Planning a Camping Menu

Fact: Food tastes better when it's cooked and consumed outdoors. One of my favorite parts about camping is all the great food I bring with me. If you're new to the idea of spending a weekend or more out in the woods or if you're just looking for a little inspiration, here are some helpful tips on planning meals- along with a few of my favorite foods.




What you'll need:

• Water jug- 5 gallon jerry cans work nicely
• Cooler packed with ice
• Camp stove and a propane tank
• Skillet
• BBQ grate if your site doesn't come with one. Bring a wire brush to clean the grate whether its yours or the campsite's. Then, right before you put the food on rub the grates with either an onion or a lemon that's been cut in half. 
• Charcoal and lighter
• Cooking utensils: knife, tongs, spatula, spoon
• Eating utensils: spork (I love the Lite My Fire kind but they melt so don't use for hot applications or just get the titanium one), a good pot/bowl/plate multi use dish.
• Weber Chicago Steak Seasoning. It's like catnip for men and you can put it on anything.
• Dutch Oven- for the intermediate to advanced level campers
• Clean up supplies: Scotch-Brite pads, detergent, paper towels.

Things to consider:

• Serious campers and ultralight backpackers take this form of eating on the trail to a whole different extreme. While you can pack MRE's and freeze dried eggplant parmesan- that's certainly not the way I like to camp. 
• The less refrigeration your menu requires, the better. Frequent trips to the camp store for ice get old.
• Do some prep work: take out the slices of bread you know you won't use, chop up onions or other ingredients ahead of time. Use that noggin.
• Keep an eye on the burn bans where you plan on camping if you plan to cook over an open fire. Usually this doesn't include charcoal or propane stoves but check with park rangers if you're unsure.
• A menu and a shopping list aren't the same. Make sure you think through all the items you'll have to pack and haul out to your campsite and then what it takes to prepare that food. If it gets too complicated, make something else.

A Sample Menu:


Friday Night:
Snack:
Summer Sausage, Cheese, Triscuits. Remember to throw the sausage back into the cooler after it's been opened.

Dessert:
S'mores

Saturday
Breakfast:
Bacon, eggs, Pancakes, Sausage. Cook in that order. Use the bacon grease to cook eggs. You'll never look like a mountain man if you don't eat like one.

Lunch:
Sandwiches, Chips, Oreos. Keep it simple with PB&J. Don't forget to use the peanut butter generously on top of the pancakes too.

Snack:
Trail Mix (or Gorp. I never call it that because it sounds stupid). Avoid the M&M kind in the summer. At all other times double recommended amount of M&M's in the recipe. Make and distribute into ziplock bags beforehand.

Dinner:
Steak, Roasted Potatoes, Baked Beans. Apply Weber seasoning to steaks. Cut new potatoes in half, place on 18" sheet of aluminum foil, sprinkle with Weber seasoning, add large chunks of onion and butter, wrap in foil adding an additional sheet around the first layer. Cook for 30 minutes at same level above coals as steak flipping once. Cook baked beans in opened can, stirring frequently.

Desert:
Dutch Oven peach cobbler (like this one from the illustrious Pioneer Woman. Her cookbook has been good for our marriage. And before you get all up in arms about my man card, my wife found it and fed it to me. I never once complained). Instead of placing it in an oven, place it near the coals of your fire and cover the lid with coals and cook for about the same time. Another good one to prep ahead of time. Line the oven with foil to save on clean up. Substitute canned peaches to make life a little easier, but cut no corners when making this at home. Trust me.

Admit it. You're buying a dutch oven on Amazon right now.

Sunday
Breakfast:
Donut Holes, OJ. Easy to manage while packing up the campsite.

Lunch:
Leftovers

Other great camping foods:
Bratwurst, beef jerky, instant oatmeal, hamburgers, dutch oven apple pie, fresh caught fish (if you're into that. I'm not.), roasted hot dogs.

Aside from these slight variations, my camping menu hasn't changed much for a weekend trip since my Cub Scout days- and with a list like this, does it really need to? I am open to suggestions though- what masterpiece do you muster on your excursions?


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