Upon our return to the USA, we indulged in all of the foods that we had missed while traveling. We spent a month in Bay City, a week in Huntsville, a night in Branson, and a few days in Waurika being spoiled by our families and eating ourselves silly. After our cross-country road trip to visit various family members, we finally set off to what would be our next destinaton: Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado. Since we had a couple days’ drive ahead of us, we packed up our tent and cooler to do some camping along the way.

Jon’s jobs when camping are to set up the tent and build fires. He’s pretty good at both!

While we did a fair amount of camping on our road trip across the USA and then our Intrepid trip in Africa, we really haven’t done much camping overall. Other than a couple of camping trips with family when I was young (under the age of 10), I had never camped on my own. When we decided upon taking this around-the-world trip, I told Jon that I would have to practice camping before we left. With that in mind, we took two long weekends and one full week to practice so that I would be comfortable with it when we left. There are some aspects that I like and some that I definitely don’t like, but one of my favorites is the meals that we cook. We don’t take a camp-stove or anything else with us, so we are limited to what we can keep in the cooler and cook over the fire. Since we spent a couple of nights camping on our way to Dinosaur, I thought I would share with you a couple of our standards that we always take with us now when camping.

We celebrated our anniversary in 2015 with campfire burritos and a pink champagne!

Breakfast: Cheesy Ranch Hashbrowns
Ingredients

• 2 lb bag frozen southern style hashbrowns, defrosted
• 1 lb bacon, cooked and chopped (you could substitute ham, sausage, or mushrooms for a vegetarian version)
• Onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups shredded cheese

Directions

• Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
• Double-wrap in aluminum foil in individual servings. (We use a heavy, non-stick foil.) Freeze until you are ready to leave.
• Over campfire, place packets around the edge in the coals and cook until heated through (15-20 minutes). (Don’t place on the flames directly).
• Unwrap and enjoy!

Note: We usually make a double batch of this to take with us for anything longer than a weekend.

I LOVE these cheesy hashbrowns for breakfast!

Lunch: Pasta Salad
Ingredients

• 1 package (16 oz) rotini pasta
• 1 bottle (16 oz) Italian salad dressing
• 2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
• 6 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 can black olives, sliced
• ~1 cup diced ham
• ~1 cup cubed Swiss cheese
• 4 oz grated parmesan cheese (or more if desired)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Directions

• Cook pasta until al dente, then drain.
• In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note: I make this ahead of time and store in a couple of plastic containers, then we just dish it out and eat it as we go. This recipe makes a TON!

We use aluminum foil packets to cook over the coals, giving us a hot and tasty meal while camping.

Dinner: Burritos
Ingredients

• Ground beef, cooked and seasoned with taco seasoning (you could also do shredded chicken or any other type of meat)
• Mexican style rice
• Large tortillas
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Diced onions
• Salsa

Directions

• Prepare all ingredients ahead of time and split into separate baggies or plastic containers. (We freeze the meat, rice, and cheese so they will stay cold in the cooler longer).
• When ready to eat, place a square of aluminum foil on the table. (We use a heavy, non-stick foil.)
• Place a tortilla in the middle of the foil. Add the meat, rice, cheese, and onions. Wrap the burrito and then wrap in foil.
• Over campfire, place packets around the edge in the coals and cook until heated through (15-20 minutes). (Don’t place on the flames directly).
• Serve with salsa and enjoy!

Note: We’ve also done quesadillas with these ingredients. Another option is to take individual baggies of Doritos, crush them, stir in all the ingredients (except tortillas), and eat out of the baggie. Walking tacos!

If we cook everything ahead of time, it’s quick and easy assembly for the burritos!

These are three of the recipes that we take with us every time we camp! The next time you go camping, consider trying one and let me know what you think!