This Weber potato bake recipe is so easy to make and so delicious, we’re not sure why we waited so long to try it!
Perfect for a chilly night camping, the hardest part is having to wait while it cooks on the BBQ!
Being vegetarians, we added mushrooms in place of bacon, however you really could add any veggie or meat of your liking. Have you tried a potato bake on your BBQ? Let us know in the comments.
Ingredients
Olive Oil(we use the spray kind)
5-6 small to Medium white/salad potatoes (cut into thin slices)
4-5 eschallots (cut into thin slices)
5-6 mushrooms (cut into thin slices)
500g grated cheese (we use a pizza blend)
Mixed dried herbs
Tsp crushed garlic
300ml thickened cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Set up your Weber for indirect cooking with convection tray and trivet and heat for 10-15 minutes on high.
Cover the base and sides of your cooking dish with a light spray of olive oil.
Place potato slices onto the bottom of the tray, covering as much of the bottom as possible.
Sprinkle eschallots and mushrooms evenly over the potatoes.
Add a light sprinkling of dried herbs, followed by a good covering of grated cheese.
Add a second layer of potato slices, followed by eschallots, mushrooms and a light sprinkling of dried herbs. Do not add a second layer of cheese.
Evenly pour the thickened cream over the potatoes, saving a small amount in the bottle.
Add a teaspoon of crushed garlic to the remaining cream and mix well, before pouring over the potato mixture.
Season with salt and pepper and cover with a sheet of aluminium foil.
Reduce the heat of the Weber to medium and bake for 30 minutes (we set a timer!)
Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes (again set a timer!)
For the final stage, add another good helping of grated cheese evenly over the top of the potatoes and bake for another 30 minutes (or until cheese is golden brown).
During a recent visit to the Charleville WW11 Secret Base we discovered the story of the soldiers fruit cake and were inspired to learn more about this war time tradition.
With their loved ones scattered all over the country and world, holding together the front lines against enemy forces, the symbol of this simple fruit cake became one of love, hope and comfort. Wives and mothers all across Australia would bake their family fruit cake in what was known at the time as a Willow cake tin, bundle it up in calico and send it through the post to their solider.
History tells that many of these cake tins travelled hundreds of miles across Australia and the world, back and forth between the war and the safety of the soldier’s home town.
Ingredients
750g bag mixed fruit (or individual portions of currants, raisins, sultanas, Glaće cherries, dates, mixed peel etc)
125ml Brandy
250g butter
300g sugar
6 large eggs
375g flour
Tsp baking powder
Tsp mixed spice
100g flaked almonds
Instructions
Set up your Weber for indirect cooking at a low heat.
Line a deep cake tin with greaseproof paper.
Combine your dried fruit in a bowl and cover with Brandy. Leave or as long as desired (or overnight).
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.
Add sifted flour, baking powder and spice into butter and egg mixture. Mix well.
Add Fruit mixture and nuts, stir well.
Spoon cake mixture into prepared tin and bake for 3-4 hours on a very low heat.
Tips
If you don’t want to use alcohol, apple juice works well in place of the Brandy.
Once cooked, leave your cake to cool in the tin, wrap well in foil and store in an air-tight container.
We found the lowest Weber heat setting was still cooking the cake too quickly, which resulted in a slight burning of the bottom and sides. To avoid this, wrap your cake tin in a couple of layers of foil to protect the bottom and sides during cooking.
We recently had the great pleasure of filming an episode with the fantastic crew from Channel 7’s hit lifestyle TV show, Creek to Coast. If you haven’t seen the program, be sure to check it out on Saturday’s at 5.30pm or stream online via 7plus.com.au. During that time we were able to put one of our easy camping meals to the test.
We caught up with Sally Jenyns, Creek to Coast resident chef, who showed us her version of a Greek Seafood Saganaki, an all-in-one-dish taste sensation!
So where better than the world’s largest sand island, K’Gari Fraser Island, to give this fantastic recipe a go! With only a handful of ingredients and only one dish required, not only is this a super easy meal to make on the go, it’s also a super easy cleanup (which is always a winner in our opinion!).
Ingredients
Dash olive oil
Thinly sliced brown onion
Thinly sliced fennel bulb
Thinly sliced garlic clove (or teaspoon of crushed garlic)
1 can of tinned diced tomatoes
Sliced kalamata olives
Fresh white fish, cut into bite sized pieces (we use Snapper)
1 fresh squid sleeve, cut into bite sized pieces and scored
Fresh prawns
Feta cheese
Fennel leaves for garnish
Instructions
Using your Weber frypan, fry off onion, fennel and garlic in olive oil.
Add tinned tomatoes and kalamata olives and stir, cook for a few minutes.
Add your seafood – fish, prawns and then squid – and cover with the tomato sauce. Close Weber lid and cook for a few minutes.
When your seafood is cooked, sprinkle dish with crumbled feta and serve immediately.
Dress with fennel leaves and enjoy! Yum!
K’Gari Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island
The Outback had been calling us for some time, and with Queensland #GoodToGo we decided there was no time better than now to hit the road and head way out west. As a destination Outback Queensland is huge, and is divided into four regions. Having a 3 week window we decided it would be best to focus our exploration on only one region, so as not to rush our experience, and spent the majority of our time immersing ourselves at Winton in the Central West.
What we discovered was an incredibly epic landscape and dramatic contrast to the coastal regions of Australia we have previously spent so much time. We visited world class tourism attractions, quirky art installations and connected with the true blue Aussie characters that make Winton such a vibrant Outback town. Here’s our Top 3 Must Do experiences:-
1. Go on a Dinosaur Discovery
No matter what your age you will love discovering dinosaurs in Winton! Home to Australia’s largest collection of dinosaur fossils, and the world’s only known dinosaur stampede trackways, the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum and Lark Quarry National Monument are not to be missed. With new attractions opening from 2021 including a Natural History Museum and Dark Sky Observatory, this amazing experience will be as epic as the dinosaurs who once roamed this very land.
Rich in history, Winton is famously known as the birthplace of Australia’s unofficial anthem, Waltzing Matilda. Penned by A.B (Banjo) Patterson in 1895 while visiting a cattle station near town, Winton now boasts the first museum in the world dedicated entirely to a song, the impressive and world-class Waltzing Matilda Centre. Interactive and immersive, the museum offers a fantastic experience for every age and tells the story of Waltzing Matilda, Winton and Queensland’s Outback region.
3.Take In The Vision Splendid Of An Outback Sunset
Epic landscapes mean big skies, and there’s nothing quite like watching the sun transform a rugged and ancient land through its ever changing dusk colours. Winton boasts a number of incredible vantage spots to enjoy a spectacular Outback sunset, including the Rangelands where natural erosion has created channels to explore through giant rock formations. Part of a private property and working cattle station, joining a tour is the only way to experience this fascinating mesa.
New episodes of our Family Travel Australia series are released on YouTube every Sunday 6.30pm (AEST), with weekly Podcast episodes airing Friday’s at 8.30pm (AEST).
With Queensland #GoodToGo we have recently enjoyed our second visit to the spectacular Capricorn Region. We have absolutely fallen in love with this part of Queensland, and we know that you will too, so we wanted to bring you our Top 10 must see, must visit experiences and destinations within the Capricorn Region.
1.Carnarvon Gorge
Hands down Carnarvon Gorge would have to be our number one destination in our first year full time on the road. This spectacular national park boasts over 298,000ha of Queensland’s central highlands. It is located about 720km by road north-west of Brisbane, and directly south west from Rockhampton on the coast. There are a number of short-walk options based around the main gorge track, with the full circuit Great Walk totalling 87km in length. Many of the short walks are very accessible and great for families. There is a rich Indigenous history, and that was one of the major highlights for us. The ochre stencils at Carnarvon are some of the finest examples of this type of Aboriginal imagery in Australia.
Other highlights include the towering sandstone cliffs of the Amphitheatre, the Indigenous Art Gallery showcasing rock wall art believed to be over 3500 years old, the Moss Garden with its waterfall and lush rainforest, and Wards Canyon was breathtakingly beautiful and a cool relief from the 38 degree day when we trekked in. Ancient king ferns grow beside
the crystal clear waters of the Carnarvon Creek, and the area is brimming with wildlife. We were lucky enough to even spot a platypus where we camped at Takarakka Bush Resort. Carnarvon Gorge is an absolute must and the number one destination to put on top of your bucket list.
2.Pumpkin Island
Pumpkin Island is located on the spectacular Southern Great Barrier Reef and is Australia’s best kept secret! The island is located 14km off the Yeppoon coast, with Yeppoon about 650km north of Brisbane and 1100km south of Cairns. The island is a tiny 6ha and you can literally walk around the entire island. The crystal clear turquoise waters and secluded relaxed atmosphere make for the ultimate get away from it all. There is an abundance of wildlife above and below the water, and the island is eco-friendly being recognised as Australasia’s Most Sustainable Hotel. There are 7 self-catering beach cottages scattered across the island, that are all powered by the wind and the sun. The island’s Sunset Lounge was a definite highlight, and whether you are a family, a couple or even a larger group, you can hire the entire island for a special occasion.
3.Capricorn Caves
At over 400 million years in the making, Capricorn Caves are an awe inspiring example of nature at its finest. Located an easy 30 minute drive north of Rockhampton, the caves boast the highest concentration of fossils found anywhere in the world. They offer a number of different tour experiences that cater for every member of the family including daily wheelchair-accessible guided cave tours, wild caving adventures that had our hearts racing and Paul’s knees a little jelly, and abseiling down through the caves for the very brave! Onsite accommodation options include self-contained cabins, the Lodge, and a great bush camp with powered and unpowered sites for tents, caravans and motorhomes, and there is even a pool for those extra hot days.
4.Rubyvale Miners Heritage | Sapphire Gemfields
Located in Queensland’s Central Highlands, the Sapphire Gemfields are an easy 45 minute drive west of Emerald and cover almost 900 square kms. We visited Rubyvale Miners Heritage, Australia’s largest underground walk-in sapphire mine experience. We had a fantastic time trying our hand at fossicking for sapphires, and there are plenty of accommodation options including caravan parks and camping in Emerald and the surrounding areas. We stayed at a fantastic caravan park, the Lake Maraboon Holiday Village and Paul even tried his hand red clawing on the Fairburn Dam.
5.Mt Hay Gemstone Tourist Park
Located 30 minutes west of Rockhampton, Mount Hay is an internationally known destination for thunderegg fossicking and the purchase of semi-precious Australian gemstone products, cut and polished in the Mount Hay factory. This is a great family friendly fossicking experience, and there are camping and caravan sites to stay overnight. Jasper especially loved this experience and it super safe for kids to get dirty looking for their very own unique piece of treasure! Something very cool for Jasper, is that the actual gemstones within the thundereggs are referred to as Rainforest Jasper.
6.Yeppoon Foreshore
Yeppoon is the spectacular beachside accommodation hub for the region and is known as the Heart of the Capricorn Coast. If you are a travelling family Yeppoon is the perfect location to entertain the entire tribe. With a multitude of free activities including the Keppel Kracken water park and the stunning Yeppoon Lagoon, these fantastic foreshore play areas offer year round swimming with first class restaurants and cafes to keep you satisfied. You will need at least a week to relax, unwind and explore the best of this beautiful coastline.
7.Mt Archer National Park
Rockhampton’s highest peak is 604m above sea level and boasts incredible views of the entire city. It is the perfect vantage point to take in the surrounding ranges and is a wonderful location to enjoy a picnic, or take in a sunrise or sunset. The recently opened Nurim Circuit elevated boardwalk is world class, and is an easy 500m walk from the car park and showcases the best views from multiple lookouts. There is nature based playground for the kids and a number of other short bush walks. We enjoyed a toast with a glass of wine and cheese platter as a thanks and farewell for our incredible time in the region.
8.Rockhampton
Rockhampton is jammed packed with family friendly experiences! A few of our favourites include the Archer Park Rail Museum, a beautifully restored 1899 railway station and museum featuring the last remaining purrey steam tram in the world. Jasper absolutely loved this experience. We also loved visiting Kershaw Gardens, known as Rockhampton’s “big backyard”, every member of the family will love this space. There are spacious parklands, walking tracks, incredible play areas for kids, picnic areas and free BBQ’s. Another must visit is the free Zoo and adjoining Botanic Gardens. With more than 60 species of native and exotic animals the kids will love exploring the Zoo and catching some of the free keeper talks.
9.Byfield National Park
Byfield National Park is a beautiful blend of rugged mountain ranges, massive sand dunes, remote beaches and campgrounds, pine plantations and rainforest fringed creeks. Located 40km north of Yeppoon, Ferns Hideaway Wilderness Resort is a perfect base to set up camp and explore the 15,000 hectares and surrounding conservation park. Whether you want to four-wheel drive, hike, fish or walk for miles on a secluded beach, your choice of activities here are endless. We especially loved taking the Canadian canoes for a spectacular paddle down Waterpark Creek and best of all this is included free to all guests of Ferns.
10.Great Keppel Island
Great Keppel Island is a short 30-minute Fast Cat ferry ride from the Yeppoon marina and boasts 17 of Australia’s most outstanding secluded white sand beaches! With varying accommodation options on the island, The Holiday Village hosted by Geoffrey Mercer, offers self-catered ‘Budget Boutique’ accommodation for every style of traveller. From glamping tents to 1, 2 and 3 bedroom villas, or you can even pitch your own tent. Activities range from island hiking trails, fishing, snorkelling and scuba diving, or lazing under palm trees in a hammock for the day! The sounds of the crystal clear turquoise water will lullaby you to sleep in this pristine island escape! It’s definitely not Ok Keppel Island, it’s Great Keppel Island!
So there it is, our Top 10 must see, must add to your bucket list destinations within the Capricorn Region. We have loved our time here and can’t wait to visit again!
New episodes of our Family Travel Australia series are released on YouTube every Sunday 6.30pm (AEST), with weekly Podcast episodes airing Friday’s at 8.30pm (AEST).
