Camp foods need not be crap foods
We've recently returned from a camping trip and for once I don't need to detox from all the high-preservative foods we normally eat on a camping trip. Spoilage was always a concern in the past, so we'd pack hotdogs and heavily preserved sausages of various sorts along with peanut butter and eggs. We would come home and live on fresh salads for a week to clear all the heavy preservative-laden foods from our systems.
This time, we did things differently and now I can't imagine why we had never planned things out this way in the past. I suppose we simply did what we'd always done and what our parents had always done. Here are some delicious camp-friendly recipes that will be staples of our summer camping trips from now on:
1 can beans, any type (we used pintos) drained and rinsed
1 cup bread crumbs (seasoned simplifies things and adds flavour)
1 egg
1 small onion diced fine
1 carrot peeled and shredded
2 Tbsp olive oil
Mash the beans in a bowl and mix with all other ingredients. Refrigerate for one hour before forming patties. I formed 4 nice-sized patties from this mix. For camping, I sprayed foil and wrapped each burger in the foil. We cooked the bean burgers in the foil over the fire. When well-frozen, it took about 30 minutes over medium heat to cook to the desired outer crispiness. When thawed, about 15 minutes.
Fire Roasted Corn on the Cob
Having farm stands nearby our campground, we were able to pick up fresh corn on the cob to serve that night. The kids absolutely loved the fire-roasted corn and did not add butter or salt! Fire roasting doesn't boil out the flavour of the corn, it enhances it and you get that delicious smokey flavour from the fire!
Do not shuck the corn, but do remove the cornsilks, leaving the husks intact. Soak each cob in water for about 10 minutes. Thoroughly waterlog it. If some of the husk is missing or torn or doesn't cover the cob completely, use a bit of foil to wrap around the circumference of the cob. Roast over medium heat for about 20-30 minutes. The husks will be blackened on the outside, but the corn will be juicy and perfect inside. Some of the corn may darken, but it won't be much and it still tastes so good!
Campfire Banana Splits
This was a hit for everyone but one of my children. He did not like his bananas cooked.
Bananas
Chocolate chips (or a chocolate bar)
mini marshmallows
(Optional: shredded coconut, nuts)
Peel a single strip down the center of the banana. Make a slice down the center of the banana. We found it easiest to scoop a bit of banana out of the center, instead of trying to shove all the filling into a narrow knife-slit. Fill the hollow with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Pull the peel back up and wrap the entire banana in foil. Place over fire for about 10 minutes. Open the foil and the banana and eat with a spoon. This was a lovely treat!
Foil-pack vegetables
You can do these so many different ways. In one pack we did:
quartered new potatoes
diced onions
diced peppers
Seasoned with butter (buttered the foil) salt, pepper, and diced garlic cloves
Cooked over medium heat about 30 minutes.
sliced summer squash and zucchini
Diced peppers
Diced onions
thinly sliced new potatoes
buttered the foil, seasoned with salt, pepper, and diced garlic cloves
We deep-froze chicken breasts to take with us. Once they thaw: cook them!
Hobo Pizzas
You need pie irons for these, along with:
Bread
canned pizza sauce
shredded cheese
pizza toppings (pepperoni, diced vegetables)
Butter the bread and place the buttered side against the pie iron. Spread the bread with pizza sauce and add toppings. Top with another buttered bread (butter side against the pie iron). Lock the pie iron and cook it right in the coals of the fire. Takes about 10 minutes.
You could make a ranch-chicken pizza:
Bread
Ranch dressing
canned chicken
shredded cheddar
onion diced
tomato diced
Optional: cooked bacon or ham
Compile as you would the other pizza & cook the same. Read more...
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