When you travel in your RV, you arrive at any campground with all the comforts of life already in place. This doesn’t mean you can’t improve your camping experience with a few simple hacks, however. Avalon RV is pleased to present a few fun food hacks that will give you a lot more time to explore, hike, and enjoy yourself around the campfire.
Camp food hacks to save time and energy
If you think gourmet dining is beyond the scope of camping, do think again. In fact, with a few good camp hacks under your proverbial belt, you can create scrumptious meals and snacks anywhere you set up your RV or tent.
1. Crescent rolls
Nothing says cozy comfort and good eats like the aroma of freshly baked bread, but measuring and kneading ingredients in camp can be an impossible task. As you pack your foodstuffs, be sure to tuck a tube or two of instant crescent rolls into your cooler. Once you have your campfire going, open a tube of prepared crescent dough and separate it into sections along the perforations. Then, wrap a single slice of dough around a clean forked branch and bake it over the campfire. Serve plain rolls with soup or stew, or transform crescents into a dessert treat by folding a square of chocolate into the dough before baking, suggests Instructables magazine. Alternately, you can split a hot crescent roll and smear it with Nutella for an intensely delicious camp dessert.
2. Easy omelets
If you’ve ever attempted to carry a carton of eggs to a campsite, you already know what a messy task that can be. Instead, whip raw eggs together and funnel them into a plastic water bottle. If you like a spicy omelet, add a pinch of hot pepper flakes to the mix before sealing tightly and stowing in your camp cooler. In the morning, simply give the contents a good shake before pouring in a pan to make a fluffy omelet. Expect to fit about eight raw eggs into one clean water bottle.
3. Easier s’mores
S’mores are a campfire classic, but they can bit a bit messy to make. Instead of toting a big box of graham crackers, bring along a bag of Oreo cookies. Roast marshmallows as usual, then slip a melted ‘mallow into an opened cookie. Smash the sides back together, and voila. Alternately, you can squish a melted marshmallow between a pair of fudge-dipped shortbread cookies, advise camping experts at Skilled Survival magazine.
4. Pancakes a la campground
Everyone loves pancakes for breakfast, but prepping them at a campsite can make a horrid mess. Instead of lugging pancake mix around, incorporate ingredients and funnel the batter into a plastic squeeze bottle before stashing in your cooler. Add mashed banana or cinnamon for extra flavor, if you like. At camp, just squeeze the bottle over a hot oiled pan to create tasty, eye-opening flapjacks for all. To know when a pancake is ready for flipping, watch for broken bubbles around the edges.
5. Spice rack that takes almost no space at all
Who says camp food has to be bland? You can season food to your heart’s content when you prepare an ad hoc spice rack before you leave home. Start by holding the end of a plastic drinking straw over a candle flame or lighter. As soon as the end begins to melt, remove from flame and carefully pinch it closed. Use a narrow funnel to pour your favorite spice into the straw, then seal the other end. Straws are ideal for toting salt, pepper, garlic powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, curry powder, and other yummy spices that add interest and flavor to campsite meals. Pack larger seasonings such as whole cloves, peppercorns, and broken bay leaves into a 7-day pill container.
6. Bake bread in a can
The day before you leave on a camping trip, bake a few loaves of bread in cans. Make it easy on yourself when you use a bread machine to mix ingredients, then place around three cups of dough into a thoroughly cleaned, lightly greased #10 metal can. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes. Test for doneness by sticking a wooden skewer down the middle of the loaf. If the skewer comes out clean, the bread is ready to take out of the oven. Allow cans to cool before placing them in a large zip top bag and packing with your dry foodstuffs. This hack is great for any type of bread and ensures unbroken camp sandwiches. Gourmet hint: Prepare a can of cinnamon-raisin bread for the best campfire French toast you ever tasted.
7. Hike and come home to a hot meal
Many people who enjoy the RV lifestyle sing the praises of one-pot electric cookers. Modern cookers such as InstaPot consume a lot less electricity than old-school crock pots and can be programmed to make campout classics like chili and beef stew.
Gourmet hint: Use your electric cooker to make oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon overnight.
8. Bothersome bugs, be gone
Wherever there’s camp food, there are probably bugs that will bother you if you don’t do something about them. Fortunately, there are a number of easy hacks that will make your campsite a nicer place to eat and hang out.
Before you go hiking, fill a zip top bag with scented dryer sheets and tuck them into your backpack. At the first sign or sound of a mosquito, wipe a single dryer sheet all over your exposed skin. The scent is unbearable to most biting mosquitoes and flies.
If a mosquito bites you anyway, soothe the itch with a quick dab of deodorant. This trick works with most types of antiperspirant deodorant, including roll-on, twist-up stick, and mineral crystals.
9. The #1 best camping hack ever invented
For an outdoor experience that’s far more comfortable than a tent, browse our splendid selection of travel trailers, fifth wheels, and recreational vehicles, and pick the one that’s right for you. Avalon RV Center offers a remarkable range of new and previously-owned campers and RVs that allow you to bring all the comforts of home right to the campground.
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