Most of our cabins have all of the essentials you need for making a fun meal. If you’re tent camping, we also have some easy camping recipes and delicious suggestions to help you enjoy the most of your family camping time! The essence of campfire cooking is simplicity: limit the number of ingredients in a dish; cut down on the implements you use to prepare the dish; use foil where you can to replace pots and pans. And enjoy.

Three Simple Meals for Campers

Foil Packet Breakfast: Foil packets are great for cooking on a camping trip. All you have to do is toss it on the grill or over the campfire. For this meal, add your choice of breakfast goodies. For example, we recommend sausage, eggs, potatoes, and onions. You’ll need to par-cook the potatoes a little bit — or throw in the leftover veggies from last night’s grilling adventure.

Hobo Dinner: Like the previous meal, all you need to do is throw some ingredients in a foil packet. Your hobo dinner can consist of beef, potatoes, carrots, and onions. Fish filets are another great candidate for this low-maintenance meal, since the foil will keep it from drying out or falling apart — two problems that tend to occur when you’re grilling fish.

Orange Peel Blueberry Muffins: This one is super creative. Pour your muffin ingredients inside a hollowed-out orange peel to keep them moist, and add extra flavor, while they cook over the fire.

These are just a few ideas to get you started. Just search “campfire recipes” on the web for even more hearty meals to keep everyone fueled for fun.

Kid-friendly treats and sweets

We have even more fun, yummy recipes your kids will love – and can even help you make.

Cup of Dirt

• • You’ll Need:
    • Chocolate pudding, crushed cookies, gummy worms.
  • Directions:
    • Spoon chocolate pudding into dessert cups. Place crushed cookies and gummy worms on top.

Banana Butterfly

• • You’ll Need:
    • 2 pretzel twists, 2 raisins, 2 apple slices
  • Directions:
    • Peel banana and use for the butterfly body. Then press pretzel twists (wings) into sides of banana. Use raisins for eyes and apple slices for antennae. Recipe from superhealthykids.com

Chocolate Bird Nests

• • You’ll Need:
    • 8 oz semi-sweet or milk chocolate, chopped
    • 2-2.5 cups chow mein noodles
    • Small jelly beans, speckled malted milk eggs, or other egg-shaped candy
  • Directions:
    • Line a baking pan with a piece of aluminum foil, smooth the foil, and then butter or spray the foil with a non-stick vegetable spray. Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Gently fold in the chow mein noodles, being careful not to break them. Spoon six mounds of the mixture onto the prepared pan and, using your fingers, form each mound into a 4” (10 cm) nest shape. Make a small indentation in the center of each nest. Place the pan, with the chocolate nests, in the refrigerator to set (about 30 minutes). Just before serving, remove the nests from the refrigerator and place some small jelly beans or other egg-shaped candy in the center of each nest. Makes about six 4” nests. Prep time: 30 minutes. Recipe from joyofbaking.com.

Campfire Cones

• • You’ll Need:
    • 1 ice cream cone
    • Variety of fillings like chocolate chips, butterscotch morsels, white chocolate morsels, walnuts, peanuts, almonds, toffee pieces, mini marshmallows, brown sugar, coconut, banana pieces, dried fruit
    • 1 piece of foil, big enough to wrap the cone
  • Directions:
    • Allow each camper to design their cone with their fillers of choice in layers. Wrap securely with foil and place over heat near campfire or on grill to allow the chocolates to melt. Unwrap and enjoy. Recipe adapted from chefjessicabright.com

Frog Face

• • You’ll Need:
    • 1 Granny Smith apple
    • Peanut butter
    • 2 grapes
    • 2 chocolate morsels or raisins
  • Directions:
    • Cut two slices of the apple for the upper and lower lip of the frog. Spread peanut butter on the slices and press peanut butter sides together. This makes the mouth. Spread peanut butter on the bottom of two grapes and stick onto top apple slice to make the eyes. Optional: place chocolate morsels or raisins on the grapes to make the pupils. You can use a toothpick to keep them in place.

Breakfast Bears

• • You’ll Need:
    • Slices of bread
    • Peanut butter
    • Banana slices
    • Blueberries
  • Directions:
    • Spread peanut butter on bread in a circle. Place banana slices on the bread for the bear ears and snout. Place blueberries for eyes and nose.

Crabby Snack

• • You’ll Need:
    • 1red apple
    • 2 strawberries
    • 1 large marshmallow
    • 2 chocolate chips
  • Directions
    • Core the apple and slice in half. Place on plate as shown. Cut marshmallow in half. Press one chocolate chip each, pointy side down, into the sticky side of each marshmallow half. Put in place above the apple for the crab’s eyes. Cut each strawberry into 4 slices. Use 2 slices for each set of pincers. Cut the other slices in half. Use the end halves for the pincer connectors. Use 4 halves for the legs. Arrange everything on the plate as shown. Recipe from recipe.com.

Doughboys

• • You’ll need:
    • Refrigerated biscuits
    • Squeeze margarine
    • Cinnamon sugar
    • A fat wooden stick, a campfire, foil
  • Directions:
    • Take your fat wooden stick (a broomstick works well) and cover it with foil. Next take one biscuit and wrap it around the end of the stick so that it forms an inverted cup. Roast your biscuit over the campfire until cooked. Pull the biscuit off the stick and turn it over. Pour some margarine and cinnamon sugar inside. Enjoy! This recipe has been a tradition at Jellystone Park Gloucester Point, Virginia for years.