We were able to sneak away this past weekend and get some great camping and hiking in. I adore camping with my family. Something about (mostly) living outside gets me in touch with what matters again, and allows me to slow my ever-growing anxiety and stress level.
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If you’ve camped before, you know that the success of a camping trip is dependent on two things: 1) weather (which cannot be controlled) and 2) preparation (which can). Preparation is key not only for gear and sleeping arrangements, but also for food and cooking.
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We ate very well this camping trip. And as I had planned our meals in advance, it was not at all stressful. Mealtime was easy, and everyone could pitch in and have fun cooking around camp.
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A couple of tips, though, on camping cooking:
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1) I will say it again: do as much prep work in advance as you possibly can. Cut and dice all vegetables and place them in a Ziploc (such as those for the Sloppy Joe recipe); measure out spices and put them into a Tupperware container so you can simply dump and stir; you can even crack and whisk eggs before packing them (this makes them much easier to transport!).
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2) It helps to have a camp stove. We also were gifted a cast iron camp Dutch oven a few Christmases ago and it is phenomenal. We put it right on the grate over the campfire and it works so well.
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3) Get roasting sticks! We used these for the sausages and the marshmallows.
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I hope you are able to get out and camp this fall. Happy trails!Â
Menu and Meal Plan for a Camping Weekend:
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Friday dinner-
- grilled sausages
- Dutch oven nachos from this recipe: https://www.freshoffthegrid.
com/campfire-nachos/ - carrots & hummus
Friday dessert-
- cookies
- hot apple cider (feel free to add a splash of bourbon for the adults if the campground rules allow alcohol!)
Saturday breakfast-
- coffee with cream & sugar
- bananas
- scrambled eggs with cheese Â
- bacon
- bagel (we put the eggs and bacon on the bagels and made breakfast sandwiches)
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Saturday lunch-
Hiking picnic
- Â Â sandwiches (these can be prepared in advance and brought homemade but, as I forgot to do that this trip, we stopped at a sub shop and got sandwiches to go)
- Â Â chips
- Â Jolly Ranchers (we learned in the Grand Tetons that bribing our children to hike without complaining is totally worth it)
- Â clementines
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Saturday dinner-
- Dutch oven Sloppy Joes from this recipe here: https://50campfires.com/
easy-dutch-oven-sloppy-joes/Â Â - bagged Caesar salad
Friday dessert-
- s’mores
Sunday breakfast-
- coffee w/cream & sugar Â
- oatmeal made in the Dutch oven w/fresh fruit, cream and sugarÂ