Camp meals- frozen chili

[ShellieR]

My family will be camping at FW in January and I'll be cooking dinner for us everynight. I saw some of you mention bringing frozen chili and just reheating it for a meal. I've never done that and I wanted to use my crockpot so that I can turn it on in the morning and dinner will be ready when we come in from a park. Does anyone know if frozen chili would over cook in a crockpot on low all day? Any suggestions?

 

[DaveInTN]

I cook chili all day in my crockpot when camping. If it burns at all, it sometimes just developes a thin layer of burnt beans at the bottom, but nothing serious. Just don't scrape it up when you stir and you'll be fine.

If possible, you might want to defrost the chili overnight in the fridge before putting in the crockpot. Or, another thing I've done is precook the meat at home and freeze, and then just dump the meat and all the ingredients into the crockpot in the morning and cook it that way.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

For some reason when I freeze chili, the beans get mushy.

 

[DaveInTN]

For some reason when I freeze chili, the beans get mushy.

Use cowboy beans.

 

[storyteller]

Well, whatever you do, make enough for everone....

 

[MomofSixinSC]

Or, another thing I've done is precook the meat at home and freeze, and then just dump the meat and all the ingredients into the crockpot in the morning and cook it that way.

This is what I would do.

Have fun!

 

[kampfirekim]

Use cowboy beans.

Cowboy Beans are never mushy. They always remain firm.

 

[Kat77]

Coming from a Texan with a serious chili addiction, I predict it will be just fine. You have all winter to find out. Test batch?

 

[LarryJ]

My family will be camping at FW in January and I'll be cooking dinner for us everynight. I saw some of you mention bringing frozen chili and just reheating it for a meal. I've never done that and I wanted to use my crockpot so that I can turn it on in the morning and dinner will be ready when we come in from a park. Does anyone know if frozen chili would over cook in a crockpot on low all day? Any suggestions?

To save on freezer space and I have a lot since I also have a 1.5 cuft Norcold MRFT 40 portable 115/12V one is that we make up a bunch of sauces and basics mixes like spaghetti, taco, pasta, penne pasta, sloppy joe, and chili like for 3 or 4 meals at home and then for the ones to take camping we freeze them flat in the Ziploc qt freezer bags and the then for stuff like the chili add the beans and V-8 juice for our recipe the day we are going to use it. What we aren't taking we just freeze at home in plastic containers since I think making it ahead of time and letting it cool and then packing it up and reheating it makes for a much better sauce. We even make up Ziplocs of the cheese mix for like lasagna and stuffed shells at home and then thaw and use it to make the dish. We also make all the hamburger patties pre formed along with frying up things like Italian sausage for English muffins pizza and even making up the meatloaf ahead of time and freezing it uncooked and making things like Swedish meatballs or Italian meatballs (which we even cook at home and then freeze) so cooking meat is already done and all is needed it thawing/reheating with minimal pots and pans and cleanup. We even fry both some bacon and breakfast sausage patties (for sausage biscuits) and then eat the bacon cold or heat the patties for about a minute in the microwave for sausage biscuits.

I never even blinked when I paid that outrageous price of over $800 for that portable freezer since it has be a true lifesaver on food prep on our normal 45 and longer day road trips. I just wish I had the room for the MRFT 65 which is around 2.5 cuft.

Larry

 

[Memph1s]

I know no one wants to feed me chili and then spend the night with me in an enclosed space.

I would add an extra cup of water to help keep it from getting too thick and leaving it frozen until the last minute would help it not over cook.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Back in '99 i didn't think twice about paying 700 dollars for the xfr 950 which is 3.0 cu ft of pure freezing power but was experimental hence the x in the name and spins the electric meter like a pinwheel whenever it kicks on my tv picture goes off but i can fit a thousand ziploc bags of meatballs in it and it freezes almost instantly but you gotta watch the cat or it will get stuck to the lid of the freezer when i check the tire pressures.

 

[Judy in Texas]

For some reason when I freeze chili, the beans get mushy.

You could always freeze the chili without the beans and then add the beans to the crockpot when re-heating.

 

[BRDof3]

Back in '99 i didn't think twice about paying 700 dollars for the xfr 950 which is 3.0 cu ft of pure freezing power but was experimental hence the x in the name and spins the electric meter like a pinwheel whenever it kicks on my tv picture goes off but i can fit a thousand ziploc bags of meatballs in it and it freezes almost instantly but you gotta watch the cat or it will get stuck to the lid of the freezer when i check the tire pressures.

OK Jim. Put down the kungaloosh and back away slowly. Just put on this nice jacket I brought you so I can tie the sleeves around the back.

 

[DaveInTN]

OK Jim. Put down the kungaloosh and back away slowly. Just put on this nice jacket I brought you so I can tie the sleeves around the back.

Jim is just mad at himself because he was too cheap to spring for the xfr 1150.

 

[BRDof3]

Jim is just mad at himself because he was too cheap to spring for the xfr 1150.

Yep, Larry would have planned it better. I'm sure he would have tweaked it so many times that he posted a web link to show off all his refridgerator mods.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Yep, Larry would have planned it better. I'm sure he would have tweaked it so many times that he posted a web link to show off all his refridgerator mods.

I put eternabond on all the seams.

 

[ShellieR]

Thanks for the ideas! I guess I could just add my beans in the morning before we leave for the park. I use a couple of cans of black beans in mine. I bet they would get mushy.

 

[LarryJ]

Thanks for the ideas! I guess I could just add my beans in the morning before we leave for the park. I use a couple of cans of black beans in mine. I bet they would get mushy.

You are welcome and I apologize that my post which I thought was helpful created some childish off topic and unhelpful replies since I think you were actually looking for good information which others obviously did not

Larry

 

[BRDof3]

Some of us are actually capable of both. And our bellybuttons don't even fall off.

btw, not bad spotting for someone who doesn't ever read the replies that follow his posts

 

[Lil' Lisa]

You are welcome and I apologize that my post which I thought was helpful created some childish off topic and unhelpful replies since I think you were actually looking for good information which others obviously did not

Larry

I think that there is room for both fun AND information on these boards. The fun loving attitude of the Fort Fiends is what attracted me to the Dis in the first place. Maybe if you lightened up a bit then folks wouldn't give you such a hard time. We are talking about the happiest place on earth, after all. If we had to be all serious and stuff, how much fun would that be???