Camp food

[beermanjoe]

So what is everyone eating on their adventures.Need some simple ideas. Hot dogs over the fire are really getting old.

[countrymouse]

Others have mentioned scout websites for food ideas - and this is a great source if you're camping with kids. It's always a good idea to get the kids involved in meal preparation. And why not focus on outdoor cooking, even though you've got all the appliances you have at home?

I mean . . . you know, last time I camped I brought a rice cooker and enjoyed it. We microwave stuff. I'm not very pleased with my oven, but everything else works fine. I guess it depends on why you camp. If it's just a personal hotel room while you do other things, enjoy all the conveniences. But if you're after the outdoor experience, learn outdoor cooking. 🙂

I've been a Girl Scout co-leader for 9 years, and I was in scouting myself too. So yeah, I know a thing or two about camp food. Even non-scouts enjoy banana boats (foil-wrapped bananas stuffed with chocolate chips and marshmallows), dump cake (delish, Google it), brown bears (canned rolls cooked on a stick like s'mores, covered in butter, cinnamon and sugar), hobo pies (foil packets filled with ground beef & whatnot), etc.

So yeah, if you're camping with kids, PLEASE teach them how to do these things. 🙂

[countrymouse]

About that corn on the cob - depends on what mood we're in, how we're cooking it and how messy we want things. 🙂 At home I usually shuck it and wrap it in foil, then put it on the grill. Camping, I just put it on the grill as-is. Soaking it first does make it better, but it's not necessary. The silks come off very easy after it is grilled. And you can use the peeled-back husk as a handle. 🙂

I LOVE my crockpot both home and RVing. We usually camp with a bunch of other families and it's hard to get dinnertime coordinated. The crockpot cures that problem. Sometimes I make something and put it in the crockpot to hold warm - like chili. Other times the crockpot does the whole job.

My very favorite crockpot meal for camping is to just put in a pork roast with a cup or so of water, cook it all day long, then when it's done pull it apart and dump in a bottle of bbq sauce. Pulled pork sammies with almost no effort at all.

We don't have a grill that we take camping. We use a Coleman camp stove outside on the picnic table, and also a cast-iron griddle/grill that fits on it. Our friends bring a charcoal grill and we share theirs sometimes. But I'd just as soon use the campfire if I had to.

This weekend's menu, which I just planned:

Fri. Dinner -- we're ordering pizza. There's a *really good* pizza place nearby and since we always get there late Fri. evening, we're cheating. 🙂

Sat. Breakfast -- bacon, egg & cheese croissants

Sat. Lunch -- sandwiches w/lunchmeat or chicken salad

Sat. Dinner -- steak hoagies, cantaloupe, potatoes (foil wrapped cooked in coals . . . or microwaved if need be)

Sun. Breakfast -- pancakes, goetta, leftovers from Sat. breakfast and leftover potatoes made into hash browns

Sun. Lunch -- hot dogs/metts, raw veggies, chips

Sun. Dinner -- tacos & spanish rice

Mon. Breakfast - omelet in a bag w/leftovers

Omelet in a bag is so easy, we're doing it Monday because it's a good meal with no cleanup after and a good way to use up leftovers. You heat up a pot of boiling water, put the eggs and whatever else you want in a ziplock baggie, then boil it in the pot till it's done.

[Francesca_Knowl]

I like things r-e-e-e-a-l simple...





Francesca 😉

[Utahtea]

Sailin' Shoes wrote:
Here is a pic of the grillin' rig we carry. Webber grill, folding legs for compact storage. Grill basket with the long handle. This is a little cumbersume for tight packing but worth the space it needs. In this pic it is holding turkey kielbasa, fresh gulf shrimp sprinkled with Old Bay seasoning, zukinni slices and red pepper wedges. We completed the meal with Bush's Grillin' beans over microwave brown rice. Now, pass the hot sauce!!!! YUM!

We have the same grill!

[Sailin__Shoes]

Here is a pic of the grillin' rig we carry. Webber grill, folding legs for compact storage. Grill basket with the long handle. This is a little cumbersume for tight packing but worth the space it needs. In this pic it is holding turkey kielbasa, fresh gulf shrimp sprinkled with Old Bay seasoning, zukinni slices and red pepper wedges. We completed the meal with Bush's Grillin' beans over microwave brown rice. Now, pass the hot sauce!!!! YUM!

[Sailin__Shoes]

I agree, it depends upon what season you are camping. Any time of year is great for grilling and we do a lot of it. This year the DW bought a grill basket with a LONG handle,and we have been wearing that thing out! We use it for fish that doesn't easlily turn on the grill, and any number of veggies and veggie combinations make for a simple but tasty supper using the basket.
Only in the coldest weather or rainy weather do we ever cook inside I use two electric burners and a toaster oven which is a handy take-a-long for the outdoor kitchen. You can do a lot of dishes using the oven and simple breads such as corn bread to go along with that pot of chili.

[Lemons750]

It really depends on how cold it is. When everyone is out trail riding and it's going to be cold I make a great beef stew with honey cornbread on the side. There are no left overs.

Keep in mind I cook these things when it is going to be dark about the time they get in and it's early fall or spring when the temps get cool.

If I am expecting hungry friends to come in late to set up I make a roast and veggies and let it slow simmer.

But there is nothing like building up the coals and cooking a steak over the coals and baking potatoes in the fire.

I also microwave some potatoes and carrots then chop them up with onion and wrap them in foil with a hamburger patty and make hobo dinners. Just toss them in the coals and pile some on top.

Get a cast iron dutch oven - they are awesome!!!

Everyone loves my campfire fried potatoes with onions in them.

Season a brisket and wrap it in a lot of folds of thick aluminum foil and bury it in the coals and leave it for 2 hours, turn it and just cover it again and let it slow cook until dinner... it falls apart and is sooo good.

You can have anything you want. We seldom even take hot dogs.

[garmp]

My favorite meal is fresh caught trout cooked over an open fire on an aluminum foil sheet with a little green pepper, onions, butter and lemon pepper seasoning. Garnish with a Bud Lite!!!

[Frank_Renae]

What are you camping in? If it’s an RV, then you can cook the same things as you have at home. If you are in a tent, then a Dutch Oven can be used to prepare, stews, cakes, breads, chili and a host of other things.

Once I received a BassPro shops flyer that had a Outback gourmet cook stove and oven listed. We had a PU at the time. I showed the DW the flyer and she started thinking about muffins, pizza, meatloaf, etc.

I guess it would all depend on what utensils you have and how creative you are.

[vampiresmiley]

With some of the ideas from here, I splurged and added a new Webber q220, and an electric skillet to the fifth wheel and tried a whole new menu for last week's camping trip. We had pulled pork, grilled chicken tacos, pork chops, and gilled pizza for dinners, and biscuits and gravy, hash browns, cinnamon roles, cheesy scrambled eggs, and French toast for breakfasts. Lunches were usually sandwiches or leftovers. Made for a great change, and since I did all the food it allowed the wife some more time to enjoy the vacation (or maybe just more time to chase the kids.)

[msvintage]

I make aluminum foil packs ahead of time and put them in the cooler. When I get there and get set up, I either throw them on a small grill or put them on the edge of the fire until they heat up.

I usually take a hamburger, put seasoning on it, throw in onions, carrot slices and potato slices and a dab of butter. Put it in two layers of aluminum foil and cook it about 30 minutes. Yummy.

[TravelChickk]

one thing to remember is make sure you have some fast meals handy.

nothing worse then having tons of fun doing whatever, come back and EVERYONE is starving LOL

kid yelling when is dinner, hubby yelling when and what is for dinner while putting away fishing equipment etc...lol...and Mom has to 'make them all happy' FAST

ugh
LOL

edited to say oh yea hubby bbqs and many meals are quiet, but when we spend that big day having fun, pushing the food limits, everyone is chomping at the bit for food the minute we return to the camper...this is when your pre-made frozen meals from home sure come in handy!!!

[whitecamper]

Shishkebab with marinated steak, pork or chicken. Cut up peppers, onions, mushrooms, pre-cook (to soften) potatoes, yams.

[welove2drive]

We grill fish, and meats, etc. We use the shish kabob sticks for shrimp or vegies. I buy those individually wrapped fish pieces for $1, tilapia, salmon, etc. We also like those smaller unseasoned pork tenderloins. You can grill whole, cut up for shish kabobs, slice and cook in the electric skillet with onions and peppers for fajitas. We have a veggie skillet with holes for making grilled veggies for a group. We buy a large package of ground chuck and grill many hamburgers at home and vacuum seal them individually. These make an easy first night dinner after setting up camp. I keep all of this in the freezer so I just transfer it to the cooler or rv fridge for trips. I recently bought a bag of Tyson grilled chicken slices to keep in the freezer. I thought it would be handy to make a quick chicken salad for lunch. Buy a bag of spinach or ready to use bag of salad greens for a quick salad. We make eggs and pancakes outside in the electric skillet. Very handy! I keep a book of food ideas in the trailer for reference. Lots of great food ideas in this thread!

[barbandwayne]

I usually buy a roasted chicken at the grocery and take that along. Its good just like it is or you can make sandwiches, fajitas, chicken salad. And a container or two of pre cooked ground beef has good options.