car-camping-little-basin.jpgThrowing everything into your car and going camping for the weekend is a Canadian summer ritual. Although some people will park somewhere, throw on a backpack, and hike to a remote area to camp, a lot of families go car camping.

Driving right up to the camp site has a lot of benefits: you don’t have to haul a lot of gear on your back, you don’t have to hike for hours to get there, and you can set up your tent and cooking station and start enjoying your weekend.

If you’ve only ever cooked hot dogs or marshmallows over an open fire at your campsite, you’re missing out on enjoying a real outdoor cooking experience. Bring along a propane camp stove like the World Famous 2-burner propane camping stove, the World Famous Cookware, and a cooler and you’ll be able to make some amazing one-pot recipes that will make your weekend outside feel like you went to a five star gourmet resort.

Breakfast casserole

When I was younger I always told people I was a dutch-oven-breakfast-casserole.jpgMcDonalds camper, meaning we’d leave the campsite to go pick up fast food for breakfast. Times have changed for us, and I can’t imagine leaving the campsite when breakfast is the best meal of the day on a weekend away. Having a propane camping stove and some cookware along will help you whip up a feast to start your day off right, and if you need inspiration, try this breakfast casserole adapted from dirtygourmet.com.

Ingredients: 3 cups hash browns
16 ounces fresh sausage, crumbled
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
biscuit dough, enough for 6 biscuits
4 tablespoons butter or oil

Directions

Preheat your pot on your propane stove.

Place the sausage in the pot with half of the butter or oil, and cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and set aside.

Add the hash browns with the rest of the butter or oil. Brown on one side and flip.

Layer back in the cooked sausage on top of the hash browns.

Add the beaten eggs atop the sausage, which is going to run down into all the lower layers.

Sprinkle cheese on top of the egg.

Spoon big dollops of biscuit dough around the top of the eggs until all are covered.

Place lid on top of your pot, making sure it fits tightly around. Let cook on low.

Grilled smashed potatoes

I’ve had smashed potatoes in restaurants and smashed potatoes.jpgthey’re one of my favourite things to order. Try these as a side to anything you’re cooking up and you’ll be surprised it took so little effort to make something so good. Smashed potatoes require a stove like the World Famous Propane camping stove with grill.

Ingredients: Any number of potatoes
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, rosemary

Directions

Boil your potatoes on your camp stove, skin on, under tender. Place the potatoes on the grill and give them a light smash with your fork. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Cook for approximately 5 minutes per side.
Braised Beef and Summer Vegetables

If you have a cooler along on your camping trip, you dutch-oven-braised-beef-su-x.jpgcan pack a lot of great food to cook with. Chuck roast and vegetables keep well in a cooler if you plan on cooking them that evening, and this recipe blends everything for the perfect weekend meal. Photo and recipe from myrecipes.com.

Ingredients: Beef

6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
About 1 tsp. kosher salt
About 1/2 tsp. pepper
1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 2 lbs.)

Vegetables
1 pint cherry tomatoes, stems removed
2 ears corn, cleaned and cut into thirds
1 onion, cut into 6 wedges
1/2 pound green beans, ends trimmed, cut in half
6 baby zucchini (1/2 lb. total), ends trimmed, or regular zucchini cut into chunks
3/4 pound thin-skinned potatoes about 1 in. wide
2 tablespoons butter
About 3 cups chicken broth, divided

Directions

Before you leave home:

Prepare beef: In a bowl, combine garlic, rosemary, oil, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Rub all over beef and pack in a resealable plastic bag.

Prepare vegetables: Put tomatoes, corn, and onion in a resealable plastic bag and green beans and zucchini in another; chill up to 2 days. Don’t chill potatoes.

Cook over your camp stove

3. In your pot melt butter. Add beef; cook until browned on underside, 10 minutes. Turn meat over, add 2 cups broth, cover, and arrange coals on top of pot. Add fuel now and every 30 minutes (see “Start Cooking,” below) and cook 1 hour.

4. Turn meat over, add 1 cup broth, vegetables with corn, and the potatoes; cook, covered, 1 hour. Turn meat and corn, add beans and zucchini, and more broth if pot is getting dry; cook, covered, until meat is very tender, 15 to 30 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

 

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Berry, Chocolate and Cake Skillet

A camping trip isn’t a camping trip without a great dessert. You can always do smores, but this berry, chocolate, and cake skillet will be the best part of your weekend. Photo and recipe from ricardocuisine.com.

Ingredients: 4 cups (570 g) assorted fresh berries
2 tbsp sugar
4 cups (320 g) cubed vanilla pound cake
1/4 cup (55 g) butter
2 Caramilk or Rolo candy bars (1.7 oz/48 g each), in pieces

Directions

In a bowl combine fruit and sugar.

Preheat grill.

In a large skillet brown pieces of cake in butter. Remove cake from skillet.

Sprinkle with fruit and chocolate pieces. Cover with foil and let chocolate melt for 5 minutes.

 

Apple cider cocktail

From dirtygourmet.com, this Apple Cider Cocktail vanilla-cider-cocktail.jpgwill be the perfect cap to your weekend camping.

 

Ingredients: 2 cups apple cider
4 ounces vanilla vodka (about 2 airplane bottles)
1 can or bottle hard apple cider
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled

Directions

Heat the non-alcoholic cider in a pot over medium heat. Remove just before boiling.

Meanwhile, pour cold whipping cream into a mason jar, and screw on the lid. Shake vigorously (a great kid job) until the cream has thickened to desired consistency (we tend to like it a little softer than typical whipped cream)

Pour about 1 ounce of vodka into each mug.

Pour about 1/4 of the can or bottle of hard cider into the mugs.

Pour about 1/4 of the hot apple cider into the mugs. Stir, top each with a dollop of whipped cream, and enjoy your evening.

Enjoy your camping trips, and be sure to check out everything Best Buy has for fun weekend camping.

Shelly Wutke
Editor TV & Home Theatre
I'm a Vancouver freelancer and tech enthusiast. When I'm not writing you'll find me on my farm with my alpacas, chickens, and honeybees. Visit my website Survivemag

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