Travel Tips

One of the reasons I love camping so much is that it allows me to "get away from it all". So, my approach to camp cooking is pretty simplistic. I don't enjoy spending a couple of hours slaving over a hot fire. But man cannot live on hot dogs alone!

So, over the years, I have become quite accomplished at cooking over an open fire. It is amazing how the fire will change the flavor of a favorite dish, even one cooked in a pot. The trick to cooking over a fire is to learn to regulate the heat. To tell how hot the fire is, hold your palm about 6" above the fire. If you can only keep it there for a couple of seconds, the fire is hot. If you can hold it there for five or six seconds, the fire is medium. If you can hold it there for more than eight seconds, the fire is low. You want hot for cooking and a low fire can be useful for keeping foods warm without burning.

You first need to build your fire, adding lots of wood, and then let the flames subside. Don't cook directly over flames - this will almost always burn your food! What you are striving for is a thick bed of large coals, which will hold heat for 30 or 40 minutes. Have your food prepared in advance, or you will have lost the good heat of the coals by the time you are ready to cook!

The temperature of a fire varies in different places. You can control the heat somewhat by moving the coals around. By bunching the coals in one area of the firebox, you will get one side of the box is quite hot, while the other side is medium to warm. If cooking meat, you may have to switch the position of the foods, to allow all pieces to cook evenly. As you determine that pieces are fully cooked, you can move them to the coolest area, to keep warm.

A few years ago we invested in a Coleman stove, and it remains one of my favorite camping equipment purchases (followed in a very close second by my Coleman Coffee Maker!) They cost $60 to $75, depending on which one you buy, and run on propane. You can also buy an adapter hose which allows you to run the stove off a 20# propane bottle. You can also pick up a distribution tree, which allows you to hook up 3 propane-operated items (stove, lantern, and one other thing) on the same 20# bottle at the same time. Back to the stove.... with the two-burner stove, you have the ability to prepare anything that you could cook on your stovetop at home. It's great for tenters, because even if you love cooking over a fire, it takes time to build a good fire and some days the weather is not conducive to this or maybe you just need to make something really fast.

For backpackers, a good investment is the single-burner style stove. You can pick these up at Walmart or Canadian Tire for about $30. They run on small propane bottles.

For your first camping trip, (or your first couple of days of a longer trip) you may want to keep the menu really simple, such as a pot of chili and buns, or hamburgers or hot dogs, canned soup & sandwiches, and hot or cold cereals for breakfast. After you have a little experience with the fire, you can try mixing things up a bit!

When preparing the food for a camping trip, try to freeze as many things as you can ahead of time. Anything perishable that can't be frozen should be well-chilled before you leave. This helps the ice in the cooler last longer. Even if you're in an RV, I find that the newer fridges (with their freon "alternative") have a hard time keeping up to the heat on a really hot day, so I treat food as if it would be travelling in a cooler - I freeze and pre-chill as much as I can. When we were in California in 2005, our fridge would not stay cold. I finally filled a large shallow bowl with ice and placed it on a shelf in the fridge. We had a cooler with us that I filled with beverages and produce. This way, the fridge remained closed up all day and with the help of the ice the temperature actually stayed cold enough to keep things from spoiling.

Plan to use the frozen meats on days two and three of your trip, as they will have defrosted by this time. With a cooler, plan to replenish ice every 2 days if using cubes and every 4-5 days if using a block. Storing your cooler in the shade will also help the ice last longer. (These are guidelines only - time will vary depending on how good your cooler is and how hot it is.)

Plan your menu in advance b/c you will have to pack every ingredient that you need for each meal. You can package smaller quantities of foods to take along, in small jars & zip-lock bags. Zip-lock bags are a godsend while camping!

If you are travelling to a remote spot, you may want to bring a jug of drinking water with you from home. Alternatively, you can purify water by boiling for five minutes and let cool. You can also use purification tablets. Follow package directions.

In the chapters that follow, I will share some of our family's favorite camp recipes. Note: In the following recipes, whenever I refer to putting food over the coals it should be about 4 to 6 inches above. The only time you will cook over flames is when boiling liquids. Anything else s/b over hot coals or very low flames only. Watch foods closely as they will burn easily. Many of these recipes (with the exception of the items cooked in a tin foil can or package) can easily be adapted to a camp stove as well.

Hot dogs or smokies - cooked on a stick over the open fire. Freeze these before you leave home. They can be pried apart as needed and will thaw very quickly. An obvious go-along with this is toasted marshmallows or Smores for dessert! I discovered on a recent camping trip with the Scouts that chocolate-covered digestive cookies make really awesome Smores!

Hamburgers - I like to prepare patties a few days in advance. Place wax paper between each patty and freeze them until you leave. These can be pried apart and cooked, even if they are still frozen.

Chili - everyone has their own favorite recipe. Cook over the fire until thickened.

Hamburger Helper - 1 lb of hamburger & one mix, and a dutch oven

Spaghetti - 1 lb hamburger, pkg spaghetti, canned sauce. Cook spaghetti in dutch oven & brown hamb. in fry pan. Drain fat from meat & add sauce & heat. After you drain spaghetti, dump browned meat & hot sauce overtop in dutch oven and mix.

Sloppy Joes - all you need is 1 lb of hamburger, a can of sloppy joe mix, buns and a dutch oven for this one.

Campfire Pizza - Spread pizza or spaghetti sauce on half a soft tortilla. Top with your favorite pizza fixings - sliced ham or pepperoni, diced peppers & mushrooms, grated cheese - fold over the other half of the tortilla and fry in a pan with a little oil until browned and hot. Turn at least once to brown both sides. Yum!

Tacos - 1 lb hamburger, 1 pkg taco seasoning mix, hard or soft tacos, lettuce, chopped tomato, shredded cheese and hot sauce.

Taco Salad - 1 lb hamburger, 1 pkg taco mix (prepare as per directions). Place bagged salad mix on each plate. Top with some of the taco meat, some grated cheese, and a dab of sour cream. Add taco chips on the side.

Tin Foil Dinners - Tear 2 ft piece of heavy duty foil (or double layer regular foil). Place a brat or smokie, cut in half, on tin foil. Top with sliced potatoes, sliced onions and baby carrots. Place 1 tbsp butter on top & sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bring tin foil up over food & fold down over food. Fold in sides, forming a packet that is completely sealed. Place on grate above fire (avoid direct flames), turn every three or four minutes until done, approx 20 minutes. Open packet & eat directly from foil. (If not cooked, re-seal packet and place on fire again for a few more minutes) One packet serves one person. Can also use meatballs.

Tin foil veggie packets as per above - sliced potatoes & onions, 2 Tbsp oil, & seasoning, or mixed veggies, oil, seasoning. Seal up and place over med coals 30 minutes. Open & serve. (Good on BBQ too)

Easy side dishes - bagged salads & bottled dressing, bagged fresh veggies (baby carrots, broccoli, cauliflower), canned vegetables (heat in the can over the fire - liquid & all), Kraft Dinner, Lipton pasta & sauce,Lipton Potatoes & Gravy, Uncle Bens Rice Dishes, Ichiban, canned or dried soup mixes

Dinner in a Can: Clean a 29 oz empty coffee can. Layer food in the can, seasoning between layers. Any combination of meat and veggies can be used. Our favorite is onion, carrots, potatoes, hamburger, potatoes, carrots, onion. Cover the top of the can with heavy duty foil. Place the can over medium coals. Put a few coals on top of the foil. Cook for 30-45 minutes. Using heat-proof gloves, remove can from coals & serve.

Chicken in Foil: Place 5-6 pieces chicken on large square heavy duty foil. Dump 1/2C bbq sauce over. Seal up packet & cook over coals about 45 min, turning occasionally. Make as many packets as necessary to feed your group. Note: stay away from flames, as sugar in bbq sauce will burn easily.

Roasted Corn: Carefully pull back the husks on corn and remove silk. Sprinkle the corn with salt & wrap husks back around corn, leaving no kernels exposed. Place corn on a hot bed of coals and cook, turning 1/4 turn every 3-4 minutes, until all 4 sides have been roasted. Remove husks, add butter and enjoy.

Stuffed Peppers: Mix together 1/2 lb hamburger, 1 egg, 1/4 C diced onion, 1 can drained corn, 1/4 C chopped tomato and desired seasoning. Stuff mixture into 4 green peppers. Wrap each pepper in foil, place over coals & cook 10-15 minutes each side.

Ham & Cheese Buns: Slice dinner rolls in half. Fill with ham salad. Top with cheddar cheese. Replace tops of buns. Wrap each in foil & cook over coals 10 minutes, until warmed through.

Eggs: Grease 12 muffin cups & crack an egg into each one. Top each egg with 1 TBsp milk, bit of grated cheese, salt & pepper, some chopped ham or cooked bacon. Put another muffin pan upside down over the top & clamp the 2 pans together on each side with 2 large bull clips. Place over low-heat coals, place coals on lid & bake 10 minutes. You can line each muffin cup with cupcake liner to make cleanup easy. This can easily be reduced to whatever # you need. You can also make individual meatloaf with this method, or mix hamburger chopped canned potatoes & veggies & place in muffin cups for individual casseroles.

Breakfast scrambler: Pan fry hashbrowns or canned potatoes. Add onion, peppers, mushrooms, chopped sausage, ham or bacon. When cooked, pour scrambled eggs on top & stir fry until eggs are set. Top with grated cheese & serve with toast & salsa.

Bannock: Bannock is a type of bread, originating from Canada's First Nations. Combine 2C flour, 2 TBsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt. Add 3/4 C milk or water. Mix until just combined. Flour hands & shape & twist portions of the dough around the end of green sticks. Cook over the fire until nicely browned. Serve with jam or jelly. (Premeasure the dry ingredients before you leave home & put in a ziplock bag. Label the bag "Bannock Mix - add 3/4 C milk". When you are at your campsite, you just need to add the milk and mix.)

Chicken & Sauce: Put 1 cup flour & desired seasonings into a large ziplock bag. Add chicken pieces, zip bag shut & shake to coat chicken. Heat oil in dutch oven over coals. Add chicken & brown. Pour pasta sauce over top (enough to cover chicken pieces, about 28 oz), & 2 cans drained mushrooms. Cover & simmer over fire, stirring occasionally 1 1/2 hours or till cooked. Serve with spaghetti, rice or noodles.

Turnovers: separate English muffins in half, scrape out middle of muffins, leaving outer shell intact. Fill 1/2 muffin with pie filling, replace top of muffin. Butter both sides of muffin on outside. Wrap in foil, place over coals for about 5 minutes per side. (This is good filled with ham or tuna salad & grated cheese too)

Omelettes in a bag: Fill dutch oven 1/2 full of water. Put over fire & bring to a boil. You need 1 small zip-lock freezer bag for each serving. Crack the desired number of eggs into the bag. Add chopped onion, peppers, mushrooms, ham, grated cheese. Squeeze air out of bag & seal. Squish bag with your fingers to break eggs & mix everything up. Place sealed bags in boiling water, taking care not to let bags touch edge of hot pan. Boil about 5 minutes, or until you can see that eggs are cooked. Open bag & slide omelette onto plate. (Kids love making these & there's no pan to scrub afterwards!)

Pork Chops: Brown chops in small amount of oil in large fry pan or dutch oven. Combine Cream of Celery or Mushroom soup & 1/2 soup can milk & dump over chops (double if necessary to cover chops) Cover and simmer over hot coals about 1 hour, until tender. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

Chicken Fried Rice: 2 tsp butter, 1 onion chopped, 1 C chopped celery, 1 chopped carrot, 1 chopped red pepper, 2 boneless chicken breasts chopped small,1 can drained corn, 1C rice, 2 TBsp soy sauce. Melt butter in dutch oven. Add chicken,peppers & onion & cook until onion is soft. Add 2C water,stir in rice,carrot,celery,soy sauce, salt & pepper. Cover & bring to boil. Pull pot to edge of fire & cook 15-20 min, until rice is cooked & water is absorbed. Lift the lid & stir occasionally. Move pot closer to fire if necessary to keep water bubbling gently. Add up to 1/2C extra water if pot boils dry before rice is cooked. When rice is cooked, stir in corn, cover & let stand 5 min.

Beef Stew: Coat 1# stew meat with flour & brown in dutch oven. Add potatoes, carrot, onion, celery, 1 can tomato soup, salt/pepper & 2 C water to pot. Bring to a boil. Move pot to edge of fire. Cover & simmer stirring occasionally 2-3 hours, until meat is tender. Add additional water if necessary. Thicken with flour before serving if necessary. (This is also good with a handful or two of dry bagged coleslaw added, if you like cabbage in your stew!)

Okay, I admit it - I'm a serious addict! For years I had to "make do" with instant coffee or those General Foods International flavored instant cappuccino mixes when we were camping. Just add hot water and voila - instant caffeine. That was before my friends at Coleman came up with their coffee maker. (This is where the ray of bright light shines down on the page!)

The Coleman coffee maker works exactly like your drip coffee maker at home, it even has a glass carafe and uses paper coffee filters (basket style). You measure your water into the glass, pour the water into the coffee maker, put a filter in the filter basket & measure in your ground coffee. Place the unit onto a gas burner set on high. (The guys at Coleman ingeniously designed this unit so that it will fit perfectly over one burner on a Coleman stove - go figure!) It will work on any gas stove. Within minutes, you will hear the lovely sound of coffee brewing. As soon as the coffee is finished being made, you need to turn off the stove. (That's the one downfall - it doesn't have a "keep warm" feature!)

You can find the Coleman Coffee Maker at Walmart or Canadian Tire, and lots of other stores too. They sell for about $65 - money well spent for an addict like me! (If you are patient and can wait until fall, they generally go on sale for about $50 at the end of the season.)

Now for my favorite camping breakfast recipe - just fill a mug with coffee, add a healthy shot of Bailey's Irish Cream, sit back in your camp chair, and enjoy relaxing in nature!

I recently added a Coleman portable blender to my repertoire of camping essentials. I have to say, that blender is the bomb! You can make anything from slushy drinks, to margaritas, to salad dressing.... the only limit is your imagination, it works just like your blender in the kitchen at home. The only difference is, it runs on rechargeable battery power. You can make about 30 blender loads of drinks on a single charge. And you can recharge it from a regular DC outlet or from a cigarette lighter! Here's my margarita recipe:

Empty 1 can of frozen limeade into the blender. Add 3 limeade cans of ice, 1 can of tequila, half a can of Triple Sec, and one Corona. Blend until smooth. Enjoy immediately. (This recipe goes particularly well with a campfire and a lake....)