Camp food

StaceyE wrote:
We do quite a bit of cooking on the tripod grill over a burned down wood fire.

LOL...DH never had the patients to wait for the wood fire to burn down. Ever had chicken cooked over a flaming fire? It's burnt black on the outside and pink in the inside...it's not a pretty picture!

In the summer you might not want to have a fire, or you might be camping somewhere they don't allow open fires or you just might not have the time for one.

We do quite a bit of cooking on the tripod grill over a burned down wood fire. I cook chicken breasts, pizza, fish, steaks, grilled veggies, pork chops - pretty much any cut of meet I would cook on my gas grill at home. I have seasons for different meats premixed and put into tiny, labeled ziplock bags meant for pills - you can usually find them in the pharmacy isle. I cook potatoes first in foil, either simply wrapping the whole potatoe, or cuting up into quarters with olive oil, onion, garlic, rosemary and sea salt - my family's fav way to eat potatoes. Then the meat and veggies go on the grill with the meat in the center and the veggies around the outside edge where it tends to be a bit cooler. Corn, julienned carrots with butter in a foil packet, mushrooms on a screwer. We also cook up green beans in the electric skillet with a bit of bacon.

I also use dutch ovens stacked with coals in between to cook a pot roast in the bottom and biscuits on top, or pulled pork on bottom, scalloped potatoes in the middle and an apple pie on top - the combinations are limitless and it is really pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

When I'm not in the mood for cooking and just want something quick, I brown up leftover potatoes in an electric skillet and warm a ham steak on the electric griddle. I also use the electric griddle make grown-up grilled cheese sandwiches with good shaved roast turkey deli meat with provolone, thinly sliced tomatoes, a bit of onion, all topped with a pesto sauce.

I think we eat better when camping then any other time!

I make the same stuff I make at home - but the easier stuff that does not require a lot of ingredients.

I also take stews, chilis, soups, etc that I have frozen. The added advantage is that it helps keep everything cold.

lornaschinske wrote:

beermanjoe wrote:
I need to get a portable gas grill.

Yes you do. My daughter will put one of those cheap refrigerated Mama Rosa pizzas on our grill. She says the cheap pizzas turn out better. We have a cheapie Wal-Mart tabletop grill.

I gotta try that. Thanks!

Also, nothing like T-bone steaks while camping and fix baked pototoes in the Microwave.

Corn on the cob on the grill is excellent!

I do alot of grilling when we go camping.and at home for that matter. Burgers(plain or dressed up with seasonings),chicken,steaks.chops,sausage and sometimes fresh caught fish. I take my small charbroil grill(the $80 ones at wally world) that I used at home until I got a new one. It is light enough for me to lift into the truck and move around by myself and it does not need to be cleaned for storage.We like to do pie iron cooking for breakfast sandwiches,pizza and fruit filled for dessert or snacks. They are a lot of fun and are a camping thing that my grown kids remember fondly. The posibilities for different pie iron sandwiches are endless. Eat what you like and keep it as simple or as complex as you wish,personally I like to cook for the gang while camping.

For breakfast it is cereal, eggs, pancakes, English muffins, toast or yogurt.

Lunch is PB & J, lunchmeat sandwiches, hot dogs or leftovers.

Dinner is marinated steaks, hamburgers, hotdogs, sausage, or chicken on the grill. We might also do tacos or spaghetti or something else simple. We will often do corn on the grill and have potato salad, macaroni salad, baked beans, mashed potatoes, or double baked potatoes. Peppers and onions are good. Veggies are my biggest nemesis at home and camping. I run out of Ideas to keep it interesting.

All of us like Tuna Mac Salad, served with green salad or fruit. Also, I usually bring along a panini maker and a few deli meats/cheeses. We usually have tacos one night, for which I cook the meat and chop the toppings before we hit the road.

Tuna Mac Salad
You'll need shell pasta, stuffed green olives, 8 oz canned tuna, mayonnaise.
Cook 1 and 1/2 cups small shell pasta, drain and chill. For dressing mix 2/3 cup mayonnaise (NOT salad dressing), and a scant 2 Tbsp juice from the jar of olives. To the pasta add: dressing, 1/4 cup chopped green olives, drained tuna and black pepper to taste.

A few weeks back I posted a recipe for Creamy Chicken Tarragon in the Cooks and Connoissuers. It requires on skillet, one serving dish and takes 30 to 45 minutes to prepare and cook. If you pound and cut the chicken in advance it is even quicker. If you use a low temp the sauce will come out a pale white color and our friends and grandkids love it. I use an electric skillet for cooking but it can be done in a castiron or non-stick skillet. Do an advanced serch for "sbishop" and you'll find it.

Another one pan (skillet) meal is Swiss Pork Chops with Grey Poupon Mustard sauce. Takes about an hour.

I serve both with white rice and whatever veggies we have on hand.

I'll post the pork chop recipe if you PM me.

I get 4-5 boneless/skinless chicken breasts and 2 cans of Campbells broccoli & cheese soup. Line a baking pan with foil, put in the chicken and cover with the soup. This bakes fairly quickly, and does not require a lot of attention.

beermanjoe wrote:
Don`t think the wife wants to be stuck in the camper cooking big meals. What kind of portable grills do you have and how well do they work?

I don't think the wife wants to be stuck in the kitchen when were home eather, and she's not. She cooks a lot on a baby weber Q, at home and away.