In the Kitchen

Apple Pie, Holidays and RVing

by Ingrid

Cooking and baking in a RV

“I could never live in a RV full-time because I’d get bored living on hot dogs and hamburgers”. Al patiently listened to this comment. Then in a somewhat perplexed tone, he looked at the guy and asked, “What are you talking about?” The guy quickly responded, “Isn’t that what you eat when you’re camping?”

easy apple pie recipe

With a chuckle, Al quickly responded by rattling off a list of meals he had enjoyed that week – all lovingly made by his dear wife …. Chicken Marsala, Shrimp Pasta Primavera, Fish Tacos with homemade guacamole, T-bone steak topped with sautéed mushrooms, Chicken Enchiladas, and of course, Hamburgers, but not just any old Blueberry Oatmeal Squareshamburger, a Hatch Chili Burger.

Then hubby went on to list a few delectable treats that he had the pleasure of devouring (also made by the love of his life). The guy was in total shock and exclaimed, “Wow, if that’s how you eat, I could live in a RV full-time. As a matter of fact, can I move in with you?” 😆

The bottom line is, if it can be made in a sticks and bricks home, it can be made in a RV. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some challenges to overcome cooking in a RV. First and foremost is the size of the RV which dictates the size of the kitchen, the size of the appliances, and the amount of storage space available. But with good organizational skills and thoughtful planning, anything is possible. Just ask my family and friends.

Game of Thrones birthday cakeLast month I baked a delicious birthday cake for my daughter, and all from scratch. No box mixes that day. Her millennial girlfriends (non RVer’s) were surprised this was all done in an RV.

According to my daughter, it seems I may have redeemed myself from last years mess of a birthday cake.

And no, I won’t be sharing a photo of that cake, too embarrassing, but she sure had fun re-posting the photo of it on Facebook. Last years cake was one of those failures in crafting –  “A” for effort and “F” for execution.

(This post contains affiliate links)  This years birthday cake was a tasty Black Forest Cake with a Game of Thrones inspired theme and actually turned out cute and tasty. My daughter is a huge Game of Thrones fan and loved the beanie baby Dragon on top. (FYI – Black Forest Cake = chocolate cake covered in chocolate frosting with a cherry filling between layers – oh, yum indeed!) Yeah, I did good creating this birthday cake, and I had fun doing it and all in the confines of my little RV kitchen.

I’ve talked many times before how social RVing and blogging can be. We’ve developed some fabulous friendships these past several years between RVing and blogging. Usually the meet ups are centered around food and beverages. Either we meet at a restaurant or preferably at someone’s home which could be a sticks and bricks or an RV, and everyone brings something to share.

sharing a dish to pass

Many of us, whether we live in a traditional house or a RV do not have family close by, and this can bring on a feeling of loneliness and even more so during the holiday season. We love and miss our family during the entire year, but especially during the holidays. Al and I have lived most of our adult lives far from extended family and have learned to adjust. We turn to friends during those times when we aren’t near family for the holidays.

Holiday journey …

I recall, the first Thanksgiving Al and I ever spent together. He was a Pilot and I a Flight Attendant for a small regional airline based in Chicago, Illinois. It was the second time we had met and worked together, and we were on a three-day trip over the Thanksgiving holiday. During those three days, we found ourselves bouncing between the cities of Chicago, New York, Omaha, Kansas City and Philadelphia.

easy apple pie recipeBy the time we landed in Philadelphia on Thanksgiving Day, it was around 4:00 in the afternoon. The entire crew was famished after a very long second day of this three-day trip.

We scoured the airport for food, but everything was closed except for a cafeteria which was also in the process of closing down. Our only choice …. Phillie cheese steak sandwiches. We’ll take’m! Not one crew member complained as we sat in silence filling our growling bellies. This was just the beginning of a blossoming romance between a Pilot and a Flight Attendant ❤

Quail

Many years and two kids later, we were living in Colorado Springs, Colorado. With extended family more than a thousand miles away, we decided to head to the mountains for the Thanksgiving weekend. I booked a hotel room in Dillon, Colorado, so the kids, who were about 12 and 14 years old at the time, could enjoy opening ski season.

Armed with walkie-talkies, we turned the kids loose on the slopes at Copper Mountain while Al and I enjoyed the comforts of a roaring fire at the base of the mountain accompanied by hot toddies.  (Al and I are certified flat-landers who have never been bitten by the skiing bug, but we encouraged our children to ski. After all, if you grow up in Colorado, you have to ski. It’s a rule 🎿 😄). Less than two hours later, we were greeted with a hysterically crying twelve-year-old daughter, whom I might add was dressed quite adorably by moi with her powder blue ski boots, matching jacket, headband and bouncing French braided pigtails … so cute, but back to the crying mess …

ColoradoThrough all her hiccuping cries, we had trouble understanding a word she said. She didn’t seem hurt and her hysterically laughing brother following behind her lead us to believe it wasn’t serious.

Once the crying and laughing subsided, we were briefed on the kids faux pas. You see, when they got off the chair lift, they took a wrong turn and found themselves going down a challenging slope with moguls. Those two young novice skiers didn’t even know what the term mogul skiing meant, let alone know how to navigate that slope. To make a long story short, there were a few wipe-outs and somersaults involved, but no injuries. Something to be thankful for!

To stem the hysteria, we gave the kids the choice of where to eat for our Thanksgiving dinner and they unanimously picked pizza at Old Chicago in Silverthorn.  Another turkey saved. Fun and memorable times!

friendship
sharing a meal with fellow RVers / bloggers – camaraderie at its finest!

For our family, it isn’t so much about the food as it is about making memories, spending time together, and being thankful. We’ve always opened our home to neighbors and friends and we’ve continued that tradition in our RVing life. Full-time RVing finds most of us many miles away from family, and this is when we reach out to our RVing and blogging community.

I’ll never forget the toast friends of ours made before sharing a Thanksgiving dinner together, “You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family.  Cheers … here’s to picking us”. 

Whether you’re spending the holiday by yourself, or sharing it with a partner, or with extended family, or even with a friend made the day before, remember to make your own holiday tradition. There are no rules …. well …. except for one ….. apple pie. For an American Thanksgiving meal, dinner can be the traditional turkey with all the trimmings, or a Phillie cheese steak sandwich, or even pizza, but you must have apple pie … it’s the American thing to do 😆

easy apple pie recipe

Easy apple pie recipe …

As I mentioned earlier, cooking and baking in a small kitchen like a RV can be a challenge. When we lived in a sticks and bricks home, I always made my apple pie from scratch, including the crust, but I have a counter top space issue in my RV, meaning I easy homemade apple piehave very little room to roll out a pie crust …. sigh!

Believe me, I’ve tried every possibility including the table and even my desk, but in all cases it was a huge pain, not to mention a mess, to try to roll out a pie crust. Don’t even get me started on trying to roll out Christmas cookies. Ah, that’s another story and another sigh.

So onto plan B which includes a store-bought frozen pie crust. Hey, when you live in a RV full-time, some sacrifices are needed, but I still insist on making as much from scratch as possible, and this pie still tastes better than any store-bought version.

Hope you enjoy this super easy apple pie recipe, and be sure to let me know if you give it a try!

Easy Apple Pie

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

easy apple pie recipeFor the crumb topping;
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 Tablespoons butter (softened)

Whisk together flour and sugar then cut in butter with a pastry cutter/blender forming crumbles. Set aside.

For the Pie and filling
1 frozen pie crust (defrosted)
3 large tart apples, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Place sliced apples in pie crust.  In a measuring cup add 1/4 cup sugar and mix in 1 to 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon. Combine well. Pour sugar cinnamon mixture over apples. Top apples with crumb topping

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.
Recipe by Ingrid @ LiveLaughRV.com

desert sunset
Arizona has the most amazing sunsets!

Apple pie, a bottle of pinot grigio, good friends, and an amazing sunset …. things to be thankful for. With that said, I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Thanksgiving. How and where will you be spending Thanksgiving?

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A few of my favorite items that you might find handy especially if you decide to make your own crust … note: these are affiliate links
Bamber Wood Rolling Pin

Check Easy Care Spillproof Table Cover for Dinning (Rectangle/Oblong, 54 x 70 Inch,

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

70 thoughts on “Apple Pie, Holidays and RVing”

  1. You are one lady with many talents, baker, cook, photographer, lovely wife and adorable mom and a great friend 🙂 And I’m impressed with the look of that birthday cake, and must be yummy too!

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  2. I tried commenting last evening but WordPress was not cooperating.

    So today is a new day!
    The apple pie looks scrumptious! That little RV is tooooo cute!

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and Al! 😊

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    1. I too have had issues connecting. Perhaps it’s internet overload with all the online shopping. Hope you two are enjoying your Thanksgiving holiday back east. But I’m sure you’ll be ready to return to our beautiful shorts kind of weather here in the desert 😁

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  3. I’m still learning to cook in my RV. It’s been a slow process. Part of the problem has been learning to cook for one. I’m eating good though. Hotdogs rarely make the menu unless there are kids and campfires involved. S’mores too.

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    1. Yep, not always fun cooking for one. I still usually cook for four even though there’s only two of us. We’ll have the leftovers the next day. And trust me, I was never a leftovers kind of person before, but I am now. It’s also convenient to freeze meals. RV living takes a little trial, error, practice, amd patience figuring out what works.

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      1. I usually cook for two. That’s eats for me for two days. I have frozen a few things to eat later. I think I’ll explore that some more. I’m also upping my outside cooking game.

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  4. Wow! You are an amazing and encouraging lady! (and great photographer) I love the cute apple pie shots with the model car+camper and the shot of you all eating with friends at the picnic table.

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  6. Enjoy your Turkey Day! It can be fun to let someone else take charge once in awhile. I’m impressed that you bake in the rv. We have only used our oven once in 3 months. But we love our new Instant Pot. We eat very well and I’ve been inventive with what’s on hand. Yum! We are in state #10 since August. We did slow down in September. Only 1800 miles since 10/25 when we left COS. Doing pie baking and Thanksgiving in our daughter’s kitchen in Georgia. From here we head to SC in December and the holiday weeks will be in Gulf Shores, AL this year on our way to AZ. Looking forward to 2 1/2 months in the AZ desert! Come April it’s either go home and house hunt or keep going to CA! We haven’t decided yet. Loving life in the slow lane.

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    1. So glad to hear you’re having a great time RVing. I’ve got my eye on an Instant Pot but my storage space is so limited I’m afraid I’ll get mad at it😆 I hear Gulf Shores is beautiful and some folks decide to stay and not move on. Keep me posted on your AZ where abouts and maybe we can meet up for drinks. Middle of January we’ll be back in Lake Havasu until the end of February (I think … plans are in jello right now). Enjoy time with your daughter!

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      1. We got the 3 qt Duo Mini which is a good size for the rv. When not in use it has it’s own spot in the bay. We debate about a toaster oven, but will try the oven we have more to see how we do. We are excited to be right on the Gulf for 2 weeks. We have friends who almost bought in AL, but they picked Hilton Head instead for the golfing. We will be in Casa Grande and then Tucson through at least March. Let me know if you get down to Phoenix. Would love to meet up. We may still be in AZ in April too until it is warm enough to head north. That is still jello. 🙂

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  8. The pie looks delicious. I believe the guy didn’t understand full timing and I categorize things like this:
    Camping – What yo do for short periods of time (W/E or week) where you probably do eat a lot of hot dogs and burgers
    RVing – What we do taking extended trips but still more like being on vacation.
    Full Timing – Living a normal life where you just happen to live in a home that allows you to easily move around and some vacation thrown in.

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  9. Great post, it reminds me once again of how similar our lives have been. This year it’s going to be a mix of family, friends and even someone from India who can’t wait to experience an American Thanksgiving, one of the daughter in laws classmates. David is making the apple pie and we’re deep frying the turkey. Happy Thanksgiving to you, Al and the kids, enjoy the holiday.

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    1. Thanks Faye and it is funny how our lives parallel each others. I know you guys will have a great time celebrating Thanksgiving and there won’t be a shortage of food. We’ll have to swing by some evening to check out your holiday lights 🤓

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    1. Thank you. And the pumpkin carving / display in Carefree, Arizona, was amazing. My pastry cutter got destroyed getting jammed in a drawer and I’ve been using a fork until I get a new one. A food processor might work also as long as you use short pulses just until crumbled.

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        1. I know you’ve been waiting for me to comment again 🙂 I did give this a try at Christmas, and I had to adjust the cooking time slightly, but this is an excellent recipe, and I will be saving it. I just wanted to stop by and thank you for sharing it.

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  11. Ahhhh, Thanksgiving and wonderful family memories!! Sounds like you all have had some fantastic Thanksgivings to remember!!
    We are heading back to Auburn tomorrow to have Thanksgiving with our son! I have always cooked but this year we are eating at the Marriott Grand National in Auburn! Our son works for the food service at Auburn University and that weekend is the BIG game….Iron Bowl with Auburn vs Alabama! I will be making desserts for us so I will give the apple pie a try!! I’ll let you know how I do!!
    Happy Thanksgiving to you guys!! Make some more great memories!!

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    1. Sounds like you’ll be having one heck of a good time along with some delicious food. My mom used to say, “The food tastes better when I don’t have to cook”. You’ll have to keep us posted on that. Enjoy a relaxing and fun holiday.

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  13. I love get togethers with new and old friends. When we were sailing, many spontaneous or last-minute events happened on our boat, with Thanksgiving and Christmas being the biggest ones. When there were Americans around, we’d share our meals and home during Thanksgiving. When not, Mark and I would have leftovers for a week. Full disclosure: Turkey is not easily found in remote islands, so we often roasted a chicken instead. The one thing our current RV needs is an oven. But, we just don’t have the space for it!

    Happy Thanksgiving, Al and Ingrid! As for us, this year, we have just been invited by a blogger-turned-friend for dinner on Thursday!

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    1. Thank you Liesbet. I’m sure turkey would be impossible to find outside of the U.S. I quite often stick to making a chicken as well. It’s what my family prefers. We love sharing the holidays with friends. Enjoy!

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  15. I love cooking when on the road too Ingrid. I used to carry a camp oven with us, but it was heavy, and we had to minimise weight, so out it went. Some of the food that came out of that camp oven – roasts, stews, scones, bread, and yes, even apple pies. Either cooked over a fire pit, or sometimes we’d just dig a hole in the sand on a beach and get some heat beads going to put the camp oven on. Hamburgers and hot dogs are ok too, but for us they’re occasional things. I wouldn’t want to live on them all the time.

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    1. Wow, seems like you had the outdoor cooking thing all figured out. Sometimes it just takes practice and a willingness to adjust. I’ll admit, I do get a bit frustrated with the small kitchen from time to time, but I’m not ready to be saddled with a stationary home …. just yet anyway ☺

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  16. I seriously don’t know how you do it. I cannot bake anything in my convection oven. It has not once baked anything evenly. I’ve cried “uncle” & thrown in the towel. Also, it’s such a pain to clean. I cover most everything I can to protect against splatters but still they do occur. Nothing I’ve tried cleans it back to its original shine, something I know is necessary for a convection to cook well. And let’s not even talk about the gas oven that also doesn’t cook evenly although it has an oven brick in it, doesn’t get hot enough, and that I have to either stand on my head or lay on the floor to light. 🙄 Such is the RV lifestyle.

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    1. Well, I don’t have a convection oven, just the basic microwave, and as far as the little propane oven, I love mine. I have the wire rack set in the middle slot and I’ve lit the pilot light so many times that it’s become easy. The dial seems to have a lot of play in it though and an oven thermometer comes in handy. I was bound and determined to make living in the RV as close to living in a sticks and bricks which includes the way I bake and cook. I can bake better in my RV at an elevation of 2,000 feet than I could in my sticks and bricks home in Colorado Springs at 6,800 feet. I found it almost impossible to bake at high elevation 🙃

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        1. I picked up an inexpensive basic oven thermometer at Walmart and it really helped. This is how I learned about the huge amount of play in that dial.

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    1. That’s the beauty of homemade …. you get to leave out the ingredients you don’t like and add ones you do. I’m always tweaking recipes. Love these Arizona sunsets!

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  18. What a wonderful article. I grew up in Vermont and have never been on a pair of skies, cross country or downhill. You are an inspiration as I plan to go RVing at least half time. Thank you for your articles and for sharing your experiences.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. RVing part-time is ideal. We have dear friends who went full-time for all of 6 months before buying another sticks and bricks house. They love their out and back trips with their Class C. We all find what works for us, and that may mean not slapping on a pair of skies 😉

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  19. Diana just made us a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner in our RV kitchen, Ingrid. We prefer to do that before the holiday, so we can watch the parades (and the Lions) on actual Turkey Day. 🙂

    Have you ever tried Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour? We love it!

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    1. Sounds like you have a good plan … yum! No, I haven’t tried Cup4Cup. I don’t need to eat Gluten free. I did for a while as I was dealing with some health issues and working through my food sensitivity list. I still try to stick to a Paleo guideline of 80/20. Seems to work for me.
      I went on the Cup4Cup website and couldn’t find an ingredient list. A lot of Gluten free products use rice and that’s a food I have to avoid… sigh!

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  20. We had to travel to be with family over the holidays. Eventually, Bill became a self taught Chef and everyone wanted him to cook the Thanksgiving meal. Fortunately we were now where people wanted to travel to be with us (Florida). Two years ago, he was able to cook for our daughter’s mother in law and her husband (and of course our son in law and the grandsons). What a hit! But then, last December, Bill had to radically change how he eats. As we planned where to be for this Thanksgiving, our son-in-law sheepishly asked if we were planning on being there (that is where he cooked – not how he likes to cook, but he has adapted to our daughter’s kitchen since he helped design it and set it up). You see, he’s not really a fan of how we now eat….We’ve agonized over this year’s meal….we’ve decided to make it a travel day and not burden anyone. Our daughter is devastated as she LOVES her daddy’s new cooking style (as well has his former). I told her we will come up with a meal after we get settled back there with them….we’ll experiment a bit. But Bill’s two on demand desserts were his apple pie and pumpkin pie. He’s not eating any sugar substitutes, etc….we just don’t know how it’s going to work…..

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    1. Even though I have food sensitivities and can’t always eat what others can, we still join in. I make some of my old favorites even though I can’t eat them I enjoy making them for others. Living life with a restricted diet is as restrictive as you make it. It hasn’t changed or held me back, it’s just a tad different for my personal journey. You’ll figure it out!

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      1. Thanks! He’s done quite well. But he’s a former smoker and knows he just has to hold one and he’d be back at it! He’s not enjoying cooking for others. He can’t imagine making his Apple pie and not having a slice! He only enjoys cooking to feed us! But if someone wants to eat “our” way, he’ll be happy to do it! 😳

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  21. Kevin’s parents are joining us for Thanksgiving in the RV this year… It’s gonna be a fun challenge… or a trip to a Chinese restaurant. One or the other…. 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving!!

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    1. Oh, that’ll be fun! And if it ends up being Chinese food, it’ll make for a memorable day as well as an entertaining blog post. Enjoy the visit, wonderful weather, fabulous beach, and whatever food is available 🙂

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  23. Last year we were parked at a casino for Thanksgiving, and they cooked a turkey dinner. Not sure what we’ll be doing this year. It’s always a surprise!

    Loved your skiing story. Taking a wrong turn down a mogul-infested slope is also a requirement for growing up in Colorado 😉

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    1. And the following Thanksgiving, I lost my daughter at Crested Butte for two hours when she took a wrong turn off the lift. Thank goodness for good Samaritans who turned her over to ski patrol. I credit that girl for my gray hair 😆
      My kids are in charge of Thanksgiving this year and we’ll going to some relative of my future daughter-in-law somewhere in Scottsdale. Should be interesting!

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  25. We have been on the road for a few Thanksgivings. This year we will wait to leave until after Thanksgiving,as our granddaughter won’t be home from college until the day before and we want to see her. On the road, I cheat…Crockpot turkey wings and legs, Stove Top Stuffing, instant gravy, Ore Ida instant mashed potatoes (which are wonderful), and frozen corn..No desert for us. Instead, a Bailey’s over ice… Have a wonderful turkey day this year…Hope to run across (not literally, of course) you and Al on the road sometime.!

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    1. Yeah, I too have resorted to those convenience foods while cooking in the RV. Makes life so much easier. Totally understand why you’d want to hang around Sandwich until after the holiday.
      I’m still bummed about not going to Texas this winter. I thought for sure you and I could’ve arranged a happy hour get together. You’ll have to say ‘hi’ to the birds for me!

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  26. Great article as we are looking to start the RV lifestyle next year when hubby joins me in retirement.
    One of the “must haves” in the RV we purchase is a real oven for baking since I love it so much.

    Thanks for your Apple pie recipe, but also would love to know what kind of bars (prune, maybe???) you featured in a photo, and have the recipe for those too, if you have one. They looked delicious too!

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    2. Awesome! Be sure and let me know if you blog about your journey. I’d love to follow. I too would not consider a RV that did not have a traditional oven. I have friends that love their micro/convection oven, but I know that we would be a challenge for me.

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  27. You had me at Apple Pie! Barb makes an incredible apple pie, I think we had 3 this year while at the farm in ND. They have 2 apple trees so we have to take advantage of them.
    I think we have figured out the oven in our rig, we installed ceramic tiles to distribute the heat evenly. The convection oven is another story altogether, still a work in progress,,,,,

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    1. Yeah there’s a learning curve to baking in the RV but I think I finally have a handle on it. Come to think of it, there’s a learning curve to this whole RVing thing 😆 Apples pick fresh off the trees? Doesn’t get much better – the best!

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  28. I’ve never been into cooking, but we do have to eat. The instantpot has been good for me, I love it for cake and cheesecake. And other stuff. How do you keep the bottom of stuff from overclocking in the rv oven? I have that problem all the time.

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    1. Wow, baking in the InstantPot? If it weren’t for a storage space issue, I would’ve already bought one. I hear rave reviews about them all the time.
      I checked your art show schedule. You won’t be in Cave Creek this year? I always love stopping by and seeing your beautiful creations!

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