You gotta eat...

At first packing food was hard.  Food for adults, food for kids, what to cook on the fire, what to cook on the portable grill.  I really stressed about it.  Now, not so much.  We've got our favorite meals and we toss in a new recipe every now and then.

We have become camp food snobs in a way.  We do not make hamburgers for a meal.  Hot dogs are only served as an occasional lunch.  I've gotten really good with my dutch oven and cast iron skillet.  We eat stroganoff, chili, steaks with grilled asparagus, biscuits and gravy, and chicken wraps. The kids know not everyone eats like that camping.  At Huntsville State Park, Tommy was apparently holding a "My dinner is better than yours" session on the playground.  He brought some kids back to camp with him with recipe requests.

Best tip for camp cooking- aluminum foil--the good stuff--heavy duty.  I hate trying to scrub the black soot off of my pots when cooking over the fire.  Back in Girl Scouts we would rub soap on the outside of the pan before cooking to make it easier to clean.  That was okay, but wrapping it with foil is better.  After cooking, just pull the foil off, ball it up, and put it in a container for recycling later. No scrubbing the outside required.  And in a pinch, foil can be used to scrub off the inside of the pot to loosen food.

The first night meal for us is always the same-chick foil wraps.  Love, love, love, for so many reasons.  First, I make it at home and freeze it ahead of time.  No muss, no fuss at camp necessary.  Second, the whole meal is in a foil pouch.  Toss it on the fire while you finish setting up camp and begin relaxing.  After an hour or so, eat it right out of the foil and clean up is a snap.  S'mores, here we come.  Third, ans the best, is my picky eaters will eat things in this meal that they don't even want on their plate at home.

Recipe:

1 can (10.75 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1 3/4 cup water, divided
1 pkg (6 oz) Stove top chicken stuffing mix
4 small boneless chicken breasts pounded to 1/2 inch thick
4 thin slices smoked ham
1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1.  Mix soup and 1/4 cup water, set aside.  Combine stuffing mix and remaining 1 1/2 cups water.  Let stand a minute or two.
2.  Spoon even amounts of stuffing onto 4 large sheets of HEAVY DUTY aluminum foil.  Top each with one chicken breast, put one piece of ham on top of each piece of chicken, put some mushrooms and peas on each. Pour some of the reserved soup mixture on top of each.
3.  Double fold top and both ends of foil around chicken leaving some room for air to circulate.
4.  You can cook them at home in your oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes in a baking dish.  On a campfire, place on a grill or grate over the fire just out of the direct flame.  I usually put the fold side down first.  Turn occasionally for about an hour.  Check for doneness and serve.