A Camper's Dozen: 13 Tips To Successful Meals In Camp (Part 1)

You can be a wonderful cook who's able to balance sourdough proofing in the sun with a lasagna that you've layering in a Dutch oven. But your sense of timing won't salvage the meal if you forgot yeast or left the noodles on the cupboard shelf. Putting some thought into your camping at home can save you a lot of woes in the wild.

Campers like Pete Boilard and his family are always ready for their next camping adventure: "We have a 30-gallon tote with our camping kitchen in it. Most of the stuff is extras and yard sale type stuff, though we did buy a few things new," Boilard explains on his website, Pete's Camping Page (see links at the end of the article).

Everything from dish towels to cutlery and dinnerware to pots and pans are packed into one of the plastic storage boxes. The second tote holds the groceries. After each trip, the Boilards restock the groceries, top the dishwashing detergent bottle and launder the dishtowels. All they have to get ready for the next trip is write a menu, pull a few meals out of the deep-freeze, and pack the ice chests.

It's that simple. Here's six tips that will help get ready for appetizing meals in camp:

Plan a menu: Try one or two new dishes each trip. "You'll never know what great meals are out there if you don't try any new ones. Check out the Internet for tons of campfire recipes," Mike Bentley said. (He provides some 72 links to outdoor cooking websites at Mike's Camping Page.) The menu is the cornerstone of your camping adventure. But it doesn't have to be detailed. A simple list of meals will do as long as you ensure that your family is getting a balanced diet. You'll use the menu and recipes (whether they're in your head or on paper) to build a shopping list and guide packing. And don't forget to bring recipes for any unfamiliar dishes along on the trip.

Bring "bailout" food: Bailout food can rescue your family from a cold, hard rain, especially if you don't have the energy to start a fire when everything is saturated. Ramen noodle soup (a favorite with my children), canned pork and beans, and packaged pasta products are all great foods the can be prepared in a pinch. And they also make quick lunches.

Prepare meals ahead: Many times my family has arrived in camp in the late evening. With small children -- whose bellies are telling them that dinner passed them by hours ago -- you want to quickly cook a healthy meal without all the fuss. The Boilards solve this problem by preparing one or more casseroles at home. "Meatloaf or chicken dishes that just need to be heated and laid over toast or fresh cooked rice work well," Boilard explained. Once you're in camp, you can set up the stove and reheat the meal in a matter of minutes instead of hours.

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