Camping Food Ideas

[jusduckymom]

Do you have a dutch oven? They’re great for camping… I’ve cooked everything from pot roast to poppin’ fresh cinnamon rolls in mine. We purchased ours at a local army/navy surplus for about 30.00. It has feet on the bottom to sit in the coals and a lip of the top to hold more coals. Your Eagle Scout husband has probably has cooking experience with a dutch oven. It’s great for car camping since it’s made out of cast iron! A Scout standard is fruit cobbler made with a cake mix topping. Anything you make in the oven you can make in a dutch oven. I have a camping friend that always wants to know what’s cooking in my “magic pot.” Also ask hubby about a “cardboard box oven” another scout standard. It’s pretty impressive to bake a cake in a cardboard box (my favorites are the ones reams of paper come in) while out in the wilderness. Add a can of frosting and viola…you’re everyone’s hero!
Happy camping!!!

 

[latin_rite]

My favourite thing to eat when i go camping is probably the most simple. (probably why i like it so much ) Is to just get a big potatoe and throw it in the fire, and depending how big or how hot your fire is pull it out n have it hasa side dish smothered in butter . if you don’t like the charcol out side (which you don’t eat) Just wrap it in foil.

 

[Rachele_Ann]

I only ever cook on the campfire when I go camping… the biggest thing to be wary of is the fire is much hotter than an ordinary stove or oven…rotate the pans/food to different parts of the fire so everything cooks evenly.

My favorite is much like your idea. I pack frozen chicken breast and thaw them on the day I will use them. I make a foil packet for each chicken breast and divide a jar of salsa between the packets. I seal up each salsa/chicken foil packet. I then make another packet around each one and I add a tablespoon or two of water, seal the outer packet and place on the coals. I then make rice (boil-a-bag variety) and in a little frying pan I sauté matchstick cut zucchini with a little olive oil and garlic salt and pepper. Protein, green veggie and a starch!

Another good one, make a pot of beef stew and freeze what your family will need for one meal in a Tupperware container or freezer bag. Take it out of the cooler on the day you want to use it… heat and eat.

I’ve also had success with burgers made in the frying pan, potatoes on the coals and a can of baked beans in a small saucepan.

For snacks besides the obvious smores. I like biscuits-on-a-stick. Buy the tube of Pillsbury biscuits and make a small ball from the dough. Put the dough on a marshmallow stick and roast over the fire until golden. Dunk in honey or cinnamon and sugar.

My little tips, campfire cooking can take a long time, it takes a while to get a good fire burning and cleanup with buckets of water, going back and forth can be a lot. This summer I only made a hot meal at dinner. In the morning we had a fire for coffee/tea and ate toasted bagels with cream cheese and fruit. For lunch I brought a pack of potato rolls and cold cuts, the first night I made a bunch of macaroni salad which we ate with lunch (now that I think about it, I’ll make this in advance next year).

Have fun camping!

Peace In Him,
Rachele

 

[riabia]

Do you have a dutch oven? They’re great for camping… I’ve cooked everything from pot roast to poppin’ fresh cinnamon rolls in mine.

We don’t have one, but we have talked about picking one up.

Your Eagle Scout husband has probably has cooking experience with a dutch oven. It’s great for car camping since it’s made out of cast iron! A Scout standard is fruit cobbler made with a cake mix topping. Anything you make in the oven you can make in a dutch oven.

Yes, he does. He has talked about the fruit cobbler in the dutch oven, before. May be I can get him to be the “head chef” for the camping trip. :newidea:

Also ask hubby about a “cardboard box oven” another scout standard. It’s pretty impressive to bake a cake in a cardboard box (my favorites are the ones reams of paper come in) while out in the wilderness. Add a can of frosting and viola…you’re everyone’s hero!

This one I don’t think he has done before. But, he has talked about breakfast in a paper bag. He said that, except for one scout, everybody’s bags caught fire.

Happy camping!!!

Thanks! We are really looking forward to it. This will be be the first time that we will be camping since we had kids. The kids are especially excited! :extrahappy:

 

[Jay2]

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(other than the racks) a simple easy meal - Ham Steaks, Creamed Corn, and Beans… all cooked over a burnt-down to embers campfire. (This was a real hit! It was about 12deg’s out, and snow in the forecast - they boys really appreciated a “rib-stickin” meal!)

The Ham is one of those pre-cooked “loaves”, and the corn & beans canned… no worries about undercooking/sickness - just really warming the stuff up.

“Taco Salad in a Bag” is another great one…:
(buy/estimate quantities for each person)
1 bag Doritos or Tortilla chips (“Big-Grab” vending machine size)
Chopped lettuce
Diced Tomato
Pre-shredded Cheddar Cheese
Ground beef/hamburger
packet(s) Taco Seasoning (to match burger quantity)
Brown the beef & seasoning in a skillet… when done ring the dinner bell. Give each person a bag of chips, and have 'em open the top… crunch the bag. Dump in a scoop of meat, then they add the veggies & cheese. Close the bag, shake it up and chow down.

Zip-Lok Omelette’s
about 2 eggs per person (can stretch w/ milk if available)
veggies of choice
pre-cooked sausages (diced)

Get a big pot of water to a roiling boil.
(optional…pan-fry sausages)
Mix up/scramble raw eggs in large bowl.
Dice up sausages & veggies

Each person gets a 1qt. “ziplock” bag.
Ladle a scoop of egg mix into each person’s bag.
They add veggies/sausage to taste.
Zip the bag shut.
Dunk the bag into the boiling water for 2-3 minutes (to egg done-ness tastes)
Shake on some Tobasco & chow down.

“Foil-pack” dinners.
A camper’s savior…
Pre-made burger patties
Onion slices
Frozen Hash-brown mix
Frozen Diced Carrots and/or Peas

Tear off about 12" of Heavy-Duty Foil…
on one 1/2 of the foil put:
1 pattie
potatoes
veggies
Fold the foil into a “flat-pack” & seal/crimp the edges.
Put them right on the coals of a burnt-down campfire, and flip every 2-3 minutes. Cook for about 15 mins. total.

Buy a few loaves of bread and a JUMBO-jar of peanut butter. When someone’s whining for a snack have 'em make a thick PB sandwich. It’ll fill 'em up, and hold them 'till supper.

The trick to “Camp-Food” is buying pre-cooked when possible. You’re really just warming it up. Unless you’ve got a good cooler and can keep it stoked with ice, “raw” meats & perishables can be a problem. Pre-cooked stuff will keep better at marginal refrigeration.
Also buy frozen food/veggies when possible. They’ll keep your cooler cold, and cut down on ice usage.

Subscribe to the “KISS” principal… Keep It Simple Stupid!
High-Carb, Filling & Tasty meals! Stay away from sugars & fruit… they’ll give you a boost, but burn off quickly.

 

[Cat]

The closest restaurant!

Sorry, I just hate camping and camp food (other than s’mores). My idea of camping is a Motel 6 instead of a Residence Inn!

Based on what my dear grandparents used to do (they camped almost every weekend of their Senior years), I would suggest bringing plenty of “instant” food, like those little cheese and crackers, the little peanut butter sandwich cookies, Little Debbie oatmeal cookies, fruit rollups, small bags of popcorn, etc. That way, if the ol’ fire just won’t start and the taters explode and the s’mores burn up, at least you won’t have to drive to the closest restaurant to eat.

Have a great time! Make some better memories than I have of camping!
.

 

[jusduckymom]

Here’s a link to the directions for making a box oven:
macscouter.com/Cooking/BoxOven.html
The WOW factor is the main deal with a box oven. Most people won’t believe that you are cooking in a cardboard box. When your “roughing it” in the great outdoors…you need to make it fun. Also great if someone is having a birthday or other special day during your trip.
One camping trip I went on we had a Luau Themed Dinner one night complete with plastic leis for everyone. If I remember the correctly we had ribs (precooked and finished over the campfire), rice, vegies, and pineapple upside down cake made in a dutch oven but could be made in a box oven. Pretty gourmet but adult scouters like to kick it up a notch…showing off while to boys ate top ramen!
Have a great time in the great outdoors!

 

[azsuntea]

Breakfast burritos. Make 'em mild make 'em spicy however you like 'em. Scramble eggs with or without onions and peppers whatever meat you chose, chopped ham, browned ground, churizo or the heaven sent campers friend…spam. Warm the totillas, spoon into the the tortillas, roll them up and enjoy. only one dirty pan.

Another one pot meal. Kelbasa stew w/dumplings. Kelbasa cut to bite size, cut up onions, carrots, celery and enough water to cover 1 inch. Cook (simmer) till carrots are somewhat soft mix up some bisquick as stated on package for dumplings, spoon into pot cover and cook till dumplings are ready.