how to cook like flask: pot of slop

we went camping this weekend in the northeast kingdom. for dinner i made a pot of slop.

i know, that sounds totally delicious, so i will tell you how to make it.

ingredients:

several slices of bacon
a large onion, chopped
carrots? are there carrots in your fridge? great. chop them.
some soaked beans. or canned. doesn't really matter what kind. beans. i used black eyed peas.
some kind of stock, or water and bouillon cubes.
diced potato
cut vegetables. i just tossed in some frozen veg mix i had in the freezer. doesn't matter.
fresh spinach
cheese. any kind will do.

to prepare:

you've remembered to soak the beans, right? ok, good.

cut up the bacon. you can leave it whole, but it's easier to cook down in your pot if the pieces are small. cook it until the fat is rendered and the bacon is cripsy. then fish the bacon out with a slotted spoon and set it aside.

toss your onion and the fresh carrots into the pot to cook down in the bacon grease. now is also a good time to put in some spices. i used a little slat and pepper (more pepper than salt) and whatever was left in an old packet of fajita mix that was half used up.

when the onions are soft and just beginning to brown, put in a bunch of water and some bouillon cubes, or if you have it, some kind of stock. also add the beans. if you're starting with large chunks of raw potato, add those now. if like me, you're using frozen cut potatoes (because camping. i'm in a hurry here) let the beans cook a while (until just a little harder than you want them to be when you're done) and then add the potatoes and frozen vegetables.

cook them until everything is hot again and the potatoes have your desired amount of doneness. if you overdo the potatoes nobody will really care because it's for camping and it will still be nutritious and delicious and filling. it will just be like wallpaper paste.

toss in some spinach leaves and let them wilt in there. then remove the pot and either stir in the cheese and let it melt, or (my preference) sprinkle grated cheese liberally over the top.

there ya go.

works great if you put a bunch of slop in a heavy duty ziploc and pack it. add the spinach and cheese at camp.

we're fancy now.