This week we are vacationing in our vintage trailer, seeing some of our great state. Our menu will need to be flexible, but I've scheduled the things first that will be thawing, leaving meals made with shelf-stable items for the end of our trip. Look for posts showing how the meals and planning fared (I'm trying some new things).
Driving vacations can end up being very expensive if meals aren't planned and you eat out for a lot of meals. Even going to the store and getting bread, cheese, and fruit for lunches can be a lot more expensive than planning with things bought at rock-bottom prices that are in the pantry. So here is my plan, and I've included breakfasts and lunches to give a total picture (although lunches are pretty standard!):
Sunday (first day of trip): breakfast- cereal at home; lunch-sandwiches on the road; dinner-Foil Chicken dinners (made ahead), salad, brownies
Monday: breakfast-egg & sausage scramble, toast, fruit; lunch: meat & cheese roll-ups, veggies & dip; dinner-BBQ hamburger patties (pre-made at home), foil-wrapped campfire baked potatoes, salad, S'Mores
Tuesday: breakfast-quick zucchini bread & fruit; lunch-sandwiches;dinner in Baker City (with friends?)
Wednesday: breakfast-camp "egg-mcmuffins" & fruit; lunch-sandwiches; dinner-Chili (made at home and brought frozen) with cheese, bread, and salad
Thursday: breakfast-egg burritos, fruit; lunch-sandwiches; dinner-Hot Dogs with any leftover chili, chips, salad or veggies & dip, S'Mores
Friday: breakfast-pancakes; lunch-cheese and crackers, leftovers; dinner-Bean Burritos, chips and salsa
Saturday: breakfast- quick cereal; lunch-eat what's left!; dinner: Pasta with Marinara (or dinner on the road...)
I'd love to hear your ideas for camping/traveling meal planning!
-Jami
Last year I brought my crockpot camping for the first time. I planned two meals dinners with it. The first was chili for a potluck with friends. I made the chili at home and warmed it up when I got to camp. The second was pepper-jack chicken (chicken with red & yellow bell peppers in a creamy pepper-jack cheese sauce) served over rice. I made the rice on the camp stove, but the rest was chopped and refrigerated or frozen ahead so that I could just dump it in the crockpot in the morning. I'll tell you, it was SUCH a delight to not really have to 'cook' those two nights of camping! I was so much free-er throughout the day, knowing dinner was 'done'. If you know you will have electricity, I'd recommend seeing what you can do with your crockpot. :D
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I frequently make salads (green and potato) for the trip to accompany campfire meals like hot dogs and hamburgers. I also often make the sauce ahead for our family's favorite Asian noodle salad, then just chop the veggies and cook the noodles at camp to throw it together.
Yum, that pepper-jack chicken sounds wonderful! I'm not sure I'd be able to fit our 6-qt. crock in our little trailer, but it would make meal prep a lot easier. :-)
ReplyDeleteI, too, love Asian noodle salads. I usually make them ahead, but I bet it would taste fresher make there. I'll have to try that.
Thanks!
From Taya and Brenna:
ReplyDeleteWe loved your menu. One of our favorite meals when we were backpacking was when we had cheese with pasta and spices.
Yum- I'll have to try that next time, girls!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment!
This will be great! We're taking the whole family camping for the first time this summer (instead of just Dad and Son) and I'll need ideas. So glad I found this.
ReplyDelete