Meal ideas for camping

[baymom]

We are leaving for a 7 day camping trip early next week. I’m looking for ideas for meals. We have a propane stove, are vegetarian and have no food allergies. Even though we’ve camped a million times, this is the longest DH and I have taken the kids for, so I’m a bit stumped. There is a popular Indian lentil/rice dish I’ll make, pasta and what else? For breakfast, I feel stumped to come up with anything beyond oatmeal. We’re hoping to arrive around 2pm the first day, so I can bring a prepared dinner from home. I think if I bring eggs in the cooler, they will be okay for breakfast the first day. Lunches will be fruit and sandwiches as we will likely be hiking and need food we can pack. I’m really struggling to come up with ideas beyond those two for dinners. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[123LuckyMom]

Our kids love rice dishes. Could you do a rice dish with beans, peppers, onions, and whatever else you want to throw in there? Like pasta, rice is easy to cook. What about a chickpea dish? Any kind of stew will be easy to make. We tend to do lunchy things for breakfast like PB&J sandwiches. It's easy, and we always bring those fixings for sudden bouts of "the pickies."

[baymom]

The rice based dishes are a great idea--thanks!

[Nemesia]

These are hits with my kids when we camp:

hard boiled eggs
bagels and cream cheese/nut butter
chili
corn chowder
kabobs
fajitas (canned black beans, veggies cut up at home, guacamole, tortillas)
s'mores :)

[oneplustwo]

Breakfast ideas:
scrambled eggs (easy to do both with propane stove ~ is it a 2-burner?) with muffins, toast, scones, coffeecake, etc. and fruit; we tend to do a lot of orange segments for breakfast when camping
cold cereal (easy and quick)
baked apples and bannock if you have a firepit going in the morning: I prepare the apples ahead of time, coring them almost all the way through but not completely, then filling them with a mix of brown sugar, crushed nuts, cinnamon, a little butter, then wrapping in tinfoil so they go right in the fire. For bannock I buy a bag of pizza dough, freeze it, and bring it along in the cooler. Wrap a bit of the dough around a stick or a roasting fork, rub it with butter and some cinnamon & sugar, cook over the fire. Messy but fun for kids.
Hot chocolate ~ fun treat to have for breakfast, we're already boiling water for tea and coffee for the adults
Baked oatmeal (the famous BBB recipe, we love it) made ahead of time then eaten cold, super easy and filling

We just returned from a 3-night camping trip and I made two loaves of zucchini bread ahead of time to have for breakfast; need to use up all the summer zucchini!

We typically do 3 or occasionally 4 nights away while tent camping. I freeze as much as I can ahead of time (butter, dough, hot dogs, breakfast sausages, lemonade, etc.) so that things will stay colder longer. I freeze disposable water bottles (16 or 20 oz or thereabouts) to use initially as ice packs, then we drink those as they melt. We buy ice bags daily to add to the main cooler where we keep the perishable food. We have another smaller cooler with drinks that people open more often. I've never worried about the eggs lasting till our last breakfast this way.

[oneplustwo]

Dinner ideas:
pasta with jarred spaghetti sauce or homemade or store-bought pesto or other sauce ~ we usually do a vegetarian pasta our last night of camping ~ just need to boil the pasta and heat up the sauce
hobo dinners ~ whatever veggies you like moistened with a little liquid and wrapped in a tinfoil pouch, cooked over the fire ~ we usually do it with some ground meat but totally doable without
vegetarian chili, guacamole, tortilla chips
potatoes prepared ahead of time and wrapped in tinfoil then baked in the fire; we have these as a side but you could make it more of a main dish with fixings

The more prep work you do in advance, the less you will do during the trip. :)

[baymom]

Thanks for the great ideas everyone! We've only ever done 4 nights with the kids so 7 nights feels like making a lot of outdoor meals. I'll try these suggestions to keep things fresh. More ideas welcome!

[trales]

bisquick pancakes
boxed milk needs no refrigeration
taco night with canned refried beans, veggies, cheese
french bread pizza with jarred sauce and cheese
toasted bagels with butter and cream cheese with cereal and milk (freezing cream cheese makes it crumbly, but keeps while camping)

[wellyes]

We always have mason jar salads the first few days.

My favorite is this one- I throw in some spanish rice, and sometimes use balsamic vinaigrette instead of salsa.
http://www.organizeyourselfskinny.com/2013/08/22/chopped-black-bean-and-corn-mason-jar-salad/

Veggie dogs- maybe even over the fire?
If you have a skillet, you could make pancakes (especially the "just add water" kind) or even french toast for breakfast.
I often do yogurt with granola (and maybe berries) mixed in for camp breakfast.
If you don't have a Coleman camp stove toaster.... it is totally worth the $4 it cost at WalMart. Stores flat, makes 4 slices of toast on a grill or burner.

For dessert, pita bread with apple pie filling, wrapped in foil and put onto the fire grill. It's a nice change of pace from s'mores.

Kids can help make ants on a log. Celery with PB or cream cheese, with raisins.

When we camp for 7 days, we do a run for ice every 2nd or 3rd day.

[american_mama]

FOr breakfast, scout omelets..... two eggs cracked in a ziploc bag with cheese, salt, pepper and even any leftover cooked veggies from the night before. Squish around, drop in boiling water for about 8 minutes. Halfway through, jab the bag with tongs or a long spoon to break it up and cook evenly. My Girl Scout troop loved these.

For dinner, you could do vegetarian tacos-in-a-bag. Buy individual packs of Doritos or Fritos. Cook up seasoned black beans with any desired veggies added (onions, green peppers). Crush chips in bag, open bag, add beans, plus salsa, cheese, chopped lettuce/tomatos/avocados, sour cream. Eat straight out of bag... no dishes! We're not vegetarian so do this with hamburger meat and pre-chopped everything from home or bought chopped from grocery store. Ok the first time we had it, great the second time with more toppings.

Low prep ideas: breakfast pop tars on the campfire, if you want to make a morning campfire, or try doing them on a camp stove with a skillet. If that works, you could try frozen samosas as well to supplement dinner. Veggie dogs on a stick over the campfire, maybe with some heavy sides that you make at home or buy from a store deli. Canned soup on the stove or fire, maybe with veggie burritos or grilled cheeses on the fire... not sure how to do that, but know you can.

You probably want to pick some very simple meals and some with minimal chopping; I would have to otherwise I would be exhausted making fancy campfire meals for a week.

[almostmom]

One dinner we love camping is annies mac and cheese with some sauteed onions and throw in 1/2 cut cherry tomatoes at the end. The tomatoes add an amazing sweetness, and the dinner is so easy!

Also quesadillas would be easy. tortillas and cheese, and bring a can of beans if you want.

And definitely bring pancake batter for breakfasts, along with a few chocolate chips, if you so desire...