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Dutch Oven Cooking for Cash or for Fun
By Dian Thomas
Dutch oven cooking not only leads to delicious meals, but it can also lead to delicious money. All over the American West, there are festivals that have cook-offs where there is money for the winner.
I will be going to one of those festivals in a couple weeks. The Cedar City Livestock and Heritage Festival, which will be held Friday, Oct. 26, and Saturday, Oct. 27, in Cedar City, Utah, will be sponsoring a Dutch oven cook-off. They are going to give away $20,000 to the winners. One of the winners last year had never cooked in a Dutch oven.
So get your recipes ready for the next festival. You could pick up that extra pocket change you need as well as creating a fantastic experience. To cook for Cash go to: http://www.idos.com/ or if you want to go to Cedar City and participate in this one coming up go to: http://www.chambercedarcity.org/getPage.php?page=cookforcash
Whether you will be cooking for cash or for fun, a great place to start is get our your best recipe and try cooking it in a Dutch oven. For more basic on Dutch oven cooking go back to Sept article on Dutch Oven basics.
I maintain anything that you can cook at home you can cook in a Dutch oven.
Below are two recipes that I have cooked for years, and they turn out every time. You will have happy guests or family members, and happy stomachs.
Have fun cooking.

Enchilada pie.
Enchilada Pie
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 (11.5-ounce) can condensed tomato soup
- 2 (10-ounce) cans mild or hot enchilada sauce
- 1 cup water
- 9 (8-inch) flour or corn tortillas
- 11/2 to 2 cups (8 ounces) cheddar or Monterey jack cheese, shredded
Dutch oven
Heat a 12-inch Dutch oven over 9 hot coals. Brown meat and onion. Pour off drippings. Add soup, enchilada sauce and water and simmer 5 minutes. Spoon two-thirds of this mixture into a medium
bowl, leaving remaining third in the Dutch oven. Arrange 2 to 3 tortillas over the meat mixture and sprinkle with a third of the cheese. Layer with half of the remaining meat mixture and one-third of
the cheese; repeat.
Cover with Dutch oven lid and place 12 to 15 hot coals on top. Cook, covered, 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese melts and tortillas soften. Serves 6 to 8.
At Home
Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a large skillet, brown meat with onion. Pour off drippings. Add soup, enchilada sauce and water, and simmer 5 minutes. In a 9 x 13-inch dish, layer a third of the meat mixture, then 2 or 3 tortillas, and a third of the cheese; repeat with remaining ingredients.
Cook, covered, 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese melts and tortillas soften. Serves 6 to 8.

Pineapple upside-down cake.
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
This is my signature recipe. I have demonstrated it on television many times.
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
- 1 (16-ounce) can pineapple slices, drained
- 1 (8-ounce) jar maraschino cherries
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix, prepared according to package directions
Dutch oven
Line the bottom of a 12-inch Dutch oven with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Add butter or margarine and arrange pineapple slices on top. Set a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple slice, and sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the fruit. Pour prepared cake batter on top of the fruit.
Place the Dutch oven over 9 hot coals. Cover with Dutch oven lid and place 15 hot coals on the top. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Lift the cake out of the Dutch oven using the aluminum foil lining and set it on the table. Cover the top with aluminum foil, and tuck the edges underneath the cake. Cool for 10 minutes; turn upside down and peel away the foil. Serves 10 to 12.
Would you like to get in on weekly Outdoor Cooking and Camping Tips from Dian Thomas, “Queen of Outdoor Cooking”? She will share with you her creative and fun ideas. Go to www.CampingWithDian.com and get started today! © 2007 by Dian Thomas
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© 2007 Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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| About
the Author: |
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During the past 25 years,
Dian Thomas has delivered more than 5000 media appearances. She
is the author of 18 books, including the New York Times Best Seller
Roughing it Easy, which has sold more than a million copies.
She was a network reporter — for eight years — on NBC’s
Today Show. Tom Brokaw, NBC’s news anchor, said,
“Dian made her network television debut on NBC’s Today
Show and quickly became one of our most popular featured performers.
Dian has some of the most spectacular ideas you can possibly imagine.”
She appeared on the NBC’s
Tonight Show as well as several times on ABC’s Good
Morning America and then went on the make weekly appearances
for six years on ABC’s Home Show. She is now joins
Meridian as a regular columnist. Watch for her features every Thursday.
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