Surveying the average campsite, you’ll see the typical supplies to make a meal: graham crackers, marshmallows, hot dogs, and mountain pie makers. But there’s more to camp food than the rustle of a chocolate bar wrapper and the clang of hot dog sticks! Getting a good cooking fire going and serving up new recipes is a great way to breathe new life into your family’s camping trip.

Before you reach beyond the baked beans, there are some must-haves to make your new fare truly one of a kind. Making sure you have a good cooking fire is essential for these recipes, and its temperature alter how long you cook the food. If there is little to no flame and you have a bed of hot coals, your fire should be good and ready. Now that you have your heat source, you’ll also need a meat source. You can go to any grocery store to find ingredients, but the best place to find meat is your local butcher. From steaks to bacon, you can find an assortment of fresh meat to add to the quality of your camping recipes. You’ll also want to make sure to have a good cast iron skillet, fire pit cooking grate, and aluminum foil. Other handy items include heat-resistant gloves, long-handled utensils, and a stainless steel grill cleaning brush to make your cooking safe and clean. For the most

If you’re up to the challenge, our in-house camping expert has prepared a full day’s menu of culinary creations that will make your camping trip full of memories and excellent food.

Breakfast- Sausage and Eggs

• ½ lb sausage
• 6 eggs
• 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• Diced peppers, diced onions, and spaghetti sauce (optional)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Begin cooking sausage in your cast iron skillet over the fire. While this is cooking, make your eggs how you would like (scramble, over easy, etc.), adding salt and pepper, and pour over the sausage. Add the mozzarella cheese on top so it melts. For more flavor, add diced peppers, diced onions, and spaghetti sauce to complete the dish.

Lunch- Hamburgers and Chili Cheese Fries

• Ground beef shaped into patties (for a nice sized burger, you can get four patties out of a pound of ground beef)
• Hamburger buns

Place your burger patties on the cooking grate and keep them on there to your liking. To give your burgers even more flavor, add diced onion and mesquite seasoning to the meat before you mold them into patties. From there, top your burger how you like and enjoy!

You can also add more crunch by toasting the burger buns. Apply butter to both sides, lay a piece of foil on the cooking grate, and toast for 30 seconds to a minute. Just make sure and keep your eye on them so they don’t burn.

• 1 bag of frozen French fries
• ½ stick of butter
• 1 can of chili
• Velveeta cheese to taste

Add frozen fries to cast iron skillet with butter. While these are cooking, add the can of chili and Velveeta cheese. Cook the mixture until fries are hot and cheese is melted. When you’re cleaning out your cast iron skillet, remember to never clean it with soap or leave standing water in it. This is one piece of cookware that can last you a lifetime if you take care of it!

Dinner- Sausage, Steak, and Potatoes

• 1 lb or package of sausage
• 2 fresh-cut steaks
• 1 jumbo potato
•  Salt, pepper to taste

If you have pre-cooked sausage (Hillshire Farms has a good variety of options), cut sausage into ½ inch slices and cook in your cast iron skillet.

If you have fresh cut sausage, you can stick the pieces right on the cooking grate and allow them to cook.

Peel potato, cube, and begin cooking in your cast iron skillet with diced peppers and onions. Add a ½ stick of butter and pepper, salt, and seasoning to taste. Place foil over the top of the skillet while they cook, stirring 5-10 minutes, until brown.

Place desired steak cuts on cooking grate. Add salt, pepper, and other steak seasoning to the steak and cook until liking.

Green Beans and Corn on the Cob

• 1 can of cut green beans
• 1 can of cream of onion soup
• 4 pieces of corn (in husk)
• Butter, salt to taste

First, take a can of cut green beans and combine with a can of cream of onion soup. Place mixture into foil and seal, flip every 10 minutes until done.

Soak corn in its husk for at least two hours, prior to cooking. Bury corn and husk in coals of your cooking fire for 20-30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. When you’re ready to eat, husk the corn, roll in butter and salt to taste, and enjoy!

Keep in mind, many of these recipes don’t have exact times or ingredients because practice really does make perfect with camp cooking. Each recipe can easily be customized for your personal taste preferences. Trying out these recipes is a great family bonding experience, especially if they are done well!