Campsite Corn

First, take as many ears of corn as you're going to eat. Soak the corn in water for 30 minutes to and hour. With the husks still on, put the corn on red hot coals from a fire and cover them with a few coals. Wait until the husks start getting burnt, then roll the corn out of the coals with a stick. Sweet Corn is usually good alone but tastes even better with a little butter and salt.

Sweet Onion Bake

Cut the top off the onion, but don't throw it out. Core the onion, but don't go to deep, just make a nice well. Squeeze a little butter in the well and add soup mix. Put the 'lid' back on it, wrap it in foil and cook on the coals for about 30-45 minutes or to desired texture of onion.

Taco Burgers

Take 1# extra lean ground beef and cook it up. When it is done drain any grease off. add one jar of Picante sauce (16oz.) to it. one small can of diced green chile. when most of the moisture is gone put on low heat add sliced cheese or shredded cheese to the top. When cheese is just about melted serve on hamburger bun.

Mystery Meat

Take 1# Extra lean ground beef cook it up. Add diced green chile or diced Jalepino's and a diced onion. When meat is cooked drain off any grease then add 6 large eggs. when eggs are fully cooked add 1 or 2 cans pork n beans or pinto beans. add salt, pepper,and garlic to your flavor.

Banana Creme Pie

At home: measure out dehydrated milk and combine with dry pudding mix - be sure to include directions for both milk and pudding, the needed water at camp will be the combination of both.(note: put dried ingredients in a zipper-lock bag, makes it easier to mix w/ water at camp.)

Camp: line bottom of pan with vanilla wafers and then add the rehydrated bananas. Add the appropriate amount of water to bag w/pudding and milk (hopefully rather cold water so that it sets up good) and pour on top after it sets up a bit. Amounts should make a pie about 9", but it's very easy to change for more or less. We made enough for 9 people.

Cheesy Biscuit Mix

At home:
place biscuit mix in ziploc, cut cheddar into 1/4 inch cubes, wrap cheddar in saran wrap place in bag with mix.

At camp:
remove cheddar's wrap and place back in mix, slowly add 1/4-1/3 cup water into ziploc bag, mixing until thick doughy consistency, be sure that you don't add too much water, snip 1 corner of ziploc bag, squeeze dough out in lumps into pot, put lid on pot & place on stove or in fire, cover lid with hot coals or build a small fire on top of it, remove after 10-15 minutes

Trail Mix

Mix and bag!

Hillbilly Haven Beans

The ingredient that separates this from ordianary recipes of this style is the cinnamon. So if you so desire...add another dash of it. Combine these, and bake at 325 for about 10 minutes.....And that's Hardy Hillbilly eating.

Crawdad Pasta

FIRST YOU NEED A LOT OF YOUTHFUL ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM TO GATHER ENOUGH CRAYFISH FROM A COLD MOUNTAIN STREAM TO FEED ALL OF THE INHABITANTS OF YOUR CAMP. THIS WILL TAKE AT LEAST 10 PER PERSON AND THAT WILL GIVE YOU A GOOD TASTE. KEEP YOUR CATCH ALIVE UNTIL YOU HAVE ALL THAT YOU WILL NEED, THEN IN A LOT LARGE POT,BRING TO A BOIL 3 QTS. OF SALTED WATER. PLACE YOUR LIVE CRADADS IN THE BOILING WATER, AND LET THEM BOIL FOR ABOUT 3 MINUTES. COOK IN SMALL BATCHES, ABOUT 6 AT A TIME. REMOVE THEM FROM THE WATER AND LET THEM COOL. WHEN THEY ARE COOL REMOVE THE TAILS AND LARGE CLAWS. CRACK THE SHELLS AND SEPARATE THE MEAT DISCARDING THE SHELLS AND SAVE THE MEAT IN A CLEAN BOWL.

IN A LARGE POT BOIL THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF YOUR FAVORITE PASTA. WHEN THE PASTA IS JUST ABOUT FINISHED, PLACE IN A SMALL PAN 1/4 CUP BUTTER, 4 CLOVES GARLIC, (CHOPPED) 1/4 CUP WHITE WINE, AND THE MEAT OF YOUR CRAWFISH MEAT. SIMMER TOGETHER FOR ABOUT 3 MINUTES, THEN DRAIN YOUR PASTA AND POUR YOUR SAUCE OVER IT. SPRINKLE WITH CHEESE AND SERVE.

THIS SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF WORK FOR WHAT YOU GET, BUT IF YOU FIND YOURSELF NEAR A STREAM WITH A GOOD POPULATION OF CRAYFISH AND YOU HAVE SOME ADVENTURESOME YOUNGSTERS AT HAND IT CAN BECOME A MEAL THAT WILL ENTERTAIN ALL DAY!!!

Beenie Burger

Brown beef in pan drain grease off, mix in beans until hot add sugar,ketchup, and mustard and stir. Eat as is or over bread or toast. Quick and easy for in the woods.

Camp Fajitas

Cut up all veggies into desired sizes. Cook until tender. Add favorite marinade sauce (mine is a Caribbean jerk sauce,) just enough to cover the veggies. Wrap in tortilla and enjoy...

Foil Dinneres

You bring foil,vegetables, and spices in bags or containers. ( if you're car camping you can bring meat) You wrap your desired vegetables and spices in foil. Cook directly on hot coals or on a grate above a flame for 15 minutes on each side.

Scrambled Oatmeal

In a pot mix together oatmeal muffin mix (use the mix that just needs water) and water, put the pot over the fire and stir the mix every once in a while. The mix will start to clump together, once you think it's okay to eat take the pot off of the fire and ENJOY!! If you don't like oatmeal use another kind of muffin mix.

**Warning: This is good but don't eat too much or else you'll get a stomach ache. **Hint: To protect your pot from getting impossible to clean, put dish soap on it before you put it over the fire.

Camp Fajitas

Cut up all veggies into desired sizes. Cook until tender. Add favorite marinade sauce (mine is a Caribbean jerk sauce,) just enough to cover the veggies. Wrap in tortilla and enjoy...

Burdock Patties

Pick burdock stalks while on a spring walk. Clip the stalk from the ground up to the point where the leaf begins to grow. You should have a stalk that look like celery. Clean it well and maybe even pull some of the stringy fibers from the stalk if you have time. Cut the stalks into 1" lengths and boil or steam until very tender. Mush them up with the egg and breadcrumbs. Use a tablespoon to plop 'em on the frying pan. Pepper and salt to taste. My grandmother (now 97) made these for us as kids. My wife and I made them while canoeing on the Saco River during or honeymoon and now our teenagers eat 'em up. Poor man's asparagus is a good description cause that's what they taste like...without the after effect.

-- Mike & Amy Danial

-- Syracuse, NY

Campfire Apples

1. Core an apple leaving the bottom in tact. 2. Cut the center of the core apart from the top of the core, creating a "lid" that fits on your apple. 3. Fill the apple half to three quarters full of squeeze butter. 4. Fill the rest of the apple with a cinnamon/ sugar mix. 5. Put the "lid" back on the apple. 6. Wrap in heavy duty foil. 7. Throw it in the coals for an hour or so. Tastes like apple pie.

-- Sarah Hail

-- Cincinnati, OH

Evil Faye's Chicken and Dumplings

Put boullion cubes, chicken, dry milk, and butter buds in pot with 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Make sure boullion cubes are fully dissolved. Then tear tortillas into 1inch by 2 inch pieces. Place torilla pieces in pot with boiling contents, be sure to tortilla pieces are under the water do not stir, just push them under wilth your fork. Reduce heat, cover and let the pot simmer for 10 minutes. Salt and Pepper to taste.

This recipe is quick and easy to make, it will feed 2-3 people and not weigh down your pack. I think you be find very tasty for something so simple. I hope you enjoy it.

-- Brian Raley

Bud's Breakfast Buffet in a Cup

INTO A CUP (I PREFER LEXAN), POUR THE CONTENTS OF: 1 OR 2 PACKAGES OF INSTANT GRITS--FLAVORED OR PLAIN CHOPPED BOILED EGG ADD BOILING WATER TO DESIRED CONSISTANCY ADD SALT AND PEPPER AS DESIRED TO VARY THE FLAVOR ADD GRADED CHEESE OR CHOPPED JERKY. SOME OF MY FRIENDS ENJOY THIS BREAKFAST TREAT BUT MOST RECOMMEND THAT YOU NOT LOOK AT IT TOO CLOSELY WHILE YOU EAT IT!!!

-- BUD ROBBINS

-- KENNESAW, GA

Simple Trail Trout

Take 1 trout (or as many as you were lucky enough to catch...or like my last trip into the Sierra's - I got stuck cleaning all of the fish that day. I didn't catch a thing, but my pals did!!) Clean and scale the trout but leave the head on. Lightly brush the inside of the trout with the oil. Rub the rest of the oil on the outside of the fish. Rub the fresh garlic into the flesh of the fish. I suggest the use of fresh garlic because it tastes better and is easy to pack. Rub the remainder of the dry herbs and spices on the flesh of the trout. Insert a stick into the rear end of the trout and push it up though the mouth of the trout. Prop the Trout up into the fire pit ofver medium coals or far to the side of roaring fire. Like a hotdog. It takes a good 20 mintes to slow cook the trout to perfection. The fish meat will fall off of the bone when it is done.

-- Mark Freid

Mexican Night

Start with refried beans...the instant type where you just add water. Bring water to a boil and add. Have some taco shells..the cheap kind on hand. With that add bean...squeeze cheese and hot sauce from any fast food store. If you want meat add TVP..which can be found in any health food store and add some seasoning to it and you have nachos for dinner. TVP textured vegetable protein can add a lot to any meal - Beef Storganof and Hamburger helper meals.

Camp Fish

The best fish to have is fish caught in a stream by yourself. Clean the fish and leave the heads on. Spray the aluminum foil with Pam. Place fish on foil. Lay 2-3 onion slices and 1 lemon slice on each fish. Fold the tin foil and place on camp-fire. It works best if you heat a flat rock in the middle of the fire. It doesn't take long for the fish to cook. Check it every know and then. The fish will appear white and flaky when done.

-- Nathan A. Paullin

Chicken a L'Orange

Prior to the trip: Grill chicken and dice, cook rice, and stir fry mixed vegetables. Mix orange juice with honey and add parsley salt, pepper and a hint of tabasco sauce. Freeze everything. On location: Mix everything together and boil for about 5 minutes or until hot. Serve 2 hungry campers. (Note that it was just enough for me after we've walked 35 milles in the cold rain, in River Eternity Qc. ) Since everything is frozen ( depending on the temperature outside) you can keep this in your pack for a while before cooking it.

-- Martin Verrette

Spiked Cider

A super hot drink, mends the pain and helps you sleep: Heat up cider and add a shot of your favorite bourbon. Awesome!

Pizza After Week in the Woods

Boil water in a bucket to be used to raise bread. Mix bread dough, put on plate that will fit on top of bucket, and cover with foil to raise. When bread is done rising, pinch off enough to fit on a small piece of tin foil(5") and flatten out. Cook on top of campfire until edges just start getting brown. Add sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and toppings cooking until golden brown and cheese melted. This works great when you have a rainy day in camp with restless kids. It just gives them something to do and they love the results. (With a group of 7 you may want to double the batch of bread)

HeartBar Beans

The night before have a good fire to build your coal bed. Drink the stouts while enjoying the fire. Don't forget to soak the pintos overnight. Rinse the beans and put in dutch oven, cover with about two inches of water and bring to low boil in fire pit. If using charcoal briquettes start with about twenty coals which have been pre-lit. Basicaly slow-boil the beans for about four hours or until they start to soften. Check the water level about every two hours, more often if not using dutch oven. If using charcoal be sure to throw new coals on before the old ones die out. As the beans start to soften add 3/4 of the onion and peppers and let boil to stock. Add black pepper and salt to taste. DON'T add any spices until the beans bein to soften. It should take another 1 - 1 1/2 hours to soften beans completely depending on how you work the fire. Salt and pepper as needed, and add last 1/4 of onion and the cheese a few minutes before serving, allowing the cheese to melt in. It Should have the same consistancy of refried beans when done.

-- Chuck

Killer Taco Roast

Start with a good bed of coals or about 30 briquettes. Coals should go on the bottom and top of the pot with the majority on the bottom. Cover roast as best you can with water and bring to medium boil. After first hour of boil, add a couple of the carrots (cut to 3/4" pieces), the cumin, salt and pepper, onion, garlic, and wine. This will be your stock. Boil at a medium heat for another 30 minutes and then slow to a low boil, barely more than a simmer. Watch the water level and reduce level as roast breaks down. Salt and pepper to taste occasionly. If you let a small amount of the roast crisp it adds some good flavor. This is an all-day cooker, anywhere between 4 and 6 hours. In the last 30 minutes of cooking add the diced carrots, then add enough rice to soak up the stock. Add rice about 1/4 cup at a time or you'll dry it out. If you turn over the dutch oven lid on a bed of coals or put it on a camp stove it makes a great skillet to warm corn tortillas.

-- Chuck

Hobo Onion

Score onion across the the top several times and place in tinfoil. Put butter, salt and pepper on top of onion and close the tinfoil securely. Set directly in the fire and cook approximately 30-45 minutes. Unwrap and enjoy!

-- Wayne, Jr.

Baked Tomatoes

Wash tomatoes and cut in half. Wrap in premium brand foil and immerse into hot coals of a campfire. Place tomato cut side up in fire. Bake until tender. Top with butter, salt & pepper. You can add other toppings such as: Grated Cheese, Crushed Potato Chips, Bacon Bits, Crumbled Beef Jerky, Lemon Pepper Seasoning, etc.

-- Amy Lynch

Hotrocks

My favorite recipe is anything cooked on a hot rock. Every time I go camping I get a carefully chosen flat river rock and lay it in the edge of the campfire. By the time everyone is ready to cook, I fetch my shovel and pull the rock out, level it up and poor a little water (or beer) on the rock to rinse it. Then I lay keobasi, steak, ham, fish or anything else on it, and cook it to perfection. It is suprisingly very controllable, and the food has a charcoal 'camping' flavor. Hope you try it sometime!

-- Ron Collins, Lithia Springs, Georgia

Thai Seafood Curry

Mix the powdered coconut milk with water, heat it up to a low boil. Throw in the veggies, until they are about cooked. Throw in the crab. Once it's hot, you have curry. Put it over pasta, or rice.

Shroom Treats

Remove stems from mushrooms. Place about 1/2 tsp of tinned Underwood Deviled Ham (no refrig. necessary) inside each mushroom cap. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top of mixture. Melt cheese/ham/mushroom cap by toasting near fire at angle. Serve hot.

-- Ralph Scott, St. Greenville, North Carolina

Chicken/Vegetable Stir Fry

Bone and cut up chicken parts into small pieces. Season with salt, pepper, fresh garlic and anything else interesting. Put the chicken in a Ziploc, add some olive oil and freeze. Cut up some carrots, celery, scallions, etc. into small pieces, put in another Ziploc and freeze. At camp, get your stove going, open up the chicken and cook, stirring often, until almost done. Add the veggies and cook a little longer.

Weenie Stuff

Place all ingrediants into a large pan and simmer until it begins to thicken slightly. Salt and pepper to taste and serve over a bed of fritos, or with corn bread or corn fritters.

-- Donny Cochran, Carrollton, Georgia

Dump-It Cobbler

Pour pie filling into bottom of a 10-12 inch dutch oven. Next, sprinkle cake mix evenly over pie filling. Then, pour soda evenly over cake mix. DO NOT MIX! Bake 45-60 minutes (less for gooey, more for crunchy) until crust is golden brown. Delicious with home-made ice cream!

-- Gary Mountain

OO-La-La Outdoor Trout

Before you go combine the rice, celery seed, onion, garlic, paprika, and thyme in a ziploc bag with your campsite instructions.

Catch and fillet a fish, I like trout best. Heat oil in a skillet and then add the rice and other ingrediants you prepared at home. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the bouillon and water and bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the fish and simmer for 8 more minutes, then add the tomatoes and simmer for a final 2 minutes.

Feeds 2 people to busting.

This recipe takes a little longer but it is well worth it. If you have any fresh veggies still available, peppers and mushrooms are two items I like to add. The basic ingredients are stay-fresh and if you like fish (a lot) you can make enough for a few nights.

-- Renee Foy, IL.

Root 'n' Snort

This dinner will make 'em root 'n' snort on a cool fall night!

Preparation: Salt and pepper pork, roll in flour. Heat oil in 12" deep Dutch oven (or equivalent). Sear pork on all sides until browned and oil is absorbed. Reduce heat. (I cook on a fire with a tripod and chain, so I just raise the pot up a few links.) Slice and core the apples (peel on), slice sweet potatoes, add to pot. Add brown sugar, cinnamon and bourbon. Cover tightly and slow simmer appx. 11/2 hrs. or until pork reaches 145 degrees F. internal temp. Remove all contents and deglaze the pot using a spatula to get all the goodies for gravy. Serve with biscuits baked in a reflector oven. The gravy is so good, "you'll go home and smack yo' momma 'cause she never fixed you none." Enjoy! -- Wright Ellis, river chef extraordinaire, Richmond, Va.

First Night Care Package

In aluminum foil, layer thinly sliced potatoes, carrots, onions then hamburger patty, then onions, carrots and potatoes. Season as desired. Wrap up securely in foil. Put directly on coals of fire. Turn once, eat. Other vegetables can be used.

-- Kim D. Rust

Slop Cobbler

Empty the pie filling into a dutch oven along with the sugar and the secret ingredient (red hots). Mix this all together. Pour the cake mix on top and then place the butter around the top of the cake mix. Put this in the coals of your campfire until the cake mix turns brown. When you open the lid, you'll have a tasty treat.

-- Chris Beran

Fry Pan Beanie-Weenies

Saute weiners, onion and oregano in margarine until browned. Add beans and simmer 10 min. Add tomato wedges and heat gently.

Camping Mega-Muffins

Cook one can of Grands biscuits in Coleman oven. As biscuits are just turning golden brown add a slice of canadian bacon and a slice of smoked cheddar (or your favorite cheese) and continue baking until cheese has melted. This is very easy and very tasty and best of all there is very little clean up.

-- Randy M. Jackson

Camp Potatoes

You will need a piece of foil about 18 inches long. In the center of that add a about 2-3 cups of chopped potatoes, some butter to your taste -- at least 1 tablespoon to keep the potatoes from sticking to the foil. Add the seasonings to your taste, at least 1/4 cup of onions -- more if you like onions. Wrap this tightly and put into some coals near the campfire, or on a grill above the coals for about 30 minutes to 45 minutes. It will depend on how hot the coals are and if you have the foil in the coals or over them.

Open the wrap and enjoy.

This dish is sure to please everyone so make several foil pouches.

-- Deborah David, Calif.

Backpackers Neptune Alfredo

Pre-trip preparation:

On the trail:

Serve, eat, and enjoy!

-- Paul Chinn

Creole Jambalaya Feast

While hiking the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, I made a spicy rice surprise that made the Niday Shelter a Cajun evening to remember. We shared our meal with "Grits", a thru-hiker from Georgia.

Prepare according to directions. Requires only water and meat, all spices are included. Simmer for 25 minutes. Serves 3 hungry hikers. Finish with a small can of Mandarin Orange wedges as dessert.

I also made "sun" tea by leaving 2 tea bags in our quart water bottle for 3 hours while we hiked. Sweeten to taste. Enjoy!

- Wayne Brodd

Yosemite Pasta

On a backpacking trip to the Tioga Pass in Yosemite, we stopped at a vegetable stand on the way to the park and couldn't resist the urge to buy the fresh asparagus. We added it to an old standby and it has become our favorite backcountry meal -- one that we often repeat at home!!

Prepare package following package instructions, adding sundried tomatoes Add diced asparagus for the last five minutes.

Enjoy.

-- Katy Kash

Chippewa Bannock

This cake keeps well and packs well.

Combine cornmeal, water, hazelnut oil, syrup and salt. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Drop the batter by tablespoons into the hot oil. Flatten with a spatula and fry cakes until crisp and browned on both sides. Add more oil as needed.

The original recipe says 4 tablespoons maple syrup, but it's way better if you put at least two times as much in, but then you need more cornmeal. If you precook the cornmeal, the bannock ends up being like a small, sweet pancake. I, however, recommend you don't. You'll get a tougher cake that keeps well, and packs well. Perfect for that week-long hike you've been planning!

-- Christian Maire

One Pot Chicken-Rice-Stuffing Dinner

Throw away the stuffing mix box (extra weight), but keep the little piece with the recipe if necessary and put the rice and additional ingredients in ziplock bags.

At the campsite, cook the bouillon with about one quart of water (depends on the desired consistency of the dish), add the rice and spices mix, let it cook for about 2 minutes, add the chicken and veggies and after a minute or so the stuffing mix. Let it sit for a few more minutes until the breadcrumbs are soft enough.

The dish doesn't look very good, but it's a good-tasting fast backpacking meal. Enjoy!

(For two hungry or three not that hungry people).

-- Iris Renner of Switzerland

Dump Cake

Pour the pie filling in the dutch oven so that the bottom is covered. Pour the dry cake mix on top of the filling and add the butter to the very top. Cover and place in the hot coals. Cook until the filling has bubbled through the cake mix and the mix is good and gooey. (about half-an-hour). Serve warm and enjoy. This is very yummy.

A good combination is white cake mix with cherry pie filling and canned pineapple chunks (add all of the juice too). Or mix and match yellow or chocolate cake mix, apple pie filling, blueberry pie filling, canned peaches, etc.

-- Sue Vater of Madison, Wis.

One-Pot Enchilada Casserole

Before you leave home, combine the chili powder mix, dried onion and sun-dried tomatoes in a plastic bag. At the campsite, bring the water to boil, then add the mix and canned meat. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Then add the crumpled corn chips and cheese. Stir until the chips are moistened and serve.

Easy, fast, delicious!

-- David Frederick

Milk Can Dinner

Dig a hole at your campsite and make a big fire in it.

Husk the corn. Put a two-inch layer of husks -- but no silk -- in the bottom of the milk can. Add the potatoes, carrots, onions and husked cobs of corn. Next add the ring(s) of sausage. Finally, put the potato on top. Add the water.

When the fire has burned down to coals, put a grate on the hole and place the milk can on top. Put the cover on loosely so that the steam can escape.

Get a cold beer from the cooler and sit in your lawn chair and listen for boiling sounds. Boiling sounds are GOOD! If by chance the boiling should stop before the dinner is done, run for more water! The dinner is done when the potato on top is done. Feeds about 10-20 hungry paddlers/campers or two large bears. This dinner can be set up in the milk can on the morning of a long paddling trip with two quarts of ice (instead of water) in jugs on top of all the ingredients.

Spanish Tortilla

Peel and cut the potatoes into very thin, round pieces. Add sliced potatoes to frying pan, cover and cook slowly until done. Remove potatoes from pan and add them to the bowl of beaten eggs. Add salt.Then heat the pan with a tiny bit of oil and add the mix, flattening it to resemble a tortilla. Flip the tortilla when the bottom is done and cook the other side. Very tasty!

Chicken and Veggies

Build a fire and let it burn down to hot coals. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Place chicken in foil -- at least two sheets thick. Add vegetables cut into bite-size pieces (potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, corn, etc.). Add the tsp of oil. Season with salt, pepper and rosemary. Seal the foil tightly by folding over the ends. Lay on hot coals and let cook 30-45 minutes. Remember to seal tightly to keep in the juices. This recipe can be made using beef or sausage also.

-- Courtesy of C. Bennett

Meatless Campers' Cornucopia