Get out your camp cooking equipment and get ready to make some [...]]]> I found this article about camping cooking by Charlene Davis. It looks like she knows her stuff so I thought I would share this with you. Her website is linked at the bottom so check out her site to find more great recipes.

Get out your camp cooking equipment and get ready to make some of the best meals you have ever had! (Camping or Not). Use this as an all around camping cooking guide for the next time you are out camping and want a great meal.

Recipes for Campfire Cooking by Charlene Davis

Our family loves camping, and I mean in the traditional way with tents, sleeping bags, and sans electricity. No sissy RV trailers for us! This is a real shocker for anyone who knows me because I’ve always joked that my idea of roughing it is the Holiday Inn with no TV. Last year my husband and son invited me to go with them on their annual Halloween Cub Scout campout (they needed a cook) and I decided to take them up on it. Everyone – and I mean everyone – couldn’t wait to see how I did roughing it in the great outdoors. Well, I had a blast and the guys said they had a lot of fun with me there; thus, a new wilderness mom has been born.

Naturally I embraced my new passion with enthusiasm and have been collecting a number of camping recipes and tips. Since this is time of year when families are making vacation plans and some of our subscribers will be going camping, I wanted to share some of my newly gleaned information with you.

Pita Bread Pizza

1 package (6) Pita rounds

1 14 oz. jar prepared pizza sauce

1 8 oz. package shredded mozzarella cheese

Any other toppings you like

Place pita bread on hot grill and toast to desired doneness. Turn over, add pizza sauce, cheese and any other toppings you desire. Grill till cheese melts.

Source: Camping Recipes.com

Campfire Stew

1 pound hamburger

1 medium onion [optional]

2 cans mixed vegetables [don't drain]

1 bottle ketchup

In Dutch oven, brown hamburger with onions and then drain the fat. Return to fire/burner and add the remaining ingredients. Also, rinse your ketchup bottle with about 1/2 cup water and add. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes; but it is best to simmer for about an hour. If stew starts to become dry, just add a little water or more ketchup diluted with a little water for you ketchup lovers! Serve hot with warm bread or crackers. For added flavor, pour into your serving a little ketchup, steak sauce, Worcestershire, etc.

Source: Camping.About.Com

Cast Iron German Potato Salad

4 slices bacon

1 medium red onion, diced

1 pound red potatoes, precooked and cut in half

3 tbsp. white vinegar

Salt and pepper, to taste

Fry the slices of bacon in a cast iron skillet. When done, remove bacon with a slotted spoon and add onion to bacon drippings, cooking and stirring until onion is clear. Add potatoes and sear for 1 minute, cut side down, until brown and crisp. Remove from heat and pour the contents into a large mixing bowl, setting the skillet aside. Crumble the bacon and add to potatoes, along with the vinegar, salt and pepper, mixing thoroughly. Chill and serve.

Foil Pocket Dinner

A friend of mine told me about this type of campfire/grill foil cooking which I thought was really cool. In addition the following simple recipe, I found hundreds more at ChuckwagonDiner.com:

Hamburger or Chicken

Potatoes, sliced

Carrots, sliced

Worcestershire Sauce

Foil Bag

Hamburger shaped into a patty or piece of chicken, sliced potatoes, and carrots. Place in a foil bag and add Worcestershire sauce. Cook on coals or grill until tender. Serve with green salad and/or fresh fruit.

Ziplock Omelets

One serving:

2 eggs

1 ziploc bag

Extra ingredients: cheese, mushrooms, ham, onion, green peppers, tomatoes, etc.

First have each individual write their name on a quart-size ziploc freezer bag. Crack 2 eggs into the bag (not more than 2) and shake to combine them. Add whatever extra ingredients that person wants in their omelet and mix contents together well. Be sure to squeeze extra air out of the Ziploc bag. Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed! Also makes a great conversation piece:)

For more great recipes and cooking articles for today’s busy women, visit the Busy Moms Recipes blog.

About the Author

Charlene Davis is an internationally published writer specializing in business, e-commerce, spirituality, parenting, and food. For more great recipes and cooking articles for today’s busy women, visit her blog at Busy Moms Recipes.

Camp Cooking Tips Before we launch into our menu suggestions, lets talk a little bit about your cooking options. There is a vast range of cooking possibilities available to you, depending on [...]]]> Sometimes you don’t have the convenience of the Butterfield General Store while camping, so here are some quick and easy suggestions for a weekend menu.

Camp Cooking Tips
Before we launch into our menu suggestions, lets talk a little bit about your cooking options. There is a vast range of cooking possibilities available to you, depending on how you are camping and what you bring with you. In an RV, you’ll often have a refrigerator, stove and microwave. If you’re tent camping, you may have a propane stove, or just a campfire pit, and a cooler. So, depending on what you are bringing with you, you will need to plan your meals accordingly. Have you ever tried to cook pancakes over a campfire? I guarantee you, it’s not a rewarding experience.

So for this article, we are going to stick with the least of these circumstances, a fire pit and a cooler. Even with a cooler, you have to worry about foods that spoil easily, so no milk and no raw meat (unless you plan on eating them right away).

Preparing for Campfire Cooking
When you are cooking all your foods over an open flame a few items will help you a lot in the process. First of all, you will need to have a grate to place over the fire to cook food on. A lot of camp grounds will have them built into their fire pits, but not all of them, so check before you go. If they don’t have one, you can purchase one made specifically for fire pits for about $30 (or you can bring the rack out of your oven and four old coffee cans to hold it up). You’ll also need to make sure you bring grilling tools (long handled ones — that fire gets hot!), a ladle, pot holders, matches, a large pot for boiling water, a heavy skillet, heavy duty aluminum foil and cooking spray.

If you have some time for prep work, try cooking some of your meats in advance and freezing them, allowing them to keep longer (and help keep other food cold). Also, fill empty milk cartons with water and freeze them as a great substitute for purchasing ice on the road (it also helps prevent the mess from melting water).

Breakfast
As I said, unless you have a stove, pancakes are absolutely out. If you’re going for a fast meal, instant oatmeal is great because all you’ve got to do is get that water boiling and you can use it for your instant coffee too (and hot cocoa for the kids). Whenever you are boiling water for a meal, make sure that the pot of water is the first thing you put on the fire as it will take a little while to boil. After it’s boiling, you can just move it to the side, and use a ladle to pull out the water as you need it. As long as you keep it near the fire, it will stay warm. In fact, use the same pot of water for the hole weekend, just keep it in the fire pit and reheat it when it gets close to meal time.

If you have a little more time for breakfast, eggs are a great because they will cook pretty fast in a skillet over the flame, or you can make a zip-lock omelet. Just place whipped eggs, shredded cheese, precooked bacon or sausage, and chopped veggies into a plastic baggy, drop it in boiling water for 5-10 minutes and serve right out of the bag (remember to leave some room in the bag for the food to expand). It is quick and easy, and you don’t have a lot of dishes to clean up (just make sure you use a separate pot from the water you’re using in your cooking).

If you’re up for the leisured meal, you can bake coffee cake or biscuits in a cast-iron dutch oven by placing it right in the fire (really, bury it underneath the wood or coals). Make sure to spray the pan with cooking spray first so it doesn’t stick too much, and I like to put a layer of foil in between the lid and the pan so you don’t get ashes in the food. Dutch ovens are great for desserts as well, cakes and tarts cook up great.

If you just want something fast, then cereal, granola, or protein bars can make for a quick and simple breakfast. This is not the heartiest of meals though, so make sure to bring something else with you too.

Lunch
I don’t always want to cook my lunches, since I’m usually busy midday with other activities. Tuna fish is great for this (make sure you have a can opener), and you can get ketchup, mustard, mayo & relish packets that will stay for an extended period. Add a few slices of bread and you have a quick sandwich. You can also use the bread for other sandwiches, but just remember than sliced deli meat won’t stay good for long. Fruits and veggies will usually keep for at least a few days and make a great addition to lunch. Bring a tomato, lettuce, and a few pork rinds and you can have a makeshift BLT.

For a hot meal, soups are great because you can just heat them up right in the can (make sure to open the top to vent steam). Cups of dried noodles, and noodle packets are also good for this. Hot dogs and hamburgers are a great favorite for camping because they are easy to cook right on the grate and you can freeze them to last longer. You can also cook your hot dogs using a long fork or campfire skewer right in the open flame. You can always make a makeshift skewer out of a stick fallen from a nearby tree, just cover the end in tin foil. This can double as a marshmallow stick for s’mores later on.

Dinner
Perhaps one of my favorite campfire meals is foil or “hobo” dinners. Make packets out of tin foil and spray the inside with cooking spray. Inside place your favorite precooked meats, chopped veggies, shredded cheese and sauces (I like cream of mushroom soup), then fold it up tight. Throw it directly in the fire for 5-10 minutes till everything’s heated up and the veggies are lightly steamed. It’s just like making stir-fry, but with about half the work. If you’d like rice to go with, get instant rice and use chicken broth instead of water for extra flavor.

Tacos or burritos are another quick and great campfire meal. Precooked and seasoned ground beef can be heated up quickly in a skillet. Refried beans can be heated up right over the fire and still in the can (just make sure to cut the top off and stir carefully from time to time). Then just add your taco shells or tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese.

If you are planning a long camping trip camping stores sell ‘astronaut food’ that is sealed and meant to last for a long time. Most of these freeze-dried meals just need hot water added to them – sometimes they also need flavor added, so be sure to bring a few extra seasonings (Hot sauce, anyone?).

Planning Meals
Remember to pack enough food for everyone to get you through the trip. If you are heading out on Friday evening and coming back Sunday night, you’ll need two dinners (Friday and Saturday), Two Breakfasts (Saturday and Sunday), and two or three lunches (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).
Here are a few more tips to remember:
Pack extra snacks (one to two per day) if three meals in a day won’t be enough.
It is always better to bring more food than you need than to bring too little.
Plan the meals at the beginning of the trip to include the foods that will spoil faster. And the meals at the end of the trip to be foods that don’t spoil or are frozen.

Happy camping!

About the Author

Butterfield Ranch Resort is an RV Campground in Anza Borrego Desert, CA.
San Diego Camping
San Diego Places to Hike
San Diego RV Parks Reservations

The most important thing to remember is to keep things simple. Don’t expect to be cooking fancy, elaborate meals when you’re camping. The fewer ingredients, the [...]]]> Once you’ve gotten all of the camping cooking supplies you’ll be needing on your trip, let’s take a look at what sort of food you’ll actually be cooking and eating.

The most important thing to remember is to keep things simple. Don’t expect to be cooking fancy, elaborate meals when you’re camping. The fewer ingredients, the better. And the less active cooking time required, the better.

Breakfast

Breakfasts in the outdoors are sometimes a bit of a challenge, but there are still several practical options available. Toast is very easy to do over the campfire, and a little butter and jelly on it can make for a nice meal. If you feel like packing some eggs (and are able to keep them cool and unbroken), you can fry or scramble them over the fire in your pot or oven.

Another great breakfast option is the ready-to-make pancake mix bottles. These have the flour mix ready to go, just add water and shake, and your pancake batter is set. Pour it into your frying pan, and you’re golden.

You can also heat water over the fire and use it with various instant pack mixes to make some breakfast. You can buy instant grits, oatmeal, and other hot cereals at just about any grocery store. You can also bring along a small jar of instant coffee to get you going in the morning.

Lunch

It’s possible to survive on nothing but hot dogs for a few days (although you may soon wish you didn’t). I don’t want to suggest that you eat only hot dogs for your entire trip, but they are easy to pack, cook, and serve, and just about everyone will happily eat a couple for lunch or dinner.

Sandwiches are also great for lunchtime. If you have the facilities to keep food cold, then a pack of cold cuts, some mustard and a head of lettuce will make a tasty sandwich for the outdoors. You can also bring mayonnaise, but be super careful about keeping it chilled.

Quesadillas are also a great lunchtime option. Just bring some tortillas (corn or flour), cheese and some fajita seasoning, put them together and fry them in your pan over the fire for a bit. Some butter or oil on the outside of the tortillas will make them toast up nicely.

Dinner

Although any of the lunchtime options would technically work for dinner as well, we generally want something a bit heartier for dinner. My favorite dinner recipe is to put some beef cubes, potatoes and vegetables into a foil envelope along with some water and spices, seal it up, and put it on the edge of the campfire. In about an hour, everything is cooked nicely and it really hits the spot after a full day of camping.

Walmart – The first and most obvious choice for many of [...]]]> Buying camping cooking supplies is really not that hard, but it does help to know that you’re getting your money’s worth when you buy them. Here are several options when it comes time to buy some supplies and what you should know about each one.

Walmart – The first and most obvious choice for many of us, Walmart is almost always going to have a good supply of camping cooking items and will also most likely have decent prices on them as well. In addition to their stores, Walmart’s website has been much improved lately and it’s easier than ever to buy from them online. One thing that I would say about shopping at Walmart is to be sure and get a reputable brand name on your camping cooking supplies from them. Many of the off-brand items at Walmart are most likely going to be poor quality and it’s not worth saving a buck or two if you end up with shoddy cooking materials.

Amazon.com – Amazon is another great choice for finding and buying camping cooking supplies. They’ve got just about everything you could ever possibly need somewhere in the recesses of their website. In fact, the only problem I’ve ever really had with Amazon is getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of options available. It’s easy to start browsing while looking for one thing and, an hour later, end up purchasing something totally different. If you’re shopping at Amazon, I would recommend knowing exactly what you want before you go to their website, and then make sure to actually purchase that item.

Target – Very similar to Walmart, Target is most likely going to have a good selection of items for sale, but you may end up paying a bit more at Target than at other retailers. As with Walmart, I would steer clear of buying off-brand items from Target as the quality is most likely a bit suspect.

Army Surplus Stores – I absolutely love Army surplus stores. You never really know what you’re going to find there, but just looking around and browsing is a blast. With a bit of luck, you might be able to find some good cooking supplies there. Just make sure that everything is in good shape before you buy it.

Cabelas – Cabela’s is great option for buying camping supplies of all sorts, and they have a wide selection of camping cooking supplies as well. Their prices are generally pretty reasonable as well. Chances are very good that you don’t live anywhere near a Cabela’s store, but you can purchase their products through their catalog or website.

First off, let’s take a look at what you should know before buying one. To be ideal for camping, your Dutch oven needs to [...]]]> I mentioned before how useful a good Dutch oven is for cooking on a camping trip and I wanted to write more on the subject to show you everything it’s capable of.

First off, let’s take a look at what you should know before buying one. To be ideal for camping, your Dutch oven needs to have a couple of things. It’s a little difficult to see in the image above, but the Dutch oven there has three little legs on the bottom. You want those to be there so your oven is less likely to shift around when it’s in or on the fire. They also allow you to put coals directly underneath the oven for faster cooking. Also, it goes without saying that all Dutch ovens should be cast iron. Nothing else.

You also want to get an oven that has a wire handle (detachable is great but not necessary) so you can move it more easily when it’s cooking. The wire handle will also stay much cooler than the oven itself will although you may still need to use gloves or a hotpad to grab it. Lastly, you want an oven that has the lip that wraps around the lid. This lets you put coals on top of the oven, which not only helps it cook faster, but also helps to even the temperature on the inside allowing all of the food to cook at an even rate.

The best way to use your Dutch oven is to spread some coals out to the side of your campfire. You can do this by taking the coals from your fire with some tongs, or you can also build a second, smaller fire nearby and wait for the wood to burn down to coals. Once they’re ready, put the Dutch oven on top of them, put your food in, put a few more coals on top and then just have a seat and wait for it to be ready.

You can also use your Dutch oven like a slow cooker. This is great for meals with beef or potatoes, or any other ingredient that needs to cook for a while. Just put all of your ingredients in around lunchtime, put the oven next to the fire and let it cook all afternoon. By the time dinner rolls around, everything will be done and you’ll be set. Just make sure to check the oven every hour to make sure that everything is cooking nicely.

The first thing to comes to mind on this list is some sort of camping table. Ideally, it would [...]]]> Now that you’ve got an idea of what items you’ll absolutely need to cook with when you’re camping, let’s take a look at some items that are not absolutely necessary, but that will definitely come in handy.

The first thing to comes to mind on this list is some sort of camping table. Ideally, it would be big enough and sturdy enough to allow you to do all of your food preparation on it, but even a small table would be very helpful. I can’t even tell you the number of times I’ve had to prepare my food for cooking while haphazardly balancing a plate or frying pan on a log or rock. It’s difficult at best, and if your attention wanders for just a minute your food will probably end up in the dirt.

If you’re going car camping and won’t have to carry your gear on your back to your campsite, then a table should definitely be on your list. If you are going to be backpacking in to your campsite, there are smaller folding camp tables that you could take a look at. One of them wouldn’t be too much to take in with you, and as I said, anything at all will be helpful.

Another thing that is helpful but not essential is a long fork or wire clothes hanger. These are great for roasting your food over the fire (like, say, hot dogs or smores) and also come in handy when you accidentally drop your food in the fire (and you will) and need to try and pick it out.

One other thing to consider bringing is a box of wet wipes. Not something many people would think of, but they come in really handy for easy cleaning of your food prep and cooking items. Just use them to wipe down your pots and pans, and then throw them in the fire when you’re done with them. They’re also useful for washing your hands before eating, because after a couple of days in the woods you’re going to be pretty filthy.

The last things to remember for eating on your trip are some plates and eating utensils. Some sturdy paper plates will work great and you can just throw them in the fire when you’re done. Just make sure to get paper and not plastic plates. The plastic either has to be carried out or burned (stinky!) and it’s not good for the environment anyway. I also recommend buying a decent set of metal camping eating utensils instead of using plasticware for the same reasons. You can buy a fork, spoon and knife set that snaps together for just a few bucks.