Mom’s Fried Potatoes – Easy Camping Recipes

Ingredients:

½ lb bacon
1 medium onion peeled and chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
6-8 medium sized russet or Idaho potatoes
8 oz pkg sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

You will need a campfire grate or grill rack over an open fire. Place skillet on the grate. Immediately lay bacon even in the skillet allowing it to fry until crispy. Remove the bacon to drain on a paper towel. Add potatoes to the skillet leaving the bacon grease. This will add flavor to the potatoes. Add the onion and the green pepper. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover with a lid for about 5 minutes. Use a spatula to turn the potatoes over carefully when they achieve a golden brown color. When the potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork and they have achieved the crispiness that you like they are done. Break the bacon into pieces, then sprinkle on top of the potatoes. Add the cheese covering evenly. Place a lid on the skillet to finished cooking just to melt the cheese. Serve with a cucumber /tomato salad or fresh fruit such as melon.

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Your Absolute Camping Gear Necessities List

There is nothing worse than driving to the campground, finding the perfect campsite, opening up the trunk, and finding that you forgot to pack your sleeping bag, a can opener, or worse yet, the tent itself! So, before heading out on your next camping trip, plan ahead and make a list of the absolute necessities you will need to bring with you to the campsite. You can use this camping gear checklist or make one yourself and add your own camping gear necessities as you see fit. Check off each item as you pack up the car or prepare everything ahead of time and keep them in large storage bins that you can just carry out together for those last minute camping excursions.

Shelter is the most important thing you need to consider for any camping trip, whether it is for just one night at the nearby lake in the middle of spring or for an entire week at a campsite three states away in the dead of winter. Your camping shelter necessities should include a tent that is made for the terrain and weather conditions, tent stakes to keep the tent from blowing away, a sleeping bag with an appropriate temperature rating, and a tarp to protect your camping gear or to be used with your tent for added protection from cold, sun, or rain. You might also want to add a sleeping pad, a pillow, or rope to use with the tarp for added comfort.

Cooking gear is the next most important camping necessity every camper needs to consider. Unless you are trying to become the next contestant on Survivor, you will want to take with you the necessary items needed to cook any food you brought, caught, or shot! Your camping cooking necessities should include a cooler, butane lighter, propane camping stove, extra propane, pots and pans, a can opener, and one set of dishes and utensils for each person in your camping party. Of course, do not forget about bottled water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning, as well as whatever food items you want to bring with you on your camping trip. Also, bring along a bag of charcoal to use in the campground grill!

Personal hygiene is another important concern when packing for your next camping trip. Unless you really want to be roughing it you should make sure you have the following hygiene items with you on all your outdoor adventures. You will need your tooth brush, toothpaste, soap, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, wash rag, towel, nail clippers, and contact lens solution. If you are really concerned with how you look (and perhaps smell) to the other campers, you might also want to include a hairbrush, razor, dental floss, and unscented deodorant. Anything you bring with you that has an odor will only attract bugs or animals to your campsite, so avoid scented products.

First aid and safety is the final thing you should worry about when it comes to your camping gear necessities. You never know what adventures your camping trip will bring you, so you need to be prepared for both the best and the worst. You can buy a premade first aid kit or put one together yourself that includes any medications you take, aspirin, antiseptic cream, burn ointment, sunburn lotion, sun block, hydrogen peroxide, snake bite kit, eye wash, Band-Aids, medical tape, gauze, scissors, and tweezers. For your personal camping safety, you should also be sure to pack a flashlight, extra batteries, compass, cell phone, utility knife, pen and paper, water filter, whistle, and a small toolkit.

Bringing these camping gear necessities will ensure you a comfortable and safe camping trip, no matter where or when you go. From here everything else you bring with you on your camping.

Weekend Camping Trips, Growing Up In Indiana Part II

One activity we enjoyed as a family during my childhood was camping. The first time out was a short trip to the Lake Erie area. Now, camping with small children can be quite a challenge and a big undertaking so it should take a little planning with safety always the number one priority. Our first trip out I believe I was probably about 8 years old. I had 4 other siblings at that time they ranged in ages somewhere from 15 to about 4 yrs old. With that wide a range in ages of children, I am sure my Mom and Dad needed a vacation from the vacation when we returned home! We as children know it was tense at times but we seriously only remember how much fun it was. It was nothing for Dad to come home on Friday night to tell us we were going to go night crawler hunting that evening. We always knew that we would be fishing on Saturday. If he started loading up our station wagon with the Coleman stove, the cooler, sleeping bags and other camping gear, we always knew to start packing a bag for the weekend. It was going to be awesome! We usually would go to a local campground. We all had job assignments when we arrived at the campground. Our jobs would range from stake holder, pole holder, tent unfolder, tent spot finder…yeah I know it sounds silly but it was what we did. They as parents taught us at a very young age to work as a team, and what a team it was! I think one time Dad timed us. We set up camp in less than 15 minutes!!! Now tell me that a 4 year old can’t help out! We would spend most of Saturday on the fishing banks, swimming, and relaxing later by the campfires while my uncle would play his guitar. Yes it became contagious, usually involving three families, cousins included! The smores always tasted better being eaten while gazing up at the incredible night sky, listening to the frogs on the lake, the campfire songs being sang and of course all the laughter that was taking place. Timeless memories that cost close to nothing! Sunday morning always started with one of my Mom’s famous campfire breakfasts, then it was off to the fishing bank for a couple more hours of fishing before breaking camp. We usually arrived home around 5 pm with plenty of time left for a evening of relaxation. I am sure my parents were thoroughly exhausted! I know that my siblings and I slept very well those Sunday evenings after those weekend camping trips. With very little planning involved, very little cost, there is no excuse not to get out and get your children camping, fishing, and swimming. Most of all they will be learning to work as a team appreciate our natural resources and make memories that will last a lifetime.