Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! We were lucky enough to go on a last minute camping trip this weekend! I was so excited: we were able to watch the Perseid’s meteors, experiment with new campfire recipes and see the grandbaby!
We were not planning on camping since the husband had truck maintenance to do. I am glad he tries to do so much himself, but it’s usually on the weekend which can make camping hard. Thankfully, he was done Saturday, so we could leave late afternoon for a quick overnight camping trip. Having the camper packed made it easy to quickly toss in food and go. Our new recipe will make it even easier next time we have a last minute trip. I was really excited because it was the Perseid’s meteor weekend and I had planned leftover in the freezer for a new recipe!
The Perseid’s meteor shower happens in early-mid August every year. It is one of the most watched, dependable meteor showers. Thankfully, it happens during camping season and if it is clear outside with nice weather, it is fun to sit out and wait for the meteor show. In 2017, there will unfortunately be an almost full, bright moon that will wash out about half of the meteors from sight. I have read there are usually 40-50 meteors per hour, I have also read 80-90 per hour; either way, I am usually happy to see a few good ones. I did not know that the Perseid meteors come in spurts and have lulls in between, so I guess we should have stayed out after the 1 hour lull that sent us inside. I did read that in 2018, the moon will be dark and not disturb meteor viewing. Hopefully, we can stay out longer and see even more next year.
We try to watch them every year with the kids. It is a family tradition. I did not know about the meteor shower until my mother-in-law told me about them. Her father was interested in stars and constellations, so she watched them with her family as a little girl in the 1930’s. So now, we watch them with our kids, to pass on this fun tradition.
It is also a frugal and easy tradition. In late July/early August, I research exact dates for that year to write on the calendar. Finding a dark spot and comfy chair are the easiest part of Perseid’s meteor viewing-staying up late is the hardest part for me now. Some years, I have taken an afternoon nap or set the alarm clock for the middle of the night or early morning. This year it was chilly, so we needed blankets to view the meteor shower.
We saw about 6 bright, long meteors with trains trailing behind them before we headed to bed at 11:30. I was glad that the youngest watched for meteors with us; he saw 12- more than he has seen in his whole life! I think the grandbaby even saw one, because he was pointing as we all said ‘Ooooh!’ at a very bright one. It is such a fun family time!
For meteor viewing, we had picked a non-electric camping site with no nearby lights and a large clearing to set up our chairs. Since it was a last minute trip and the other campground was full, I am appreciating the options we have with the quiet generator. We didn’t need it this weekend though- it was perfect camping weather, no air conditioning or heaters needed!
It was perfect campfire weather also, but the light of the fire would interfere with meteor viewing, so we had an early campfire. We were even able to experiment with a few new recipes.
I enjoy cooking over the campfire, especially with the pie irons. I love that the cast iron pie irons are durable,even if they are heavier than the teflon ones. One of the new pie iron recipes will make these last minute trips even easier. The Maidrite Pie Iron recipe was so easy and so yummy,just like our Bacon Breakfast Pie Irons; I wish I had tried it earlier!
My maidrite recipe makes a large, 3 pound batch, so I put 2 cups in a freezer bag a few weeks ago for a new camping meal. If I do this every time, it will be easy to grab the prepared meat and other needed items for a quick camping meal. I tried 2 different breads with the recipe, usually I only use store bought bread with pie iron sandwiches. This time, I also used flattened Bucket of Bread dough and both versions were great! It will be nice to have a few, easy options when campfire cooking.
Maidrite Pie Iron ingredients:
leftover cooked maidrite meat
cheese slices
bread and butter or Bucket of Bread dough, extra flour and oil to grease pie iron
For bread version, butter 2 slices of bread, place in pie iron with butter sides out. If the bread sticks out of the pie iron, cut it off with a knife before cooking it. Place about 1/4 cup cooked meat on one slice of bread. It is fine to use cold meat, you do not need to heat it first.
The sandwich should be full, so the pie iron squishes it a bit, that way the bread has good contact with the pie iron and the sandwich will brown. Arrange pieces of sliced cheese over the meat, it can overlap in the middle, but try not to have it sticking out of the sides of the bread-it may stick to the pie iron and make it harder to wash.
Cook on both sides, over medium fire until golden brown. Time will depend on the heat of the fire. If it sticks when you open it to look, just use a butter knife to loosen it. The insides, especially the melted cheese, will be very hot so let it cool before eating.
For Bucket of Bread version, sprinkle flour on the top of cold dough. Tear off two small walnut size pieces and pat them flat with your hands. Place in top and bottom of oiled pie irons. Place cooked meat on one side, top with 1/2 slice of cheese. Do not let cheese stick out of pie iron, it will burn and make clean up harder. Next time, I will pinch the two pieces of dough together to seal it. This time I did not, and they stayed two separate pieces of bread, still yummy but not a pocket like I wanted.
Cook on both sides, over medium heat until golden brown. I was surprised that the raw dough cooked about as fast as the bread version and was cooked all the way through. Like all pie iron sandwiches, it will also be very hot in the middle, so let it cool before eating.
I was so happy that both versions of Maidrite Pie Iron sandwiches turned out so well. With the planned leftovers ready in the freezer, it was very easy also to grab the few other ingredients. I love that there is a choice of breads. I sometimes have Bucket of Bread in the refrigerator, but not always, so I am glad that I can also use store bought bread for the recipe.
Being easy to make, partially prepped and having only a few ingredients make this a good camping recipe. The fact that the family really liked it, makes it a great camping recipe. Even my one that does not like maidrites, loved both pie iron sandwiches!
It was such a fun, quick, last minute camping trip. I enjoyed seeing the grandbaby, watching the meteors and trying a few new recipes. I am also glad that one of the recipes will make camp food even easier. Soon, I will share the other recipes we tried this weekend. Some of them were very interesting, much to the amusement of the husband and the youngest!
Happy Camping (or watching the stars)! 
Frugal Campasaurus