So, says him, have you looked at the price of meat lately? 

Lets face it, times can be tight if you are living on the road or you're on a budget (and most of us are, irrespective of appearances). I also have my little nuances, BACON, I love bacon for breakfast.

How do we get around this, well I try and make a meal where we can bulk it up with veggies, and perhaps the cheaper cuts of meat. Casseroles are awesome for this, and by slow cooking it in a camp oven or a thermal cooker the meat will tenderise and be absolutely beautiful. Then of course there is always left overs that can be frozen for another meal and just a reheat is all that is required.

We have Echo Pot thermal cooker and it is one of the best investments we have purchased. The premise is start the cooking off for 25 minutes, then lock it in its protective shell and go do whatever you wanted for the day, or travel to your destination. By tea time, its all done, has cooked in its own juices and heat and there is no fire risk at all.

I've done casseroles and corned beef this way. But you can adapt and do soups and meals such as shanks and veggies also. I guess you are limited by your imagination and there are loads of thermal cooking recipes out and about for you to trial.

My favourite casserole dish is camp stew.

500g Chuck steak, onions, carrots, celery, corn, potatoes, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, worstershire sauce, French onion soup (pkt), and about a tin of water. It's s pretty much a flavour it the way you like it. Brown the steak and onion for about 20 mins chuck in the diced veggies, tinned tomatoes and sauces and lock it all down till dinner. Deliciousness.

If you're doing corned beef, don’t forget to put vinegar, cloves and nutmeg in with it while it simmers away (always covered by water), trust me on this it tastes divine. Also keep some of the "water" after it has been cooked to store the corned beef in – saves it drying out over the next couple of days. And corned beef rolls with seeded mustard are also a great lunch.

We also make use of the Baby Q that is on the slide in our tunnel boot. I've found that by using rubs and marinating meat adds flavour to them. Like Honey and garlic chicken wings, these can ensure that you lick your fingers clean.

Soups are another easy one to take smaller quantities of meat and stretch it further, and again easy to freeze and reheat. I guess the only issue with soup is who wants to eat it when its 40 degrees outside!

I'm going to take 'Gretal' with us over the next few camps to see what is possible to do with her. I know a lot of people go thermoglamping… it will be interesting. I shall let you know what my findings are.

If you have any money saving ideas or recipes, I'd love to hear from you and include them on our Camp Kitchen section.  Our email adress is rveethereyet@gmail.com.