Campfire Cooking III: the Staycation Version

We've harassed our nearest and dearest friends about never inviting us along on camping trips for as long as we've known them. To their credit, we did camp together once about 3 years ago, and once because our entire small group from church went. Somehow, our nagging finally won them over (I'm not sure that's always a recipe for success, folks!), and they suggested we set a date for this summer. After much procrastinating, we decided on the weekend of August 8th. And after much more procrastinating, we discovered that every place we wanted to camp was full for that weekend. We set up an alternative plan involving a nearby campground, and everyone was pleased and excited. BUT, as I drove to the nearby campground at 7:15 AM to attempt to guarantee any available campsite, I realized we were in a torrential downpour that showed no signs of stopping. After several quick phone conferences, we determined that this (our final planned camping trip of the season) would be a sleepover at our house.

Frankly, this option suited us all well. I appreciated a whole extra day at home with nothing planned. I recall getting a lot done, though I can't remember what! When it thunder stormed most of the night, we were happy that we weren't holding down the tent stakes with a four year old and three girls under two. And, when I did a single load of laundry the next day and packed and unpacked nothing, I thought maybe we should make sleepovers an annual event. Wahoo!

I had, however, planned for a lot of camping food. So, we replicated our rainy campsite in our own intermittently rainy backyard. The dinner menu was meatloaf flower dinner in the dutch oven. It is basically a ring of meatloaf, with a pretty arrangement of carrots, potatoes, and asparagus in the center.

The flavors are nothing out of the ordinary, but it was fun to put together! We had planned to make stick biscuits (using refrigerated biscuit dough) over the fire, but I popped them in our oven instead. A simple green salad came along for the ride! Here are the proud tender of the coals and the finished (wilted) product:

Here are the girls enjoying their outdoor meal:

After throwing the dirty dishes in the automatic dishwasher (see staycations are pretty sweet!), we lit up the fire for some tasty desserts.

The desserts, Hobo Pies and S'mores, are ordinary pleasures to some, but they should not be overlooked in one's camp food repertoire. In case you need a visual tutorial-

Eva demonstrates an effective heat shield for one's face, in the occasion you have both short arms and a short roasting stick.

This is the cast-iron hobo pie iron, double wide. To make a hobo pie, you must thoroughly butter the inside of the pie iron, place a piece of bread on one side of the iron, add fillings of your choice (we used canned apple pie filling, but broken-up snickers bars are my fave!), and top with a second piece of bread. Clamp the pie iron closed, and place it in the fire, turning occasionally. Depending on the heat of the fire, these can cook up really fast, so be sure to check your progress often! Here are side by side "apple pies."

In this photo, my husband demonstrates "double fisting it" with s'mores :)

Although the original s'more is pretty delicious (albeit a little sweet for my tastes), there are many incredible variations on the theme. One of our favorites lately has been to skip the Hershey's bar and graham cracker and use Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies instead. And a word to the wise, on Eva's prodding I caved and bought "strawberry" marshmallows last summer (you know, the pink ones!). Though they might have eye appeal, they are not delicious campfire fare. I doubt the multi-colored variety would be any better. Just a warning based on our own personal research :)!

The rest of our sleepover involved indoor cooking, movie watching, board games, an indoor pool, and a rainy picnic, but we had a blast nonetheless. Here are some parting shots: what are little ladies to do when it rains for 36 hours straight, but DANCE!?!

Campfire Cooking II

We had the privilege of a four generational camping trip this last weekend. I owe much of my love of the outdoors and adventure to my mom's parents, Grandpa and Grandpa Knudtsen, so it was an absolute joy to camp with them and watch them ignite the excitement in another generation. Grandma refuses to slow down, so even at 78, so she initiated hop scotch, squirrel in a tree (a family game), treasure hunts on the beach, swimming in the lake, tea parties, biology of crayfish and caterpillars lessons, and more. Most of her rendezvous were with Eva, who is completely enamored with "Grandma Whatsy" (Eva's special nickname) and cannot wait to go camping with her again. She tells me that, "You probably think that stuff is boring, but Grandma Whatsy doesn't." I told her that Grandma Whatsy taught me (almost) everything I know about outside stuff, and that I wish I still had the eyes of a child!

Anyway, more pictures to come from that trip, but the subject of this post is COOKING. So, here we go with some of our campfire creations at Father Hennepin State Park. We were celebrating my dad, sister, and brother in law's birthdays on Friday night, so we splurged a little and maximized the yum!

The menu for the evening was steak, veggie k-bobs, fruit salad with mint vinaigrette, and mississippi mud cake. We also had Newman's Own organic sparkling lemonade, which I highly recommend for a summer treat.

When it comes to steak, the cut is so important (not that I'm any expert about beef or anything...)! I didn't marinate these, but because Eric and Jon carefully watched and did not overcook them, they turned out amazing. A good cut + diligent grilling = carnivore's heaven.

I seasoned the veggies (zucchini, bell peppers, and baby bella mushrooms) lightly with garlic pepper, and threw them on the fire. Initially, the veggies were over the open fire, but the men changed direction mid course and put the meat over the flame and the veggies over the charcoal. Don't you like the way they rigged up a little charcoal grill off the side of the fire pit?
If you're curious about mint fruit salad, here is the link and a lovely picture. The salad is light, but the several unique flavors mingled together make it very intriguing. It is best after chilling overnight!

The birthday boys and girls picked their cake- Mississippi Mud. I was a little nervous to try this recipe, since one can never get measurements to be exact when you're camping, but it turned out delicious. There was a layer of yellow cake, a creamy chocolate pudding, and the topping was walnuts and chocolate chips. Of course the topping-topping was whipped cream. You can never go wrong with whipped cream, right?!? I made this in the dutch oven, but I didn't snap a picture until it was all out and lit up. Looks like fun!
Since this was a birthday bash, I toted along a fitting centerpiece. Eric complained the entire two hour car trip about how "stinky" the flowers were, but they looked beautiful and rustic for our outdoor dinner party. Many thanks to my neighbor, who's gardens provided the cheery blooms.

We ate, opened presents, laughed, and talked... and a good time was had by all!

****More pics to come soon, including a few more interesting campfire creations and lots of caterpillars****

Campfire Cooking I

Welcome to the first in a series (I hope) of posts all about our adventures in outdoor cooking! With summer upon us and the camping season in full swing, there should be many opportunities for outdoor adventure and lots of photos to share. I have a big interest and a small love affair with outdoor cooking, everything from hot dogs over the campfire to charcoal grilling to "gourmet" dishes in the dutch oven. This is a nice "in between" summer with no little baby to attend to at the campsite, so I am revving my engines for some tasty food adventures along with a few more active endeavors nearby the campsites. Finally Adventure Mama lives up to her name (wink, wink)!

Two weekends ago we camped with our small group from church for a few days. It was a great, relaxed kickoff to the camping season! Although we asked everyone to provide their own breakfasts and lunches, we attempted to serve the dinners. Ashamedly, I admit that I used the exact same menu we've used at small group camp outs before. Thankfully, we're not sick of it yet! Here's some of what filled our plates, chins, and bellies (in our bellies, I mean. Unless you're pregnant and you find that everything lands on your belly...).

Dinner #1 is Foil Fajitas, which are perhaps becoming a signature dish for our family. Even when the guys go camping without the gals (but the gals still prep their food, of course :), foil fajitas are requested. It is a simple recipe really, and super satisfying. As an added bonus, most of the prep can be done at home, making your time around the campfire even more relaxing. The basic idea: tortillas, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, and a foil packet of fajita seasoned strips of meat, bell peppers, and onions. Throw the foil (securely closed, of course) on a low fire for 10 minutes or so, and then put it all together! This picture really makes the chicken look unappealing, but this is the only visual aid I have to offer:

And don't forget to chop up some fresh and zesty pico de gallo before leaving home. There's nothing better on a fajita!I generally go the easy route and serve pre-packaged rice and beans as a side (just add water and boil). However, dessert is much more exciting!

Now is where this lovely relic comes into play- an old fashioned dutch oven with legs. I believe mine is the 12" variety. I have my Grandma Knudtsen to thank for this, as she surprised me with it as a Christmas present several years ago. Although this one was brand new, I'm told that they last for many generations and a dutch oven celebrating it's 150th birthday is a real charm to cook with. Picture yourself cooking in style with legendary figures like Davey Crockett, Caroline Ingalls, and Paul Bunyan (well.... maybe not:).

This is what it looks like as it baking a delicious cherry cobbler, found at my favorite site for dutch oven recipes. 350 degrees of pioneer goodness, right there! And here is the finished cobbler- I toted along a can of whipped cream to top it off. Unless, you're a certain privileged 2o month old and you get things just how you prefer them: all whipped cream, no cobbler!Dinner #2 consisted of BBQ chicken over the fire, green tossed salad, corn bread, and baked beans. I have no pictures of the BBQ chicken, thanks to the fact that I was so distracted by my flaming arm hairs and smoke filled lungs while tending the meat. Frankly, I've decided this dish is not to be made by the faint of heart, and one should be very attentive to the quality of fire you're working with. We had a few majorly charred chicken thighs mixed in with the rest...

My version of baked beans? Easy as dumping a can of beans in a pot and finding an open flame.

Tossed salad? Make sure to remember to bring a cutting board and decent knives.

The cornbread involves the dutch oven again, so of course it is fun and rewarding. Here's the finished product-

After it's all said and done, a nice after-dinner nap is in order. Right, Hope?

Thanks, small-groupies for cooking with us and letting us boss you around! Here's to more grubbin' to come!