Paper Bag Eggs: A Classic Camping Recipe

I really don't know what's more delicious than this.

Am I the only one who looks at this photo of an egg cooked in a bed of bacon in a paper bag and thinks it is possibly the most delicious-looking thing in the world?  In fact, I think the photo above is a tad blurry because my hands were shaking in anticipation of eating my creation, and having to fight the children off at the same time. Back! Back!

Mmm. Paper Bag Eggs. My non-camping friends may think it odd that I obsess over ways to cook an egg without a pan, but don't they know that one could be stuck in the wilderness at any moment with nothing but a dozen perfectly unscathed eggs and a paper bag? It could happen!

Another benefit of the Paper Bag Egg is that, whilst cooking, it can burst into flames at any moment and children really enjoy this.

An expertly positioned PBE.

Here's how it's done:

Paper Bag Eggs 

From The Real Family Camping Cookbook. 

Serves:  1

Ingredients:

2 strips of fatty bacon

1 egg

salt & pepper, hot sauce and catsup

1 paper lunch bag

1 green, pointy stick

Preparation:

1.  Cut both bacon strips in half, giving you 4 pieces. Line the bottom of the paper lunch bag with the bacon to make a nice, fatty bacon nest for the egg.

2.  Crack an egg into the nest.

 

3.  Fold the top of the paper bag down carefully 2 times and poke a hole through the thick part with the stick. (Use a knife or scissors to make the hole first.)

4.  Carefully hold the bag over the fire so the bacon cooks slowly and the fat melts.  This makes an oily paper and bacon “skillet” for the egg. Take care and keep cooking it until the egg is done. 

5.  Eat it out of the bag … but put it on a plate!  If you put it on your knee it will ruin your pants. I learned this the hard way.

6.  Serve with salt & pepper, catsup & hot sauce. But it really doesn't need anything at all, it's that delicious.

Bon appétit my friends, and have fun!

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Classic Camping Recipe: Monkey Bread

photo: Annie Shapiro

Monkey Bread is one of those camping foods that starts with a tube of Pillsbury dough. So I use the term "recipe" loosely. Still, it's a classic and the kids love it, and so do I! It's delicious!

Why is Monkey Bread called Monkey Bread? Many of us campers think it's because the kids rip the "loaf" apart as if they were little monkeys. Hard to think of any other reason, isn't it? And only the Boy Scouts know for sure.

Have fun, and remember the butter!  

From The Real Family Camping Cookbook:

Monkey Bread

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

1 tube of refrigerated biscuit dough

½ c. of brown sugar

1 T. of cinnamon

1 large Ziploc bag

butter

Preparation: 

1.  Grease a skillet or Dutch Oven with butter.

2.  Let the kids mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a plastic bag.

3.  Have the kids pull biscuits off the roll and shake each biscuit in the bag of cinnamon sugar.

4.  Place the biscuits in the skillet or Dutch Oven.

5.  Dot each biscuit with butter.

6.  Cover and cook the bread over medium heat for 20-30 minutes.  If you cook this in a Dutch Oven, pile hot coals on top with your camp shovel.

“Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold.”
- Judith Olney

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Classic Camping Recipe (and Vegan, too): >>Veggie-Potato Foil Packets

photo: Annie Shapiro

From The Real Family Camping Cookbook:

Veggie-Potato Foil Packets

We make these every time we go camping to get a veggie or two into the kids along with all the biscuits, S'Mores and whatnot. Kids like to assemble the packets (which we usually do at home, then label with a sharpie) and then watch over them in the fire.

Serves:  4

Ingredients:

4 small potatoes, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 cup of string beans with the ends snapped off

any other kind of veggies you like

olive oil

herbs - I only pack a few when we're camping, like basil & oregano

salt & pepper

Preparation:

1. Tear off 4 rectangles of aluminum foil and fold them in half to make double thick squares.

2. Let the kids assemble their own packets with the potatoes, carrots and string beans. 

3. Drizzle olive oil over the veggies. Season with herbs, salt & pepper.

4. Wrap up the foil packets so the contents are snugly wrapped, but not too tight.    

5. Place the packets directly on medium coals or on the hot part of the grill.

6. Turn them every 5 minutes or so, and cook them for about 20 minutes, or until everything is cooked through.  

7. Serve with salt & pepper

TIP:

•  When making this for a group, put everything in a large aluminum pan and cover it with foil. (Or use a Dutch Oven.) Cook it on a hot grill or in the coals for about 45 minutes, stirring every 5 or 10 minutes.

“Potatoes served at breakfast, At dinner served again; Potatoes served at supper, Forever and Amen!” - Pennsylvania prayer

Old School Homemade Ice Cream in Red, White and Blue

(From the 4th of July Camping Menu)

AKA Ice Cream in a Can

From The Real Family Camping Cookbook:

When you're making ice cream at the campground or at a cookout, you can buy one of those plastic ice cream maker balls (I think L.L. Bean carries them) or you can do it old school, like this. You'll need a 1 lb. coffee can and a 3 lb. coffee can - try a diner or a college cafeteria for the big one.  Or you can use a clean paint can the right size.

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

1 ½ pints half and half

1/2 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

3/4 c. strawberries

3/4 c. blueberries

crushed ice

1-2 c. rock salt

1 clean 1 lb. coffee can with the plastic lid

1 clean 3 lb. coffee can with the plastic lid

duct tape

Preparation:

1. Put the half and half, sugar and vanilla in the 1 lb. coffee can and mix well. 

2. Put the lid on the 1 lb.coffee can and tape it securely shut with duct tape.

3. Put the 1 lb. coffee can into the 3 lb. coffee can and surround it with crushed ice and rock salt.

4. Put the lid on the 3 lb. can and secure it with duct tape.

5. Roll the can back and forth in the grass or other soft surface for about 15 minutes.

6. Take the small can out of the big can, wipe it clean and open it up. Scrape down the sides and add the strawberries and blueberries.* Tape it back up, pack it in the big can with more salt and ice and tape the big can back up. Roll for another 10 minutes or so.

7. Take the small can out of the big can, wipe it off and dish out the ice cream into bowls.

*When you mix the berries into the ice cream you get a beautiful, purple ice cream with red and blue berries in it. For a red, white, and blue effect, make vanilla ice cream and sprinkle the berries on top. And if you do this, you can use a lot more berries.

For the coffee can challenged:

If you don’t have coffee cans, use a small Ziploc bag inside a large Ziploc bag. Instead of rolling, shake the bags.

 “Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos.” - Don Kardong

Back to the 4th of July Camping Menu.

S'Mores 10 Ways

The perfect, Classic S'More.

(From the 4th of July Camping Menu)

We make S'Mores every night when we camp so we like to try different variations for fun. 

On the 4th, put all the ingredients out in separate dishes and let each person create their own masterpiece. Vive le difference!

From The Real Family Camping Cookbook:

S’Mores 10 Ways

1. Classic S’Mores

Legend has it that S'Mores were invented by the Girl Scouts, did you know that?

Serves:  8

Ingredients:

8 graham crackers

8 marshmallows

4 Hershey’s milk chocolate bars

green, pointy sticks

Preparation:

1.  Toast each marshmallow on a long stick over the fire until it’s golden brown.

2.  Put a piece of chocolate on a graham cracker and put a hot, roasted marshmallow on top of the chocolate.

3.  Cover with a second graham cracker and smush together to make a S’More.

4.  Bon appétit!

2. S’Mores au Chois (“oh shwah”) – S’Mores Your Way

Instead of Hershey bars, substitute any kind of chocolate you like. My kids like Nutella. I like peanut butter cups.

3. Fruity S’Mores

Add some sliced banana or other fruit inside your S’Mores. We like sliced apples, strawberries and raisins.

4. PB & S’Mores

Spread the graham crackers with peanut butter before you add the chocolate and marshmallow.

5.  S’Mores in a Cone

Substitute an ice cream cone for the graham crackers – just put a piece of chocolate and a hot, roasted marshmallow inside. Mm.

6. Pie Iron S’Mores

Make your S’Mores in a pie iron with 2 slices of bread (buttered on the outsides) instead of graham crackers.

7. Brownie S’Mores

Substitute brownies or cake for the graham crackers! Is that sweet enough for you?

8. Bikkie S’Mores

Take a raw refrigerator biscuit – stretch it out and put a piece of chocolate and a marshmallow inside.  Wrap it in foil and cook it on the grill or directly on the coals.

9. S’Mores-adilla

Use a tortilla instead of graham crackers – sprinkle a tortilla with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows, roll it up and wrap it in foil. Place it on the grill until it's melted.

10. Quickie S'Mores

Put a marshmallow between 2 chocolate chip cookies, wrap it in foil and toss it on the grill or directly on the coals. Don’t leave it on too long!

“Life is uncertain.  Eat dessert first.” - Ernestine Ulmer

Return to the 4th of July Camping Menu.

Spider Dogs

From The Real Family Camping Cookbook:

A classic.  Never again will you roast a plain, old hot dog over the fire.

Serves:  1

Ingredients: 

1 hot dog

catsup & mustard

a sharp knife

green, pointy sticks

Preparation:

1.  Cut 4 slits on each end of the hot dog.

2.  Put the hot dog on the stick in the center of the dog and cook it in the fire.

3.  The slits will curl – those are the spider legs!

4.  Eat on plate with catsup & mustard.

“I have drunk, and seen the spider.” - William Shakespeare

Classic Camping Recipe: Gorp!

From The Real Family Camping Cookbook:

It’s the M&Ms that make it so healthy.

Serves:  8

Ingredients:

2 c. of raisins, Craisins, dried pineapple, banana chips or dried apricots

2 c. of peanuts, almonds or macadamia nuts

1 c. of dark chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or m&ms

Preparation:

1.  Mix everything together.

2.  Divide the gorp into 8 little Ziploc bags.

3.  Serve to 8 hungry, little campers.

“In the cookie of life, friends are chocolate chips.” - Salman Rushdie