It’s true what they say about campgrounds.
You meet a lot of people! This morning I met Gaye and her Border Collie, Mandy. They live in Datil in the western mountains of New Mexico. Gaye says, “It got so cold, I had to get out of there. So I came down here to stay a few weeks.” She has a big Class A motorhome which she might get rid of to buy something smaller. “It’s so expensive to maintain,” she explains. We talk for a few minutes in the brisk, morning air while Mandy and the crew play around at our feet. She tells me she heard an owl hooting last night.
One propane tank is empty!
I go to make coffee this morning and the burner won’t light. Aha! An empty tank. I go out and turn on the second tank, and I remember to turn the pointer knob toward the full tank. From August 16th, when I picked up my Casita and bought propane, to November 8th, I used 20 lbs. of propane.
I use propane mostly for the range. I did use it for the fridge for the five days I was without electric hook-up at Conchas Lake. I don’t try to conserve. If I want propane, I use propane. I’ll use more when I heat with the catalytic heater, but I’m told it won’t be much.
Camp Host George stops by while I’m outside this morning.
He asks if everything is okay and I tell him it is. This is George’s first camp host position, although he has other workkamping experience. I ask him if he likes it. “Yeah, I do. If anybody causes any trouble, I call the ranger and let him handle it. I stay out of the middle.” Sounds like a good plan.
Later I go next door to thank Kathy for her chicken and green chilies dish she shared with me yesterday, and to tell her how much I enjoyed it. She already has the recipe written out for me. I look it over and say, “This looks so easy, I think I can do it!”
Green Chili and Cheese Chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chopped green chili (skinned, of course)
1 cup chopped cheddar cheese
1/2 yellow onion, chopped, sauteed
4 large chicken breasts, skinned, boneless
Combine first four ingredients and heat until cheese is melted. Pour over breasts in casserole dish. Marinate in refrigerator 3-6 hours or overnight (great!)
Cook in 325 degree oven 1 and 3/4 hours – 2 hours.
Kathy adds this note: “Chili lovers double the amount of green chili and sometimes use HOT chili. (Chili comes mild, medium, and hot). We use medium type.”
The sauce on the chicken is so good you’ll want to sop it up with a slice of bread. I don’t have an oven in my Casita. I’m going to try making it in my crockpot. I like recipes that don’t have many ingredients, and you don’t have to buy some expensive spice you’ll never use in any other recipe.
Let me know if you try it and like it. If you don’t like it, I’m sorry, but I don’t want to hear about it!
I wash the Perfect Tow Vehicle today.
The campground forbids car-washing due to the drought. So I fill a small bucket with water and sponge off the dirtiest parts, using Bounce softener sheets to remove the bugs. Instead of rinsing with a hose, I drip water over the area and dry it with a towel. Spike and Bridget watch me from their pen.
I get out my stepladder because I can’t reach much of the PTV’s windshield without it. The PTV is high! Even with the stepladder, I can’t reach a triangular area at the top center. Errggh! My arms are too short! I guess I need a squeegee. I clean all the other windows, too, so now the PTV is lookin’ good again.
It looks like nighttime potty breaks are part of our new routine.
Whether shorter days or time change, the crew needs to go out after dark before going to bed for the night. Scooping up doggie-poop is challenging in the dark, to say the least. I guess I need to wear a headlamp. That ought to be special . . . A sixty-something woman roaming around the campground wearing a headlamp. This is silver mine country. People will think I’m searching for the mother lode.
rvsue
Hi Sue,
Recipe sounds like my stew, only I use boneless, skinless thighs and water or chick. broth. At the end I add masa or cut up corn tortillas (unfried) to thicken the stew. Top with the grated cheddar.
Love the updates. New Casita owner as of July and loving it. (16′ SD) Been to the midwest and back to Colo. and out to family in Calif. Off tomorrow again to Calif. for the holidays.
Stay warm.
Hey, Robert! You’re running that Casita around! Wonderful! Have a safe trip to California!
What is masa? Somebody?
Sue – I would suggest if you plan to thicken it up as Robert suggests you might want to use the corn tortillas. The masa harina comes in a 5 lb. bag. You can find it near the regular flour in the supermarket. I bought some for a chicken enchilada soup recipe I have and it’s more than I’ll ever use. Way more. I keep it in the freezer so it doesn’t get rancid. I was seriously considering learning to make my own corn tortillas just to move it along. Thanks for sharing the recipe sounds yummy. I’m going to give it a try.
I think if it’s made in a crockpot, the part about melting the cheese with the other ingredients can be skipped . .. just throw it all into the crockpot. The less dirty pots, the better, when camping.
Thank you, Darrell!
First off, masa is that cornmeal stuff that surrounds those wonderful homemade tamales that you’d drive several miles to get.
Please thank Kathy for the great easy recipe! My trailer doesn’t have an oven either, but it has a convection microwave.. I wonder if that would work for that recipe or if I should go the crock pot route like you.. hmmm. Any experience with convection microwave ovens out there?
Hi, Carol!
I don’t know the answer for you, Carol. Whatever you try, don’t skip the marinading process.
You better get that hat with the light, if your dogs are like my one you are looking for the mother load and you should don’t want to step in it or have someone else step in it.
Just want you to know how much I enjoy your daily bogs, we are hoping to get a 5th wheel and travel in the next two years. We have never camp before but we both want one to travel and see all we can see and feel it would be better traveling in our home and not in hotel rooms.
If you can get on facebook and you might be able to find it on the internet, look up Skinny Crocker Pot. She has a lot of receipts for the crock pot and doesn’t use alot of indegrents.
Stay safe. Betty
Hi, Betty! Welcome to my blog! I’m glad you are enjoying it.
I think travel is a lot more fun when you can bring your house with you, instead of living in hotel rooms. Good luck finding the right 5th wheel and the adventures it will take you to.
Thanks for the tip on Skinny Crock Pot! I’m collecting crock pot recipes these days . . .
Don’t forget to reduce the amount of liquid by half when converting from oven to crockpot since there is much less evaporation. Masa harina is made from dried corn that has been treated with alkali which makes it more digestible. Hi to Spike and Bridget.
Oh, you’re right, Sheila . . .I wouldn’t have thought to reduce the liquid. I appreciate the tip.
You can find a headlamp at Walmart for probably $10 to $15. They are fantastic anytime you need to have light AND have both hands free – picking up droppings after dark would be a definite situation where the headlamp would come in handy. The real advantage is that the light points where you are looking which is actually trickier with a flashlight. I’ve actually used one of ours inside the Casita in addition to the regular lights when cross stitching to give me light focused exactly where I needed it.
One suggestion for the chicken recipe is to cut the chicken up into bite sized pieces, cook it in the crock pot and serve it over rice. Or eat the chicken breasts one night with veggies and cut up the leftovers to serve over rice the next night.
Hi, Reine!
I was half-joking about the headlamp. I didn’t realize so many people use the things.
Bite-sized pieces would be good for the crockpot. I wouldn’t cut up the chicken if roasting in an oven because the chicken breast comes out really moist.
Good ideas . .. Thanks.
Second that – the headband flashlight is the only way to go. It comes in handy in so many situations.
I will get one!
Hello My Friend, I do miss you. Life it too hard these days on my end and I continue to just survive while the days of my life pass as I work myself to death. But what choice do I have. I have to pay the bills, right? Please drop me a personal note when you have time. I will write back on the weekend. QVC had a really nice hands free light you put on your forehead. It was smaller and it would be perfect. So what is up with the crew in this change of habits. Hopefully they don’t have a UTI or anything wrong? xo
Hey, Kathryn!
I wish I could wave a magic wand and take you and others out of the rat race! Be strong, girl. I’ll email you.
The crew is fine. Actually we haven’t changed our habits and that’s the problem. It’s getting dark earlier . . . If I take them out before dark for their last break of the day, it makes it a long stretch until the morning potty break.
Love you . . .
Headlamps are the bee’s knees, Sue – both hands free, and it tracks as your head moves; always points where you’re looking. I’d rather have a headlamp than any flashlight. I have one decent quality one for camping, paddling, etc., and keep a few of the $2.00 ones I get at A Buck or Two around for casual use. Really useful when you’re working on things too…
Well, Richard, I’m sold on the idea. I can’t risk tripping over a big rock or something in the dark.
I find the elastic band type headlamp uncomfortable. But then I have a big head.
More useful was a 3 LED lamp I found at Walmart that clips onto the bill of a ball cap. It’s about the size of the palm of your hand and puts out a bright and directed light in both white and red. Plus it is easy to use just as a flashlight.
It’s handy for me because I’m always wearing a bald cap anyway. Err… did I say that right?
Bob
Here’s a souped up version:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hoffco-08-NCAP-Norlite-5-LED-Clip-Cap-Light-Black/16480847
Hi, Bob!
I looked at the clip-on cap light . . . actually lights, plural. Strobe? I suppose once I find Spikey’s doo-doo, I could turn the lights to the strobe function .. “I gotta hit!”
I have a big head, too. No kidding. I like the price of this thing.
I don’t know what the strobe is designed for. Maybe it saves batteries?? But it might be a coyote-intimidation-device. The one I have puts out a LOT of light with three LEDs. Five might be overkill, but it says you can just turn on one.
Hi Sue, Love your blog. I want to do the same in a few years, so I enjoy learning and living vicariously through your updates. Check travelingontheoutskirts (dot com). The most recent post is ’10 items that make my life in an RV easier’, and he has a lighted hat listed. Plus they often have some interesting videos and blog posts. Take care! Jeanne
Hi, Jeanne! Happy to hear you enjoy my blog!
That site sounds good. I’m going to check it. I must have been channeling that site!
Good luck working toward the day you hit the road!
Sue; “they” actually sell a baseball type cap with tiny LEDs in the brim. since it’s right on your head, it lights up where ever you look. Great invention. ~Pam
P.S. Reading Party of One has me seeing myself on every page!!
Hello, Pam!
Yeah, that book had me saying out loud, again and again, “Wow! That’s me!”
Here’s another book you might like: “We took to the woods” by L.D. Rich.
http://www.amazon.com/Took-Woods-Louise-Dickinson-Rich/dp/0892727365/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320938666&sr=1-1
Continuously in publication since 1945. An original personality shines through the pages.
Hi, Dolores!
It’s a good thing people don’t have to do that . . . It would make plumbing a lot more complicated.
Hi, JoJo . . .
I’m definitely sold on the light-on-the-head idea. What’s great about campgrounds is nobody cares what anybody looks like.
I think the key to the recipe is marinating. The chicken breast has the flavor of green chilies all the way through.
Chuck and I are gonna try the chicken recipe tonight… sounds great!
Geri,
I hope you like it!
Mmm, that recipe sounds delicious….can’t wait to try it, thanks for sharing. That’s a long time on a little bit of propane, ur doing great. Yep, that night time pooper scooping is something else. lol Let us know if u find the right “headlights”. Our little fella Killer usually goes out around 10 or so and he’s good for the night, usually til about 9 or 10 a.m. He’s a beagle/dachshaund mix, not a big fella…hence not a large bladder but he seems to do fine with it. Of course if my husband gets up and goes out to smoke he will go with him but that’s rare. I really enjoy reading ur posts and gives me hope that maybe we can do it one day too. Thanks for letting us ride along with u!
Hi, Judie!
I’m happy you enjoy reading my blog! Thanks for commenting here.
Well, that will teach me to read the other posts before I post. lol. Saw the suggestions on where to actually get the had with lights, thanks again.
Very insightful blogs. Good Idea on washing your vehicle.
Hi, Sue and crew
I think that headlamp is an illuminating idea, especially since you are looking for the mother loads.
… he-he ; >)
PS – It’s the time change. My two girls are definitely still on Spring Forward time … they think daylight savings time is dumb.
I agree with your two girls!