Campout Food

"Ranee Mueller" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Our church is going on a camp out the first weekend in June. We are
not roughing it. There will be limited access to electricity, braziers
and the open fire for cooking. We will be bringing crockpots, electric
griddles and possibly something else that can be plugged in. 🙂

We are making meals together Friday night, Saturday morning,
afternoon and evening and Sunday morning and afternoon. Saturday
evening is pretty much taken care of because we are doing a potluck bbq
with lamb, chicken, brats, hotdogs, etc. Breakfast will be relatively
simple and easily improvised. I'm looking for some suggestions for
dinner and lunch ideas for between 30-35 people. Thanks!

Regards,
Ranee

Bagels hold up well if you put them in ziplock bags, and they're filling. A
good bread knife is viciously sharp, and can be the first step in a first
aid lesson for kids. But, do not, under any circumstances do what my son's
demented boy scout leader did for one outing and buy nothing but raisin
bagels, or any other single flavor. There was almost a riot. Bring cream
cheese in small plastic tubs, not the bigger ones. People will contaminate
it with god-knows-what as they use it. You won't mind throwing away 1/8th of
a small tub as much as 1/2 of a big one. And, if some numbskull suggests
pouring Tang powder into all the fresh water containers, hang that person by
its ankles from a tree until they regain their senses.

Frozen waffles went over well. They can be heated quickly on a griddle if
you don't have a toaster. Bring syrup (obviously), some big things of
vanilla yogurt, and bags of frozen blueberries/strawberries/raspberries. If
the ice chest isn't quite cold enough the berries thaw, so what? Then they
make juice, which is even better on top of the yogurt.

Wait...you said lunch & dinner. Lobster tails. Cook 'em on the grill.

"Ranee Mueller" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Our church is going on a camp out the first weekend in June. We are
not roughing it. There will be limited access to electricity, braziers
and the open fire for cooking. We will be bringing crockpots, electric
griddles and possibly something else that can be plugged in. 🙂

We are making meals together Friday night, Saturday morning,
afternoon and evening and Sunday morning and afternoon. Saturday
evening is pretty much taken care of because we are doing a potluck bbq
with lamb, chicken, brats, hotdogs, etc. Breakfast will be relatively
simple and easily improvised. I'm looking for some suggestions for
dinner and lunch ideas for between 30-35 people. Thanks!

Regards,
Ranee

Wow, that's a lot of people.

Can you beg borrow or steal a camping cast iron Dutch oven?

You'll need a big one.

Maybe you can find one at a 2nd hand store.

Dimitri

"Ranee Mueller" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Our church is going on a camp out the first weekend in June. We are
not roughing it. There will be limited access to electricity, braziers
and the open fire for cooking. We will be bringing crockpots, electric
griddles and possibly something else that can be plugged in. 🙂

We are making meals together Friday night, Saturday morning,
afternoon and evening and Sunday morning and afternoon. Saturday
evening is pretty much taken care of because we are doing a potluck bbq
with lamb, chicken, brats, hotdogs, etc. Breakfast will be relatively
simple and easily improvised. I'm looking for some suggestions for
dinner and lunch ideas for between 30-35 people. Thanks!

Regards,
Ranee

Don't forget the electric frying pans. They're deeper than griddles and so
they're a bit more versatile. Electric woks could be handy, too.

Here's some ideas from 'The One-Burner Gourmet cookbook for campers, hikers,
backpackers, etc. All are easy with little fuss. I'll post any recipes that
may interest you.

Chili
Sloppy Joe's
Skillet Loaf (basically a meatloaf flattened and simmered in skillet with
sauce, etc.
Goulash
Chicken n' Dumplings
Stew and Dumplings
Ground Beef Stew
Cabbage Stew
Chicken Stew
(or any kind of stew, for that matter)
Stroganoff (several types)
Spaghetti
Macaroni Beef Sauté
Onion Beef Macaroni
Skillet Mac and Cheese
Ground beef and rice dishes
Tostadas, Tacos
Chow Mein
Sausage and Succotash
Ham and Cabbage Skillet

Lots more recipes. Will you have a Dutch Oven for the open fire? You can
make some wonderful meals in those, complete with veggies, as well as
casseroles and breads.

I'm all for shortcuts -- I like Lawry's 30 min. Sesame Ginger marinade for
boneless chicken breasts or strips. You can sauté the chicken in an electric
skillet, or grill the breasts on an electric griddle. There's lots of other
good off-the-shelf marinades, too, if you don't want to fuss with your own.

More shortcuts? Check out the backs of Roni-a-Roni and Pasta Roni packages
for easy rice or pasta skillet dishes. Some call for adding pork, chicken,
or shrimp along with some other simple ingredients.

How about not cooking? We've had meals with a lot of people away from home
before -- some people brought hams, smoked brisket, and smoked turkey
breasts to cut up and make sandwiches. (Sam's usually has a nice
already-cooked selection of all those.)

HTH

Renee

In article <[email hidden]>, "Dimitri"

Quoted message said:

Wow, that's a lot of people.

It's only eight or nine families. One family of eight, ours of six,
another of five, two of four, one of three, two of two and a single
person. 🙂

Quoted message said:

Can you beg borrow or steal a camping cast iron Dutch oven?

Quite possibly, either someone from church already has one, or we can
borrow from our camper friends.

Quoted message said:

You'll need a big one.

I was also planning on bringing some regular cast iron skillets and a
few larger stock pot type things which we don't use much here (our stove
is tiny and sad).

Quoted message said:

Maybe you can find one at a 2nd hand store.

I will definitely check this out if we can't come up with one amongst
the group.

Regards,
Ranee

--
Remove Do Not and Spam to email

"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." Prov 31:13

See my Blog at: http://arabianknits.blogspot.com/

"Ranee Mueller" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, "Renee"

Quoted message said:

Sausage and Succotash

I'm really interested in this. 🙂 The other things in the list gave
me some good ideas. Thank you.

The succotash recipe in this cookbook seems a little unusual to me in that
there's no mention of adding a liquid. I see many succotash recipes that
call for a liquid of some kind -- 1/4 to 3/4 cup milk, canned milk, light
cream, heavy cream, or even water. My friend uses creamed corn instead of
whole kernels -- I like it creamy like that. I never tried this one but if I
was making it I'd probably add some light cream to it or use creamed corn.
Just my preference. And I'd give it a test run on my family first. :-)

The One Burner Gourmet by Harriet Barker

Sausage and Succotash
(Serves 4)

In a frying pan:
Cook brown and serve sausages (or bacon or ham)
Drain part of fat
Add:
1 can (1 lb.) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (1 lb.) lima beans, drained
1 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
1 tsp crushed dry parsley
Heat until bubbly.

You didn't ask, but the recipe below it in the book looks simple yet
interesting for a side dish at dinner, too.

Sausage Pineapple Skillet
(Serves 2)

1 pkg. (8 oz) brown and serve sausages
1/4 sliced onion
1 can (8 1/4 oz) pineapple tidbits
1 tbls brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
1/4 tsp dry mustard
Pinch of ginger
1 1/3 cups minute rice

Brown sausages in a skillet. Drain all except 1 tbls fat.
Add onion and sauté, stirring often.
Drain pineapple, measuring syrup.
Add water to make 1 1/3 cups liquid.
Add rest of ingredients except rice. Bring to a boil.
Add rice, cover and simmer 5 min.

In article <[email hidden]>, "--"

Quoted message said:

Did a fair amount of large group cooking on scout campouts -

1) If you have an open fire - then hot dogs, marshmallows on a stick,
smores are the usual fare.

But, of course!

Quoted message said:

And you can dump a lot of hot dogs in a large (5 to 12 gallon)
bucket of "heating water" ( it is used after eating for
washing/dunking dishes/dish bags - dunk soap or dishwashing
detergent.)

Rather than burning them on a stick?

Quoted message said:

And you have to have canned pork and beans - (hey, its a camp-out,
and canned pork and beans are the historic fare.) Potato chips or
the like, and koolaid.

I will not be responsible for canned pork and beans. If someone else
decides to bring them, that is fine with me, but it won't be us. 🙂 I
think that doritos and salt and vinegar chips are the junk food of
choice among us. Does powdered strawberry lemonade count as artificial
enough, or do we actually have to get koolaid.

Quoted message said:

2) from the bucket of beverage water (we used a very large enamel
coffee pot on a hook) kept hot on the fire, (this one is used after
a meal to rinse dishes) - Ramen soup, hot chocolate, instant
cereals, tea/coffee, etc.

This is a great idea. It has been so long since I've really been
camping. I used to be tough camper chick, but I've since grown out of
that. Rich said being in the Army killed any desire he had to rough it.

So, tent platforms and pay showers are about as close to roughing it as
we get.

Quoted message said:

3) If you are ambitious, looking for a story and a memory from the
campout, and have a large iron/enamel kettle (12 gallons, roughly)
and someone who won't burn food of that amount in a pot over a fire-
(15 boy scouts and three leaders on a winter campout ate this
stew-and-biscuit recipe and four dump cakes, and washed it down
with a couple cups of cocoa each for supper - and thought it was the
greatest meal ever.

This sounds great! Thank you for the ideas!

Regards,
Ranee

--
Remove Do Not and Spam to email

"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." Prov 31:13

See my Blog at: http://arabianknits.blogspot.com/

In article <[email hidden]>, Arri London <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

If someone brings a large enough grill, baked potatoes are very easy for
a crowd. Offer a variety of toppings. Fruit, cheese and biscuits
(crackers) to finish the meal.

Some sort of salad bar is easy for a crowd: greens, cold meat and
cheese, dressings and a selection of breads.

Chile is easy to make for a crowd. Serve with warmed tortillas and
rolls.

'Stone Soup' where everyone contributes some vegetables to the pot(s);
broth can be vegetable.

Any of these would make great lunches. Thank you for the ideas. 🙂

Regards,
Ranee

--
Remove Do Not and Spam to email

"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." Prov 31:13

See my Blog at: http://arabianknits.blogspot.com/

In article <[email hidden]>, Stan Horwitz

Quoted message said:

What's your budget per person per meal?

No real budget except what each family can afford. However, we cook
together and potluck at least once a month, so we're pretty capable of
figuring out how much to spend and how much to cook for our crowd.

Quoted message said:

Will you have access to an area where you can build a fire to cook
on?

Yes, I thought I mentioned the braziers and the open fire, we also
have a single camp stove and an RV kitchen if all else fails.

Quoted message said:

If you have the funds, its tough to beat a porterhouse steak with
baked potato for dinner. The potatoes get wrapped in aluminum and
poked a few times with a fork through the aluminum and covered in
white hot coals. Medium size potatoes will take about 45 minutes to
cook in a hot fire. The steaks go on a grill over indirect heat. Goes
great with a nice green salad. Chicken works well too. Delicious. I
am not a seafood lover, but my dad is and when we went camping
together, he would sometimes bring shrimp and make himself shrimp
kabobs over a hot fire, which is also a very quick thing to do once
you have a fire going because of how quickly shrimp cook.

The steaks sound great, but not in the budget on this scale for any
of the families. Chicken would work, and if we catch any crab or clams,
we will have seafood available. I'm wary of bringing the shrimp,
because it would be in a cooler on the road and then there for however
long it takes us to set up. The family with access to refrigeration
likely won't be bringing shrimp, and they are coming from a different
direction than we are, so probably won't be able to pick it up from us.

Quoted message said:

I haven't been camping in a while, but when I do go camping its tent
camping without electricity. I like to keep lunches simple. Maybe some
hamburgers over a campfire or hot dogs, potato chips, soft drinks, and
perhaps a pot of piping hot baked beans. Simple lunches while camping
have the benefit of allowing you to spend time enjoying your
surroundings while the sun is up rather than cooking over a hot fire, or
stove.

This is kind of what I was thinking. Hot dogs, sandwiches, salads,
chips, drinks.

Regards,
Ranee

--
Remove Do Not and Spam to email

"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." Prov 31:13

See my Blog at: http://arabianknits.blogspot.com/

Ranee Mueller wrote on 07 May 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Oh, a lady from church has a cashew chili recipe (I know, but it
tastes good) which was designed for camping. She will be bringing
the stuff for that.

Regards,
Ranee

Could you post the Cashew Chili recipe please?

--
No Bread Crumbs were hurt in the making of this Meal.
Type 2 Diabetic Since Aug 2004
1AC- 7.2, 7.3, 5.5, 5.6 mmol
Weight from 265 down to 219 lbs. and dropping.
Continuing to be Manitoban

"Ranee Mueller" ,Doug Kanter" and I wrote

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Tang is evil. I liked it as a kid, I think mostly because my mom
wouldn't buy it.>

If I recall, we (as kids) thought it was cool because the astronauts
supposedly took it to space. What a reason! :-)

Do you remember the grape flavor? Am I hallucinating this, or was
there a grape flavored Tang?

Really? Grape? Hmmm... no, I don't remember it.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

We would never buy only raisin bagels, rest assured. 🙂

I only mentioned it because my son's scout troop was sponsored (or I
should say "overly dominated"😉 by a church and its awful
committee-heads. Their madness dominated several overnight trips,
including the food. When several boys (and dads) questioned the
raisin bagels and asked why no onion, sesame, garlic, etc., the main
committee-drone said she wasn't aware that anyone liked those
flavors. I think these individuals descended from ancestors who used
to call Italians "garlic eaters".

I still don't understand how garlic eater could ever be construed as
a slam on anyone. We are garlic eaters! Our church does not have those
food issues you mention. We like all sorts of food, and though there
are one or two families who are pretty white bread, they bring stuff
they can eat, and usually are pretty adventurous, or at least they don't
complain. My favorite bagels are the ones with onion, poppy seed,
sesame seed and coarse salt. MMMM. I also like jalapeno and cheese,
which I understand is bagel heresy, but I'm from the west coast. Other
than raisin, I think fruit bagels are evil, but I still wouldn't just
get raisin bagels.

Regards,
Ranee

I'm in agreement with the everything-type bagels! Yumm!

I do, however, also enjoy blueberry bagels. I also have found them to be
great fish bait, too. I once lived in a second-floor apartment that
overlooked a lake; I used to toss in shredded bits of stale bread or bagels
for the fish and ducks. After the fish knew what they might be getting,
they used to school (swarm, is more like it!) from the far end of the lake
to my side when they felt/smelled/knew the first bit of blueberry bagel hit
the water. What a rush! Truly, it was neat to see these large schools of
fish swimming in the fast track to get to the bagels. I believe they were
all bluegills. I don't recall if there were any other species of fish in
the lake.

Cyndi

Ranee Mueller said:

and the open fire for cooking.

For this the Swing grill is a must.

--
Bob Stan, I love simple things
<www.insty-grill.com>