My son has been in scouts for about 3 years now and has advanced to the Star rank. Over all these years there is always the same problem when it comes to our monthly Troop camp outs. What to prepare. I'm an assistant leader and have furnished them with various camping food cookbooks but maybe it's just a boy thing. There adventure for the out doors does not carry over to the meal table.
Camping can be broken down into several types. Primitive ( or pioneering ) is just living off the land so food is what you make of it. But the 2 most common are tent, at a camp site, and hiking. Both these require different camping food preparation. At the campsite, you can not call yourself a true camper unless you have a Dutch oven. If you cant' cook it on a grill, you can cook cooking it a Dutch oven. Brown some sausage or bacon, add bell peppers and onions, stir in your eggs and instant breakfast. For lunch, use it heat some home made vegetable soup to go along side sandwiches. Dinner can consist of a hearty stew and fresh bread. Just cook some canned biscuits over a low campfire. You can even turn some canned peaches, Bisquick mix, sugar and cinnamon into a filling dessert with your Dutch oven.
Those on hiking trips don't have such versatility. They are pretty much limited to one light weight pot and one pan. All meat would want to be dehydrated. Fortunately, these packages can be found at any camping store and all over the internet. These pre-packaged meals have come a long way from the MRI's that people are used to. Many choices are available now a day. These are known as Retort packages and come in very handy for the winter time campers because they are as easy as dropping into boiling water and eating out of the pouch.
As a group we have planned several trips that require no cooking utensils at all. You would be surprised at how much camping food can be prepared with out all the extra 'tools'. Here is where aluminum foil becomes your best friend. It can be used to cook fresh fish, hamburgers, cinnamon apple treats, corn and many other vegetables. Cube up a piece of meat, add thinly cut vegetables, salt, pepper and a few tablespoons of water and stew is only 20 minutes away. Cooking like this requires that you cook in the hot coals around the edges of the fire it's self.
Food just tastes better when it's cooked outdoors. It's probably due to the fact by the time your done swimming, hiking and relaxing anything tastes good. Either way cooking outdoors does not need to be a chore. Camping is meant to be a treat for your self and meal time can be just as fun.
Many more camping related in sight, tips and rules can be found at my site Camping and More
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