Boiled Peanuts

I grew up in Georgia. One of my favorite snacks was always boiled peanuts. In Georgia, you can find roadside stands everywhere that sell boiled peanuts. So, when we went to Cleveland, GA this week we stopped at a roadside stand and snacked. On our way home, we stopped at the Farmer’s Market in Asheville, NC and purchased a 1/2 bushel of raw peanuts so we could make our own. Today I am boiling up a pot of peanuts. They are especially yummy when eaten hot.So here’s the recipe:

Boiled Peanuts

1 pound of raw peanuts
1/4 cup kosher salt (or 2 Tbsp table salt)
4 cups water

2 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning, (optional)

Thoroughly rinse raw unshelled peanuts in water.Put water, salt, seasoning, peanuts in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Cover. Boil for 3 hours or all day until peanuts are nice and soft. They shouldn’t be crunchy and shoud sink to the bottom of the pot. Drain. You can freeze leftover peanuts (or double and triple the recipe and plan on freezing) in a freezer bag or container and they will keep for a few months.

Campfire Stew Recipe

When we took our Pathfinder and Adventurer group camping three weeks ago, we cooked all of our food over the campfire. For one of their honors, the kids had to learn how to make a camp stew. This is the recipe that I made up (not that it was hard to come up with) and the kids loved it.

Campfire Stew

Potatoes
Onions
Carrots
Whole Kernel Corn (we purchased a #10 size can for our group – don’t forget to bring a can opener!)
Butter or Margarine
Steak Seasoning
Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
Cooking Spray

Tear off a good size piece of the foil. Have each child peel as many potatoes and carrots as they want to eat. Chop the potatoes, carrots, and onions into bite size pieces. Spray the center of the foil with the cooking spray. Place the chopped vegetables in the center of the foil. Sprinkle with steak seasoning. Depending on how many vegetables you are making, place an appropriate amount of butter on top of the veggies. Wrap the vegetables up in the foil so they will not spill out, but not too tightly. Place foil pouch in the fire. Cook for about 15 – 20 minutes. You can check the doneness of the veggies and rewrap if needed.

We served the stew with Biscuits on a Stick and leftover gravy from breakfast. Yum!