Even when you aren't in bear country, squirrels, raccoons, blue jays, and so forth will rob you blind if you leave your food out, sometimes if you are sitting right there ;) I have found blue jays to be the worst offenders - they have stolen things of my plate while I was eating!

Some friends went up to Yosemite last week and although they did see a bear in camp one night, it was a SKUNK that caused most of the trouble. Fortunately no one was sprayed, but our friends were staying in the tent cabins and someone left a bag of M&Ms in their bag in the cabin. They woke up to find a skunk under their bed, snacking away :))

We almost always make Kansan's "surprise packages." I add a half of a packet of dry onion soup to every package. It tastes great - you don't need any other seasonings. Most of the time,I slice up the vegetables before we leave home.

You can also use plastic baggies to make ice cream. A small bag holds the cream and other ingredients. The small bag goes inside a larger one that holds the ice and rock salt. Just keep make sure the bags are sealed and squeeze away.

We make omelets by putting one or two eggs (and other ingredients, if you want them) into quart-size baggies. Knead the baggies until the eggss are blended. Squeeze all the air out, seal them tightly and boil them for 10-15 minutes. You need to stand over them to make sure the bags don't touch the side of the pot.

You said you're only going for one night this trip? If so, this tip won't matter, but when we used to go for a few days, I always had one cooler for the drinks and snacks and one for the rest of the food. The food kept colder when the cooler wasn't being opened all the time. I also froze any food that could be frozen...steaks, bacon, hot dogs what ever. They of course thawed out in not too much time, but the entire cooler stayed cold longer and the ice didn't melt so fast. I always had to be careful of the cooler and our ice supply because we never camped in camp grounds or any place that had hook ups. We had "our spots" by a river or stream, all to ourselves, no one around. It was great. Three days was the max usually. I hope you really enjoy it, it's great for kids, and it was great for me at one time. The old bones, even though they carry more padding now, just won't handle a sleeping bag anymore, even with a pad and all that. Just can't do it. Have fun and I'll bet you'll be hooked. You'll learn what works for you and then it's really easy peasy.

My wife says nothing. She wants to camp at a Ritz Carlton but I would say burgers or chicken. I love to camp. Have fun.

Roasted wieners and marshmallows are always a big hit with little kids.

We do the 2 ice chest thing too. Definitely helps to keep the food cooler when you aren't openning the ice chest with the food in it all the time.

We camp often and use a Coleman stove and a small weber bbq. We often make packets and the other dish I make is cut up a big polish sausage and saute it with onions and mushrooms. We do hamburgers and steaks on the bbq. We bring our electric ice cream maker if we're in a "hook-up" campground. But we also have an old crank that works great too. (Yes, there is a lot of ice cream but we've usually got a good sized family group). I make my own pancake mix and bring it dry in a ziplock bag. Just add buttermilk and an egg and you're good to go. I use two coolers as well and I keep the flat shaped apple juice bottles and fill them and freeze to use instead of cubed ice. They last much longer and the bottom of the cooler isn't all wet. (This is for the food.) In the drink cooler, I use cubes. I second bacon and coffee every day. I don't even care that I have to cook because I don't have to hurry for a few days.

Easy one for you to prepare for dinner.

Main Course: Pork Chops (marinade them in italian dressing in zip lock baggy for hour or two prior to grilling). Bring some bbq sauce for the kids. They might appreciate the sweetness of the sauce.

Starch: Wrap up a few potatoes in aluminum foil and cook in hot coals.

Vegetable: Soak corn on the cob (husk still on) in water and grill.

This one is a slam dunk and low on prep time. Enjoy the great outdoors.


BradleyK

I second the suggestion about the Corn on the cobb...best cob you'll ever eat...make sure you soak the corn in water for a couple of hours..

If you soak that corn in salt water, it will be even better :)

I love corn fixed that way. My husband wont make it at home though because the husks make a mess with the grill, but when you are camping, the husks just burn up in the fire so no worries.

Ditto the meat and vegetable packets. We make ours at home and take them in the cooler for the first night. I wrap the food in two layers of heavy duty aluminum foil. It's important to make your campfire early because you need hot coals to cook the packets on directly. At least, that's how we do it! We also love SuzieTrue's stick bread. We poke a hole in the cooked bread with our finger and fill it with honey. Hot chocolate packets are also good with breakfast for the kids. Happy Camping!

Whatever you do, make sure you have a plan for adverse weather or environment. If it's raining, what are you going to do? If there are lots of mosquitos and the kids are in the tent, how are you going to handle that? Also, I'd stay away from anything difficult or involved to eat; and, anything too messy dependent on what facilities will be available to clean up the kids.

Generally, I tend to favor traditional camping foods - hot dogs, hamburgers, stew, s'mores, hot chocolate, etc... This is what I remember as a kid - rather fondly, in fact - spam, vienna sausages, etc...

For an easy breakfast day I generally take oatmeal packets and tea bags, then it's just boiling water.

I echo the jarred spaghetti sauce and noodles idea. So very easy and relatively quick. I would steer clear of bringing raw drumsticks or any bone-in meat if you are not bringing a portable grill with you.

If you ever decide to brave two nights, it's not that much more work than camping one night. Also, the second night, the kids sleep better, they're tired from a day of running around.

Don't forget the bug spray.

here's a great resource:
http://www.macscouter.com/Cooking/

Hands down.... Pancakes and bacon...cook them in the same pan. Sausage like Keilbasa. Simple and yummy. Hot Chocolate.

I also usually make some salads before we leave and store them in sealable containers in the cooler. Fruit salad, pea w/ham salad, tomato-mozzarella-basil salad, and sweet and sour cucumber salad are some of our favorites.

Oh man..... the best dish I've ever had while camping is peach cobbler made in a dutch oven. Really not that involved if you've got the dutch oven.

Mmmmm mm mmmmm - dutch oven camp cooking is great. When I was a kid we sometimes camped with a family who made terrific stuff in the dutch oven. Peach cobbler was one of the favorite recipes :)

Dutch oven cooking is on my list of things to try out - I've never done it myself, so my plan is to get one and experiment from home a little bit.

We're getting on in years and not going tent camping anymore. But we go cabin-camping! It's such a relief not to have to put up a tent. But we still have to take all our basics like fod and drink, sleeping bags and refrigs. For one night of camping, you might find yourself spending a lot of time fussing with the tent and sleeping bags and stuff. Don't forget to put your refrigerators and food boxes into your trunk before you turn in. Please don;t think that because you're in a campground no critters will be interested in your vittles!

My grandson is going to sleep away camp and will sleep in a tent for a week. For the life of me I can not understand why anyone would want to do this. The only way I would camp is if it is inside a Hilton Garden Inn.