Wow-Long time and no blog

   I fell off the blog train.  Life got in the way- you know, job, kids, driving them all over for after school events.  A lot has happened in our camping life since the last blog.  The biggest change is that we became what we  use to call- "Wimpy campers."

Yes, we bought a travel trailer.

It's following us!

   I miss the tent.  I miss feeling like "Nature Woman" sleeping with the critters just beyond the thin tent walls. (The wild animal critters roaming the woods-not my kids.)

   But- I do not miss sleeping on the ground or on a cot for a week at a time.  My back isn't as young as it used to be and a real bed with a real mattress is really nice.

   And when it rains, I don't have to worry about the tent floor flooding. And it always rains when we camp.  My son attributes last years drought in Texas to us not camping as much as we have in the past.

   There are people in trailers that never seem to come out.  We are only in at bedtime and in heavy rain.  We aren't total camp wimps.





   Last trip, I made a new breakfast dish that was a big hit.  It was the last morning and I was running out of breakfast foods.  I always plan the meals tight so I am not bringing home lots of left overs.  I had a little bacon and a little sausage, so I cooked that in my cast iron pot with some sliced onion.  I added some hash brown potatoes (Simply Potatoes brand) and let them brown up a bit.  Then I poured in the last of the Egg Beaters (taking real eggs has never worked well for us) and let them scramble into the potatoes and meats.  I finished it by tossing in a handful of leftover shredded cheese from taco night and let that melt.  My daughter, the pickiest eater of our crew, loved it but picked out the onion pieces because they were too big.

   I may sleep in a camper, but I will always be cooking over my campfire.

Our favorite recipes-Breakfast

As I've said before, we are camp food snobs.  We do not do hamburgers or hot dogs for dinners while camping.  Hot dogs at lunch maybe, but not as the main meal.  Most meals are cooked on the fire in a big cast iron skillet that my husband's grandfather made or in a dutch oven we got at a local sporting goods store.  Once those get seasoned just right, they are a joy to cook in.

The easiest way to break it down is recipes by meal time- Breakfast and Dinner.

In this blog I present Breakfast.

I always serve a fruit with breakfast.  Fresh or frozen.  We will have some kind of juice or milk (freeze a half gallon at home before you go-it will thaw as you use it.).  We also have the most important part of breakfast-coffee.  We splurged and got a Coleman camping coffee maker.  It works on a small Coleman stove and makes real brewed coffee-not instant. We each have our own coffee mug (the kids get hot chocolate) If you love that morning cup of joe, consider it.  


Tacos-  

Nothing beats the smell of bacon in the morning.  The sizzle it makes in the pan will wake everyone up and get them going.  We've tried the already cooked bacon that you just heat up...once.  It just wasn't the same.  While the bacon is cooking, wrap some flour tortillas in foil and place them on the fire away from direct flames.  You just need to get them warm and pliable.  Once the bacon is done, wrap it in foil and sit it by the fire to stay warm while you cook up some scrambled eggs.
Put the bacon, eggs, and tortillas on the table with some grated cheese, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, etc. and everyone makes their own breakfast tacos.  Easy to substitute sausage instead of bacon-if you cook it like ground meat, just stir the eggs into the cooked sausage and serve. Another option- cook some potato hash browns in the skillet after the meat.  Wrap in foil and hold for taco making time, or add the eggs and cook it together.

Biscuits and gravy-

My husbands favorite breakfast meal.  It takes a little prep work, but is worth it.  The night before, while you are sitting around a campfire relaxing and thinking about the day, cook the biscuits.  I use the refrigerator biscuits-easy.  Put them in the dutch oven.  Put some hot coals under the oven and some on top of the oven. They will bake just as if you had them in the oven at home.  When done, take the biscuits out of the oven, wrap in foil and store in the car until morning.  In the morning, put the foil wrapped biscuits near the fire to warm up.  Make sausage or biscuit gravy and serve.  Best tip on making gravy- warm up the milk before adding to the roux.  It won't lump.

French Toast-

We don't cook this one often.  It's good, but seems to take so much more attention while cooking.  Beat together 2 eggs, 1/2 cup milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, and a pinch of salt.  Dip bread (8 slices) one at a time into egg mix and place on heated skillet.  Bake about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Pancakes-

This one is usually our last day breakfast.  It's done on the Coleman stove, easy to clean up after, and done by my husband so I can start cleaning up camp.  Easiest recipe- one of the plastic containers with mix that you just add water to and shake.

Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!

I mentioned before we can be ready to head to the woods in a couple of hours.  How in the world can that be done?  With kids?  Well, --I don't really ever unpack...

I have 2 plastic tubs- the big 5 gallon plastic things.  They are both the same color blue.  All of our camping necessities stay in those tubs.

Tub one contains all the cooking necessities:  spatula, can opener, fire/oven mitts, marshmallow roasters,  scissors paper bowls, paper plates, trash sacks, plastic cups, , plastic ware, plastic tablecloths,  a couple of dish towels, tongs, spoon, foil, napkins, mugs, cooking oil, skillet, and a small pot.  A note on top reminds me to toss in the lighter, salt and pepper, dish soap, and baby wipes/antibacterial wipes.  (Yes, I have a problem with keeping the table clean...)

Tub two contains other camping gear: bungees, , bird book, binoculars, rope, cards, clothes pins, plastic bags, plastic containers, a short water hose, and a sprinkler-I'll explain later.  The note on the top of it reminds me to toss in batteries, bug spray, sunscreen, flashlights, fire starter, and cast iron dutch oven.

Our sleeping bags are all together in a closet.  After airing them out I repack them with an extra sheet inside.  The camp chairs are in the garage near the truck.

The tent, canopy, and coffee pot (I must have my elixir of life-brewed not instant), cots, and small propane oven are all together in the attic.

Our first aid kit is always packed.  I use it instead of a cabinet in the bathroom.

So if we decide to head our for a quick trip, we grab both tubs.  I add the last minute items to it while my husband pulls out the gear from the attic and the sleeping bags.  He'll pack up his clothes and then start loading the car while I get the kids to pack clothes, a couple of toys, and grab a pillow.  The kids go out to help dad while I pack my bag.

We have a standard short trip menu/shopping list ready.  After we get to the site and unload, the kids and I set up camp and dad does the grocery shopping at a nearby store.

After we get home, I get all the gear cleaned up and repack the tubs.  If I  need to re-stock, I do so before putting the tubs back in the attic to await the next adventure.

Oh, the sprinkler...

One hot, humid weekend trip to Palmetto State Park we needed a way to cool down.  My husband ran to a store in town and brought back the sprinkler and hose.  We hooked it up to the spigot at camp and let the kids (and parents) play.  It wasn't long before all the kids in our little area were over playing.  We made some great friends that trip.  We were the "coolest" site around.

How it came to be

My family camped a lot--family vacations, Girl Scouts, for fun in the backyard.  I loved it.  I always said that Mr. Right had better be able to pitch a tent.  Luckily, he could.  We had many adventures camping in Oklahoma and then we had kids.  Camping got pushed aside with play dates and birthday parties.

When my daughter was 5 and my son was 3, we ventured into the woods again.  We were seriously over prepared--too much food, too much gear, too many clothes.  We watched in fear as my prissy little girl looked at our campsite, wrinkled up her nose and then squealed, "rolly polly heaven!".  She proceeded to collect those little bugs and make houses and mazes for them.  My son eargerly helped his big sister collect twigs, rocks, leaves.  They were happy.  We could relax.  Our kids were campers at heart.  It's in their DNA.

The years have past.  My 5 year old prissy girl is now 12 and a total tomboy in the woods.  My son turns into a wild thing.  Dirt, bug bites and scratches are part of his daily attire.  In 7 years, we have this camping thing down.  We can be ready for a weekend trip in a matter of a couple of hours and a week long trip in a couple of days.  The art of camping and love of spending time in the outdoors with my family drove me to this blog.