Foil and the propane camp stove.

2 of my favorite tools for cooking out in a camp site.
WHY?
I have cooked so many great meals by placing them in foil and placing them on my propane camp stove.
Examples:

• We love veges. Cabbage, potatoes and onions, carrots, asparagus etc. Place them in foil diced up with your seasoning, butter, place a small amount of water inside and fold up tightly. I place them in a dutch oven and cook over low heat. They steam beautifully.
• Place chicken breast, veges, and seasonings and butter, then cover tightly. 
• Meatloaf- spray the foil well with cooking spray and wrap the meatloaf with bacon and cover. When cooked pour sauce over it.
• Pizza- use pizza crust, tortillas, pita bread, biscuits.  Place foil on griddle  then place pizza crust. Cook until browning then put sauce and toppings on it and within minutes you have pizza.

Cooking tips when camping.

There are some tips to help you prepare for great food while camping. These tips can prevent you from always being over the propane camp stove and having no fun with the family or friends.

• Make soups or stews ahead of time and freeze in bags or containers. They will only need heating up on a camp stove. They also help keep temps low in the ice cooler while traveling.
• Having a dice day before leaving for dicing up onions, garlic, carrots, cabbage, lettuce etc.
• Cook your ground beef ahead of time and freeze in a freezer bag. 
• If eggs are hard to travel with, you can break them gently and fill a container completely with the eggs and cover with a sealed lid. When you need one you simply pour out the egg. It will come out one at a time.
• Make your biscuits at home and cut out and freeze separately. Cuts down on preparation then all you do when camping is place them in your camp dutch oven and you will be eating homemade biscuits.
• Pasta can be cooked about 3/4 of the way and store in a baggie with olive oil. Then when you place it in boiling water it takes just a few minutes to finish cooking.
• Always remember to take things to store left overs. Heavy duty foil is a must for cooking and storing leftovers.
• Make sure your favorite pans you take to cook with will fit on your camp stove. 
• Make crusts ahead of time, pies are terrific in a dutch oven.

Cooking doesn't have to be a pain when camping.

Its Time to prepare

Living in North Texas, we are experiencing beautiful weather. We are starting to think about camping and all the equipment that goes with that. For us Texans, we are pulling out the camping tents and checking out our propane camping lanterns. We put up our camping tents and check out the condition of them. We check all the parts of our lanterns. We pull out our camping dutch ovens and season them. We make a list of supplies we need to replenish from our last camp out and then extra equipment we may need or want. The great thing about camping frequently is that you begin to ecru a good supply of camping gear. Once you have invested in items such as a great tent, propane camping stove, propane lanterns, cots or sleeping bags, hammocks and bicycles. Then there is no stopping you from being spontaneous and plan a camping trip for the next week. 

Backpacking need list.

Wow there is a lot to think about when you are going backpacking. It is not like you can jump in your car and buy what you forgot or ask a neighbor for help. If you don't have it, too bad.

Clothing: Be prepared for weather change.

• Underwear
• Socks- 2 pair(if one pair gets wet you have a dry pair until the other drys)
• Hat- for sun
• Shorts- Lightweight
• Trekking pants- lightweight
• Wind or rain shell
• Long sleeve top
• Light Jacket

 Backpacking Gear:

• Tarp or a lightweight backpacking tent
• Down sleeping bag
• Internal frame pack
• Led camping lantern
• Water bladder
• Insect repellant
• Knife
• Sunscreen
• Cookware- 1 piece with a lid
• Utensils
• Water treatment drops
• Small camera
• First aid kit
• Toiletries
• Map and compass
• Pen and paper
• Food- bulk
• Internal frame pack.

I found these things from other sources. Be sure you do your homework before you take an adventure far away from civilization.

Backpacking

I was exploring the web for different places to camp. I ran across parks that had backpacking and hiking. We love to hike and explore the trails.But we haven't backpacked. There are some people that like to hike and then camp where they are and then continue on their hiking adventure the next morning. In order to do that, they must carry all there needs with them. Food, shelter, clothing, and personal needed items.I am not sure if I could hike with all that on my back. I know that lightweight backpacking tents are available for those who do not like to sleep out in the open. A led camping lantern might also be a great item to carry. I am going to explore more on this topic. I would like to put together a possible need list for a camping backpacker. Stay tune.

Robbers Cave: Great camping outdoor fun

What a pleasant surprise. Our friends had reserved a two room cabin that was fully furnished. There were also tent sites and trailer sites. The weather was beautiful. The rain held off till Saturday night. We hiked around the lake, checked out the caves, took some pictures and enjoyed the fellowship. We decided to reserve a cabin for November when the leaves turn. I would really encourage you to check out this park.

I have lived in the fast paced life, watched the simple life, and have decided there has to be a sweet spot somewhere in the middle. The biggest thing I believe that the fast paced life has robbed us of is time for relationships. Relationships with our spouses, kids, parents, friends, and with our creator. I want for this blog to not only encourage camping out but also to take the time to invest in your relationships with little distractions.

Check out the slideshow on Robbers Cave with our friends.

On our way to Robber's Cave

Well, we have a date at Robber's Cave State Park in Oklahoma. Never been there. I am excited because we will be joining some great friends for the weekend. We started thinking about 3 person tents or a family tent. It is always best to plan well before you leave or go with someone who is a good planner. I am doing both. Our friends have asked for a 2 bedroom cabin in the woods. Oh I can't wait.

We have discussed food. When you go with multiple people, there are a few options on food. Everyone can bring their own food, the food can be divided out and all cook together or the way we are choosing to do it this outing, dividing the meals and each buy what is needed for their meals. All ways are great.

The weather may be wet most of our time there. Not a problem. We always take board games and cards. Movies are great if there is access to a TV. But I believe the conversation is the best. I tend to never run out of things to talk about when I am with people I love. We need to pack an array of clothing. Never know what we may need. It is always a good idea to check the weather forecast for that area and plan by that.

Many parks have wood that you can buy but it can be expensive. We will be bringing our own. They do have fire pits available at the cabins. Yeah, Dutch Oven cooking here we come. If weather permits.

Always have a camera. We, to this day, get out the pics and reminisce of our previous camping trips.

Remember that there is always opportunities to explore, be sure to bring supplies. Proper shoes, walking sticks, sunscreen, bug spray, first aid kits, hats, water bottles and a few snacks are just a few.

Be on the lookout for my next post. I will tell you all about the state park and all the amenities. I'll have pics, possible new recipes and much more. I have included a link for you to check out on Robbers Cave. Maybe you may want to experience it for yourself.

Robbers Cave State park  http://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.6415

Homemade Biscuts- YUM

While my family were serving as missionaries in Saltillo, Mexico, we were privileged to meet wonderful people from all around the United States. I would cook 3 meals a day for a week for the groups of 12-40 people. This one sweet man named Bob from Jonesboro, Arkansas came to me and said I would love to make homemade biscuits for you tomorrow. I said YEAH! They were fabulous.

 I want to share them with you. Slap these babies in a camping dutch oven to cook and it will be a little touch of heaven.

Sour Cream Biscuits

2 cups all purpose unbleached flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold butter

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup dairy sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees or prepare your open flame and coals.

2. Measure flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir these ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Stir together milk and sour cream in a separate bowl until smooth. Make a well in your dry ingredients and add the milk mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough sticks together.

4. Using your hands, push sticky dough onto a floured surface. Prepare hands with flour as well and work dough gently 8 times until dough holds together.

5. I pat dough but you can roll dough if you like to the thickness you prefer. Then cut with a knife or ruler into squares or use a cookie or biscuit cutter.

6. Depending what you are cooking in, place on a ungreased cookie sheet leaving about 1 inch between the biscuits and insert into an oven or place in a circular cake pan and place into a dutch oven and place over white coals. 

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot. Makes 10 biscuits.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

Whats for dinner?

         Wow, no matter where you are, whether in your living room, on a road trip or out in nature, everyone says "What's for dinner". There are so many options for preparing food while you are camping. It really depends on what equipment you have and how much time you want to spend.
         When we first started our camping adventures, we didn't have a lot of equipment. We bought a lot of sandwich fixings and finger foods. It worked but after a few days you wanted a good home cooked meal.
         Then as we became more experienced in our camping, we bought some camping dutch ovens and cast iron skillets. We had done some research and discovered that cast iron withstands the heat from camp fires and coals and propane camping stoves. They also last for generations when cared for correctly. Building camp fires became a hit with the girls and we began cooking over the open flame and coals. I do believe the food is so much better cooked that way. Yet the time factor with the fire building and the temperature of the day sometimes made the dutch oven cooking not as appealing. We would say though that cooking this way was delicious and entailed a family effort that we always enjoyed.
         One Christmas, my husbands parents purchased him a 3 burner propane stove. This made the cooking experience way out of the box. We started making fried potatoes, eggs, stir-fry, chicken fried steaks, fish and the list goes on. The time factor was some less. We could actually cook multiple items at the same time which also cut down on the time factor. We still used our cast iron cook-ware with the camping stove.
         As you can see with each method there is good food, but as you advance in your abilities due to the right camping equipment, the possibilities are endless.

There is no wrong way. Many friends that we have camped with buy used pots and pans and stock up with cheap items and have the best camping experience yet with others, we have camped with all the newest tools and it looks like a four star restaurant and ended up with the same great experience. It depends on what fits in your budget and how food plays a part in your family and friends camping outings.

Please continue to follow as I share with you experiences and ideas that we have come to love while we camp out with loved ones.

Welcome to my blog.

This blog will be filled with all kinds of information.Camping can be thought as a hobby, a vacation, a party, a celebration, a safe haven, a time for relaxation and/or a time for adventure. It can be a time of solace, a time with a loved one or a time with a large group It can be well-planned or spontaneous.

I will be posting on what I think are the top 10 needs for a great camp-out.

1.     The type of shelter you choose whether that be tents, screened rooms, or trailers.
2.     Sleeping arrangements-  Sleeping bag, air mattress, or cots.
3.     Food: How will you prepare your food either by camping stoves,
        cast-iron dutch ovens  or finger foods.
4.     Location of your camp out and the services available. Water, electricity, showers
        and bathrooms.
5.     Who will you go with.
6.     How long will you camp.
7.     What activities will you do.
8.     What equipment we will need for our activities.
9.     Whether to bring a pet or not.
10.   What can we do to prepare for  emergencies.