Meals/Packing food for camping

[NotSoObvious]

Making meals while camping, all while traveling, is proving to be a little daunting. I won't be able to prep anything ahead of time. We will go straight from the grocery store to our campsite.

 

We will have one big cooler, a dutch oven, one burner, one pot, and utensils, cutting board, etc.

 

Here's the schedule:

 

Sunday: Stop at Whole Foods, drive six hours, check into the campground

 

Camp Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights

 

Leave Tuesday, drive 90 minutes to Safeway, drive another hour to our second campsite

 

Camp Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights

 

 

 

Any ideas? I'm assuming we'll need to buy some frozen meats so that it stays good in the cooler. It will be really hot outside.

 

For breakfasts we are planning on a lot of egg dishes as well as steel cut oats.

 

What about lunches and dinners? I only have one or two menu items up my sleeve and that's a long time to be eating sandwiches.

 

Can you give me some tips on how to organize the meals so that we eat up the most perishable items first?

 

THANKS. We want to hit the store with a menu in hand.

[NotSoObvious]

Oh, we'll be able to get ice daily Sun-Wed, but Thurs-Sat will be a little more difficult as we'll be at Lake Powell. I'm sure we'll get ice at some point, it just won't be as convenient.

[Pippen]

Do you have electricity at your campgrounds? I always pack along an electric skillet and small toaster oven because I can do about anything between the two.

 

Leakage into coolers can be a big problem. I have found large plastic peanut butter jars with a few wraps of duct tape around the junction of the lid and jar to be the most waterproof containers. I always pack extra duct tape to rewrap. I keep cheese and deli meat in one, eggs in another, etc.

[plath]

We have been doing dry ice in the coolers the last few camping trips (under regular ice) and it works wonderfully. Usually we bring everything from home though and I freeze prior. I put everything in gallon ziplocks to prevent water seepage.

For lunches we do quesadillas (Mexican or pizza style), boxed Mac and cheese as well as different sandwiches. My family would eat sandwiches every day though. Grilled cheese, hot ham and cheese, cold lunchmeat, tuna salad, etc.

We also do big breakfasts like pancakes or sausage gravy and biscuits in the Dutch oven and snack for lunch instead.

[plath]

For dinner we usually do:

Pasta with meat sauce

Nachos or fajitas

Hot dogs over fire with baked beans

Burgers with baked potatoes

and always do a cobbler in the fire for dessert

homemade Mac and cheese

Chili

[AK_Mom4]

For main meals - Tacos, Burritos, Fajitas, Sloppy Joes, Baked potatoes with chili, Sausage and sliced potatoes. If you have a dutch oven, do chicken pot pie, sticky chicken, sweet and sour meatballs (buy the frozen meatballs).

 

Buy boneless chicken and when you get to the camp the first day, cut it into strips and cook it. Once it's cool, wrap it up and put it in the cooler to use for later meals as strips, cubes or shredded. Same thing with hamburger. Sausage is another great choice because it keeps well.

 

Breakfasts for us are generally oatmeal or eggs or pancakes when camping. Pancakes make an awesome dinner too. We generally eat just two meals when camping - big breakfast and early dinner with snacks or sandwiches around lunch time.

[Annie G]

The days you shop at the grocery store, you could buy prepared food from the deli. Cold fried chicken, some kind of salad...that's a nice change from sandwiches and easy for you. It's really not that much more expensive, and Whole Foods has a delightful selection of prepared foods!

[Mrs Mungo]

We make a lot of dishes with meats that don't need refrigeration. You can make mini pizzas with English muffins, sauce, pepperonis and cheese. You can make chicken tacos with chicken from a can/pouch, tortillas, seasoning, cheese, plus whatever veggies you want. Tuna or chicken salad on crackers or pita breads is easy. I would gear the later meals that way.

[NotSoObvious]

Do you have electricity at your campgrounds? I always pack along an electric skillet and small toaster oven because I can do about anything between the two.

 

Leakage into coolers can be a big problem. I have found large plastic peanut butter jars with a few wraps of duct tape around the junction of the lid and jar to be the most waterproof containers. I always pack extra duct tape to rewrap. I keep cheese and deli meat in one, eggs in another, etc.

 

 

No electricity. Most of the sites I reserved were tent only sites. (This is the first leg of a summer long camping trip.)

 

Duct tape! Genius!

[NotSoObvious]

We have been doing dry ice in the coolers the last few camping trips (under regular ice) and it works wonderfully. Usually we bring everything from home though and I freeze prior. I put everything in gallon ziplocks to prevent water seepage.

For lunches we do quesadillas (Mexican or pizza style), boxed Mac and cheese as well as different sandwiches. My family would eat sandwiches every day though. Grilled cheese, hot ham and cheese, cold lunchmeat, tuna salad, etc.

We also do big breakfasts like pancakes or sausage gravy and biscuits in the Dutch oven and snack for lunch instead.

 

 

 

So, funny thing about dry ice. We used to buy it all the time when we lived in Utah. Then we moved to Virginia. The first time we lost power, my husband raced to buy dry ice and it was SO hard to find. Some of the grocery stores looked at us like we were CRA-ZY! They said, "I think you have to call the ice company for that." Ha!

[NotSoObvious]

For main meals - Tacos, Burritos, Fajitas, Sloppy Joes, Baked potatoes with chili, Sausage and sliced potatoes. If you have a dutch oven, do chicken pot pie, sticky chicken, sweet and sour meatballs (buy the frozen meatballs).

 

Buy boneless chicken and when you get to the camp the first day, cut it into strips and cook it. Once it's cool, wrap it up and put it in the cooler to use for later meals as strips, cubes or shredded. Same thing with hamburger. Sausage is another great choice because it keeps well.

 

Breakfasts for us are generally oatmeal or eggs or pancakes when camping. Pancakes make an awesome dinner too. We generally eat just two meals when camping - big breakfast and early dinner with snacks or sandwiches around lunch time.

 

See, my brain just doesn't work like that. What a great idea.

[NotSoObvious]

The days you shop at the grocery store, you could buy prepared food from the deli. Cold fried chicken, some kind of salad...that's a nice change from sandwiches and easy for you. It's really not that much more expensive, and Whole Foods has a delightful selection of prepared foods!

 

That's a wonderful idea! I'm scheduling that for Sunday night!

[NotSoObvious]

Thanks everyone!

[plath]

Dry ice can be hard to find. We can buy it at our grocery store in MI and my mom buys it in OH, too. I think I've footless where to find it before.

[Pippen]

 

No electricity. Most of the sites I reserved were tent only sites. (This is the first leg of a summer long camping trip.)

 

Duct tape! Genius!

 

Duct tape was an idea born out of necessity. I often had ice cut through ziplock bags or seep into Rubbermaid containers. I've never had leakage with the peanut butter jars and tape.