A family camping menu should be:

1. Easy and quick to prepare.

2. Requires only a few ingredients and

3. Those ingredients are easy to store at camp (not prone to spilling, spoiling, space-hogging).

Here is our family’s 4-Day Camping menu plan. We have tweaked it over the years and I’m sure you will tweak it some more for your family’s style and needs.

4-Day Camping Food Menu Plan

1st Night: Lloyds BBQ Ribs, corn, coleslaw and potato salad

Wrap ribs in heavy-duty foil, heat, open a can of corn and serve with ready-made coleslaw and potato salad. First night is celebration night. You’ve put up the tent, you’ve build a campfire, you’ve unpacked your gear. So kick back and relax. By the way, Costco is my favorite place to get a big tub of potato salad and coleslaw.

DAY 1 ==========

Breakfast: Blueberry Pancakes, sausage and eggs

Lunch: Chili dog and leftover coleslaw/potato salad

Dinner: Grilled marinated steak tips, baked potatoes & camping onions. If no grill: Easy Pork Chops and bread rolls

Dessert: S’mores

DAY 2 ==========

Breakfast: Cereal and fruit, corny cakes

Lunch: Tortellini and tomato sauce

Dinner: Meat loaf sandwich & Italian Wedding Soup (canned)

Dessert: Mini Camping Pies

DAY 3 ==========

Breakfast: French Toast, sausage and eggs

Lunch: Chowder in bread bowl or grill burgers and hot dogs

Dinner: Ham, beans and baked sweet potatoes

Dessert: Peach Mallows

DAY 4 ==========

Breakfast: Pancakes, sausage and eggs

Lunch: Foil-wrapped Surprise (Whatever’s left in camp kitchen)

Do we stick religiously to this menu plan? Of course not. But being prepared gives me the freedom to be more creative and flexible.

The recipes are pretty easy to guess. If you need the camping recipes, tips and shortcuts for this 4-day family camping menu, email us at camping_menu@aweber.com and it will be sent out to you automatically.

The menu does require a camping stove. If you don’t own a camping stove, watch our video on the 4 criteria to look for in a camping stove at www.joyofcamping.tv

There is nothing like the fresh air and exercise that you get on a hiking or camping trip, to work up a really big appetite. But you don’t want to spend ages preparing and cooking complicated meals, which turns it into a chore.

The whole experience should be fun, so if you can plan out a few simple camping dishes, it can make it a lot more enjoyable. Well with some traditional campfire cooking recipes, this can be a lot easier than you think.

Try out a couple or even all of the easy recipes below and see how much more exciting and interesting you can make your camping meals.

BREAKFAST

Oat and nut pancakes.

Ingredients.

1 & 1/2 half cups of oats,

1 cup of flour,

2 tablespoons of brown sugar,

Pinch of salt, to taste,

3 teaspoons of baking powder,

½ a cup of mixed chopped nuts,

1 & ½ cups of milk,

2 eggs,

2 tablespoons of butter,

Mix together all the dry ingredients (oats, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, nuts,) and put to one side, while you whisk together the milk, eggs, and butter. Pour this onto the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Lightly grease a griddle or frying pan and pre heat on the fire. Pour about half a cup of the pancake mix into the pan and cook until bubbly and edges look dry, turn pancake over and cook until golden brown. Serve with maple syrup or similar.

LUNCH

Simple Spam snack.

Ingredients.

1 onion,

3 or 4 potatoes, (depending on size),

1 tin of Spam,

1 tablespoon of butter,

Salt & pepper to taste.

Peel and chop the onion and potatoes into roughly ¾ inch pieces, and cook in skillet or frying pan until tender. Chop spam into similar size cubes as onion and potatoes and add to skillet or pan add salt and pepper and continue cooking until all ingredients are, crispy and spam is well heated through. Allow to cool slightly and serve with some crusty bread and butter.

MAIN MEAL

Foil cooked Meatloaf.

Ingredients.

2 pounds of ground beef,

1 egg,

½ a cup of bread crumbs,

½ a can of tomato soup,

Salt & pepper to taste.

Mix all the ingredients together in a suitable container or bowl until it all binds together and can be moulded into a loaf shape of your choice. Place into a large piece of tin foil and wrap well, leaving an air pocket at the top for steam. Cook on small grill on top of fire embers for approximately ¾ of an hour, turning as necessary. Serve with potatoes and vegetables of your choice. Will serve 4 people.

SWEET

Baked Banana.

For a quick tasty desert, simply split a banana lengthwise leaving the skin on. Insert brown sugar and butter into split. Wrap in tin foil and bake in embers of fire until sugar and butter melt into the banana.