Camping In Style

Meal plan for dinner for two days . As always my goal is to have a high quality meal with less effort at the camp site so I can enjoy myself and deal with any issues with having small kids that might make cooking, cleaning and meal making a drag. The best way I know to do this is to pre cook as much as I can at home.  DAY 1 MEXICAN APPETIZER NIGHT Bake quesadillas on 350 in oven till cheese is soft, they can finish cooking at camp, you only need them to stick together. Pre grilled chicken marinated in ranch dressing and cilantro herbs. Cut up and heated on site. Pre cooked quesadilla in small corn tortillas, wrapped in foil and reheated to perfection. Can of black beans . Pico de gallo pre-made from grocery store. Avocados Sour cream Chips and salsa Margaritas DAY 2 MEATBALLS AND SPAGHETTI Mix with seasoning, bake on 400 to brown then turn down to 350 till fully cooked, then freeze. They will continue to cook when added to sauce at campsite. A slo...

I've accumulated a few recipes for cooking with kids. Many of them tend to involve using tin foil and throw it onto the coals or gill. I'm not a fan of tin foil on my food so I try to avoid this method as much as possible but if your OK with it then go for it. I use wax paper to line the foil as an alternative. Each child and parent combo has it's own patients level so I have given each recipe a patients level number. PL# just for fun. SAUSAGE ON A STICK: PL2 Use any precooked sausage or hot dog, skewer it with a metal cooking fork, place the dog on the end and let your child cook over the fire. About 6min on each side or whenever they want to eat it. Mostly your just assisting them to be safe close to fire. Set aside to cool wrap lower half in a paper towel and dip in ketchup. JIFFY POP POPCORN: PL2 Older kids do great with this, over a grill on the campfire or stove top (a bit easier). Just keep shaking until fully popped. The hardest part of this gig is to kee...

When you drink coffee w/ half & half no substitute will do, not even whole milk. On the other hand seeing your milk leak into the cooler water is icky and just a bad start to a morning with so much potential. I have tried pouring small amounts of half & half into a plastic container and so far it has leaked every time. This little pint size container with the screw lid is the best way to go as far as I'm concerned. They don't leak ! They do cost a bit more though. About a month prior to my camping extravaganza I will start looking for them when I do my shopping. Many times they are on sale and the expiration date is far enough out that it is safe to buy in advance. Happy Coffee Campers! SEE MORNING JOE SEE FUN FIND - MILK FROTHER SEE CAMPING RECIPES

Campfire Cake In An Orange Shell I actually don't care for cake. I have to say though that this is one of the best cakes I've eaten. It is incredibly moist. You can really make this recipe your own. Add nuts, chocolate chips, rum, any cake mix really. Because it cooks in an orange it turns out very moist and creamy. Do give this a try and have the kids help it's fun to make. INGREDIENTS One 8 o z. box of Jiffy Yellow Cake Mix (or Use 1/2 recipe good for 3 oranges made from scratch) 6 Large Oranges Water per box instructions Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil Wax Paper Optional Ziploc Storage Bag Knife and spoon Mix dry ingredients into a plastic bag prior to packing for camp trip Store in a cool place AT CAMPSITE Add water If making from scratch then add egg & oil to bag Do this just before cooking at campsite Mix with your fingers right inside bag Cut top off of oranges and scoop center out and eat Nip tip off of baggie tip and empty into orange shel...

This is an older post re-posted but it's just so fab. that I wanted to remind you of how wonderful this simple little diddy is for camping. My girlfriend Gena just gave me one of these for the fun of it. Immediately I thought how great it would be for Camping In Style Coffee. It's a mini battery operated milk frother. I used it this morning and by golly it worked GREAT! They start at $3 at Ikea and go up to $25. They take two batteries and whip the milk into a frothy cloud of camp-a-chino goodness. Note To Self: Pack securely so the stem doesn't bend. SEE TIP-HALF & HALF SEE MORNING JOE

Happy Hour @ The Campground In my 20's the drink de jour was any beer someone brought or a Bacardi and coke In my 30's it was a Belvedere Martini, two olives, dry, up In my 40's drinking it's a glass of wine with an occasional cocktail or micro brew When I plan group camp trips I often make the first night "Happy Hour" at our site and ask my fellow campers to bring an appetizer. This is a great way to break in the weekend as well as an easy dinner for everyone who just set up camp and doesn't feel like cooking a full meal. HERE ARE SOME BAR TOOLS TO HELP WITH HAPPY HOUR AT THE CAMPGROUND Waiter Bottle Opener This type of opener is great and compact. It can cut the cap off of a wine bottle as well as open it and opens bottled beer and other beverages as well. These range from $5 up. From your local grocery store to Williams Sanoma these are easy to find. Blenders Colman Camp Blender w/ Rechargeable Battery $30 Sam's Club up to $75 o...

Campfire Cafe is a TV program that shows how to cook gourmet over the open fire. From their website you can watch their shows, find recipes and lots of cooking ideas including how to set up cowboy cookware etc... This is something you can do in your backyard or simplify it for a campsite. They even show you how to build a fire ring. Most of the recipes are just like cooking at home but using the open fire for your heat source. I found this site to be great for teaching me how to use and care for cast iron and how to get the temperature just right from an open fire. Also how to make cakes and other tricks to cooking over the open fire. LINKS Campfire Cafe Home Cowboy Cookware And Set Up Campfire Cafe Articles Camping In Style Recipes A few of the posts to fallow for our month long Camping Food Posts: Camp Cocktails Make Cake Camp Cooking With Kids Fun Finds

How is this for inspiring BBQ tools. The photo is from an unknown source.