Going camping, what to eat?!

Ok, so a group of 18/19 year olds are going camping for about 24 hours. The biggest/only problem we have is real food.

Alcohol? Done.
Sleeping arrangements? Done.
Snack foods? Done.
What to eat for a main meal? ARGHH!!!

We may have access to a few small BBQ’s, any good ideas rather than just a bag of sausages and some beef?

Baked potatoes and corn on the cob are both yummy wrapped in foil and cooked right down in the coals. Chicken and steak cooked on the grill would be great.

Bring a frying pan and some eggs. Cook the eggs up for breakfast and use any leftover potaoes to make some home fries.

Camping food always tastes sooo good.

Pre make up some shis-kabobs. Or, you may be able to buy them already made. Very easy to cook over a fire if you have a grill to set them on.

I recommend metal scewers, then use a pair of channel locks (pliers) to turn them as they are cooking.

Serves 4.

Requires:
1 large saucepan
1 tin tomatoes
Large packet of couscous
1 chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 red pepper, chopped
1 small bag of frozen peas
Boiling water
Oil
12 frankfurter sausages, chopped into chunks

My tip would be to peel and chop the veggies before you leave the house and put them in separate zip-lock freezer bags. Place with peas, icepacks and beer in your cooler. The peas will also help to keep everything cold.

Method:
Heat oil, fry onions and garlic until soft and coloured.
Add franks and heat through until cooked
Add pepper and cook until slightly softened
Add tomatoes
Add a good fistful of the uncooked couscous per person. Stir well and add enough water to just cover.
Keep stirring to stop the couscous sticking to the pot, add peas when almost done.
When couscous is cooked, add sugar, salt and black pepper to taste, and serve.

If you do the preparation I’ve suggested, it’ll take about 15 minutes from pan on fire to food on plate, and it’s filling, tasty and foolproof (carbs are best if you’ve all had something to drink).

Just remember that the most sober person should do the cooking, and that only one person gets to stand near the fire at a time.

Oh yes, the other good thing is that if you buy those vacuum packed frankfurters or the ones in a jar, it’s almost impossible to give yourself food poisoning with my recipe.

Sadly, the same cannot be said about poorly refridgerated meat carried up into the wilds and badly cooked over a BBQ by drunk kids.

Just a thought…

Dude, you’re 18-19, and it’s just an overnight trip. One (more) day of poor nutrition won’t kill you.

Eat more snacks.

Exactly. You didn’t say if you were car-camping or backpacking, but from the sounds of it, you have transport. Pack some cheese, some crackers, more booze and you’re set.

Otherwise go for the premade shishkababs. Quick and easy. The tendency is to overplan and over-pack. Unless you are going to the back of beyond, this is counter-productive. Just go have fun!

The thing I remember from Boy Scouts at Camp Kikthewenund is make sure of your gear before you go. Our counselors didn’t remember that it’s unsafe to cook food in a galvanized pail until we had hiked 3 miles into the woods. They had to send some guys back to quartermasters to get a proper cook pot.

These days, I don’t do camping. Let sleeping bags lie, I say.

I like to camp. I like to backpack, though with three young children, the opportunities are few an far between. However, in my years of camping in various situations, I’ve figured out the food thing:

Overnight: Anything you want. If you’re car camping, I’d just stop at a Subway one the way out and have a sandwich for dinner. I’d also bring a few donuts or something for in the morning. But, the OP didn’t mention whether they’d be doing any hiking to/from the campsite, etc, so this might not work.

If you want to cook with just a campfire, weenies are a sure bet. some buns and chips and that’s about all you need. Oh, and don’t forget the marshmallows.

Now if you have stoves, grills, etc, your options widen considerably. You could bring some marinated chicken breasts for grilling or something… or you could pre-make a bunch of chili and heat that up. Still, you can’t really go wrong with hamburgers and hot dogs…everything tastes so much better when your’re camping!
If you’re hiking more than 5 miles to the campsite, then I’d go with (assuming a few backpacking-sized stoves) a dry noodle mix, some instant oatmeal for breakfast and maybe some cheese and crackers would get you through. but this doesn’t sound like what y’all are doing anyway.

Camping? You eat whatever you kill, of course :wink:

Bring a can opener & some canned food. Open the cans, put them directly on the grill, and when when cooked just right.

Better have some pliers or something to get the cans off the grill, though. Trust me on that one…

Spam, uncooked, on crackers.

Eat what every spawn camper deserves: Hot Lead!

just kidding…
No campfire? There go the s’mores.

If you plan to BBQ, get some good sauces and marinades, and prepare the cuts the night before. I lke teriyaki and BBQ honey sauces for this.

And it looks good freshly puked. :smiley:

I don’t know why, but fresh fruit always tastes better to me when it’s eaten outdoors. YMMV.