Holiday camping has become increasingly popular over the last few years with many campers across the country forgoing traditional gatherings for a more serene holiday experience in the great outdoors! If you’re considering joining the trend and spending your upcoming holiday in your camper, we have just the meal for you! Holiday cooking doesn’t have to be a hassle! You can still accomplish a delicious and memorable Thanksgiving dinner from the comfort of your RV! Let’s get into it!
First things first: Before we dive into the actual meal, we do have a few “RV Keeping Rules” to help ease any cooking angst you may feel about prepping dinner in your RV:
#1: Invest In The Right Cookware
Remember that slow cooker your mom’s always trying to give you? Take it! A slow cooker is a great tool to have and will make prepping dinner in your RV so much easier! It will save you space and time, and it is great for prepping meats and stews! Looking for something even quicker? Now’s the time to grab that air fryer that you constantly see is on sale! Air fryers can do it all and QUICKLY! You may be wondering, what can I possibly cook with an air fryer for the holidays? Well keep reading! Other great items to consider are a portable stove top if need be, a pressure cooker, or a cast iron skillet!
Please don’t feel the need to buy all of these items listed. Any one or two of these items are great to have when cooking meals for the entire family, especially during the holidays.
#2: Make the Most of Your Space!
Space is already limited in an RV, especially when it comes to counter space, so be sure to make the most of every space you have! If weather permits, don’t be afraid to do some prep work outdoors. The great thing about cooking outdoors during this time of year is that the pesky bugs that gravitate to the smell of your delicious food have most likely vanished. So feel free to prep and cook outdoors! Try to save your counter space for food that needs to be cooked on the stove top.
And last but not least…
#3: Choose Quick and Easy Recipes!
If you’re like me, when you think of holiday cooking, you may be thinking of this huge spread that covers a dining room table and will leave leftovers for days, but that doesn’t have to be the case. You can achieve a delicious, simple holiday meal that will be reminiscent of that huge spread with half the work and time involved. Let’s dive in!
This years mouth-watering holiday meal will be:
Cornish Game Hens, grilled ham, crunchy asparagus, homemade mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce – because what’s the holiday without cranberry sauce?
Cornish Game Hens
Cornish Game Hens are a popular bird during the holidays and are very RV friendly being that they are much smaller than a turkey and require less cooking time. They can be prepared in the oven, in a slow cooker, in an air fryer and even on the grill. Take your pick! What we love about these birds is that no matter how you choose to cook them, they soak up flavor really well and they don’t require much to taste absolutely delicious. Garlic, basil, onion, chicken broth along with your cornish hens in a slow cooker is an unfair treat to your pallet!
Grilled Ham
No green eggs please. Just give me the ham, and throw it on a grill! Whether you decide to buy precooked ham or cook it outright yourself, now’s a great time to utilize that grill! Don’t have a grill? Thankfully, some Outdoor Adventures campsites and resorts have a grill onsite that you can use! If you’ve never experienced camping with Outdoor Adventures be sure to check out our first time visitor special for 7 nights of free camping here!
We love a maple bourbon glazed ham with the bone in, and the best part about this is the ham will practically cook itself. Heat up the grill, place your ham in a tin pan and let the grill do the work!
Homemade Mashed Potatoes
While your meats are cooking, now’s the time to begin your fluffy and buttery mashed potatoes. By utilizing a slow cooker and a grill for your meats, you’ve freed up counter space as well as stove top space for your mashed potatoes! A favorite and crowd pleaser when it comes to mashed potatoes are Yukon Gold potatoes. They are easy to mash and will leave you with a smooth consistency that will feel good to your soul with every bite! Whether you prefer your potatoes peeled or with some skin on, cook time will not vary much. Boil cool water for best results, get those potatoes in th pot, and bring everything to a slow boil. In 30 minutes you will have soft potatoes ready to mash and flavor to your liking. We love buttermilk mashed potatoes with chives or parsley! Yum!
Crunchy Asparagus
Remember that air fryer? If you don’t decide to air fry your cornish hens, then we highly recommend air frying your asparagus for a nice, low carb side dish that even the kids will love! What we love about air fryed veggies is that they are quick to prepare and healthier than using grease. Air fryed asparagus will take less than ten minutes to cook! Just season your stalks with your favorite ingredients (we love salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and parmesan cheese), pop them in the air fryer, and in less then ten minutes, you have a beautiful side dish that your tummy will enjoy, as well as your social media feeds, because anything food along with anything green will catch your followers attention!
If air fryed veggies aren’t really your thing, we also love cast iron asparagus. The recipe doesn’t change! So feel free to experiment with your preferred method of cooking. It will all taste great!
Lastly It’s time for the Cranberry sauce!
While your potatoes are boiling, now is time for the fan favorite of all things holidays: Cranberry sauce! This simple dish definitely doesn’t go unnoticed. I’m not quite sure how it made its way into all things holiday, but I do know there is no complete holiday dish without it. Thankfully, this may be the easiest of all the dishes to prep and cook while in your RV. All you need are frozen cranberries, water, sugar and any toppings that you may like to add such as pecans, raisins, or orange zest.
Boil the water and sugar on high heat, stirring occasionally. Once they are boiled, add in your rinsed cranberries and cook until the cranberries burst open. Let your mixture cool and you are all set! You have a delicious cranberry sauce to pair with anything you’d like on your plate.
Don’t let anyone tell you that holiday cooking can’t be accomplished from the comfort of your RV. If you decide to try this recipe or any other recipe while camping with Outdoor Adventures, be sure to tag us in your photos. We’d love to see and share your meals!
Until next time! Happy Camping and Happy Holidays! 🙂
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