Simple Weekend Camping Menu

We recently had the chance to try family camping again - this time, building on the failures things we learned from our last trip by bringing the toddler's potty, packing extra snacks, and just having the Little Lady sleep in her car seat instead of a pack-n-play.

We went to the White Mountains in New Hampshire and camped at the Passaconaway Campground along the Kancamagus Highway (folks here call it "The Kanc").  I know, that was a lot of terminology right there.  Maybe I should rewrite that sentence and say, We went to the mountains up north and camped along a scenic highway at a campground with really great tent sites.  There.  That wasn't quite so jargony.

Anyways.  The weather was beautiful (except for one rainy afternoon, perfect for a nap) and the mountain scenery was refreshing to our souls.  We relished the waterfalls, creeks, gorges, and puddles, and put up with a lot of Harleys (of course we would happen upon this natural gem during bike week).

Swift River at Passaconaway Campground

Instead of posting a recipe from the weekend (because, unless you're planning on cooking dinner over open flame, what would that do for you?), I'm going to share our basic camping menu, along with the list of ingredients I packed for the long weekend.

I'm sharing this because I always wondered how people knew what to pack to eat while camping, until I started thinking it through myself.

Here goes ...
Friday supper: tortellini pasta with olive oil and herbes de provence (cooked on the camping stove)
Saturday breakfast: sausage links, eggs, toast (fried bread, really ... it was delightful!) (cooked on the iron skillet on the fire)
Saturday lunch: summer sausage and cheese (no cooking)
Saturday supper: bratwurst, seasoned potatoes, and bread (cooked on the iron skillet on the fire)
Sunday breakfast: pancakes, leftover sausage links (cooked on the iron skillet on the fire)
Sunday lunch: chicken salad on bread (no cooking)
Sunday supper: foil packets - meat, potatoes, carrots, and onions with herbs and butter wrapped in foil  (cooked in hot coals)
Monday breakfast: eggs, leftover meat and potatoes from foil packets, bread (cooked on the iron skillet on the fire)

What went into the cooler:
milk and cream (for coffee and for pancake mix)
butter (for toast and for foil packets)
meat for foil packets - I had about half a pound of leftover roast, but we've also done foil packets with ground beef
sausage links
bratwurst
summer sausage
8 oz. block of cheddar cheese
1 dozen eggs
chicken salad (already made)

What went into the dry goods box:
package of tortellini
olive oil
vegetable oil
hot chocolate
coffee
pancake mix
potatoes, onions, and carrots
salt and pepper, herbes de provence
peanut butter
trail mix, crackers, pretzels, and stuff for smores
mustard
brown sugar, raisins, and oatmeal (in case we needed a quick meal in a pinch)
bread
sugar for coffee

seasoned potatoes

I've found that when preparing food for a camping trip, it's helpful to think through meals with overlapping foods.  We ate potatoes a few times by just cooking extras at one meal, and keeping the leftovers in the cooler to be reheated for the next meal.  Lunch plans were easy with picnics that required no prep or cooking (we carried a small knife and tiny cutting board with us on our hikes, so we could slice up our food when we were ready for it).  Also, envisioning what you're going to be feeling like before preparing the meal will help - are you just going to be pulling in to the campsite?  Will you have returned from a long hike?  Who else can help you prep the meal?  Thinking through the timing of other plans may help avoid meltdowns (from the kids or yourself).

I would love to have some reader feedback regarding meal planning for camping trips.  I am such a newbie at this, and appreciate any and every idea.  Please leave a comment if you can with your tips for menus while you're enjoying the outdoors with friends and family.

The Camping Trip

Hobo Dinner
serves 3

1 lb. ground beef
2 large whole carrots, cut into sticks (or 10-12 baby carrots)
2 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
6 Tbsp. butter, divided into 3 pieces
salt and pepper to taste
aluminum foil

Lay out three large sections of foil (double the layers if you're not using heavy-duty foil).
Divide the beef, carrots, potatoes, and onions equally between the three foils.
Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper (potatoes always need more salt than you think ... so, really, be generous here.  Camping is no time for cutting corners).
Place the butter on top.  Yum.  If you want more butter, then by all means go for it.  (Re-read previous sentence beginning with "Camping is ..." if you need affirmation)
Fold up the foil into packets, making sure to seal the ends by folding up a few times.  You don't want to lose the juices that cook up inside.
Place foil packets in hot coals of a campfire and cook for 15-20 minutes or until beef is cooked and vegetables are tender.  (Note: coals work better than flames.  Just a head's up.  Wait for the hot coals ... it's worth it!)

Prepping our hobo dinners

All you camping gurus out there ... can you believe this was my first ever cooked-in-the-coals foil dinner?  I can't believe we've never done it before.  They were so easy to prepare, and required such little clean-up.  I think that the Mr. and I have a new camping recipe to add to the mix!  Our second night of cooking, I substituted a bratwurst for ground beef but still used carrots and potatoes (and of course butter).  It was delicious, too!  Man, oh man.  I am now scheming about how to use our fire pit in the backyard in new and ingenious ways for cooking.

We did have a fantastic time camping.  Massachussets in the fall is gorgeous, and though it was COLD (low of 20 degrees on Friday night) everyone in the group managed to stay warm.  We are thankful that not only did we get to spend time with new friends, we also did not have to birth a baby in our tent.  Should such occasion have arisen, though, one of our camping buddies is a midwife (who planned ahead with a CD of labor music and a clean towel or two for me), so I felt very safe and taken-care-of.

Saturday morning: cold.  VERY cold.
Fashion flies out the window when it's cold.

We hiked at a local state park on Saturday and saw a really beautiful and interesting waterfall cascading through a natural tunnel.  We picnicked at a grassy area at the top of the hike, and then headed back for one more night at the camp while the other two families headed home due to prior obligations.  The rhymeswithsmile family enjoyed a second - and much warmer - night but woke up to rain, so our plans for exploring the area on Sunday were squelched.  (And, to be completely frank, I was glad to have an excuse to sit in the car instead of walking around.  Eight months of pregnancy really starts to wear on a girl.)

Little girl did a great job ... I think she stayed warmer than we did the first night, and except for a few wake-ups when she called out for us, she slept pretty well.  She even stayed in her own sleeping bag (a hand-me-down from somewhere) - this is a good sign!  We're on our way up in toddlerhood.

This is my last hurrah, in the outdoorsy arena.  I will not be attempting any more pregnancy camping or camping-with-newborn.  It's New England, and it's going to be really cold.  And, we'll have a newborn.

I am settling in for hibernation, and will emerge for another camping trip next July (maybe).

Camping recipes

The lake at Marcy Dam

We made it back from a week of camping in upstate New York!  We realized once we were there that this is the first time that the three of us (four of us counting the Pumpkin, five counting the dog) had been on a family vacation together, just us.  What a blast!  Honestly, I was a little overwhelmed stressed about the thought of getting E to sleep at night, based on previous experiences ... but she was a champ, and only had one night where she woke up multiple times.

View from the summit of Whiteface Mountain,
looking down on Lake Placid

The nights were cool, and the days were comfortable.  This pregnant lady enjoyed a break from the humidity of Connecticut and the noise of the city.  I think we decided that the High Peaks in the Adirondacks will most likely be "our place" to vacation ... but we have yet to try out Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, anywhere in Canada, or the New England coast.  So we'll get back to you on that.

View from Mt. Severance, overlooking Schroon Lake, NY

We enjoyed swimming, hiking, exploring, reading maps, getting a little lost, stopping whenever we felt like it, eating ice cream (OK, I enjoyed eating ice cream.  The Mr. isn't so much into it), not showering, campfires, teaching the kiddo how to collect sticks, and talking about all the things that come to mind when one doesn't have a computer or phone to distract.  It was a really special time for us.

She loves these little sunglasses.  Seriously.
If only we could all look so beautiful.

Looking upriver towards Marcy Dam

From the top of Whiteface Mountain

On our way up a Mt. Severance

And now, as promised ... the results of the food planning for the week!

For breakfasts, we alternated between these two options:
- instant oatmeal with brown sugar, dried fruit, and/or cinnamon
- scrambled eggs with sausage and potatoes - I precooked the sausage and potatoes before we left so all that was involved was warming them up, but I used a pound of bulk loose sausage, not links or patties. Next time around, I will go with the links or patties because they're more easily contained on a griddle, and less likely to fall off of a toddler's fork onto the ground.

Lunches mainly consisted of serious snacking (since we typically had lunch once we had hiked in wherever we were going that day):
- sliced summer sausage
- sliced cheese
- crackers or baguette
- carrots and celery with hummus
- trail mix

We prepared dinners once we made it back to our campsite.  Here's what we had:
- burritos - precooked rice and beans, precooked shredded chicken, salsa, cheese, tomatoes, and peppers - should've brought some sour cream and guacamole, but I forgot.  I would do this one again.
- tortellini pasta with chopped squash and zucchini, with alfredo sauce - I used some packet of instant alfredo mix that  had in the pantry that was really easy to prepare, but it would've been just as easy to have a jar of sauce.  I'd do this again, but maybe add more vegetables, and/or some chicken or sausage.
- gourmet spinach salad - a bag of spinach, seasoned and cooked chicken, 1 chopped tomato, 1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese, sliced carrots and celery, garlic croutons, and 1/2 c. of vinaigrette dressing - the lesson learned on this one is that while a salad is really easy to throw together at home, it isn't the easiest of camping food ... and leftovers get weird really quickly.  It was delicious though, but I probably will try to find something that's more ... confined within itself ... for the next trip.
- grilled bratwurst - this was delicious, and so easy.  Check plus for next time.
- eggplant parmesan - one (1-lb) eggplant, sliced between 1/4" and 1/2" thick (so I guess that'd be 3/8"?), sprinkled with salt and pepper and browned on both sides in olive oil in a skillet.  Top with 1 small jar of marinara sauce (I bought the smallest one I could find at the grocery store, which was somewhere around 8 -10 ounces) and 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese.  Cover and let the cheese melt slightly before serving (though parmesan doesn't really melt like other cheeses ... it does get a little softer).  This was the best dinner we had, in my opinion.  It took all of 15 minutes to prepare (which automatically made it awesome), had few ingredients (ding ding ding!  amazing!), and was filling and delicious.  It would be super easy to do again while camping, but can also be done at home.  We served it with the rest of a baguette we had from that day's lunch.  If at home, it'd also be great with a simple salad or over some pasta.

Here's proof of deliciousness:

She cleaned her plate!  Always a good sign.

It was so good.  Have I said that enough?

We spent one day in the town of Lake Placid, which had nice sidewalks and a beach area, along with some fun shops and an energetic buzz with all the activity going on.  The kiddo grabbed Salem's leash and started walking him ... she got such a kick out of it, and we didn't let on that she was really the one being constrained in the process!

We got the chance to stop and visit a friend's parents on the last night of our vacation.  They were such sweet hosts, and kindly took the time to show us around the camp they live at, the nearby town, and the beautiful lake.  We're thankful that even though being in New England is a bit out of our comfort zone, we're still able to keep ties with friends - and make new friends in the process!

Thanks Rick and Linda for being so hospitable!  Oh, and for letting us shower ... 

And now, a question for you ... have you ever tried cooking outside while camping, or over a fire?  Do you have any suggestions for this new-to-outdoor-cooking lady?