All packed-up and ready to go
You don’t have to go overboard when it comes to preparing meals on camping trips. Many of the foods that you already prepare at home make great camping meals, too. Camping is about relaxing in the great outdoors, though, so focus on meals that are easy to prepare and don’t require a great amount of cleanup, afterwards.
Although it may sound boring, we tend to cook the same meals on all of our camping trips. This routine helps ensure that we don’t forget anything and the meals are basic enough that they can be jazzed-up to make them a little different, if we’re in the mood.
1. Pancake mix, butter and syrup have been the quintessential camping breakfast for many years, since it is easy to prepare and cook over a fire.
2. Hamburger, buns and fries, or skirt steak and tortillas, are two traditional meals that are perfect for cooking over a fire.
3. Eggs and sausage or bacon just seems better when they’re cooked over a fire, or on a camp stove. There’s no easier way to get the kids up and out of the tent in the morning, than the smell of sausage or bacon.
4. Pasta and marinara is great for lunches and a quick dinner on Friday night, after arriving at the campground. It is quick and easy to prepare but, particularly in cold weather, is a lot more satisfying than a cold meal.
5. Peanut butter bars are a great snack food to quench the mid-day munchies and they travel well, so they make great trail snacks.
When sizing an ice chest for camping do not forget about ice, which takes a significant amount of space (three 1-gallon milk jugs above)
6. Marshmallows don’t have any redeeming nutritional value, but combined with graham crackers and chocolate bars they become a magical campfire treat that your kids are guaranteed to talk about at school on Monday morning.
7. Milk is great for hot cocoa on those cool camping nights, but milk and cereal are also the perfect Sunday morning breakfast when you are getting ready to pack-up and head for home.
8. Juice is essential when camping with kids and it helps keep them hydrated if they are not big water drinkers.
9. If beer is not essential for camping, then it is very close.
10. Cheese, onion and peppers are what separate a bland camping meal from something everyone will remember. Mix them with eggs in a skillet for a great breakfast, or grill onions and peppers over the fire for tasty fajitas.
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Ever tried the omlette trick? You just put your egg, cheese and all other ingredients straight into a zip lock bag and throw that into boiling water. A few minutes later you have a perfect omlette!
VE’s last blog post..That Bizarro Spam List
Thanks, Roy. Now I’m sitting here drooling all over at the thought of bacon and smores. Good thing it’s almost lunch time! As far as #9–it may not show on many “camping lists”, but that’s because everyone knows not to forget it.
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True, Dan – beer is the one thing that is rarely left behind in the fridge!
VE – I just suck at omelette’s. Every time I try it, it just ends up being a skillet scramble – heh.
I’ll second pasta as a great first meal after setting up camp. I actually like to make a big pile of spaghetti at home, put it in a gallon ziploc, and then just re-heat at camp.
Beer=yes! However, Roy, I see you’ve packed bottles. Cans are easier to stack in the cooler, and create less waste to haul out (once smashed-down). Plus, broken glass in the campground=bad!
I’m curious about the ziploc omelette! Are these bags safe to heat (no leaching of chemicals)? Great idea if it works!
Mike’s last blog post..Rediscovering the run.
Roy, Roy, Roy, my boy.
I don’t see popcorn on that list. What gives?
Great Post! We do the pasta and marinara as well! Apealing to adults and kids. We did the omelet in a bag last summer…but after the whole BPA plastic thing I think we’ll pass now. My favorite by far though is dutch oven dump cake. People think it’s difficult but it’s not at all, you just have to start cooking it sooner than normal meals. Plus if you don’t eat it all for desert at night it makes a great breakfast!
shawna’s last blog post..Climbing Harness For Kids
Mike – I agree, but I’m just not a big fan of beer in a can, unless it’s Hamms – and that’s only for special occasions
Rick – we have 1 Jiffy Pop left (it’s hard to find, these days) and I should have put it in the picture – my bad. I guess when we can’t get it anymore I’m going to have to find some kind of popcorn popper for the campfire.
Shawna – I’ve got a dutch oven on my shopping list and I can’t wait to tryout some new recipes! Once in a while we take a can of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and let the kids wrap the dough on a stick and cook it over the fire – that’s always a big hit!
Going to try that omlette trick first time i have heard of that one.
Eddie Frueh’s last blog post..Joys Of Family Camping
We like to bring homemade granola on our trip. It’s easy to make at home, doesn’t take up much room and is quite healthy. Great blog, keep up the good work!
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great post…those are all great family camping food ideas…and making me quite hungry!
I just spit out my beer (no joke) reading #9!!! Great post!
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They make an over the fire popcorn popper. I actually saw it online at bassproshop.com today. Kind of like the hot dog roaster stick with a kettle on the end…very cool and reasonably priced.
Hi Veronica – we have been using Jiffy Pop, but those campfire popcorn makes are kind of intriguing. There is a post on them here: http://tinyurl.com/mygnn7
Now I’m hungry, and even more excited for our week trip this month! I am totally going to try the cinnamon rolls on a stick!
Omlette in a bag… thanks for the tip!
Another good camping recipe is Grilled Corn on the Cob
Soak the corn (husk and all) in water for about 5 minutes. Place the corn onto the grill and let cook for about 5 minutes and flip it over, keep flipping every 5 minutes to ensure the corn doesn’t burn. Remove the corn from the grill once the husks have turned dark black. Husk the corn as usual and serve with salt and pepper and butter. It gives the corn a completely different taste!
Laura – they are a lot of fun (and tasty, too!)
Pinch – we grill corn on the cob quite a bit, it’s really tasty!
All these ideas are awesome and I admire the simplicity of it all. I tend to go a bit overboard. and the water jugs for ice packs – how could i not have rembered that? Thanks!
kass’s last blog post..Bacon – the camping wonder food
Kass – I’m not sure you can go overboard, camp cooking is a lot of fun! I’m on a pizza kick, lately, so I’m going to experiment with some campfire pizza
Love the idea of the corn on the cob. Will have to try that.
I have just discovered “Pie Irons”. I have a waffle maker, a panini size cooker, and little round and a little square closed one. Its like having little cast iron skillets. The panini one is good for grilled sandwiches as well as grilling meat because it has the raised ridges inside. The little round and square is good for cooking anything: tube cinnamon rolls, any muffin mix (they come out looking like English muffins), biscuits, etc. I can also cook a single egg in the rounds and squares, adding extras to them if I want. I also have an open sided round one for cooking hamburgers. Open slits let the grease drip out and crisps up the meat…yummy. They are heavy, but if you are car camping, they are very useful. I find I do less pot cooking. You don’t have to wash these, just burn out any food that sticks, spray oil it, wipe it out and put away. Less water and yummy food. I love my big cast iron pot, but these give some similar products in an easier to use format. I don’t camp with kids anymore, but I think they are a good way for older kids to learn how to be creative with their own meals.
Thanks for this 10foods list. Very helpful. As a single camper now, I am really having to restructure my food and its actually hard to switch from big family meals to what works for just one person. How about a blog for us non-family campers to exchange ideas?
Jenn – I was hoping to tryout a pie iron this year, but I just didn’t get the chance. It’s definitely on my list, though!
Thanks for the great post with good information. I too have been experimenting with the pie irons. Also, there is foil dinners. Foil dinners also do not have as much clean up and the whole dinner can be done in it. This makes me miss camping her in Upstate NY even more. Thanks for the great post.
Caroline – foil dinners are really nice and, like you say, make clean up quick and easy.