Why should your meals be easy for camping?
Whether it’s your first time going camping or you are a seasoned pro, you know how important it is to make meals as simple as possible. My husband and I have been camping for almost 30 years together. We started out in a tent, now we camp in our travel trailer. So I guess it’s more like “glamping” than camping. Regardless I like it simple. We don’t spend a lot of time in our trailer. Honestly, we spend the majority of our time outside, especially cooking. Cooking inside a travel trailer isn’t always the easiest or convenient. Over the years I have chosen a few of my favorite go to camping meals and wanted to share those with you today!
1. Grilling (anything)
Grilling is by far one of the easiest meals you can have. The options are endless as to what you can grill. The campfire is already there so why not utilize it? My husband made us a grill that you stake in the ground, the grill swivels over the fire. Easy peasy. Examples my family and I will choose to grill for our camping dinner, would be steak, pork chops, chicken….. Like I said the options are endless. For the sides, we will usually do a baked potato in the coals or one of my favorites is my easy, (and I mean easy) clam chowder recipe (recipe here). If you can even call it a recipe. But let me tell you it is delicious, easy, affordable, and goes amazing with a nice grilled steak!
2. Foil Meals
This is probably a favorite of mine! Besides a little prep, this is super easy! Like grilling, there are a lot of options. My husband and I always choose beef, I purchase a package of stew meat. We add golden potatoes, diced in about 1” cubes. If the potatoes are left too large they will take a long time to cook. My daughter uses sliced Kielbasa sausage. Another nice thing about foil meals is that everyone can make their own and customize to their liking. My husband and I add the potatoes, my daughter does not. My daughter and I add cooked shrimp. We all add butter, and onion chunks and season with our favorite seasonings! They cook for about 25 to 30 minutes depending on the ingredients you choose. Bonus, while they are on the grill cooking you can usually clean up the mess that was made, and by the time you are eating, no more mess!! Win win! (recipe coming soon)
3. Chili
This is a one pot meal, making it perfect for camping! In a large pot, I will brown my meat. We used ground beef, but can easily be made with ground turkey, ground sausage, etc…. I like to cook up 1 ½ pounds, once it’s cooked and drained I add a large can of pinto beans (drained), 2 small cans of tomato sauce, one package chilli seasoning, and mix. Once it’s boiling, I let it simmer for 10 minutes. One and done. We like to serve this with Firecrackers (recipe here), cheese, and onions. Such an easy one and will feed everyone in camp, usually leaving leftovers for chili dogs the next day! Two meals in one! Want to try this one, here’s the recipe.
4. Chicken & Dumplings
There is nothing better than comfort food, but comfort food while outdoors by a campfire? Sign me up! This one does require a little prep before you leave for your trip. I like to boil the chicken and shred it ahead of time. As well as the noodles. I like to use egg noodles, I lightly boil them. You don’t want to overcook them as you will be cooking them again. When I am out camping, I add the shredded chicken, 4 chicken bouillon cubes and bring that to a boil. Once boiling I add the noodles and the best part, the dumplings. I buy a tube of Pillsbury Grands biscuits and add them all to the top of the soup. Close the lid, turn to a simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes. People will think you slaved over a stove all day! It’s that good! (recipe coming soon)
5. Gumbo
The last and final recipe my family and I enjoy out camping is Gumbo. This one also requires a little prep ahead of time. Let me tell you it’s worth it. When you are out camping, you add all the ingredients to one pot and voila, you’ve got gumbo. I purchase the Zatarain’s Gumbo mix in a box. I follow the directions as the box states but add a pound of shredded chicken, a pound of cooked Italian sausage links, sliced into chunks and a pound of cooked shrimp. It’s delicious and full of flavor!
There you have it, these are 5 of my favorite camping dinners! Will post our favorite lunches and breakfasts soon! Do you camp? What are your go to meals? Which one are you going to try? Let me know and tag me if you do!!
