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Tips and Advice for Camp Cooking

1 There are two things to remember when it comes to campsite cooking: make it filling and make it easy. The best plan is to create a menu for every meal, then write down what you'll need to prepare each item. Add salt, pepper, sugar and any other spices you like - and there's your food-packing list. It may seem tedious, but you'll be glad you spent the few extra minutes preparing at home when the rumbling in your stomach rivals the call of a lovesick bull moose. (Be sure to keep the finished menu with your food for reference at the campsite.)

2 Take advantage of convenience foods. Boil-in-the-bag rice cooks up fast and easy and is well worth the few extra cents. Just-add-water foods such as soups, chili and cups of noodles make great no-cleanup meals and snacks.

3 Measure and combine dry ingredients ahead of time and put them in resealable sandwich bags. Remember to label the bags.

4 Insulated plastic mugs with lids you can drink through are great on camping trips. They keep hot beverages hot, cool beverages cool and insects out of everything.

5 If you plan to grill, bring a grate to put over the fire. Don't assume your campsite will have one.

6 Gather up a set of camping dishes and store them with your other equipment so they're always ready. If you're not sure what to include, go through your menu, meal by meal, and list the dishes and utensils you'll need for each one. And remember to pack what you'll need for cleanup - a dishpan, sponge or washrag, one or two drying cloths and soap.

7 Even if you've conquered the ˇ±experienced climbers onlyˇ± trail, ridden the roughest rapids and hooked the granddaddy of all catfish, a camp stove that won't light will be the most distinct memory of your trip. If you plan to cook, plan to invest in a quality camp stove.

8 Don't forget the marshmallows.

9 Cover pots and pans whenever you're boiling or cooking advice. Meals will be ready faster and you will save fuel when you use lids. Lids also keep unwanted objects or creatures from landing in your food.

10 Cook meals like chili or stew ahead at home. They can be kept in a cooler and quickly reheated when you're hungry.

11 Bring small amounts of cooking supplies rather than big containers. For example, pour a few ounces of cooking oil into a resealable plastic jar rather than bringing the entire bottle.

12 The cooking advice also include that aluminum foil is a camp cook's best friend. Fold it into packets for steaming veggies on the grill. Wrap it around potatoes for perfectly baked spuds. Poke a few holes in it and cover your grate to keep food from falling into the fire. The uses are endless.

Tips for a cooking crisis

You're a housewife, or a mom who also juggles a career on top of taking care of the kids. Either way, you're stuck with planning, preparing and cooking your family's meal everyday, especially every night.

But what if you get too caught up with doing house chores the whole day, or too exhausted to even cook a sumptuous meal for hubby and the kids later that night? Or what if, while on your way home from work, you get stuck in a monster traffic jam and you're too tired to take out the frying pan when you get home?

Yes, being a wife and/or a career woman with a family is like being an efficient manager -- you must be ready to cope with the best and worst of times, and it's usually you having to face a cooking crisis.

You're not totally helpless. Here are some tips to help you face even the worst cooking crisis in the world:

THINK OF THE WORST! Get pessimistic, in a good way. Always work with the worst-case scenario in your mind. You'll be able to cover all bases and think of possible solutions to your potential cooking problems. Think, "What if I can't do the grocery today?" From there, you can plan what you can do.

SAVE YOUR STRENGTH! This simply means you have to prioritize. If you're pressed for time, then save your strength for the must-have cooking chores. It's always best to write a list. Number it from 1 to 10 according to what's most important and what can make the most difference (canned goods, instant food, etc).

SQUARE MEALS! Be ready to cook at the most three square meals for three days without water or electricity. Choose food that tastes good whether it's cold or warm, and which won't spoil after having been cooked and not eaten for two days even without a freezer.

Continue to learn more info about cooking advice, visit The Coleman Company.

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