As hard as it may seem to believe, another summer has flown by, and Canadians will soon welcome the autumn season. If you and your family are RV enthusiasts, now is the ideal time to start considering fall RV recipes. From sweet potatoes to apple cider, there is something special about the comfort foods of fall. Batch cooking, while you are at home during the last days of summer, allows you to enjoy your time exploring Canada this fall without worrying about what is for lunch or dinner.
Chili: The Perfect Warm Meal for a Cool Autumn Day
The seasons may change, but our favourites don’t! Chili is a quick go-to meal when RVing that is easy to make in a slow cooker. You will need to gather the following ingredients to prepare a batch:
- 1/3 cup of pearl barley with medium flavour intensity
- 1 lb of boneless beef chunk steak that you should cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 lb of bulk spicy pork sausage, drained and cooked
- 1 cup of hot and chunky salsa
- 1 medium chopped sweet red pepper
- 1 medium chopped green pepper
- 1 tbsp of ground cumin
- 1 tsp of table salt
- 2 chopped medium onions
- 2 cups of shredded Mexican cheese
- 2 tbsp of chili powder
- 2 tsp of roasted minced garlic in a jar
- 4 cups of beef stock
- 15-ounce can of dried and rinsed black beans
- 15-ounce can of dried and rinsed kidney beans
- 28-ounce can of undrained and diced tomatoes
- Half a bag of corn chips
Take all the ingredients except the corn chips and shredded cheese and place them in a slow cooker that holds at least six quarts. Place the cover on the slow cooker and allow the chili to marinate for at least 6 hours. You may need to keep the ingredients in the slow cooker for up to 8 hours to get the beef as tender as you would like.
Once the chili has finished cooking, stir in the corn chips and cheese. You can then pour the chili into containers and freeze them until you are ready to go. Once you hit the road, place the containers in your RV freezer and transfer them one at a time to the refrigerator when you intend to serve chili the next day. RV meal planning does not get much simpler than that.
More Fast and Simple Autumn RV Meals
Any meal you can prepare at home and place in foil will make for a no-fuss meal in your RV. Foil pack chicken fajita dinner is just one example. All you need to do is place cooked, chopped chicken breast pieces in a fajita and add the desired toppings. The most adventurous eaters add rice, beans, peppers, and salsa to their fajita. When your traveling crew gets hungry, just unwrap the foiled fajitas and place them in the microwave.
Since crockpot and slow cooker meals seem to be favourites among RVers, we thought we should also include Hawaiian pulled pork. To create a batch of delicious pulled pork, cook at least a few pounds of pork and then pull the meat apart into small pieces.
Next, sauté the meat and add ingredients like vegetable broth, diced onions, and barbeque-flavoured sauce. PRO TIP: Adding some pineapple juice helps tenderize the meat as the enzymes in pineapple juice will break down tougher membranes in the meat. Add the ingredients to a pressure cooker, wait 60 minutes, remove your pulled pork, and place it in containers in the freezer just like your batch of chili. When lunch or dinner rolls around, add pulled pork to a bun, heat in the microwave, and you are ready to eat. You can also top fire-roasted sweet potatoes with pulled pork for a gluten-free and gourmand take on this dish.
Don’t Forget to Take Some Simple Meals and Snacks Along
Some days you will be so tired from a day of exploring that even reheating batch-cooked meals might seem like too much effort. These are the times you will appreciate reaching for a box of cold cereal or pre-packaged lunch meat instead of having to do RV meal prep.
These are hearty, protein based and full-flavoured meals that will get you through Autumn days with plenty of exercise as you explore Canada’s beautiful parks and take in other scenery. Lastly, have fun while travelling this fall and try to enjoy at least a few seasonal festivals if you can – the food is always fresh, local and fantastic!