Wanna help me with my camping menu?

[HappyAvocado]

so many good ideas! callie, that fried trout looks yummy!

[callie]

thanks, HA!

[MochaBean04]

lol i was a girl scout so im looking through my old camping recipe book. . . .here is an idea for dessert

Girl Scout Dump Cake

2 (18 1/2 ounce) boxes white or yellow cake mix
3 (29 ounce) cans fruit cocktail or other canned fruit
3/4 pound margarine

Pour fruit in cast iron Dutch oven. Sprinkle dry cake mix over fruit. Dot margarine on top of cake mix. Cover tightly, set in coals of campfire, putting coals on lid also, and let cook until cake is lightly browned. Rotate Dutch oven one quarter turn every 15 minutes for even cooking, especially if the active fire is only on one side of the Dutch oven. Recipe can be halved easily.

Serves 24.

[campqueen]

Wow, you guys have some great ideas. No wonder - I see that you all cook for a living. I am a mere secretary. We camp every year with our family & we routinely prepare and serve 300 meals over our 10 day trip. Let me assure you that planning is key. Your menu sounds delish, but expensive, time consuming & stinky (you guys must REALLY like salmon).

I’m not sure what the details of your campout are, but we prepare food a couple weeks ahead of time & freeze it so that no one is chained to the campstove for hours on end. Who wants to stand there & fry bacon in 100 degree heat when there are boat rides to be taken, games to play, rafts to lounge on, and novels to be read?? After all, who’s vacation is this ?!? I’m pretty darn sure it’s MINE.

Therefore, we fry our bacon the day before we leave (15 - 20 lbs of it) and use it throughout the week. It keeps really well in ziplock freezer bags in the ice chest. My mom says that the bacon seems a little “tough” to her, but we (the common campers) are perfectly willing to sacrifice a tiny amount of quality for the huge time/energy savings.

Other things we make ahead & freeze are: breakfast burritos, breakfast bagels, meatloaf, pork fried rice, and those sausage cheese balls that you make with bisquick (double the sausage). I will also cook spaghetti noodles al dente & toss with 1tbsp of olive oil. Throw them in a ziplock & they’ll keep for a week in the ice chest no problem. Add those noodles & a can of ragu to a bag of frozen meatballs & you have fed a crowd in about 10 minutes prep time.

Another thing we do to cut down on the time/energy expense is : if we have spaghetti & meatballs for dinner, the next day for lunch is meatball sandwiches. If we have pork chops, the next day for lunch is bbq pork sandwiches.

I can see that this trip of yours was over and done a couple years ago. Sorry to be late on the draw - but I liked some of your ideas & I hope you find mine to be as useful to you as they are to me. Rock on.

[Aria]

We bought our Airstream in July and have not traveled. We are planning just as soon as we can go. SNOW and More snow here in NYS. Keep sending the super camping ideas. I need them. New to this travel thing.

[StirBlue]

It really matters as to the style of camping that you are doing, primitive, RV, Cabin, or lodge. And where you are camping as to what you can serve.

If we are going primitive camping, tents & ice coolers, everything perishable like meat, hot dogs, etc is frozen and packed in ice. We have to take a camp table. Lots & Lots of drinking water.

If we are camping in a RV, we have to have our own energy source. If we go to a RV Park, we have park utilities. Sometimes, they have a store & bait shop. (water & cold drinks)

If we go to a cabin, usually no power, back to the ice coolers. If utilities are on, pack the wagon! Of course it depends on how long you have to travel and keep your perishables cold.

If we are camping at a lodge, we buy groceries in a nearby town. Of course at any point and time, campers are allowed to go to the store or eat out in a local café/restaurant. It all depends on how far you are traveling and how early you got up to leave.

[campqueen]

That's very true. You'd have to tailor the menu to your amenities. Personally, I'm all about convenience. My mom won't "camp" unless there's room service (i.e., at the Hilton).

[Constance]

Originally Posted by MochaBean04

lol i was a girl scout so im looking through my old camping recipe book. . . .here is an idea for dessert. Serves 24.

Good to meet another Girl Scout! I don't remember that recipe, but they may not have had it back it the dark ages. Sounds good!

[Cathysue]

Girl Scout Hobo Dinners....good and very easy

[elaine l]

Our camping season is almost here for us too. We camp with an Airstream group. That is how I found this forum. Anyway we sometimes have done a chili dump. Sounds yukky but everyone brings chili and dumps it in a big pot. It actually turns out good (even though some bring canned) Serve it with the usual toppings. We also do big pots of soup for arrival day. Have fun on your trip.