If
you are like me, you love camping... LIKE LOVE LOVE MUCH MUCH! I love being in nature,
bonfires, the smell of the camp fire on my hoodie, the rustic throwback and the
time with family. HOWEVER, ... This often means that when packing food for the
family, convenience will often outweigh nutrition... #momofbusyboys so I often
try to find ways to keep nutrition in mind while planning our meals but that are also easy to do.
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| Boy Scout Camp has been Set up! |
AND... I
just so happen to have a son in Boy Scouts, so we have been learning a great
deal about campfire cooking and I have found that cooking is quite easy to
do while camping. My favorite methods are the foil packet system and pie irons
for sure!
Here
are some of those great recipes for camping!
Campfire Foil Cowboy Dinner
Ingredients:
¼ lb hamburger
Seasoning of choice
Sliced onion & potatoes
Mushrooms (optional)
Sliced peppers (optional)
Garlic (optional)
Can of baked beans (with juice)
Tinfoil
Directions:
Layer hamburger (normally ¼ pound and add
seasonings), sliced onions & potatoes, you can also add mushrooms, peppers,
garlic, etc (whatever you like) and then top with canned baked beans (with
juice). You just make a tightly sealed package and set it on a grid over
the fire. It will puff up and everything will steam inside, normally it
takes approx 25 minutes and you will flip it every 10. Open it up
and enjoy!
Campfire Hobo Dinner
There are pretty much unlimited combinations with this.
Ingredients:
meat
– chicken, salmon, kielbasa, beef, sausage, etc
vegetables – potatoes, peppers, onion, green beans, corn, etc
sauce – Asian, Italian dressing, pesto, cream of mushroom... etc
Aluminum foil
Roaring fire
Directions:
Using
two sheets of aluminum foil, make an envelope and fold the edges to seal.
Add
your choice of meat, vegetables and sauce. Fold to seal.
Place
on grate above fire or directly in the coals.
Cook
15-30 minutes. Test potatoes for doneness. Eat hot.
Campfire Lumberjack Breakfast
Packets
Ingredients:
Sausages
or Canadian bacon
Frozen
hash browns, or leftover cooked potatoes, diced
Eggs
Chopped
tomatoes and green onions, if you like
Shredded
cheese, any kind.
Directions:
~Kids love to help make their own breakfast packets!
~
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Ummm... We are going to need
about 40 more... |
Lay
sausages or Canadian bacon on a double layer of foil that has been sprayed
lightly with cooking spray.
It
is best to have the meat on the bottom so it can receive direct heat from the
grill to cook properly.
{Leave
out the sausages if you don't like meat, and just start hash browns and a big
dab of butter.}
On
top of the sausages, add a handful of frozen hash browns or diced leftover
potatoes, an egg or two, and diced tomato and green onion if you like.
Salt
& pepper to taste.
You
can also add Cajun spice, or Old Bay spice or whatever spice your family likes.
Wrap
up packet and place on a hot BBQ for 15-20 minutes or until meat is thoroughly
cooked.
After the packet has cooked for 15-20
minutes...
I like to open it up and add shredded
cheese and put it back on the BBQ with the cover down to melt the cheese for a
few minutes.
Campfire Potato Boat Dinner with Ham,
Cheese & Bacon
This
meal is so, so easy but it does require some planning and a bit of prep...it's
a great idea to bake the potatoes before you leave home and wrap them in tin
foil to take on the camping trip..and keep them chilled.
For this recipe, you will need:
Large
potatoes, baked
Sliced
ham
Cooked
bacon slices
cheese
slices {we like marble}
Sour
cream for topping
Green
Onion for topping
Directions:
Slice
baked potatoes like shown.
Between the cuts, stuff a slice of
cheese, bacon and ham.
Add small dabs of butter on top of each
of the slices. Salt & pepper to taste.
Wrap potato in double layer of tin foil
lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
Place on a hot BBQ for 20+
minutes...until potato is hot and cheese, ham & bacon have melted together,
and it looks toasty and good!
Top
the Potato Boat dinner with sour cream and green onion if you like.
The
Potato Boat has so many possibilities...you could leave out the ham & bacon
and just add cheese and broccoli, or chili, or cooked taco meat.
THINGS I HAVE COOKED IN A PIE IRON…
Oh
man… this is one of those things that I cannot go camping without. Pie Irons are the best! They are fun, easy and one of those camping memories every kid should have. Here are some things I have cooked in pie irons...
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| Tater-Tot Casserole in a Pie Iron - yes for real |
Pizza
Mini Tater-tot Casserole
Ruben
Bagel Sandwiches
Chicken Pot Pies
Hot PBJ
Fruit Pies
Omelets
Breakfast Burritos
Regular Burritos
Cinnamon Rolls
Tater-Tot-Casserole
Ingredients:
Frozen Hash brown patties, thawed
Cream
of Mushroom Soup
Pre-Cooked ground beef crumbles
Cheddar
cheese, shredded
French-cut
Green Beans, drained
French
friend onions
butter
Directions:
Grease
iron
Use
3 hash brown patties per pie iron.
Cut
one patty in half and press 1 & 1/2 patties into buttered pie iron.
Patch holes with hash-brown pieces
Mix
drained beans, cheese, french fried onions and ground beef (I find a zip-lock
does the trick well)
Top
with spoonful of ingredients.
TIP
Sear
both sides over high heat, then move to a cooler spot.
Campfire Bagel Sandwich
Ingredients:
Bagels
Lunch meat
Cheese
Directions:
Wrap in tinfoil
Toss into fire until cheese is melted
This can also be done with pizza sauce,
cheese and pepperoni
Pie Iron Pizza Pies
 |
| Pizza Pocket Pies |
Sliced
Pepperoni
Pizza
Sauce
Shredded
Mozzarella Cheese
Bread (you can also use crescent roll dough)
Butter
Directions:
Top
one piece of buttered bread (or with Pepperoni. Add Shredded mozzarella. Now add
Pizza sauce – careful not to overflow it, 2 – 3 tbsp) add a bit more cheese and
cap with second piece of buttered bread.
Close
and cook as above, 3 minutes per side.
Place
on plate and enjoy
Pie Iron Ham & Apple Grilled Cheese
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| Hmmmmm Yummy |
Ingredients:
bread,
shredded
cheddar cheese,
shaved
smoked ham (deli),
apple
slices
Directions
Spread
a layer of shredded cheese on one piece of bread. Top with a generous portion
of shaved ham.
Sprinkle
a little more shredded cheese and add a layer of thin apple slices.
Top
with another thick layer of shredded cheese, then cap with second piece of
bread. (remember, one side generously buttered)
Close
and cook as above, 3 minutes per side.
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| Enjoying Campfire songs |
Pie Iron Reuben
Ingredients:
Rye
bread
shaved
corned beef
Swiss
cheese
Sauerkraut
spicy
mustard
Directions:
Spread
thin layer of spicy mustard on bread.
Top
with a generous portion of shaved corned beef, then a slice of Swiss cheese.
Spread
a couple spoonful's of sauerkraut over cheese, season with ground black pepper,
then top with another slice of Swiss cheese.
Cap
with second piece of buttered bread, (also with a thin smear of spicy mustard).
Close
and cook as above, 3 minutes per side.
Place
on plate and enjoy
Pie Iron Sweet Pies
Ingredients:
Your
choice pie filling (Cherry, Apple, Strawberry)
Bread
Butter
sugar
Directions:
Top
one piece of buttered bread with pie filling – careful not to overflow it, 2 –
3 tbsp). Cap with second piece of buttered bread.
Close
and cook as above, 3 minutes per side.
Place
on plate and sprinkle both sides with sugar – while still hot.
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| Goofing around with S'mores |
Peanut Butter S’mores
Ingredients:
bread
peanut
butter
graham
crackers
chocolate
bars
mini-marshmallows
Directions:
Thickly
spread peanut butter on one piece of bread. Top with chocolate bar and
mini-marshmallows, then cap with small broken pieces of graham cracker. Finish
with second piece of bread.
Close
and cook as above, 3 minutes per side.
Campfire Sizzle Sticks (this is one of my
favorites)
Ingredients:
1/4
c chopped fresh mystery herb (mint, parsley, your choice)
1
tsp diced fresh ginger
2
cloves diced garlic
1/2
tsp ground cumin
1
tsp ground coriander
1
tsp salt
1
tsp Greek Grind - dried Greek seasoning found at our local farmers market
1/2
tsp cayenne pepper
1
lb ground meat - I used beef but lamb, pork or turkey would be yummy too!
Metal
or bamboo skewers
Directions:
Mix together the dry ingredients. Then
take a deep breath and put your hands into the ground beef to combine the
ingredients well
Form the meat into balls (6 worked for
me) and skewer.
Form a sausage around the skewer and
barbecue
And of course, we can’t forget the
classic Walking Taco. Also known as Dump-N-Crunch in our house. Just
watch the fun as the kids dump in their ingredients, crunch, scrunch, and shake
to mix, and then dig in.
All you need to do is make sure they don’t get carried away with the crunching
and shaking. This camp recipes for kids isn’t just delicious – it’s fun too.
The
concept is so simple. Each camper spoons the ingredients they want into their
individual bags of chips. Then they just scrunch them a little to mix things up
– and they’re done! Eat with a plastic fork or spoon and toss everything in the
trash for clean-up.
Note:
A little prep at home
can make this a no-cook, fast and easy camp meal. Just cook the hamburger/taco
seasoning mix at home and bring to camp in a gallon-size Ziploc. (can be served
cold at camp or warmed in a skillet)
The vegetable slicing and dicing can also be done at home and brought to camp
in Ziplocs.
Then it’s just a matter of putting things out for the kids to use.
TIPS FOR CAMPING
Dice up all your veggies and put them
into Ziploc bags
Onions
Green Bell Peppers
Red Bell Peppers
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Hard Boiled Eggs – having these on hand
is helpful for quick no fuss breakfasts.
Snack Bags:
Any mix of Nuts, Dried Fruit, M&Ms,
Goldfish, Chex Cereal works. Pre-portion them out for on the go. I find it help
to keep the kidos happy so you can enjoy your camping too.
ALWAYS bring extra zip lock bags (sandwich size and gallon sized)
Always bring skewers for roasting things over the fire. Anytime a child/adult can cook their food over a fire/grill is great fun.
Hotdogs
Braats
Smores
Sizzle Sticks
Chicken Strips
Kabobs
