Your Best Camping ideas, activities, and recipes?

[acm95301]

I'm heading out in a week and a half to Lake Shasta. I've been camping before, even cooked for over 100 people before, but I'd love to hear your best ideas. This time im with my wife and son, any ideas would be apreciated.

[D-Man]

For the lazy bachelor POV... we pre-cook a bunch of pasta, freeze it in pressure lock bags & warm it in the heavy foil type baking pans that you can get cheap (about 3 for $5). You can toss or recycle the pans but we avoid the cleaning part.

We also go to Costco and get the Harris/Mortons marinated tri-tips and freeze them. They take a day or so to thaw in the cooler so they are perfect for the 2nd or 3rd night. They take about an hour to cook which is a little slow but they are good eats.

We try to get pre-marinated/pre-packaged meat as they are less likey to freezer burn. The Pork loins & sausages are also big hits.

[brambo0311]

Get about 50 burritos, wrap them in tin foil. use bailing wire on your headers or exhaust manifold to cook. That and beer your a self contained RV in Alabama.

[Marty]

I go camping with my kids (all grown up) and grandkids each year. They like to ruff it and cook and sleep with nature (bugs, spiders, and snakes). Planning is the most important part and the most fun about camping. I find out where they will be going and for how long. Then I go to the internet and look up the best hotel-motel that is close to them and make reservation.

The best part is when I stop at a pizza place and pick up a few to take with me to the camp site. The grandkids are all over me and my kids just look at me in that funny way.

I love camping

[brambo0311]

Honestly I try to keep it really simple. I dont want to spend an hour BBQ'ing a T-tip when I could be torchering my children with less than thrilled wild life.

One really big hit though is ice cream sandwiches, just get dry ice and suprise everyone a few days into the trip.

[MIKE TREMONT]

When I go camping the wife and her parents stay with my daughter in the RV. My father in law takes care of the activity's like hooking up the satellite TV and keeping the campsite organized. The gals take care of the cooking for the most part. Costco is your friend in the food department.

I just get up and go fishing for the most part. Do a little clean up and keep the fire going, you know the important stuff !

[g-man]

Keep it simple, hot dogs, burgers, snacks, sandwich stuff, cereal. Bring games to keep the kids occupied when they are bored. Gameboy, board games, portable DVD player.

Oh, and lots of beer for the adults......

[sethook]

Keep it simple, hot dogs, burgers, snacks, sandwich stuff, cereal. Bring games to keep the kids occupied when they are bored. Gameboy, board games, portable DVD player.

Oh, and lots of beer for the adults......

how many kids do you have ?

[BuckSnort]

I say leave the kids gameboy's and TV etc...... at home show them that they can enjoy the outdoors without that crap..

[acm95301]

The frozen tri-tip thaw and ice cream sandwich ideas are really good.

Law enforcemnet may have a problem with them 50 burrito idea, manslaughter is still illegal.

thanks guys! keep em' comming.

[g-man]

Keep it simple, hot dogs, burgers, snacks, sandwich stuff, cereal. Bring games to keep the kids occupied when they are bored. Gameboy, board games, portable DVD player.

Oh, and lots of beer for the adults......

how many kids do you have ?

none, but look how I turned out!

[Phil Burgess]

if your handy with tool !!!!!!! grab an old tracktor disc attach three removable legs to it and walla you have the best cooking device ever just set it right in the fire!!!!!!!!!!!

when done remove the legs and it stores easy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

breakfast lunch or dinner !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MIKE TREMONT]

grab an old tracktor disc attach three removable legs to it and walla you have the best cooking device ever just set it right in the fire!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Phil, do you clean it up B4 you use it, or just let the flame take care of the sanitation ?

[Brian D.]

grill. And, they're available at any local convience store.

[fish_food]

I like camping out at ghost towns and abandoned mining camps on BLM land in Nevada. Start by making a cozy base camp then and go exploring for neat artifacts (abandoned stuff from the 1920s to the 1960s like old trucks, mining equipment, cans, bottles, etc). Sometimes we bring minibikes, go karts and most always, lotsa guns. Shooting propane tanks with lit road flares duct taped to 'em at night is fun stuff...

[Steve]

Shooting propane tanks with lit road flares duct taped to 'em at night is fun stuff...

Now that right there is funny, and it sounds fun too! Thats definitely something I would do. Its also probably in the top 5 things "you know you are a redneck if....."

[g-man]

I like camping out at ghost towns and abandoned mining camps on BLM land in Nevada. Start by making a cozy base camp then and go exploring for neat artifacts (abandoned stuff from the 1920s to the 1960s like old trucks, mining equipment, cans, bottles, etc). Sometimes we bring minibikes, go karts and most always, lotsa guns. Shooting propane tanks with lit road flares duct taped to 'em at night is fun stuff...

LMAO! When we going camping, Thats my kinda fun?

[Caudawg]

For breakfast...I pre-fry a couple pounds of bacon at home and once cooled off, put it in zip-lock bags. At camp, just throw the bacon on the bbq grill briefly to re-crisp it. No mess at all and it comes out great! Bacon makes everything taste great!

[acm95301]

does the bacon taste the same as fresh, or is it like micro wave bacon a cruel hoax.

[Caudawg]

Yes, the bacon re-crisps up and is awesome...not like that rubber chit that comes out of the microwave. Trust me...I am a bacon afficionado!

[Ken C.]

This sounds like the perfect time to learn Dutch Oven Cooking! Get yourself a good quality, three-legged cast iron dutch oven - Lodge is the best available now, or look around for an old Griswold or Wagner (get ready to spend some ca$h for those however). Just stay away from the inexpensive house brands that are usually made in China. It will be nothing but frustration. WalMart even sells the 10 or 12" Lodge for a very reasonable price (look in their camping dept.) With a dutch oven you can cook anything. Pies, cakes, casseroles, deep-fry anything, bacon, pancakes, stew, spaghetti, chili. . . I could go on and on. You can even get a large oven (14"), then a not so large oven (12"), and small oven (10") and stack them one on top of the other to get three different pots going at once. If you are not familiar with DO's, here is a link to a very informative site with alot of recipes:

http://www.macscouter.com/Cooking/DutchOven.asp

I always have to make coffee cake in the mornings and some type of cobbler for desert, in addition to whatever else migth get cooked. It amazes folks when you bake a perfect chocolate cake on a camping trip using one of these. Banana nut bread, brownies, you name it! Probably THE most universal cooking tool you can have on a camping trip!

The frozen tri-tip is good as well, as is a pre-cleaned/pre-cut chicken. Steaks do well also. We usually "pre-process" and freeze all of the meat before we leave and we'll cook the meat in order of it thawing: hamburger first, then steaks, then chicken, roasts, etc. The bigger the chunk of meat, the longer it will keep frozen.

Depending on where you are going and the age of the kids, fishing is always a #1 activity, horseshoes, gold panning, hiking, bike rides, etc. Don't forget the proverbial Snipe Hunt! We have taken the kids out so they can find their perfect Indian Weather Rocks - that's always fun!!!

Last thing is to be sure to remember the S'mores!

[DeltaDan]

Camping and Activities require alot of Carbs and Protine and be filling to last aswell.

Day one for breakfast -- on your two burner propane stove - some canned refied beans (one or two depending on how much Chorrizo you are cooking) with a skosh of water in one pan -- the other BIG high-wall skillet.

Fry up some Messican Chorrizo (one or two packages) till the Meat/blood is cooked and oils are released.

Mix in with 1 dozen or 18 scrambled eggs - and then cook untill the eggs are "almost done" ~ then add the beans -- and mix well togther and simmer.

Take up alot of grated cheese in a gallon ziplock baggie prior...

Warm the Tortillas one at a time on a flat skillet (Smalls work perfectly) while spining and flipping untill the till the sugars release and the tortillas become pliable.

Then start the assembly line with the family. (you don't need ALOT of the egg/bean/chorrizo on the shell ... that way they will fill up perfectly/handsized/and stay mess-free when eating.

When a tortilla comes off - pass it down and have one place the egg/bean/chorizzo onto to it and pass it down for the cheese, sour cream and top with Tapatio sauce.

Pass it down and have the last person tuck and roll them up and place into quart sized zip-lock baggies. You will make 18- 20+ burritos.

Keep the ones out that you want to eat out for Breakfast. Put the rest in your icechest as they are just as good cold and easy to eat, filling and fortifying. And you can even take them hiking with you w/o having to worry about spoilage when cold - and do not squish at all like a sandwich in your pack.

If you want them warmed up later/the next day- just wrap 2-3 in foil and place on the grill or pan on indirect heat and flip after 10 minuets.

Cleanup is super easy as well with just 2 pan's, a spatula and some water/soap.

[Rbass519]

When we go camping, we try to maximize our fishing and beer drinking time and minimize our cooking and cleaning time.
We bake about 20 potatos at home so they don't take as long to fry in the morning,and if you want a tater with dinner it's easy to heat up.We also make a big pot of chilli at home.It's hard to beat fried taters,chilli beans,and fried fish.
You've had a lot of suggestions for food already so I'll leave it at that.An activity (besides fishing) that's fun is horse-shoes.
Fishing;drinking beer;bbq;drink beer;horse-shoes;drink beer;fish some more.
Oh,don't forget the graham crackers,marshmellos,and chocolate bars so your kids can make smores by the camp fire.