Meals for Camping

[runamyrun]

What do you cook for dinner while you are camping? DH and I used to backpack (he still does, but not as often), but that food was boring and usually something instant. The last two years we have started camping more with our kids, but we have kept our dinners simple. Now I am ready to branch off and do something fun. Do you have any ideas? Do you prep any of it at home? Laundrygirl told me that tacos or taco salad is easy. Does anyone else have more ideas?

[smed]

There's always dutch oven cooking. We love to dutch oven cook. You'll probably have to look on line for receipes. their's also some kind of rule to do with how many coals you use on bottom and on top, This will help to give you an idea of how hot it gets and how long to cook it. But I cant remember!

[runamyrun]

I need to learn how many coals to put on the dutch oven. When I cook with my dutch oven at home, I just put it in my oven. The few times we have tried to cook outdoors with it, it took twice as long to cook because we had no idea what we were doing. I guess we just need to practice more, but it would be easier if someone could tell me what to do.

[5ft Diva]

For the dutch oven cooking all you have to do is type in a recipe on the internet and there's tons. One of my favorite meals is tin foil dinners. You need to make sure you put enough food in your tin foil so that it doesn't burn. I did this and it was awful. (Remember that, LG?)

Another one of my favorites is taco soup or chili because that is all canned food.

[Meticulous madness]

DH says - as a general rule...12 on bottom 14 on top. It's worked for everything we've done.

Be sure to tap the coals down every half hour or so. Use a charcoal chimney for quick and even lighting. You can buy them at Home Depot for under $10.00.

Most things cook in 2 hours. Have fun!

DH also says that he plans to do a lot of Dutch oven cooking at scout camp, so your DH should come home with a few new ideas.

[5ft Diva]

BTW, MM, you had some sweet kayaks adorning your front yard the other day. Your hubby has got some great talents and I love watching him share it w/ those around him. It's fun to watch him w/ the boys, he's just like them only a little older.

[Laundrygirl]

I remember the "burnt" tin foil dinner, it was still good, you just had to pick around the black stuff. If you bring a little camp stove, you can do tons of dinners, we usually have ramen noodles, spaghetti, tacos, stuff that you can do at home, just outside. Camping is the "Bomb", we love to go. Hope this helps. Have a great time. Hopefully we will see you all at our annual camp spot in Settlement Canyon. laundrygirl

[smed]

You can also roast Hot Dogs over the fire. I love doing this! Just don't loose your hot dog in the fire pit. We also like doing smores! YUMMY! YUMMY!

[sunrisegirl]

We like doing tinfoil dinners but we do it instead with chicken, bbq sauce, and a little garlic pepper and they are delicious! Another thing we do is bacon and eggs in a paper bag. You line the bottom of the paper bag with bacon and then crack the eggs over the bacon. Put the bag on a stick and cook it over the fire. Somehow the bacon at the bottom protects the bag from burning. It's yummy too!

[5ft Diva]

Okay, for real? This eggs and bacon thing really works? Do you use a big paper bag or a lunch sack paper bag? This sounds like something that would be fun to try. Tell me a little more about it.

[Big_Sissy]

I agree... mmm bacon ....

[5ft Diva]

You know it!!!!

[sunrisegirl]

Yes it's for reals! The bacon acts as a heat sink, preventing the bag from burning, much like boiling an egg in a paper cup(which also works). For individual servings do a lunch sack, never tried a grocery bag but it would probably work for family size. I know the first we did it I was skeptical of it but I was proved wrong! And I agree with Big Sissy MMMmmm bacon!

[5ft Diva]

okay, I'll give it a try....sometime. Hey! This is one of those summer fun activities we can do that are educational.

[5ft Diva]

BTW, sunshinegirl, welcome to the boards! It's good to have a new member on board. Hope to see you 'round.

[Meticulous madness]

Originally Posted by 5ft Diva

BTW, MM, you had some sweet kayaks adorning your front yard the other day. Your hubby has got some great talents and I love watching him share it w/ those around him. It's fun to watch him w/ the boys, he's just like them only a little older.

Yeah, DH is really in his element. He misses Gospel Doctrine, but for years he's been talking about how he would love to be called into scouting. It's a good excuse to be a grown-up KID, that's for sure.

He's really cute with the kayaks, I have to admit. I've had fun watching the whole process. I think it's a good thing for those boys to take ownership of something worthwhile. He hopes they will be able to use them for a few years. So, we'll see I guess.

Maybe it will become a tradition (or a right of passage, or something) and your boys will get to build them.

On different note: I'm totally intrigued (and naive) about these bacon and egg paper bag-meals. Can I just ask...how do you connect the bag to a stick, effectively? I really want to try this!

[Meticulous madness]

I have another question....(DH wants to know, actually)

Do you hold it over the flame, or the coals?

We are totally going to try this over our backyard fire pit. My 3 year old will LOVE IT!

BS and 5D - You guys are totally welcome to come and try it with us.

[Charles De Mar]

I've tried this bacon, and egg in the paper sack thing before. I remember it was delicious, the bacon adds such a nice taste to the eggs, as it does to just about everything it graces with its loving greasy carress. I first tried it as a cub scout, when my mother was our den mother, we found the recipe in my cub scout handbook.
We rolled the top of the bad down about 5-6 times, then pierced through with a hot dog roasting stick, and just held it in the flames, or just above, until the bacon and egg wer done.
Also if you need to boil an egg, but have no pot, put one egg in a wax paper cup, fill with water, and set in or near coals till the water boils the egg. the paper cup won't burn up completely, as the water will only get just over 100 degrees, and paper doesn't burn till about 450 degrees.

[Mamallama]

Wow Sunshine Girl!! I love this cooking bacon and eggs in a bag idea. I'm definately going to try this as well. We take up a frying pan and oh what do you call it--a folding grill that you put over the fire, and cook up bacon and eggs in that.....your idea is WAY better! No messy frying pan to clean. I love it! Thanks for sharing. Keep the ideas coming everyone....I'm taking notes for our next camping trip. We usually just eat tinfoil dinners and cook sausages on a stick----it's time for some variety. Thanks for the ideas!!

M&M, we've enjoyed watching the Kayak venture progressing on your front lawn as well. What a great thing to be doing for and with these YM. They will definately never forget this!!

[Mamallama]

Thanks for the explanation on how to hold the bag over the fire CDM. And what a great idea for boiling eggs. We're leaving the pans at home this time!! I love all these ideas!!