I think this is a first... 3 posts in one day!! I just have really been loving Debbie's (at A Quilter's Table blog) Tuesday at the Table Posts and link ups!
That (not-too-great-iPod) photo up there is where we spent several meals over the past week-end. Please excuse the mess ;-).
I decided to do a post of what's become our traditional first night camping meal. There's really not much to it, and there lies the beauty. That first night is usually full of driving, setting up either our tents and sleeping bags or our pop-up trailer, exploring, finding fire wood, etc... So it's become a tradition to make super-easy quesadillas. I buy a package of 12 flour tortillas (whole wheat), a bag of grated cheese, a little package of pre-made guacamole, a small jar of salsa, and a bag of chips. If you can make the quesadillas (cheese between 2 flour tortillas) without getting cheese on the skillet, the only clean up is a knife (used to cut them) and a few spoons.
I'm very environmentally conscious, but when it comes to camping, we break out paper plates, cups and bowls, all of which can either be thrown away or packed out, or burned in the camp fire. If you click on the photo, you'll notice a white and black plastic bin, as well as a stove and water/tea kettle. That's our dish washing system, and no one likes to use it.
I've been camping my entire life. It was the only way my family could afford to travel. I've seen everything in camp from instant dehydrated food to gourmet, vegetarian, and meat and potatoes, cold, hot, and many other variations. I love to cook, but hate to clean up, so my camp meals are very easy and focus on minimal clean up. The rest of the week-end's meals consisted of pumpkin cranberry walnut bread (made at home earlier in the week), hummus and pita bread with baby carrots (all packaged from the grocery store), chili/frito/cheese pie (chili also pre-made at home and put into a big gallon zip-lock bag), and cereal and instant oatmeal. I love the Starbucks' instant "via" coffee packs, and ever since they came out with them, I haven't made full fledged coffee in camp. There's always hot chocolate and the "emergency" food that we bring along... a few cans of soup, lots of nuts and dried fruit, and other things. We've never gone hungry!
I'd LOVE to hear about any other easy camping food if you have any ideas!
Here's one more picture of me over the week-end, via the iPod. I LOVE the way it has the camera that you can "flip", so you can see what you're taking a picture of. BRILLIANT!
Hey Becky! Nice to see you again. We are quesadilla freaks here. We used to have them for Sunday lunch/dinner after church. Shredded cheese is so messy that I started using slices. I also use them in lasagna and casseroles.
ReplyDeleteIf you like BBQ, try some leftover grilled chicken, Colby jack cheese and a light smear of BBQ sauce in those Quesadillas. Or you can use shredded BBQ chicken like for sandwiches the same way.
Ham and Swiss are good too. And I hear grilled PB&J rocks. No cheese there though. :) Expand those horizons! ;)
PS I am so jealous of your campsite.
I have no experience with camping as my parents stopped camping when my younger brother and I came along and for lack of a better excuse, we just don't go. Love your descriptions and detail of how you cook while camping. Makes perfect sense that you would want to make cooking as easy as possible while camping. Super cute pic of you. :)
ReplyDeleteI have become a fan of foil meals!!!! and have started to take/make those!!! Some root veggies, meat, and a sauce and you have a meal with very few dishes.... Sometimes just the veggies and BBQ the meat. I will also make a few things to take along, pre cooked. A nice round steak/London broil done rare/to med. rare, thinly sliced for a steak sandwich, premade green salad in ziplock baggie. Add dressing and shake... serve!!! Dessert can be made in foil too.... banana, marshmallows and chocolate chips.... yum!
ReplyDeleteNot really a camper here either, though my family did when I was a kid. We love quesadillas though, and make them fairly often at home. Love that you enjoy T@tT - see you at the June event, I hope!
ReplyDeleteOur family camped when we were kids -- under canvas; that is, under a heavy brown canvas tent. Mom cooked on a Coleman stove and we used *real* dishes which were washed up later in a big pot of hot water heated on the same stove. Dad constructed a wonderful wooden box that kept all the 'pantry' items safe in the back of the station wagon. We 3 kids slept in the tent, and Mom and Dad in the back of the wagon. Mom even made red-and-white striped curtains for the red car's side windows!
ReplyDeleteLater, I went to Girl Guide camp and slept under more heavy brown canvas. Learned to start a fire on one match and cook a meal over it, including doing those *real* dishes....
Still later, I was a Brownie and then Guide leader and went to more camps. Less tenting, more in cabins, fewer outdoor cook-outs, but still great fun. Best food? Lobsters boiled over the fire at (Bay of) Fundy Park, after you watched 'em run around the campsite for a wee bit. Best dessert? Banana boats -- sliced bananas topped with marshmallows and chocolate chips, wrapped in foil and baked in a camp fire...
I don't really cook when I "rough it" but my standard breakfast is oatmeal (just boil the water and make right in the cup) and a small can of fruit. If I am anywhere near civilization, lunch is a take out salad to eat at some scenic location. Since we almost always are in a Walmart parking lot when we "rough it", supper is usually just a stroll thru Walmart for a snack. I grew up camping and we quite often ate franco-american or condensed tomato soup right out of the can, not even heated. Walmart has much better "instant" meals.
ReplyDeletethis is the correct id for the above comment....I hope..verified.....yup!
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