MARBLEHEAD, OH — Bass fishing at Lake Erie in August proved to be less than exciting on a recent trip Mary, Chance the Wonder Dog, and I made to the big water. Accommodations at Little Ted’s Cottages were outstanding as usual and so was the weather. Even though the bass apparently had no need to eat, anglers must consume food of nutritional value.

Enter a Clifford family favorite, Campfire Stew. Much like fishing secrets gleaned from other anglers, campfire stew is a stolen recipe that has been a staple since I was on the Portsmouth High School football staff right out of college. This delicious dish comes from one I will identify only as Becky to keep her true identity a mystery.

Maybe some old Trojan football players (Burrows, Duncan, Lisath, Lind, White, Eggars, Coakley) will be able to conjure up Becky’s full identity. Regardless of those recall abilities, campfire stew has fed guys on my fishing trips anywhere I could find a stove, grill, or even a campfire.

You’ll need a skillet, a large pot, a knife, a ladle, and a can opener for tools. Ingredients are one pound of ground beef (ground sirloin is even better), one can of Campbell’s Beef with Vegetables & Barley soup, a can of Campbell’s Vegetable Beef soup, a small can of sweet Golden corn, and one small can of sweet peas.

In the skillet, chop the hamburger like you were preparing it for a can of Manwich. The finer you chop it the better. Start cooking the hamburger in the skillet at the same time you start the other ingredients in the large pot.

I like one to two cans of water to go with the two cans of soup depending on how you like the consistency of your stew. Add the can of corn and can of peas to the soup after draining the liquid contents of both cans. Once the hamburger is done, dump it in the soup and stir it up.

COACHING POINT: Drain the grease off the hamburger before adding it to the soup pot. I use ground sirloin because there is much less grease in the skillet.

Cook the combined contents until you’re ready to eat. To make your campfire stew even better, pour it over a heavily buttered slice of bread. SON!!!

You can add things to your own campfire stew like diced onions, an extra can of soup or more veggies. Campfire stew has played well everywhere from Lake Conroe in Texas with Rich Carter to Lake St. Clair with Mike Baughman or my son-in-law, Jeff Smith.

The principles of coaching I learned on that first job as an assistant coach at P.H.S. were put to rest when I retired in 2004, but Becky’s campfire stew is still in a starting role anytime one of my fishing wanderings involves an overnight trip. Fix it for your fishing buddies and don’t forget to say, …

Thank you, Becky, wherever life and time has taken you.