Camping ideas

[Parkhopper]

We are going camping this weekend with friends and have rented 2 cabins. I used to go camping in our pop-up trailer as a child, but DH has never been camping and considers a 3 star hotel to be "roughing it".

All cooking will be done over the campfire as the cabins have no kitchens. I remember s'mores and hotdogs over the campfire, but I need some other ideas for easy meals that can be made over the campfire that don't involve Spam (I think that having to eat Spam might just put DH over the edge - LOL!)

I am thinking about trying to see if I can still find Jiffy Pop popcorn although I am not sure if they still make it (or if it would work well over a campfire).

Any help would be appreciated!

Suzi

 

[mommytotwo]

Foil packets, stew, chili, cornish game hens. Just season the hens, put it on a stick and let it cook above the flame while rotating them from time to time. For the stew and chili, get a big pot and hang it with a metal pole. You can even make the stew and chili at home and just warm it up.
Another option is getting a table top stove and cooking your items that way. We use it to make eggs, sausage, bacon, fry fish....
We also bring a grill top, just the metal. Set it on the campfire and cook marinated shortribs, steaks, hamburgers....

 

[Tigger&Belle]

How about putting chunks of vegies (and meat if you eat it) in heavy duty foil and sticking it in the campfire? I've made stew at home and then heated up over a campfire.

Where are you going? Cabins sound like a lot of fun. I'd like to start camping again, but it's so much work. Cabins would remove some of the work at least.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

I prepare bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken breasts and bring them in a rubbermaid container and then grill them. It's easy to bring stuff you would normally grill out--corn, onions, shishkabobs, etc.

We always brought our Scrabble game. If you don't have board games, they're on sale buy one get one free at Toys R us this week!

 

[PlutoPony]

They DO make Jiffy Pop - just make sure you check the expiration date on it. We take it camping all the time but it can burn if you let it go just a bit too long. Do make sure and take a grate along, that way you can put burgers directly on that to cook, or rest a frying pan on it or something like that. Personally I'd invest in a table top camp store if for no other reason than to boil water in the a.m. for coffee .

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

We marinade chicken and then put the chicken, bacon, and potatoes in foil and put them on the coals of the fire. My sister makes a salad a head of time with noodles, cheese, ranch dressing, cucumbers and tomatoes and then puts it in the cooler before we leave.

We also do hot dogs and put a can of Hormel chili on the coals to make chili dogs.

Try making popcorn with the Jiffy pop. You have to have a lot of patience, but it does work (even though the warning says keep away from flame!!!)

 

[MerryPoppins]

Our family has been involved with Scouts for a number of years, so we've done our share of camping. I often precook some of the stuff we are going to eat. Like cooking sausage and onions, drain, cool and put in ziplock bag. For breakfast, add eggs and cook until done. Serve with grated cheese in warm flour tortillas. Our Scouts love breakfast burritos.

Any idea what kind of meat you'd like? Hamburger, chicken, ham? I have loads of recipes if I knew what you liked. Sometimes I precook ground beef and make spaghetti or some casserole. Soft tacos are easy to make. Anything tastes good when you've been outside all day. Baked potatoes are good fixed in the coals and filled with the filling of your choice, such as chili, fajita meat with green peppers/onions and cheese, or other meat and cheese combo.

One thing that's good is to take a glazed doughnut and put a marshmallow in the hole. Carefully spear the doughnut and marshmallow on a stick and heat slowly. Don't get too close to the heat or all the glaze will melt off.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Definetly get alot of heavy duty foil and throw whatever you normally eat, esp. veggies in it for foil packs. Canned potatoes or veggies. They double as the pots and serving dishes so no mess to clean.

We would do pizza in one of those pie plate maker things. Delicious! Use bread as the crust and put in your favorites.

For breakfast, go with egg-type sandwiches with ham/bacon/cheese on bread, crossiants, or English muffins.

Just grill steaks, chicken, or whatever you normally grill. Make it easy on yourself.

 

[Parkhopper]

Where are you going? Cabins sound like a lot of fun. I'd like to start camping again, but it's so much work. Cabins would remove some of the work at least.

We are going to a Jellystone Campground in Hagerstown (not too far away). I am sure that the kids will love the camping and the "novelty" of cooking their own meals and hopefully my picky eater will like it too.

Thanks for all of the ideas everyone - keep them coming!!


Oh yeah, are there any things that you can think of that are MUST BRINGS? I have towels, soap, toilet paper, bug spray, citronella candles, flashlights, bikes, grilling tools, metal spatula, meat seasonings, chairs, foil, folding table, tablecloth and games.

Is there anything obvious or not that I am missing?

Suzi

 

[Parkhopper]

We would do pizza in one of those pie plate maker things. Delicious! Use bread as the crust and put in your favorites./QUOTE]

That's EXACTLY the kind of thing that I was trying to remember! I have not had any luck finding the pie irons anywhere near here though.

Suzi

 

[mommytotwo]

Oh yeah, are there any things that you can think of that are MUST BRINGS? I have towels, soap, toilet paper, bug spray, citronella candles, flashlights, bikes, grilling tools, metal spatula, meat seasonings, chairs, foil, folding table, tablecloth and games.

Is there anything obvious or not that I am missing?

Suzi

Towelettes, Smores items, and hot chocolate.

 

[Iott Family]

Cabin camping.....you should have access to an electrical outlet. We bring along a crock pot and skillet/griddle to cook. Nice thing about crockpot cooking while camping is you throw it all in the pot in the morning then after a long day of hiking, etc you come back to camp with a hot meal ready to eat. I havent found anything you cant cook in a crockpot/slowcooker.

go to www.macscouter.com/Cooking lot of great downloads/recipes and hints!

Also dont forget to bring a few board games, dominoes, deck or two of cards for those chilly evenings and rainy days. If its really cold at night sleep in a sweat suit with socks on your feet, a winter hat on your head and you will stay toasty in your sleeping bag!

We tent camp from mid april until october and have been scouting for the last 5 years. I have learned a lot of great tips, hints and cooking methods in that time.

One thing a good camper never leaves home without is heavy duty aluminum foil, duct tape and toilet paper. you can cook anything over a fire with the foil, fix most anything broken with duct tape and never get caught in the latrines w/o TP!

 

[minkydog]

Don't forget your ponchos and board games, in case it rains.

 

[Parkhopper]

Great ideas...and great link, Iott Family. They had some really good ideas there!

Suzi

 

[SDFgirl]

Someone may have posted this already, I didn't read through all the posts.

We always get those foil pouches and make "Silver Dollar Treasures" or "Campfire Yum-Yums" with them. Just get some ground beef, add lots of salt and pepper, and crumble it inside the pouch. Then add veggies - we use potatoes, carrots, onions, green peppers, and corn. Add some butter or oil, more salt and pepper, and lay it on top of the grill or in the embers of the campfire. It needs to cook for about an hour but it is soooo worth the wait.

Have fun!

 

[hercamore]

Hi,

In addition to all the great ideas above, a Coleman folding plastic water jug is so handy to have. Fill it up and set it on end of picnic table and get water for drinking, washing, whatever.

I just bought one at Target for $4.

herc.

 

[Madaboutthemouse]

We would do pizza in one of those pie plate maker things. Delicious! Use bread as the crust and put in your favorites.

I second these! Be sure to butter the outside of your bread, otherwise it might stick to the pudgy pie/sandwich maker. You can also make grilled cheese this way too. We take the bread and put pudding (Thank-you brand is best) or pie filling (apple, cherry, etc) and make pudgy pie pockets. Just be careful since the filling gets really hot! MMmmmmmm!

 

[Glynis]

Do you have any Dutch ovens? If so, PM me and I can get you some really yummy recipes. We use ours all year round. I love Dutch Oven Chicken and Potatoes.

As for the Smores... this year at our family reunion, we had a gourmet Smores contest. Here are some of the things we came up with. Instead of using a chocolate bar, use a few chocolate chips instead. They melt faster and more evenly than the Hershey bar. Also, try spreading Nutella if you don't want to wait for the chocolate to melt. Another good tip: spread seedless raspberry jam on your graham crackers before topping with chocolate and marshmallow! You'll love it! My kids loved using Reese's Peanut Butter cups instead of Hershey bars. The peanut butter tasted so good with the marshmallow.

Another idea for breakfast would be a paper bag breakfast. Take a paper lunch bag and place a couple of strips of bacon in the bottom. Then break and egg or two over the bacon. Roll the top of the bag down, and place in the fire pit. Do not place too close to the flame, or any embers. This is quite yummy!

We always take our camp stove so we can do tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. We also make sure we have plenty of hot chocolate and cider around.

Have fun!

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Just another tip that we do when we go camping for a while is that we pack dry ice in our cooler. We keep the stuff that we want frozen closer to the dry ice and everyhting else close to the top and it stays so cool and you won't have to mess with the ice melting. It lasts all 4 days for us.

 

[MerryPoppins]

You didn't say if the cabins have running water. If you are going to have to wash up outside, our Scouts always put a bar of soap in the leg of an old pair of pantyhose. Let it slide to the foot, tie a knot above it, cut off the leg of the hose and tie it to a tree or something near the water jug. That way soap stays clean and handy when you need to wash your hands. You just wet and rub the bar between your hands. It works great! You can also put a bungee cord through a paper towel roll and clip the hooks together to make a paper towel hanger.