The Family Camp Cookbook

Book excerpt: Easy, delicious, family-friendly recipes to cook at your next campout—whether that’s in the woods or in your own backyard! The Family Camp Cookbook is a book for everyone who enjoys cooking and eating outdoors. Whether you need to learn how to pack your first cooler or you’re looking for kid-friendly recipes to enjoy after a day spent outdoors, you’ll learn how to plan, prep, and cook as a family when you don’t have the comforts of a full kitchen. Start out by learning how to build a fire easily at your campsite, or use the “sure-fire” guides for mastering any grill. With planning lists and prep steps for the recipes, you’ll quickly go from unpacking to firing up your first meal. The recipes inside include a wide variety of updated camp classics and dishes you’d never have thought to cook at camp. Cooking techniques range from live-fire roasting and foil-pack cooking to family-style dinners in the Dutch oven. (Yes, you can almost “set it and forget it” like a slow cooker if you know what you’re doing!) Chapters and recipes include: Breakfasts cover a whole range of options to start the day right, like Make-Ahead Granola, The Best Fluffy Pancakes (with topping bar!), Dutch Oven Coffee Cake, Skillet Biscuits, kid-friendly Frittata, Chilaquiles, and a Hash Brown Breakfast Burrito. Lunches and packables: If you’re camping, chances are the mid-day meal is fuel away from the campsite. (These ideas are also great for day trips and picnics!). Recipes feature a variety of handhelds such as Farmer’s Lunch Sandwiches and Chickpea Salad with Pitas as well as easy-to-eat salads and soups and a few trail mixes and snacks to eat by the handful. Dinners: Ah, the main event after a hard day of hiking, paddling, or whatever else floats your boat (or inner tube). Settle in with DIY Ramen Bowls, One-Pan Picadillo, Naan Pizzas, Italian Sausage Burgers, loaded Foil-Baked Sweet Potatoes, or a Skillet "Lasagna," among other options. Treats: Break out the S'mores Galores, but don’t stop there! Build a Banana Boat, fire up a Dutch Oven Strawberry Cake, or treat everyone to a Campfire Cobbler or Cracker Crust Pudding Pie. Of course, there’s nothing quite like waking up in the woods…unless you don’t know how to make camp coffee. Not to worry: tasty (and essential) beverages are included as well, from that rustic cowboy cup of caffeine to restorative fruit punches. There are even a few cocktails for the adults to enjoy by the fire a little later in the evening. No matter the size of your group or the time you have to spare, make your next adventure a delicious one!