The Camp Gal – Page 3

Pie Iron Bean & Cheddar Quesadillas

categories: Camping Recipes

On a chilly day, pie iron quesadillas make a great lunch. Tortillas work well in a pie iron, creating crispy pockets you can fill with a variety of ingredients.

Pie Iron Quesadillas

In this recipe, I keep things traditional with beans, cheese and salsa. For more creative options, fill your tortillas with pizza toppings, canned pie filling or ham and cheese.

Pie Iron Quesadillas

Spray the pie iron with cooking spray and then fill it with tortillas, refried beans and cheese.

Pie Iron Quesadillas

Buy tortillas that are slightly larger than your pie iron. Once the pie iron is closed, tear off the edges of the tortilla to prevent burning.

Pie Iron Quesadillas

Heat over the fire, turning for even cooking.

Pie Iron Quesadillas

Pie Iron Quesadillas

Makes 6, Vegetarian

Ingredients

cooking spray
12 flour or corn tortillas
16 oz can refried beans
12 ounces shredded sharp cheddar
salsa

Supplies

pie iron
butter knife

Directions

Spray pie iron with cooking spray and lay a tortilla over each side of the pie iron.
Spread refried beans in the center of tortilla.
Top refried beans with shredded cheese.
Close pie iron and tear off the edges of the tortilla.
Heat pie iron over fire, turning frequently, until the tortilla is toasted and the cheese is melted.
Top with salsa and serve.

Pie Iron Quesadillas

Pie Iron Breakfast Sandwiches

categories: Camping Recipes

I love a hot breakfast after a chilly night sleeping in our tent. On our recent trip to the Smoky Mountains, we made pie iron breakfast sandwiches. They were sooo good.

Pie Iron Breakfast Sandwiches - The Camp Gal

These breakfast sandwiches are filled with egg, cheese and sausage. You don’t pre-cook the egg, so it kind of coats the bread and tastes a bit like french toast. Yum.

Pie Iron Breakfast Sandwiches - The Camp Gal

Even this guy stopped by to beg for one. Sorry Mr. Squirrel, we don’t give handouts.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe over at Pocket Change Gourmet. Her recipe didn’t quite fit in our Original 1960’s design Rome Pie Iron, so I made a few changes.

Pie Iron Breakfast Sandwiches - The Camp Gal

Start by melting butter in a pre-warmed pie iron.

Place two slices of bread in the pie iron and squish down the middle of both slices to make room for the fillings. Pour egg into one of the slices of bread, being careful to not overfill it (I forgot to snap a photo of this step).

Pie Iron Breakfast Sandwiches - The Camp Gal

Cover the egg with a slice of cheese and put a sausage in the other side of the pie iron.

Pie Iron Breakfast Sandwiches - The Camp Gal

Cook over a fire, turning every few minutes until the egg is set and the cheese is melted. Enjoy with a mug of hot coffee!

Pie Iron Breakfast Sandwiches
Makes 6, Vegetarian (or not)

Ingredients

butter
12 slices sandwich bread
4 eggs
6 defrosted vegetarian sausages (or pre-cooked sausages)
6 slices sharp cheddar

Supplies

pie iron
bowl
fork
butter knife

Directions

Preheat pie iron over fire.
Meanwhile, lightly beat eggs.
Coat inside of the pie iron with butter.
Fill both sides of pie iron with bread. Squish down the middle of the bread to make room for the filling.
Pour egg into the indentation in one of the slices of bread. Do not overfill. Top egg with cheese. Put sausage on other slice of bread.
Close pie iron. Cook over fire, turning frequently, until the egg is set and the cheese is melted.

Off the Beaten Path in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains

categories: Campgrounds

The area surrounding Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains has a touristy reputation, but just 30 minutes from the tourist town of Gatlinburg, there’s a small town called Cosby that has a lot to offer. Here are a few things we discovered while we were camping near Cosby.

Off the beaten path in Tennessee's Smoky Mountains

Our Place

115 Cricket Hollow Road, Cosby, TN 37722 (on 321)

Blink and you’ll miss it, but Our Place is definitely worth turning around for.

Our Place - Off the Beaten Path in Tennessee's Smoky Mountains

We stopped in for some coffee and books.

Our Place - Off the Beaten Path in Tennessee's Smoky Mountains

So many books! The selection was amazing. We bought a few field guides, a cookbook and some beautiful note cards from a local artist. It’s definitely worth a look around while you sip your coffee.

The Front Porch Restaurant

2912 Cosby Highway, Cosby, TN 37722

The owner of Our Place told us to stop into The Front Porch Restaurant for some great southern cooking. We decided to head over there on a Saturday night to hear the live music ( from 6-9 on Saturday nights). After a long hike we were starving, and all the food was delicious.

Front Porch Restaurant - Off the Beaten Path in Tennessee's Smoky Mountains

I really liked their fried green tomatoes and Billy especially liked the cornbread. He said the cornbread was the best he’d ever had (sorry mom). We finished the meal off with some delicious pecan pie. We ordered a ton of food and our meal was only $30.

One woman we ran into said the restaurant sent food to her home when she was home bound for a period of time. Gotta love that.

The Front Porch Restaurant is a BYOB, so don’t forget to pick up a beer on the way there.

Cosby Campground

471 Cosby Park Rd, Cosby, TN

We camped in the beautiful but little-used Cosby Campground in Smoky Mountain National Park. I’ve heard that it’s a lot less busy than other campgrounds in the park, but I don’t know for sure because there was so much traffic on the road to Cade’s cove that we turned around! You can read my review of Cosby Campground here.

Hiking

There are three hikes nearby that I really liked. All of them start at Cosby Campground. You can see where each of these trails start on this map.

Hen Wallow Falls (4.4 miles roundtrip)

I really enjoyed this moderate hike through the forest and up to the falls.

Hen Wallow Falls - Off the Beaten Path in Tennessee's Smoky Mountains

Take Gabes Mountain Trail and watch for signs for Hen Wallow falls. More information here.

Sutton Ridge Overlook (3 miles roundtrip)

We took this short hike on the Lower Mount Cammerer Trail to a beautiful overlook.

Sutton Ridge Overlook - Off the Beaten Path in Tennessee's Smoky Mountains

{Sutton Ridge Overlook just before sunset}

To get to the overlook, hike for 1.4 miles on the Lower Mount Cammerer Trail. Turn right at the spur to hike up to the overlook.

Self Guided Nature Hike (1 mile round trip)

We went on the self guiding nature hike our last afternoon in Tennessee. It’s only a mile, but the guide (50 cents) was interesting and well written.

self guiding nature trail

I will return, hopefully soon.