of fun. Check the local farmers market, see what kind of produce you can find, and try a few things out.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below, and I'll do my best to help you out.