Camp Towanda Culinary Favorites- Mexican Fiesta!

Camp Towanda Culinary Program

Camp Towanda is very excited to partner with “Kids Cook Mondays“, using some of our Camp Towanda Culinary Favorites to encourage family time in the kitchen! We experience at camp firsthand, that when kids are involved in making and preparing their food, they are more likely to try new things, broaden their horizons and eat more healthfully.  We look forward to another summer at the Camp Towanda Farm Kitchen, where our campers will improve their cooking skills, learn kitchen ettiquette and safety and create new and exciting foods and ethnic dishes.

Here is one of our favorite meals from last summer–The Mexican Fiesta! Please send us photos of your family’s own fiesta making these dishes…and think fondly of camp!

Camp Towanda Mexican Fiesta!

Refined Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

1 bag dried pinto beans
1 1/2 cups of sautéed onion carmelized
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 package of corn tortillas
2 cans of enchilada sauce
3 cups of cheddar cheese
Soak beans…preferable over night…then boil till cooked strain …reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid from the boiling

  • Sauté onions till browned…in a food processor add beans,onions , salt and pepper …pulse slowly add liquid slowly to incorporate all items
  • In fry pan add enchilada sauce heat till warm …take corn tortillas and lay in heated enchilada sauce one at a time to loosen the tortilla to roll
  • Add about 2 tablespoons of refrained bean mixture and about 2 teaspoon of cheese in center of the tortilla and roll
  • Place in a Pyrex pan…continue till filled pan…add remain enchilada sauce to top of rolled enchilada and cover with cheese…
  • Bake in over at 350 for 20 mins

Homemade salsa

2 ripe tomatoes cut in quarters
1/2 of a medium cucumber cut in quarters
1 green pepper cut up
1/2 of a piece of jalapeño
1/2  red onion..cut in quarters
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
1 teaspoon of cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to food processor and and pulse to chopped…pour in to bowl and enjoy

You can add fresh corn or beans to this recipe…and make bean or corn salsa

Guacamole

3 ripe avocados
1/2 cup small diced tomato
1/2 cup of small diced red onion
Juice of a half of lemon

Mix all items together mushing the avocado but leaving some chunks of avocado.

About Kids Cook Monday

The Kids Cook Monday is a project of The Monday Campaigns, a non-profit public health initiative encouraging people to use Mondays to integrate healthy behaviors into their weekly routines. When kids pitch in to make meals, they’re empowered to learn more about what they eat and make healthier choices. And since the family that cooks together eats together, the initiative encourages regular family dinners to benefit kids and help parents stay connected to their children’s lives. The Kids Cook Monday offers a wide variety of free family dinner recipes and educational resources. Visit TheKidsCookMonday.org for more information.

Camp Towanda Culinary Favorites: Turkey Veggie Chili

CULINARYLOGO1This summer at Camp Towanda, we stirred up a tasty batch of healthy and hearty Turkey Veggie Chili! It is the PERFECT meal for a crisp fall day or any time of year.  Bring it to a tailgate party or make some for the whole family to enjoy for dinner! Here are 3 delicious ways to enjoy our Towanda Turkey Veggie Chili: 1) Over Rice 2) In a Burrito 3) Baked in a Mini Pie.

Enjoy! And send us your cooking pix (wearing a Towanda Tee in the kitchen, of course).

Towanda Turkey Veggie Chili

TurkeyVeggieChili

2 lbs of ground turkey meat
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced zucchini
1/2 cup diced yellow squash
1 whole jalapeño chopped
1/2 cup diced pepper any color
1 1/2 cans of tomato past
1 1/2 cans of crushed tomato
1 packet of fajita seasoning
1 teaspoon of dried ancho crushed pepper
1 teaspoon cumin

 

 

Over Rice

In a large pot sautée onions, carrots and celery to a sweat…add ground turkey continue to sauté till meat is cooked…add zucchini, yellow squash peppers and all seasoning stir until coated. Then add tomato purée and crushed tomato simmer for an hour…And serve over rice.

Rolled in a Burrito

Take 12″ flour tortillas, add rice and cheese, roll like a burrito and fry it on both sides.  Finish in the oven for 15 mins at 325 degrees.

Mini Chili Pies

Take pie dough and make mini chili pies in muffin tins…press the dough in the muffin tin making little cups..bake pie shells off for about 8 minutes in the oven at 325. Then add the chili topped off with cheddar cheese and bake for 12-15 mins more…yum!!!

Which way is your favorite? Tell us!

Things are heating up at Camp Towanda!

So, the weeks leading up to camp were damp, chilly, cold and raw up here in the rolling countryside of NorthEastern Pennsylvania…and we dreamed of hot summer days…there is no doubt that the summer has started off…..hitting 90 everyday so far!

girls

The spirit, friendships and smiles represent a feeling that we all have been here for a long time while it has really been only 4 full days so far! If you were a fly on the wall, you would not believe it!

From the Dorm Girls dressing up for Maniac Monday to the Club Boys dressing up for “Half Christmas” on Tuesday (a celebration they concocted). They even played Christmas music all day, which psychologically cooled us off.

icecream mitch

The younger campers look up to these groups as if they were larger than life…and everyone else supports and gets into that!

We extended lunch hour on Tuesday for make our own banana splits  (D-LISH)…the perfect way to chill out on a hot day!

waterfront2

We’ve squeezed in General Swims whenever we can. Casper, the camp dog,  lifeguarded at the Tarzan Swing (making sure every single camper that dropped into the lake was safe).

Tuesday night, Steve Max returned to camp for his entertaining Simon Sez Show that got the whole camp involved!

cooking

On Wednesday, Stephanie and I hung out with the Debs & Dillies and the Jets…they are sooo cute and lovin life at camp!

The Culinary Classes at the Farm made sushi, spring rolls, brownies, and banana cake .  Really, impressive!  Recipes coming soon!

We also had a heavy duty downpour at lunch on Wednesday so we extended mess hall time with a classic rock tunes dance party!  Playlist coming soon!

garden

Lower camp groups experienced real down to earth nature classes today with our resident guru, Nathaniel!

Last night, I reffed an intense GHOST game between the Middie and Junior boys…wow! Fun, excitement and intense play!

We had to use the GOAT ALERT ALARM system this evening as our “goats”, you know, our 2 miniature horses named Horsey and Donkey…escaped. What a scene with Casper and The Campers trying to round them up. Hey! Hay!

Afterwards, the LITs had a pizza party in the canteen. The CITs, who are excellent (also) ; enjoyed the sushi leftovers.

And The Dorm Girls were off campus at their Canoe trip.

zumbaCamp is moving; the kids are grooving, the counselors have begun days off and we are enjoying every minute with the kids; Camp Towanda is truly a very special family.

Mitch

Pretzel Chicken Fingers Recipe

We were inspired when we recently heard about the American Camp Association’s recent partnership with Kids Cook Monday.  The Kids Cook Monday initiative encourages families to set aside the first night of every week for cooking and eating together as a family.  Because we think this is such a great idea, we will continue to share our camper-approved, healthy recipes, straight from our Culinary Cooking program here at Camp Towanda as inspiration for your family dinners. Enjoy!

What could be better? Pretzels and Chicken Fingers coming together in perfect harmony! When our campers made these at The Culinary Cookin’ Class at The Farm this past summer they said “I can totally make these at home!”  The most fun part…put the pretzels in a ziploc bag and stomp them into crumbs.  A work out, stress reliever and delicacy, rolled into one delicious lunch or dinner! P.S. they still taste great the day after when thrown into a lunchbox!

Send us your own favorite camp-inspired recipes to be featured on our blog (and you can even send us a pic of you and your creation!)–send all recipes and photos to [email protected].

PRETZEL CHICKEN FINGERS

2 LBS CKICKEN BREAST…CUT IN CUBES OR STRIPS

1 BAG WAFFLE CUT PRETZEL

8 EGGS

1 1/2 CUPS FLOUR…for dreading

Salt

Pepper to taste

GRAPE SEED OIL FOR FRYING…great for frying

1) CHICKEN BREAST INTO STRIPS ORCUBES 2INPIECES SEASON WITH SALT AND PEPPER

2)TAKE PRETEZLS AND EITHER IN A CUISINART OR AS YOU CHILDREN DID PUT IN A DOUBLED ZIPLOCK BAG AND STAMP ON THEM WITH SHOES ON TILL CRUMBS

3)DREAD IN FLOUR….coating the chicken

4)DIP IN THE EGG….

5)COAT WITH CRUSHED PRETZELS

6)FRY IN THE GRAPESEED OIL ON MEDUIM HEAT

VERY EASY AND FAST…..

SERVE WITH KETCHUP, HONEYMUSTARD OR HORSERADDISH SAUCE

YOU CAN ALSO USE HONEY MUSTARD PRETZELS FOR A DIFFERENT TASTE….

Camp Towanda Farm Blueberry Cake Muffins Recipe

Here at Camp Towanda, it has been a tradition for 90 years and counting to go blueberry picking on our beautiful farm grounds.  This summer, we took our blueberry picking one step further at our Culinary Cooking Class at The Farm (where there are blueberry bushes a plenty!). Even if you don’t have a blueberry bush in your backyard, you can still make these delicious morning treats (and think fondly of Camp Towanda blueberries).

Blueberry Cake Muffins from The Farm

1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter

1 ½ cups of sugar

3 extra large eggs

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup of sour cream or greek yougurt (chobani the best)

¼ cup of milk

2 ½ cups of all purpose flour

2 teaspoon of baking powder

½ teaspoon of baking soda

½ teaspoon of kosher salt

1 pint of fresh blueberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pleace 16 paper liners in the muffin pan

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment

Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy about 1 minute

With mixer on low speed add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and the salt. On a low speed add the flour mixture to the batter until just mixed…do not over mix

Fold in the blueberries..

Fill the baking cups till half full

Bake for 25 mins until the muffins are lightly browned

Enjoy!!!!

Corn Flake Chicken Recipe

Our campers love cereal for breakfast.  So you can imagine their excitement when we said we were making Corn Flake Chicken at our culinary cooking class with Chef Paulette!  Try this delicious, fun and healthy twist on chicken.  Winner, winner, yummy chicken dinner!

Send us your own favorite camp-inspired recipes to be featured on our blog (and you can even send us a pic of you and your creation!)–send all recipes and photos to [email protected].

CORN FLAKE CHICKEN

1 WHOLE CHICKEN CUT UP TO 8THS (RECOMMEND CUTTING BREASTS IN HALF

8 EGGS ….FOR DIPPING

CORNFLAKE CRUMBS…(KELLOG OR BUY REGULAR CORNFLAKES AND GRINF\D FINE IN CUISINART)

SPRAY PAM

SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE

1) CUT CHICKEN IN TO 1/8THS

2) DIP IN EGG

3) DREDGE IN CORN FLAKE CRUMBS

4) PLACE ON SHEET PAN COATED WITH PAM ( OF\R ANY SPRAY OIL

5) BAKE AT 400 FOR 25 MINS

6) ENJOY

Vanishing Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Remember these delicious cookies that we whipped up this summer at our Culinary Cookin’ Class at The Farm with Chef Paulette?  They disappeared so fast, we couldn’t get enough of them!  See if your family gobbles them up as fast as our campers! Give them a try at home and let us know how fast they disappear.  And don’t forget to send us your own favorite camp-inspired recipes to be featured on our blog (and you can even send us a pic of you and your creation!)–send all recipes and photos to [email protected].  Bon Appetite!

VANISHING OATMEAL COOKIES

1 stick of butter

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

3 cups quick or old fashioned oats

1 cup chocolate chips or raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy

Add eggs and vanilla and beat well

Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt mix well

Portion dough rounded teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets…you can use parchment paper

Bake 8-10 minuted or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet

Makes 4 dozen cookies