First overnight car-camping trip, cooking suggestions

[nickdu]

Well this coming weekend we'll (myself my wife and our four kids) take our first camping trip. Not a big deal, just a single overnight. I think there will just be three meals, dinner first night, and breakfast and lunch the next day. My wife just purchased a coleman stove and some cooking utensils. I'm not sure what we're eating while we're there. Maybe we shouldn't worry about it too much and just bring stuff we don't even need to cook, like PB&J sandwiches. At any rate, any suggestions are helpful. I did read the thread about losing food pack weight (or something along those lines). My wife also was wondering how we're supposed to clean our cookware. We're camping in Jenny Jump State Forest in NJ and there are bears around so I assume we should be careful about the food we leave around.

Thanks,
Nick

 

[jfb]

Do you like spam ??

 

[Bluethroatedone]

Choices

There are a couple choices you have to make. Some people like the ease of dehydrated food others prefare to eat things closer to what you have at home. I'll outline some of the advantages of each:

Dehydrated (ie packs you buy at an outdours store)
+Ease (no planning necessary)
+Light
+Taste (I personally find that they taste pretty good....but not everyone agrees here)

Home-like
+ You know you like it
+ Often cheaper
+ No need to go to outdoors store

The second category is pretty vast. For me I might mean bringing tortillas, hummus and cheese, for others it could mean bringing a frozen piece of meat etc.

Check out this site for good backcountry menus: http://www.knapsack.org/ks_food.html

 

[Bluethroatedone]

cleaning

Well you have two options for cleaning:

1) Don't clean (clean as best as you can with a spoon...) then bring home dirty (what I do for one hot meal trips)
2) Use Campsuds, strain out hard waste and carry out: http://www.rei.com/online/store/Pro...99&parent_category_rn=4500611&vcat=REI_SEARCH

 

[Pucknuts61]

Hi Nick,

Just some ideas that we like to use and are pretty simple on a Coleman stove.
Dinner:
Cheeseburgers...buy the premade ones and grab the packets of ketchup, salt, peper, mustard..etc from your office cafeteria. Don't forget the buns.
Chicken fajita's...buy the peppers and onions already mixed and use pita bread or wraps.

Don't forget the marshmellows....and bring a Duraflame log to make sure you have a fire.

Breakfast:
Eggs are pretty easy. Check out the Bisquick pancake mix in a small plastic bottle. It's the "Just add water" type and you mix it right in the bottle and pour into the frying pan (the same one you used for the cheeseburgers). You might need a couple of bottles for 6 people.
Don't forget the syrup....and you gotta have bacon.

Other things:
Paper plates (they burn easily)...napkins....paper cups....drink mixes like Koolaid....lantern/flashlights...paper towels....trash bags....folding chairs.

plus Scotch and wine

(scotch for the kids....the wine for you and the Mrs.)

Good luck, I'm sure more will come up with great suggestions too,
Bill

 

[Rick]

OH Yes!!!
Ditto on the keep it simple mantra - I think cooing is a lot of fun when car-camping. The easiest things are bringing a fry pan from home and fixing burgers, but you can easily also bring a pot from your kitchen to make some simple chili - The kids will love it. Use paper or plastic for everything and don't waste the time to wash stuff. Spend the time with your kids and if everything goes well, you can add more gear (plastic plates and bowls), more processes (washing drying dishes) and more chores to your trips as you grow into them.

I don't live much more than 30-45 minutes from JJ State Park and I would suggest that you package your leftovers in ziplocks or coolers and store everything in your car with the windows up and all the trash in the trash receptacles.
Snowshoe (VFTT Member) is a ranger on the North Side of DWG near Highpoint SP - You might send him a PM for additional information, as he has a wealth of knowledge on NJ Parks.
Good Luck
Rick

 

[sapblatt]

plus Scotch and wine

(scotch for the kids....the wine for you and the Mrs.)

Good luck, I'm sure more will come up with great suggestions too,
Bill

Our families need to camp together!

I like everything I have read hear...one other thing I do that is real simple is I buy a 5 pound bag of matchlight charcoal (you ignite the entire bag...real easy) - lite it in the fire pit and put a grill over it ( I have a 20" round grill that I can adjust to rit over any firepit.)
With this set up there are no pans to wash and you can have steak tips, chicken , dogs, burgers, or even grilled shrimp...all very easily. For breakfast, I usually boil water and have oatmeal...
Have a great time!!

 

[nickdu]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm sure they will come in handy. On a couple replies there was a mention of paper plates burning easy. Does this mean I should be burning the plates and any other paper products we use in the fire pit (if we make use of the fire pit)?

Thanks,
Nick

 

[jessbee]

I second Sapblatt's usage of the fire pit--to me, one of the best parts about camping is grilling over the fire at the end of the day. To the chicken, burgers, etc. don't forget to bring corn on the cob. Leave it unpeeled, throw it on the grill over the hot coals and let it steam (turn at least once) about 15 minutes...delicious. You can do baked potatoes too, wrap them in foil and put right on the coals. These take longer.

Aluminum foil comes in handy for wrapping leftovers and wrapping food that is ready too early, the foil will keep food warm until it's ready to eat.

I've always burned napkins, plates etc but I don't know if that's standard practice. Just don't burn any food, which would attract bears.

Have fun!!

 

[jbreen]

NYS campgrounds want all paper products burned, recyclables separated, and everything else is trash. Check to see if there are any restrictions on fires, Westchester County just banned all open fires due to drought.

I second trying to grill everything on the fire if you can, nothing to clean up but a burger flipper or tongs...and while I do like bacon, getting rid of the grease and cleaning up the pan it is just too much work for that cholesterol laden goodness. Cook what the kids will eat though.

In addition to corn and potatoes on the coals, try baked apples. Core it, add cinnamon sugar, a bit of granola and raisins, wrap in foil - excellent!

Check out the overnight low temps before you go. Have fun.

Jim

 

[BorealChickadee]

I cheat with the bacon.

I precook a pound of bacon at home to go with the eggs and pancakes. Works like a charm and no messy cleanup. That stuff can also survive a full day in the summer heat and not suffer. Makes great sandwiches on a hike. For sandwiches I cook it a little crisper than to go with the pancakes.

 

[Jay H]

Jbreen, Jenny Jump is in Jersey, not NY.

Nickdu:Having said that, if you are unsure of what to do with leftover foodwater, greywater (dishes, etc), you can always ask the ranger when you arrive.

Different areas have different rules, like when I did the Chilkoot trail in alaska, when I was in the US part, the rangers said to just wash greywater in the river and disperse on land, they had bear poles,etc. Once I crossed into Canada, they had food lockers and also greywater pits.

I'm not sure what Jenny Jump requires, but I would definitely ask Snowshoe (aka Shawn), he's a NJ state ranger who works in the area down there..

Jay

 

[The Sikes]

car camping

The one thing I hate to do while out camping is dishes. I'm lazy, I guess. As someone else posted, if it is only one meal you are cooking with then I do my best to wipe the pan and take it home later to clean properly.

I use the campfire for most cooking because we love to sit by a fire. You can do aluminum foil cooking (the thicker stuff) We put fake meat, frozen/canned veges and canned potatoes for a little stew. You can even put cheese on top of it. This way here you don't have any pans to clean or plates for that matter, just the aluminum foil to toss out after. My kids love this meal. Very simple.

Hot dogs, if you eat them, are another thing you don't need a pan for. You can cook these over the fire too.

I use everything I can disposable so I don't have to wash...Plastic utensils, paper plates....If you do have to do dishes, then you need to find out if there is a place to dump the grey water because that could attract the bears.

 

[hikeritz]

There have been a lot of great ideas about the food, but I'll offer one about the new stove. Fire it up at home before you go! Figure out how to set it up, get it going, adjust it as needed and shut it down. It's a major bummer to have all sorts of wonderful plans for cooking and then find you can't get the stove going. If you bought a new tent, set that up at home first as well.

 

[imarchant]

The one thing I hate to do while out camping is dishes. I'm lazy, I guess. As someone else posted, if it is only one meal you are cooking with then I do my best to wipe the pan and take it home later to clean properly.

I use the campfire for most cooking because we love to sit by a fire. You can do aluminum foil cooking (the thicker stuff) We put fake meat, frozen/canned veges and canned potatoes for a little stew. You can even put cheese on top of it. This way here you don't have any pans to clean or plates for that matter, just the aluminum foil to toss out after. My kids love this meal. Very simple.

Hot dogs, if you eat them, are another thing you don't need a pan for. You can cook these over the fire too.

I use everything I can disposable so I don't have to wash...Plastic utensils, paper plates....If you do have to do dishes, then you need to find out if there is a place to dump the grey water because that could attract the bears.

I second the foil cooking idea for dinner. I use real meat (hamburger) add veggies and seasoning. Place on a square of foil, fold the to make package, fold the edges several times to keep in the steam and juices. Place in fire coals. They cook fast, about 15-20 minutes. Turn about every 5 minutes.

For lunch go with sandwiches or a "heat and eat" type meal (soup or stew from a can. Hotdogs and grilled cheese are also good.

Breakfast: Instant oatmeal, omelets in a bag (scramble eggs and desired ingredients. Place serving size portions in a ziplock bag and place in boiling water till thickened, eat out of bag) For a little more cleanup, pancakes and sausage on a ccast iron grill. I do not recommend bacon, the grease catches fire easily.

 

[Halite]

My wife just purchased a coleman stove and some cooking utensils. I'm not sure what we're eating while we're there. Maybe we shouldn't worry about it too much and just bring stuff we don't even need to cook, like PB&J sandwiches.

As suggested before, if you can practice with your stove before you go camping, you'll be more assured of successful cooking. Otherwise, maybe bring some things that don't require cooking as a backup.

One way to have good food really easily is to prepare it ahead of time, freeze it and then just reheat at the campsite. You can even reheat it in one of those bags that are made for cooking turkeys to simplify cookware cleanup.

A lot of people had good fire suggestions. Kids love fires. and roasting marshmallows. and of course s'mores. When I'm camping with kids and don't plan to have a fire, I will often bring popcorn. That's usually a pretty good surprise for them.

My wife also was wondering how we're supposed to clean our cookware.

As suggested, with some planning, you wouldn't have to clean your cookware on an overnight trip--just bring a large garbage bag to keep the dirty stuff separated in your car and wait to get home to throw things in the dishwasher. If you do choose to clean up while camping, just scrape things clean. Then boil some water in your main cooking pot and add any utensils. You can minimize the need for soap and extra rinsing this way.

Speaking of boiling water and camp cooking around kids, reminds me: kids like to be where the action is when camping. So when you're cooking, they will likely want to be right on top of you, which of course is not safe. I try to set up a kitchen area separated from other camping activities and admonish everyone not to walk through my kitchen.

We're camping in Jenny Jump State Forest in NJ and there are bears around so I assume we should be careful about the food we leave around.

Any bears hanging around a campground have the potential to be a nuisance about food. Definitely keep your food under control: keep it in your car with the windows closed unless you are right there cooking and eating it. And check to make sure no one brings food or candy into the tent.

 

[Umsaskis]

Car camping gives you so many options. A couple of tips and ideas:

For things like pancakes, biscuits, etc. - if you prefer from-scratch recipes (without all the preservatives that are found in boxed mixes), you can make your own dry mix ahead of time using powdered milk, Just Whites (dehydrated egg whites), and cutting in the butter - put it in a plastic bag or tupperware container, and write a label telling you how much water to add when you want to cook it.

Another thing you may want to purchase which is a lot of fun is a reflector oven. I don't see many of them these days, but they work beautifully for baking next to a campfire. You just have to have a good strong fire going, and set the oven up on some rocks so the heat goes directly into it. I've made home-made pizza, casseroles, even desserts in mine. It's a lot of fun to figure out new things to bake in it which you would never have expected you could have while camping.

For washing, if you have one big pot, you can do your washing in that, or get a small plastic wash tub. I usually use plain water and scrub all the extra food out so that it looks clean, and then use a small amount of soap after that - it saves effort on rinsing.

 

[nickdu]

Jbreen, Jenny Jump is in Jersey, not NY.

Nickdu:Having said that, if you are unsure of what to do with leftover foodwater, greywater (dishes, etc), you can always ask the ranger when you arrive.

Different areas have different rules, like when I did the Chilkoot trail in alaska, when I was in the US part, the rangers said to just wash greywater in the river and disperse on land, they had bear poles,etc. Once I crossed into Canada, they had food lockers and also greywater pits.

I'm not sure what Jenny Jump requires, but I would definitely ask Snowshoe (aka Shawn), he's a NJ state ranger who works in the area down there..

Jay

I'm really a novice here. After reading all the posts I'm figuring that greywater is dirty water that you generated, lets say from dishes. Let me know if I'm not correct. So what is foodwater? Water that you brought to drink or cook with? If so, do I need to worry about what to do with leftover foodwater? Can't I just dump it on the ground? And the part about washing greywater in the river is confusing me. How can I wash water?

Thanks,
Nick

 

[sapblatt]

Another thing you may want to purchase which is a lot of fun is a reflector oven. I don't see many of them these days, but they work beautifully for baking next to a campfire. You just have to have a good strong fire going, and set the oven up on some rocks so the heat goes directly into it. I've made home-made pizza, casseroles, even desserts in mine. It's a lot of fun to figure out new things to bake in it which you would never have expected you could have while camping.

Pizza is also great on the grill...very easy to do, cooks in minutes on a hot grill...just oil it well!

 

[nickdu]

And one more question. For those that do have to wash dishes, do you assume you can get a hold of some water wherever you're camping, or do you bring your own supply of water to wash with? I'm thinking you never want to have to lug your own wash water around so you either don't wash dishes or you make sure the site has water.