Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Brownies

I love these brownies.  I used my wife's basic homemade brownie recipe and added peanut butter chips and mini Hershey kisses.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Brownies

1 cup butter melted
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup mini Hershey kisses

Melt butter and let cool.  Stir in sugar and vanilla.  Beat in eggs.  Stir in cocoa and flour.  Fold in peanut butter chips and kisses.  Pour into a greased 12 inch dutch oven.  Cook at 350 degrees using 17 briquettes on top and 8 on the bottom.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a fork poked in comes out clean.  Do not over bake.  Let cool for 10 minutes and then serve.

Thanks for reading, and get out there and get cooking! 

Dutch Oven Chimichangas

I found this recipe on the International Dutch Oven Society website and I had to try it.  It called for just monterey jack cheese but we mixed that with some Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese and the meal was incredible.  I hope you enjoy it.

Check out the recipe Dutch Oven Chimichangas.

Thanks for reading, and get out there and get cooking! 

Ranch Rolls

 This recipe come from one of my favorite cookbooks Barbecue Biscuits and Beans.  These are the perfect rolls to make when camping because you do not need to let them rise and it still tastes like regular rolls.

Ranch Rolls

5 cups all-purpose flour
2 2 ounce cake yeast or 6 1/4 -ounce packets dry yeast
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon soda
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Before cooking preheat your 12 inch dutch oven  to 450 22 coals on top and 11 on the bottom.

Dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand for 10 minutes.  Mix the rest of the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.    Add the yeast, oil and buttermilk to the dry ingredients and mix well.   Turn onto a floured surface and knead lightly.

Roll the dough in 2 inch rolls.  Place in dutch oven and cook for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Thanks for reading, and get out there and get cooking!

Dutch Oven Rolls

At the beginning bread was very difficult for me.  It didn't brown enough, was soggy in the middle or over cooked.   Finally after reading a few books and looking at some blogs (like Mark's Black Pot)  I figured out how to preheat the lid of my dutch oven and how to maintain the correct temperature.

For these rolls I used my wife's White Bread recipe (KT's Cooking) and for each loaf instead you make 12 rolls.   I preheated the lid because it give the bread a spring when the heat hits it and will make it rise and cook better.  I only preheated the lid because the rolls had to do their second rise in the dutch oven.

After preheating the lid I cooked the rolls at 350 degrees in a 12 inch dutch oven using  17 briquettes on the top and 8 on the bottom.   I cooked them for 40 minutes because of the temperature outside, but in the summer it would take less time.

I really enjoy these rolls hot out of the dutch oven with some butter and honey or make a great compliment to the lasagna I made before.

Thanks for reading, and get out there and get cooking!

Dutch Oven Lasagna

It is finally warm enough to do some dutch oven cooking.  I used my dutch oven table to cook so I didn't have to worry about the snow or wet ground affecting my temperature.   I have been wanting to make a lasagna in my 12 inch dutch oven for the last couple of years and I have not been successful in it until tonight.  This is a basic lasagna recipe but I like the addition of sliced mozzarella cheese.

Dutch Oven Lasagna

1 pound ground beef
2 jars of spaghetti sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 package lasagna noodles
1 16 oz ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 8 oz block mozzarella cheese


I cooked the ground beef and garlic in a 10 inch dutch oven at 350 degree temperate with 14 briquettes on top and 7 on bottom until it was browned.

In a separate 8 inch dutch oven I warmed the spaghetti sauce with a bay leaf cooking it at 325 degrees using 10 on top and 5 on the bottom.  I just warmed it until the ground beef was cooked.

Boil your lasagna noodles or use the ones that you do not need to boil first.

Mix the ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese) with the egg and Italian seasoning and set aside.

Slice the mozzarella cheese into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Ladle 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of your 12 in dutch oven.

Set aside another 1/4 cup of the sauce and then mix the remaining sauce with the cooked ground beef.

Layer about 4 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce in the dutch oven, you may need to trim some to make it fit.

Next layer 1/2 of the cheese mixture.

Layer 1/2 of the spaghetti sauce/ground beef mixture.

Next place 1/3 of the mozzarella slices.

Top with another layer of noodles and repeat steps.

When you end with the layer of noodles pour the remaining 1/4 of spaghetti sauce on top.

You will cook this at 350 degrees using 17 briquettes on top and 8 on the bottom for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes place the remaining mozzarella slices on top and cook an additional 15 minutes until browned and bubbly.

Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.



I would like to thank my wife and how much I love and appreciate her, especially for being patient with me while I perfected this recipe!!  She really inspired me to do this and I thank her for her support.

I hope we have a good season of outdoor cooking and I would appreciate any comments or  questions you may have.

  Thanks for reading, and get out there and get cooking!