Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Faux Camping and the Fourth

I thought I’d do a little recap of how I spent celebrating our nation’s birthday last year. Sadly, everyone but Team Tuna is heading out of town leaving me and my statistics professor to continue our little online affair. Midterm is Thursday, wish me luck.

Let’s start off with, I don’t do camping. Who in their right mind would, all that nature gives me the heepy jeepies. I do all my hunting and gathering at Safeway, not the wilderness. My earliest memories of camping are not pretty. Picture a ton of kids, two adults and four wet dogs in a tent that needed to be put up in the pouring rain by an impatient daddy, Buzz. Nuff said.


But Bebe was coming back from Elko, Nevada for the 4th of July and how could I refuse to spend quality time with my BFF since she moved to BFE? When we went “camping” with our nature survivalist friends when the kids were preschoolers it showed what polar opposites we are. Team Tuna stayed in a travel trailer while the B’s stayed in a pop up trailer. The most fascinating difference is while we were practically hosing down the woods with liquid, their little family of four survived on a coffee cup of water. I am not cut out to conserve.

Bebe and Bubba have a little place in Show Low and the Big Tuna was giddy to take his new (at least to us) and shiny RV for its inaugural run. Riding shotgun in the big rig was a weird visual experience. So much windshield, it was like riding in a 1978 AMC Pacer, another stellar purchase my parents made in my youth. The interior was sort of an uncanny twilight zone experience. The upholstery was identical and I mean identical to a sofa we’d retired about 10 years ago. All the built ins and fixtures were ¾ quarter scale. I felt like Alice in Wonderland who ate the cake and grew big. So a quick and easy recipe for the Mad Hatter and crew.

Easy One Dish Tortellini
28 ounces chicken broth
9 ounces cheese tortellini
4 ounces onion and chive cream cheese
1 can undiluted tomato soup

Bring broth to boil, add tortellini and simmer for 5 minutes. Ladle out a little broth into a bowl, add cream cheese and whisk until blended, return to pot. Add the can of tomato soup and heat thoroughly.

Living in the west, wild fire capitol of the world, makes me a little nervous about lighting fireworks. We compromised by flicking lighters inside the RV. But in the end, RV, $30,000, filling it with gas, $300, not peeing in the woods…….priceless.

34 comments:

Lisa said...

I'm with you regarding camping...my idea of roughing it is a howard johnson or a ramada inn!

That tortellini sounds good.

Annie (Lady M) x said...

Bloody hell Mrs T, you have got an RV? Show us some pics then! The reason I ask is because us English people live in awe of American RVs! Good on you gal - it's nice to know that you aren't crapping in the woods like a bear.

Nicole Leigh Shaw said...

Camping is for bears and bugs. Humans have mortgages to keep them indoors.

Red Nomad OZ said...

You CAN actually have the best of both worlds - well, downunder here in OZ, anyway! Be in the great outdoors AND hunt/gather at the mall!

And did you never hear of 'glamping'??!!

Hope you're keeping those stats under control!!!

laughingmom said...

I don't camp. End of any and every discussion about it I've ever had.

Unknown said...

where are you, mrs tuna? come hang out with me on july 4th. my husband always burns himself, it's fun!

The Zadge said...

I spent a week one night at a horrific casino motel in Elko during my cross-country drive. Camping would have been soooo much better!

Leslie said...

100% agree. I.do.not.camp.

mamahasspoken said...

I don't camp either. My idea of roughing it is having only one sheet on the bed and having to decide weither to sleep on top of it or use it as a cover.

Alexandra said...

RVing?

Love me some RVing.

Even with the 300 bucks for gas.

BUT I say nay nay to the camping.

Just ain't gonna happen.

I'm So Fancy said...

It's only Glamping for the Fancies. :-)

Liz Mays said...

I just can't stand camping! I refuse to do it.

The recipe is so easy and sounds fantastic!

Mary said...

I'll camp, if I'm in the mood. which doesn't happen very often. It has to be in a campground. with a bathroom. And hot water.

SZM said...

flicking lighters in the RV? Bahahahaha!!!

•´.¸¸.•¨¯`♥.Erin.♥´¯¨•.¸¸.´• said...

LOL! I love to go camping but I do totally understand why it isn't fun for others. Flicking lighters? LMAO

Ms. G said...

We used to have an RV. It was the only way to go until we realized we'd need a second mortgage for the gas. Riding in the front made me sick so I would camp myself on the big bed in back and let my husband do all the driving: )

Hope you did well today! 'Flicking lighters' ha! We are in a drought and you just gave me the perfect entertaining solution.

twelvedaysold said...

I did a post on camping once. I quoted Jim Gaffigan when he said someone asked him if his parents took him camping and he said, "No, my parents loved me."

Missy said...

I do not camp!!!
I do not do fireworks either! LOL

The Spaghetti Westerner said...

I don't mind camping, but I totally understand why people don't like it. I'm excited to try this recipe though...it seems like a perfect (and easy) camping recipe.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I love engineers; they make life WAY more interesting. I wouldn't change my husband for anything.

Jessica @My Simply Complicated said...

Aw, come on! Camping wasn't for you?

I'll admit that I do prefer the RV-available kind of camping, not the tent kind with the wet dogs, raining and all that good stuff!

Kristy @Loveandblasphemy said...

I love the sauce idea for this! Yum! Faux camping. I like that.

lovinangels said...

LOL, I love to camp! This sounds super yummy! I bet it would be good with the 800 philly sauce thingamabobbies I got doing the Hershey park deal.

Sandra said...

Dunno...when faced between stats and camping, I honestly can't tell you which would win...
Funny thing, my friend is taking a native studies course. She was saying, "I found stats so much easier!" Ummm. No. Hang in there, almost done your torrid affair with the prof then I can have you all to myself again...well, all to myself and your faithful readers...

Elliot MacLeod-Michael said...

It just makes lighting fireworks all that more unpredictable and exciting.
+followed

Katherines Corner said...

I hate camping! But....I promised I'd go this summer with my sweet husband. We will be borrowing a trailer from a friend at work. I love the idea of lighting a lighter instead of fireworks, so clever.
Sorry to hear you've been all but abandoned this year. Big Hugs
P.S. The one dish tortellini sounds yummy!

Amy @MomMeTime said...

yep, that is my type of camping! The One Dish Tortellini sounds yummy (and easy ~my kind of recipe) Thanks for sharing!

Theresa said...

This was hilarious and oh so true for me too. But, RVing sounds too much like camping.. I will follow you and please check out my blog also
chatterfromtexas.blogspot.com
This may be the best blog I have ever read!!

mom in rome said...

my first time here! I am reading your posts...hilarious!!! new fan!

1 Funky Woman said...

I don't camp either but I"m outnumbered since the rest of the crew does! I wish I could stay home! But for some reason I am not allowed to so we are going to Missouri next week. Can someone tell me why? I especially don't like these people when I'm in an
8 x 12 space for several days! Just shoot me! Oh and my luck I"ll get my period and a bear will find me!

Good luck on your midterm!

Megan

Mrs4444 said...

I guess I won't invite you to tent-it with me and Kendall's friends in a few weeks, then. Truthfully, since Mr.4444 (camping freak) isn't coming with us, I'm not really looking forward to it, but the kids will be happy.

Happy 4th! :)

Shawn said...

Come spend the day with me! We can have a nice dinner with a glass of wine sitting in the air conditioning...without bugs or critters!

My Birth daughter lives in Lakeside. I spent every summer in Pinetop or Show low with my Grandparents...small world!

Ani said...

That recipe looks good and easy. That's what i like. I'm a new follower from Best Posts of the Week. Happy 4th of July. -Lola at Dharma Killed Dogma Buddhist Blog

Scoop said...

Great post as usual... thanks for the read! I am going to try that recipe... sounds great!

Bless My Bitchy Heart said...

FUNNY POST! I loved the flicking the lighter comment too! Down here in Tucson earlier this year, we finally had ground fire works legalized, only to have them banned a few days ago because of the drought & wild fires- my kids are bic flicking & feeling SO cheated tonight! Hope ya got some rain today tuna girl! Thanks for the giggle!