Good car camping meals

bisblue

WKR
Joined
Aug 22, 2016
Messages
499
Location
Cascade Idaho
Any great easy car camping meal suggestions?
I have a pretty good cook box that I toss in the truck, pot, cast iron skillet, propane Coleman two burner etc. I'll be chasing javelina in Arizona, couple days with a buddy, 6 or so days solo.
I enjoy cooking but usual keep it real simple when I'm solo. My 5 year old son can't have dairy so Mac n cheese with variation is pretty common now.
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I am going to be doing the same. 5 days elk and 5 days deer. Combo of backcountry and base camp. I like to make foods I really enjoy so that I can eat them. Some days I just don’t want to eat. Following.
 
Cook extra at home vacuum seal and freeze in single serve meal size. Some of my favorites are

Cheese enchiladas
Green chili stew
Eggplant parmigiana
Chicken / steak fajitas (just need tortillas)
Pulled pork (need buns/rolls)
Baby back ribs

Premade quick and easy to heat up.
 
For shorter trips up to 5 days, I always make and freeze meals ahead of time. Stews, chili, meatloaf, pork Chile verde, and such. My wife will make a dish of eggs and chili with other ingredients which is really good for breakfast. What is nice about all those meals is they are just as good cold as they are warmed up. I also have a camp box with all the essentails, and small stove.
 
For shorter trips up to 5 days, I always make and freeze meals ahead of time. Stews, chili, meatloaf, pork Chile verde, and such. My wife will make a dish of eggs and chili with other ingredients which is really good for breakfast. What is nice about all those meals is they are just as good cold as they are warmed up. I also have a camp box with all the essentails, and small stove.
I do the same. I'd rather spend my time relaxing/recovering rather than another chore like cooking/cleaning dishes. The above dishes do well. I also bring bbq pulled pork and brisket. They reheat well and are popular. Depending on temps, I'll take the meal I want to have out in the morning to let it thaw.
 
The beauty of car camping is you can eat ANYTHING YOU WANT. What's in your ice chest? Steak, potatoes, eggs, and the list is unending.

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I do the same. I'd rather spend my time relaxing/recovering rather than another chore like cooking/cleaning dishes. The above dishes do well. I also bring bbq pulled pork and brisket. They reheat well and are popular. Depending on temps, I'll take the meal I want to have out in the morning to let it thaw.
Oh ya, pulled pork how did I fail to mention that one.
 
We do tin foil meals, prepped at home and thrown on the fire.

1. Potatoes, corn on the cob, sliced andouille sausage, shrimp, cajon seasoning, and a spritz of olive oil.

2. Chopped chicken, bell peppers, onions, pineapple, and bbq sauce.

These are our main go to's. Other than that, bring a weber grill insert, place on 4 rocks of relative same height over a fire and add...chicken, tritip, steaks, corn, fresh caught trout, or what ever it is your heart desires.

So many possibilities! What I like about this kind of cooking is there is no timeline (hopefully no cell service) and you can focus on the meal at hand and those who you share your fire with.

Full bellies and happy camping!
 
Used to archery hunt with a group of guys over thanksgiving weekend. Walk in unit but there was a campground just outside the gate where we camped. One year the weekend before I cooked up a turkey dinner. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, and sweet potatoes the whole works. I vacuum packed each item separately and froze them. On thanksgiving day when we got back to camp I put everything into a huge pot of water that I use for cooking crab and boiled them in their bags. When everything was hot pulled the bags out and opened. Invited the camp next to us and had thanksgiving dinner. Even brought a pie.
 
What I do is mostly prepare the food and then freeze them and after that just relax and enjoy them during the whole trip. I think most people do that because c'mon we are out there to have some me time so relaxation is a must.
 
pre-made (home made) meals that can boil in the bag are easist for me. Soup/stew/lasagna/spaghetti are my favs. Wife vaccume seals them for me and freeze. Simple as it gets and as good as it is at home.
 
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