Rick Windham Outdoor columnist
Recent rains have helped, but the countryside is still dry so be careful with any cookouts or campfires you may have this Memorial Day weekend. Gov. Jim Pillen had issued a ban on open burning May 9, but that order ended at midnight Tuesday.
"Nebraska has received the benefit of significant rain in the past few weeks, especially in areas where it has been needed most," Pillen said. "In consultation with the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, I'm comfortable letting the ban lapse at this time."
At the present time there will be no active burn bans across the state. Still, Pillen urged Nebraskans to use caution with any open fires and observe all recommended guidance for managing controlled burns going forward.
I also talked with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission office in Lincoln to see if there were any burn bans still in effect for NGPC properties.
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They indicated that no bans are in place at this time. At any state park or wildlife management area. However, local emergency management agencies can issue localized fire bans if conditions would dictate it.
Regardless of whether there are "official" fire bans in place, always be careful with fire. Only make fires in designated areas in state park areas.
If you are making a campfire in more open areas, keep your campfire small and contained. You don't need a bonfire to fry up a few eggs.
Smaller fires are better for cooking and easier to control. Keep a bucket of water handy. I've done this for years and used it to put the campfire out when I was done and to cool burned fingers after I touched a hot pan. Just be careful out there!
Even though the fire bans have been lifted, there is a way to have a hot meal in camp and not have an open fire. The RockPot is like a crock pot but requires no external power source and very portable.
The secret is a ceramic-like disc that you heat up and put in the bottom of the unit. When I had Ryan Ninow, with RockPot, on my radio show to talk about his product, I referred to it as a ceramic Frisbee. Ninow got a big laugh out of that.
You heat this disc with any heat source, on a stove in your kitchen, a camp grill or even put it in a campfire. Let the disc heat up for 30-40 minutes and place it in the bottom of the RockPot unit.
Once the disc is in place, you prepare your meal in a pot that sits over the top of the hot disc and cooks your meal. Once your disc is hot, 400 to 500 degrees, it can cook for up to five hours. Close the lid on your RockPot unit and you are cooking!
The real beauty of the RockPot is that you can make a meal in camp or cook while you travel. Get everything prepared at home, put the RockPot in your vehicle and drive to wherever you are going. It is cooking as you drive!
I'd been looking for an excuse to get my RockPot out again and create a new recipe. Here is what I'll call my easy "Special" mac and cheese:
1 lb. pasta shells (your choice)
8 oz grated parmesan cheese
8 oz cream cheese
1 lb. bacon
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1 lb. cubed ham
1 stick butter
3 cups milk
4 oz pimentos
½ cup honey
½ cup all-purpose flour
Heat your RockPot disc to at least 350 degrees. Boil the pasta shells unit they begin to turn soft. Fry the bacon until crispy and crumble.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, milk, honey, parmesan cheese, cream cheese, bacon crumbs, cubed ham and butter together (heat slightly if necessary to get them to smoothly blend).
Place the heated disc in the bottom of your RockPot. Pour your mixed ingredients into the RockPot cooking pot and place inside the unit.
Put the pimentos on top of the pasta and close the lid. Let the RockPot simmer the meal for 2-3 hours so all the flavors meld together. You can use this time to relax in camp or travel to your destination.
The RockPot is a great tool for your camping trips.
Memorial Day
Most people reading this column are at the beginning of a three-day, Memorial Day weekend. Enjoy it, be safe, but don't lose sight of what Memorial Day really means.
First, give thanks for those who are working this holiday to keep you safe -- all active-duty military personnel who may be called upon at any moment to put their lives on the line. There are those that help keep us safe at home: Law enforcement, firefighters, EMT/paramedics, doctors, nurses and power plant pperators -- just some of the people working 24/7 and not getting a holiday. Thank you!
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's dead from the Civil War by decorating their graves. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868. Waterloo, New York, was recognized by President Lyndon Johnson and both houses of Congress, as the birthplace of Memorial Day because the town decorated the graves of Civil War veterans as early as May 5, 1866.
This claim is contested by Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, which claims to have begun the practice of decorating soldier's graves in 1864.
Another source claims that two years after the Civil War, it was southern women in Columbus, Mississippi, who decorated the graves of both Confederate and Union soldiers.
Regardless of where the tradition began, it is a time to remember the veterans/heroes who have gone before us and protected this country. Say a prayer for them.
Say a prayer also for all the men and women in uniform right now. God bless them and our country. They are there to protect us so that we can enjoy ourselves, the backyard barbeques, picnics, and the long holiday weekend.
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