Friday, July 11, 2008

Camping Meal Ideas?


We went camping this week and had a wonderful time. We ate like barbarians! Twenty-first century barbarians. I have a hard time coming up with ideas to make/eat when we go camping. We always have a couple of standard meals: chili dogs (see above picture for how we make them), toasted cheese sandwiches and tomato soup made on the Coleman stove, and we always take bagels/cream cheese/lunch meat for lunches. There has got to be more and better meals for camping!!

So, I'm depending on the kindness of strangers, and I'm asking you all - What do you make when you go camping? Here's what you need to know. We always have a campfire, we have a Coleman two burner stove, we have a griddle that fits on top of the stove and we have a big dutch oven. Given that, what should I make? We are going camping again at the end of August and I'm going to take different food! So help me out - what do you take camping?

Jill

70 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.camprecipes.com/recipelist-category-Dutch-Oven-Dishes-11

Trying Traditional said...

We usually wrap up a hamburger patty, chopped onions, butter, carrots, and seasonings (salt, pepper, and cayenne) into foil double layered and stick under the coals at the edge of our campfire. Takes about an hour or so depending on how hot the coals are.
We also take a crockpot sometimes...cheating, maybe but a gals gotta feed her family!

MommaofMany said...

I cheat, too.

I make up a big pot of spaghetti (with salad mac instead of messy long noodles) and a pot of beef stew. These warm easily when camping! Add hamburgers and hot dogs, there's four days of camping meals.

Breakfast is often homemade oatmeal, granola cereal or pancakes. Cold cereal if we are camping when it's really hot.

Lunch is sandwiches. I'm not creative with lunch. :)

Leah said...

you should pick up some pudgie pie makers and you can make basically anything...hot sandwiches, apple pies, pizza...whatever!

rk.weinert said...

Ok, Jill, camp cooking I have done numerous times and are a big hit. We picked up an inexpensive small grill, but before that we just brought along a grill to put over the campfire area and threw some briquets under it. The first night out we have done kebobs prepared and skewered at home, just throw them on the grill. We generally have cold nacho on our second day. For this I brown my hamburger before leaving home and then assemble in camp. If I'm way organized I assemble before we leave in a large tupperware and keep on ice, but this takes up precious cooler space. Layers: refried beans, browned hamburger, sour cream mixed with taco seasoning, olives, diced tomatoes, topped with shredded cheese. Scoop up and enjoy with tortilla chips. Near the end of our trip when ice is running low we end with Dinty Moore Stew and biscuits. We love the stew and it can wait in the can all week for you. At home I would make biscuits, but for camping I generally take some hardier rolls that pack better. We also have spaghetti somewhere during our camping. I pre-brown the hamburger for this ahead of time, too, then just heat up with spaghetti sauce and cook the noodles. Yummo!
Karen W.

Jill said...

Karen - These are GREAT ideas! I love the layered nachos, I take them for parties and potlucks all the time and they would work great camping. I also really like the idea of the kabobs, making them ahead of time is a great idea. We have done stew in the past, why haven't we done it lately? And spaghetti would be easy and fun also.

Now I know why I have you as a friend, you are full of such great ideas! Thanks tons!

Jill

Anonymous said...

Camping always seems to tap my energy stores, so I like lots of protein & carbs. Load me up with beef, venison, fish, & chicken. We sometimes bread & deep fry the meats in a dutch oven or just grill them. Pan frying also works. I prefer sausage links over bacon to go with my eggs at breakfast.

Rice or short pastas are easier to cook (and clean up) in camp than long pasta. Potatoes are always great, whether I'm starting with whole potatoes & slicing them for skillet fries, or using frozen hash brown patties for breakfast.

If you're backbacking & need to keep cook times/prep work to a minimum, simply mix it all in foil & add to the campfire coals: wrap up some sausage or hamburger with veggies & potatoes in foil and cook it on the coals.

Anonymous said...

Roast a hot dog over the fire the traditional way, then when it's done, leave it on the stick. Poke 3 toothpicks through the hot dog (each end and the middle) and wrap a slice of uncooked bacon around the hot dog using the exposed ends of the toothpicks to secure it to the dog. Cook the bacon over the fire just like you did the hot dog. Now pop open a canister of crescent rolls, remove a roll and wrap it around the bacon, again using the toothpicks to hold it in place. Cook this over the fire a little further from the coals until nicely browned and cooked through. Your done! A pig-in-a blanket you can eat right off the stick. No mess! (Don't forget to remove the toothpicks before digging in.)

Unknown said...

Burritos...
We LOVE breakfast burritos!!! Bake the potatos the night before in foil on the campfire. The next morning chop and fry the pot's on your griddle then cook the eggs and meat. Wrap all in the tortilla then add your favorite salsa or green chili. YUMMY!!!

Also burrito's and taco's for dinner are great.

Chicken wraps...franks sauce, blue cheese (or chedder), lettuce, etc..

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

My husband and I love fajitas when we camp. It requires a little prep work, but camping in general requires a little prep work. I pre-cook the chicken and cut the peppers and onions. Everything gets placed in ziploc bags (separately). I don't cut the lime usually until that day! Have fun. Not sure where you are located, but Lansboro in Minnesota is a great place to camp. Very little to no mosquitos. Great biking and views that are goregous!!:)

jaylaluck said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
kristina said...

Hello! When we go camping I cook top ramen noodles most of the way then fry them with the seasoning,(like your local fair noodles),I will usualy serve it with kilbsa and corn on the cob with garlic butter yummm!!

Anonymous said...

Keilbasa with baked potatoes and corn on the cob is always a favorite for me. wrap the potatoes in foil and throw them on the coals. leave the husks on the corn-soak them in water for about a half an hour first then you can throw them on the coals as well. as for the keilbasa you can either throw it on the grill or on a stick over the fire-up to you

Anonymous said...

We like to make a Low Country Boil, Take a big pot to put over the fire or on your coleman stove. Pick up a pack of crab boil and add to water and bring to a boil. The great thing is you can add what you like, first I throw in some new potatoes, cook 15 min, then I add sausage let cook, corn on the cobb, and shrimp last. Let it come back to a boil after each item then spread out some old newspaper on the table, pour out the water and dump everything in the middle and just dig in. Easy clean up and the kids love it.

Anonymous said...

We have two meals that are a favorite. The first we call Hobo Stew. We boil russet potatos cut in half, corn on the cob cut in half, and kilbasa sausage. We just boil these 3 items in a huge pot. Its delish. The second we call walking tacos. we take the small bags of doritos and crunch them up then put whatever taco items we like inside of the chip bag and eat with a fork.

Anonymous said...

Found a great recipe for ziploc omelettes. Just put a large pot of water on to boil. Chop up things such as ....ham, bell peppers, onion, and shreddded cheese. Give everyone a freezer quart size ziploc bag. Have everyone put their name on their bag. Add two eggs to each bag. Mix. Then have everyone add whatever remaining ingredients they want to their bag. Get all the air out of bags and seal. Place in pot of boiling water and boil for 13 minutes. Then serve. No mess, no grease omelettes. You can place 6-8 omelettes in the pot at once. Yum!

Unknown said...

Walking taco's are always a good hit with our kids. Give the kids each there own zip lock baggie. Let them fill it with taco toppings, taco meat and Doritos of choice. They can shake the baggie mixing all the ingredients together. They can either eat it with a fork right out of the baggie or put on plates. it is a fun camping tradition of ours.

Anonymous said...

Italian Beef in the crock pot. It has three ingredients-a roast, dry Italian seasoning packet and a jar of banana peppers. Put all ingredients in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours and shred the meat with a fork toward the end of cooking. It is best on a crusty roll with provolone cheese. YUM!!!!

Amy Kuntz said...

We like Pita Pizzas!

You'll need a pack of pita bread, a jar of pizza sauce, a package of shredded mozzarella, and your favorite toppings (our fav's are pepperoni, olive/mushroom, and Canadian bacon/pineapple)....all those things are available prepackaged and ready to use, therefore easy to pack. You'll also need a carton of foil.

Sread each pita round with sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and add your toppings. Cover each with a "tent" of foil, put over the coals of a campfire, and warm them up until the cheese melts and voila! Everyone has their own made-to-their-heart's-content pizza!

If you don't (or can't) have a campfire, you could do this using a camp stove and a skillet with a lid instead.

Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

Here are some ideas for you to use that we use.

1. If you have or buy a Coleman Camp Stove Toaster then you can make toast. It works awesome and is quick, tastes just like out of a toaster. Add eggs and bacon and/or sausage.

2. Instant oatmeal (add water kind)
3. Pancakes (just add water mix)
4. Bagels and cream cheese
5. Cereal bars or poptarts

Lunch/Dinner Ideas are as follows: 1. PB&J sandwiches
2.lunch meat sandwiches or wraps
3. Baked beans with sliced hot dog mixed in (don't forget can opener)
4. Regular hot dogs/hamburgers
5. Stew
6. Pita Pizzas
7. Nachos
8. Tacos
9. BBQ chicken (or steak, whatever)
10. Jambalaya (use boxed and just add water and meat, fast/easy)
11. opt out hotdogs and use sausage
12. Grill fish and seafood
13. Kebobs with whatever you want
14. Fajitas

Sides/Add Ons

1. Chili cheese fries - get some french fries or cut up potatoes into fries and place in tin foil, add chili sauce and shredded cheese. Wrap foil tightly and cook over fire/on grill till fries are done. Eat out of foil or serve.

2. Loaded Baked potatoes (wrap in foil and cook till done) with toppings such as sour cream, bacon

Snacks is probably the easiest thing: Trail mixes, chips, fruit salads, s'mores, cookies, veggies and ranch dressing for dipping, etc


-- Kristina from Florida

If u want more ideas or have questions, email me kristina1059 @ hotmail.com (no spaces)

Anonymous said...

We just broke out the camping gear today and started organizing. We LOVE camping! Here are some meals that we always cook and enjoy. I want to stress to you that I am an organizer, can't go on one camping trip without being organized.

We do the foil packages as someone else has mentioned. I chop chicken in chunks and whatever veggies we decide on at home. We add seasoning and throw on the fire. Kids of all ages love doing these and all of the prep is done at home. The hardest part is remembering were you put yours on the fire.

We always do burgers the first night as the frozen patties tend to thaw in the cooler.

I make lots of side items at home. I buy frozen corn on the cob, boil it at home so I can grill. I also cube raw golden potatoes and place them in a steam bag and microwave them at home, that way all I have to do is heat them up for whatever meal I choose.

I also take lots of egg beaters instead of cartons of eggs. I use the potatoes with seasonings and add eggs for a breakfast meal. sometimes I bring soft taco totillas to make breakfast tacos.

In my opinion, most all of the prep should be done at home. Well planned meals makes for a a great trip.

Anonymous said...

My favorite camp food is sloppy joes - it is the easiest thing to make. Add a bag of chips and dip and/or potato, mac salad or coleslaw, and it's perfect.

Anonymous said...

In reply to the person who boils ziploc bags. I went to the official ziploc site which states that boiling ziploc bags is dangerous and should never be done!

Anonymous said...

boo who!!

Angie M said...

Re the person who found that ziplock doesn't recommend boiling food in their freezer bags, why not opt for the aluminum foil bags instead (fold over the top many times to seal) or the clear chicken roasting bags (the ones that "keep your oven clean") which are meant to be heated. I love the idea and will be trying that one for sure this summer!

Anonymous said...

If you have the Food Saver brand vacuum sealer you can use their bags in boiling water instead of the ziploc bags. You would have to prepare the bags at home so you could seal them. I am loving all the great food ideas, I now have lots more to work with thanks everyone.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for all the ideas. I have to day you are all very creative and gave me wonderful insight, and I did not even post the question!

Anonymous said...

Jill, anything you cook at home you can cook camping. That being said simple is sometimes best. Try this Scout website for easy and good ideas.
http://www.scoutorama.com/recipe/

Sometimes you just have to have inspiration from others. have a great time I'm heading out now!

Laura said...

Jill, this is great. I found your blog after posting the same question on facebook. We're on our 2nd camping trip on the West Coast with 4 kids - this time with a pop up and that ziploc omelet recipe made us laugh but is definitely part of the deal. Coupled with the meal planner downloads we found, we are getting excited, http://www.camping-tips.com/meal_plan.html

Anonymous said...

I have made the ziploc omelets MANY times and they are delicious. Write your name on the baggie with a sharpie and then no guess work on whos is whos.

Anonymous said...

I didn't ask the question, but googled looking for the answer and found this - great ideas everyone thank you so much. does anyone know where to buy powdered eggs (the kind you can make scrambled eggs with) - our bulk store does not carry them. thought they would be good for later on in the vacation when the everything in the cooler is dwindling down

Anonymous said...

My current favorite camping meal is Taco Salad. I make the meat/bean mixture at home, freeze it and pack it in the cooler. By the time we're ready to eat Taco Salad, it has thawed. All I have to do at camp is mix everything together. It's so good!!

Here's the recipe:

http://www.complete-family-camping-guide.com/best-camping-recipes.html

Ben and Carissa said...

We're heading out this weekend for a camping trip and I found your blog - great ideas that I will use for sure. As a fellow blogger, I must say how fun it is that you posted this question in 2008 and comments just keep on coming!! Love it! I now want to see if I can come up with a great question that will be discussed by strangers for years to come!!

The Perkster said...

The week before our trip (I coordinate into our meals), I make a big pot of crock pot chili. And cook a whole chicken in the crock pot, too.

I freeze the chili (after we had our supper of course). I shred the leftover chicken and freeze that, too.

I bring some bags of Fritos for the chili. Just heat the chili up in a pan over the fire. Then scoop out some chili into a Fritos bag and add some shredded cheddar cheese and/or sour cream. All you need is a fork!

As for the chicken, depending on how much we have left over, we have chicken salad sandwiches and/or chicken tacos.

We're going camping next week and was looking for some breakfast ideas. Can't wait to try the omelet in a bag!

Anonymous said...

We do fun stuff. Tacos in a bag. Cook taco meat ahead of time & reheat on stove, open bag squish dorittos/corn chips, add toppings. Kids love eating out of bag. Easy clean-up.
Jiffy-pop popcorn is always a hit. Cook over camp stove (not open fire)
Hobo meals - burger, onion, potatos,vegetables, cream soup. Wrap in foil bake. Taco version- burger, refrigerator hash browns, corn, nacho cheese soup, taco seasoning. Endless possibilities. Easy cleanup.
Marinated steak- Italian dressing, minced garlic, worchestor sauce, dry white wine (optional) Make night ahead, place in storage bag. I double bag. Eat first night.
Marinated chicken. 1/4 c. Soy sauce, 1/4 c. Honey, 2 TBS to 1/4 c. Oil, 2 tsp. Minced garlic. Have marinade ready in storage bag. Add chicken morning you grill. I use 4 chicken
breasts split in half to make 8 cutlets
Baked pies- butter bread, press into long handled press,
add pie filing of choice. Bake over open fire. Don't forget
the reddi whip!
Christina's Cantina :D

Leigh said...

I use my portable gas stove and a dutch oven to cook roasts in even when I can't have a fire.

The roast is put in a foil container which then sits in the oven.

The oven goes onto the stove and the flame is put down to its lowest setting. (preheat the oven with the flame on high for a few minutes first) chuck your fave veges in and leave for a couple of hours.

Just like a roast at home and much easier than mucking about with hot coals. Yum!

theresa in SC said...

I am the chief cook when we go camping, whether it is just the family or a group of families. We have a pop-up camper, so I try to do alot of the work before leaving home. My camper is stocked with a crockpot, a fry daddy, an electric frying pan, a griddle, and just a saucepan or two, a frying pan, and we carry a charcoal beer keg grill. And the camper has a 3 burner stove that hooks up to the propane.

Hamburgers - season meat and make patties before leaving home. Place in container in cooler or in freezer bags. Make sure you put wax paper between each one.
Chicken & Steaks - place in ziploc bag and put marinate on. Can be done in advance and put in freezer. Pull out and place in cooler to thaw. Will keep for up to a week in ice if starting out frozen. Usually thaws in a day or two.
Make chili ahead of time, put in crockpot after breakfast and turn on low. Will be ready for lunch. Fix grilled cheese sandwiches and enjoy.
Ribs - season, wrap in several layers of saran wrap, then 3-4 layers of HD foil. Cook on hot grill for 2 - 3 hours, depends on the size and temp of grill. Will be the moistess ribs you have ever had.

Serve a BIG, hearty breakfast, and lunch can be just sandwiches. We usually have pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs. Always have cereal for the picky kids.

Do as much prep as you can before leaving. Chop veggies, place in small ziploc bags and place those in large bags according to meals.

We ate like kings while camping, and those around us always ask how I do it. My meals can be smelled around the campground.

Unknown said...

Great ideas! I just asked this question on fb! I'm taking my 4 children camping for the entire month of July. So I'm looking for other meals besides hotdogs! Lol!

Last August a group of us made breakfast sandwiches using cleaned out tuna cans! Line the can with bacon, ham, or whatever you prefer, then Crack an egg in the bottom, double wrap in tinfoil and throw it on the fire. Took about 30-45 minutes. Carefully unwrap, put on an English muffin(or bagel) top with cheese & enjoy!

Thunder said...

http://www.campingfoodideas.net/camping-recipes/

Unknown said...

My favorite camping food is roasted rolls. Take prepackaged biscuits, such as pilsbury, wrap around a the end of a wooden dowel. Hold out over fire like you are roasting a marshmallow. Rotate until nicely browned and cooked. Ease off the dowel and fill with anything: butter, jelly, honey, chili, lunch meats, cheese, hot dogs, etc.

Anonymous said...

You could put the eggs and additions in a vacuum sealer bag- just don't do the vacuum part as you seal them- that would make a mess! You can boil these. You can prepare a lot of things ahead and put in the bags, seal and freeze! All you need is a pot of boiling water!~

Anonymous said...

We r heading out this weekend and since my boys r not crazy about potato or macaroni salad. For them I am bringing some of those easy macs......just add boiled water....goes along great with hot dogs.

Anonymous said...

We make just about anything we make at home my favorite is the pot roast.
We took 2 avg sized chuck roast sprinkled seas salt garlic and onion powder salt and pepper. Cut up celery and a bag of pre cut fresh carrots and chopped onions and potatoes. Placed the onions at the bottom of the dutch oven put the meat on top of that and veggie on top. Cover with water and a can of beer(optional but does add to the flavor)covered with the lid. We buried the dutch oven in the coals in the fire from breakfast and placed rocks all around it and on the lid. We did this at about 10 am. Went and did our fun stuff and at about 5 we had a fabulous slow cooked pot roast dinner the meat was tender just fell apart.

Anonymous said...

I like to take my wok camping sometimes. easy big one pot meals can be made this way. I prechop all my veggies at home for stir fry and I bring precooked rice to add once the veggies are all cooked. But the best thing to do is bring frozen shrimp and cook half in boiling water for a shrimp cocktail appetizer and cook the other half in with the stir fry. woks are also great for cooking eggs.

Anonymous said...

Great ideas! Many have mentionned foil-wrapped meats, but I prefer to cook fisj this way. Good thick piece of salmon or trout, top wiith sliced onions, lemon slices, salt and pepper and a drizzle of oil. Seal in double layers of foil and cook on grill or coals (If you leave the skin on the fish, even if it sits on the coals, only the skin gets crispy which you don't eat)Same idea for a side; diced potatoes with onions, celery and garlic salt and pepper. Great with steaks or hamburgers. I can my spaghetti sauce, so provided you aren't back-packing (not glassjar recommended) it keeps room temperature so one of our last meals when the ice is gone is always spaghetti. Also, a great tip is to freeze 1 litre containers of milk/water. Will thaw gradually and be ready to use by the time the milk you brought liquid is gone. Have fun!

Chef Melissa said...

Hello there! First I want to start off by saying I'm a professional Chef, so I will try to explain & keep my ideas/recipes as basic as possible, so I don't overwhelm you.

When we go camping we usually only go no more then 4 nights, so with that being said I'm going to give you a handful of ideas, but remember, you can always pick & choose or elaborate & add to them, as much as you desire. Also because I'm a Chef, I do a lot of pre-prep, and pre-cooking, which not only makes my food taste as good as when it comes from my real kitchen, but also keeps things relatively uncomplicated (especially since I'm usually buzzed during most of our camping trip ;)

Here are some of my recipes/cooking ideas; I hope they help (you can email me directly @ Chef.Melissa.McCourt@gmail.com if you have questions).

1) BBQ Ribs:
Prepare a pot w/ 1 part liquid smoke, to 2-3 parts (depending on your smoke tolerance/preference) water. Add 1/4 of soy sauce, or a healthy 3TBS kosher salt to pot. Add pepper corns, bay leaves, crushed garlic cloves and a good amount (2-3 TBS) of paprika to the water.
Take the rack of ribs & section into 3 ribs per serving. Add to the pot, bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer.
Cover pot tightly & simmer for at least 2 hrs, but no more then 5 hrs (they will be too fall off the bone tender, you won't be able to prep them for transfer if you simmer longer).
Once they've simmered, remove from the pot, flush with running cold water for at least 10 mins, if you want them to cool down quickly (for food safety reasons),after you flush them with water, you may also put them in an ice bath to bring down the temp. Once the ribs have reach a temp 70 degrees (they must do this within 2 hrs), get a big ziplock. Place the ribs in the ziplock & add your favorite BBQ sauce and place into fridge. If you are not planning to camp/use within 4 days, you may freeze these, and use them in the future (these are perfect frozen for trips, because in the cooler they will slowly defrost on their own, and can be cooked on a 3, or 4th day of a trip).
How to cook them; since these are already cooked, you just have to BBQ them, until they reach an internal temp of 160, which should only take 20-30 mins on the grill. Add additional sauce as desired, but be sure not to use the sauce the meat was marinating in, for safety reasons.
2 be continued

Chef Melissa said...

Part 2:
2) BBQ Chicken
My family and I eat vegetarian 80% of the time in our daily lives (although being a chef, I cook meat daily), but not so much when we camp :) When we do eat chicken (which we love, but are trying to be healthier :) hence the reason we eat mostly plant based foods), we prefer bone in dark meat. This method works great with pieces, but will work as well with boneless chicken/meat as well.

Get a ziplock, fresh chicken pieces & your favorite BBQ sauce. Add chicken pieces into bag with sauce, finely diced onions, chopped garlic & black pepper, squeeze out air & either freeze (again if not using right away, or if you plan to eat later during your camping trip).
Cook on your grill/camp fire in a place where you have medium heat (if on bone), or medium high heat if boneless. I prefer cooking my boneless breasts until the reach
a temp of 150-160, and my bone in meat until they reach a temp of 155-170.

3) Marinade (to be used with veg, or kabobs, chicken or steak).
In a blender, add 1 part olive oil, to 2 parts lemon and/or lime juice, 1 part wine (optional), 10 garlic cloves, 1 1/2 TBS kosher salt, or 1/4 cup quality soy sauce, 1 tsp peppercorns. ADD any of the following; fresh parsley, fresh cilantro, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme and/or fresh basil. Blend until smooth, if too thick of a paste, you may add water in small 1/4 cup increments.

This marinade can be used for a variety of things. You can pre-prep veg, such as eggplant, zucchini, etc. and marinade (at least 2 hrs. for a good flavor in ziplock), of marinade cubed meat & veg. to be made into kabobs (remember, if you are using bamboo skewers, you must soak in water for at least 30 minutes before skewering meat & cooking).
Also can be used to marinade steaks, or steak cut into strips (See steak fajita idea below). Again, marinade as long as possible for best flavor. The meat can be pre-marinaded & frozen, but the veg cannot. You will have to marinade veg. the day of usage.

Chef Melissa said...

Fajitas, quesadillas, lunch wraps & breakfast burrito ideas:

Tortillas ROCK on camping trips...they are extremely versatile. Corn ones are great for gluten free diets, all are great for vegetarians (pretty sure OK for vegans too).

Fajitas are just julianne onions, peppers (and I personally love mushrooms too), sauteed with or with out a meat & served on a warm tortilla.
Quesadillas,are just cheese sandwiched & grilled (yes, think grill cheese) between 2 tortillas, with or without meat & veg.
You warm tortillas to make a wrap, instead of a bread sandwich (you can foil wrap them, and they're great for hiking lunches). As well as using the tortillas to hold your scrambled eggs & their extras. I always bring at least 1 pkg. of tortillas with me when we camp :)

I hope some of my ideas helped. Let me know how they turned out for you :)

Best,
Chef Melissa McCourt;
mom of 7yr old daughter, Chef & former NYer who now lives in SAN FRANCISCO suburb

Anonymous said...

For an easy desert in your dutch oven, pour in one or two cans of fruit pie filling, (depending on the size of the dutch oven) pour yellow cake mix over top and then a stick of butter cut up in to small pieces.. don't stir any of it, just put in the fire until the cake isn't powdery anymore, about 45 minutes...instant cobbler!!!

Jenna said...

We have a few traditions that we have stuck with. We grill hot dogs or smoked sausages over the fire the first night while we are setting up. For breakfast the first morning we always have biscuits and gravy. We bring pre-cooked biscuits with us and you could always pre-make the sausage gravy at home the day before and just re-heat. We also have pizza sandwiches one night. We cook them on the griddle like a grilled cheese, adding a thin layer of sauce to one piece of the bread, sprinkling with mozzerella, and adding pepperoni slices. Hope you have a great camping trip!

Anonymous said...

We always have roast just put it in the dutch oven with potatoes and carrots and onions , and let it cook on the campfire for the day while you swim or hike or whatever else it cooks all day and is the best meal of the trip !! Make site to add lots of water about 3/4 way full, we usually put it on in the morning the day we float then dinner is already made after a long tiring day on the water !

Anonymous said...

My husband and I are just getting into camping. This thread has been great and as someone said, original posts go back to 2008 and here we are in 2012 still going strong.

We have a stove, no open fire but things i like the idea of are:
Hubby is a chef and has access to a vac pack machine (sucks air out and heat seals). Based on this we will be mainly cooking at home and doing a lot of boil in the bag items. Chilli and Rice, Spag bol, Chicken fajita mix, corn on the cob with garlic butter, Pasta and vegetables.... Or course we'll do burgers and hot dogs too.

Love the pancake(add milk in the bottle) idea too!! We will take a griddle pan and take pre made kebabs... too. Can't wait :-)

Princessfairymama said...

People are cooking on their fires and leaving them unattended while they go hike or swim. In most places that is a huge no no. Forrest fires are really bad, and this is dangerous. Love te ideas but I say cook your roast before you get out here then heat it up.... save the Forrest

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all the fantastic ideas! I camp every year with my dad and my 2 sons - food resonsibilities are all mine. Gotta have smoky-links in the morning along with hot chocolate and oatmeal. Pancakes one morning, grilled pitas with ham, hash browns and cheese the next. Love the jambalaya idea for dinner - will also do sloppy joe's. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Disgusting

Anonymous said...

Aww that's cute if you guys are friends then maybe get offonline and give each other a call

Anonymous said...

Now that sounds good

Anonymous said...

Give around of applause for princess fairy mama she cares for the forest when cleary this trend is strictly for food ideas but she went out of her way and decided to speak of safety which in fact is what we all need with or love ones and most important all have fun out there and if ever a stranger walks by asking for food its actually me because all these ideas are making me hungry lol

Anonymous said...

1. I cook a pot of chili ahead of time and heat up over stove.
2. sloppy joe: brown you burger add spaghetti sauce. serve on hamburger bun. Very easy.
3/ Box of Mac n cheese - easy to make and great for lunch too or with dinner as as side.
4. sausage with peppers & onions on hot dog rolls. cook sausage on grill can steam peppers/onions in foil over coals or fry up in small pan on stove ahead of time.

5. BLT's for lunch.
6. stop by road side farm stand for favorite produce, corn on cob tomatoes
Good luck enjoy

Anonymous said...

I pre-make sausage gravy and biscuits, for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and chili con carne or beef stew for dinner. I'm a big fan of heat and eat. Bring along fried chicken and eat it cold. Camping is enough work before, during ,and after to chop, and cook while your there. We also have fire bans in Colorado so no cooking with a campfire : (

Anonymous said...

One of our family's favorites camping is meatball subs. I make the meatballs ahead, mix with sauce,put in a gallon freezer bag then freeze flat. It makes a great ice back for the cooler until it thaws and then a nice mid week meal. All I need is some sub buns and cheese if you wish.

Anonymous said...

Super ideas everyone. we normally do steaks on the grill over coals, some pre - homemade version of lamb / hamburgers to just heat up, salmon in foil over coals, pasta toward the end. Sides often include pre-cut boiled or grilled veggies, simple salads, rice, couscous, potatoes. This year we bought a pie-iron, so breakfasts will be scrumptuous! Snacks are home made granola mix, banana nut muffins and then all sort of fruits and veg and hummus. Lunches...soups in bags for re-heat, KD (treat for the kids), hot dogs / sausages, tortilla wraps etc. I have learned that we eat a lot more when we're camping than at home - so pack lots!

Anonymous said...

Wow. I came googling for camping ideas. I'd like to add in my two cents:
We freeze our water and juices their bottles so we don't have to deal with the melting ice problem and our drinks stay cold while keeping the other food cold.
I also make my ribs and precut ahead of time and pack them in individual foils. Everyone who goes camping with us always know that the small foils are my special ribs and they're usually gone by the end of the day. They just take a pack and put them on the grill and baste with BBQ sauce. Easy and hassle free.
I also make cilantro pesto and freeze them in the little ice cube trays. After they are frozen. Put them in individual zip lock snack bags. At the camp site, boil pasta. Add the pesto and instant meal. Delicious and easy. It's a different twist from spaghetti.
Grilling food in the foil is also a favorite. Depending on if the hubby is able to catch any fish. Skinned and clean the fish. Some Seasoning of your choice and crushed garlic gets tossed onto the fish and double wrapped in foil. I don't like tossing veggies with meat in the foil...don't know why. Leave it on the grill and go swimming.
I'm also the one who ends up organizing the meals and does the planning for the trip. Why me? Pushover? Anyways, I like to keep it simple and if everything is organized, less of a fuss and more play time. Also beer is good. Beer is great. Even if you don't drink beer. You can cook with beer. Once we cut open a can of beer. Stuff some strips of beef into the can. Closed the can back by wedging the piece back together. Dumped it into the charcoal pit and let it cook (like Chinese cooking in the ground). Well, the guys says it's good with drinking more beer.

Ashley said...

Shoot, I thought of that idea last month and thought it might be totally original! After conceiving the idea, however, I wondered about the affordability of buying 6 individual bags at a cost of 1.00 each vs. One large bag for 3.00 and just using plates... In the end,almost none of my grandkids wanted a thing to do with the prepped veggies or even taco meat! They all wanted chips and cheese 'nachos', so I devised a stove top nacho method. Maybe next time I'll go for some canned cheese sauce and heat that up for nachos.

Keith said...

Hi Jill Just back from a 2 week holiday in the great Australian outback.2 meals
Frankfurt (Hotdogs) & Spaghetti Casserole
Hand full of spaghetti cooked to soft ,
1 cup of grated tasty cheese,
a desert spoon of butter,
1 onion diced,
1 can of tomato soup,
1 cup of water,
4 frankfurters boiled and sliced,

Melt butter brown onion Add soup and water and cheese and Frankfurt stir and till it boils
don,t let it burn to the pot.
that's good for 4 people just add more of every thing fro more people.

Camp fire casserole.

500g mince meet,
1 can of tomatoes,
hand full of raisins,
Cashews nuts,
1/2cup of rice,
3 tablespoons of butter,
1 onion,
2 1/2 cup of water,
salt, pepper optional.

heat butter in heavy fry pan
+ rice cook till lightly browned string occasionally + onion cook few minutes + meat Tomatoes water raisins mix well and cover and cook 15 min. remove lid + nuts cook a further 10 min with out lid till the water is all most evaporated stir occasionally.

Kat said...

Stumbled on your blog. :-) Our favorite camping breakfast is kidney beans and bacon. It doesn't really sound good. In fact when it was first introduced to us, we thought that it sounded disgusting, but it is oh, so delicious! Kidney beans and bacon is so easy. Chop up some bacon (one 1 lb. package) and fry until browned, add 3 cans of kidney beans (do not rinse) and boil down until thickened. This is great with bread, toast or biscuits.

Unknown said...

Last year I was in charge of our church groups camp catering`and something we loved was nachos in a bag. You get little bags of Doritos or Fritos and you put chili, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, anything else you want in the bag, shake it up and your good to go!

Anonymous said...

We have breakfast sandwiches - english muffin, fried egg, canada bacon and smoked gouda cheese with coffee and juice. Yum yum.

Anonymous said...

I like to make things ahead of time - sloppy joes, beef stew, chili, etc. You freeze them, put them in the bottom of the cooler and heat it up. :)
If you are really adventurous and can have campfires, dutch ovens are a great option.

Anonymous said...

We like corned beef so I will pre-cook a corned beef at home and divide it into 2 portions along the lines of 2/3 and 1/3. The larger portion is reheated for dinner. We cook up several potatoes, making more than needed for dinner. Cook up cabbage add a grainy mustard and you have corned beef and cabbage. The next morning chop up the remaining corned beef and dice left over potatoes. Fry them up in a skillet and add chopped onions. Cook til crispy and at the end crack a few eggs on top and cover til set. Corned beef hash way better than anything out of a can.