Camping and the 4th of July

Lucky for us the 4th of July falls on a Friday this year. I think everyone in my neck of the woods is more than ready for a long weekend, especially after the horrid storms we've had in eastern Iowa this past week.

With the longish weekend coming up, what better time to browse through some of my favorite camping recipes and put together another tasty collection. We traditionally have camped over the holiday weekend, and everything is cooked over a fire. I'm not so sure we'll be getting away this weekend with all the yard cleanup/garden work and canning I've yet to do, but we'll most likely light the campfire in the yard and maybe the grill for a few tasty treats.

When we're camping, my Dutch oven is my main go-to piece of equipment. Most suppers are cooked in it, low and slow, so that we can do fun activities as a family like fishing or games while supper is cooking over the fire. One-pot meals are the best while camping, and everything always tastes better when cooked over coals.

The first recipe is a ribs recipe found at Everyday Dutch Oven. When we first started seriously camping when the boys were smaller, I found this site on the Internet, and I've used several recipes from here. This is a good one:

Bacon Wrapped BBQ Country Ribs

• 5 pork country ribs
• 10 slices uncooked bacon
• 1-1/2 cups barbecue sauce
• Toothpicks

Lightly oil or spray dutch oven. Cover bottom of dutch oven with half of barbecue sauce.
Wrap each rib with two slices of bacon; secure bacon with toothpicks. Place ribs in single layer in dutch oven. Spoon remaining sauce evenly over ribs. Ribs should not be swimming in sauce.
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until bacon is crisp on top and ribs are tender. Recipe can easily be doubled and baked in larger dutch oven.


The next recipe that is a must-have while camping is a really easy coleslaw recipe. I've made this recipe for years, having seen it first in some small recipe booklet that you can pick up in the check-out aisle at the grocery store. The Girl Who Ate Everything also has this recipe......it's one that is worth trying, especially if you have picky eaters who "don't like slaw"...money says they'll like this one!

Apple Coleslaw from The Girl Who Ate Everything

I don't know about you, but it's just not a camping trip without baked beans. The kind that cook all day. The kind you would fight your children to get that last spoonful (just kidding boys!). I think I've found that baked bean recipe, and although it's written to be made in a crock pot, it works just fine slow cooking over an open fire in a Dutch oven.

Bourbon Maple Slow Cooker Baked Beans by Averie Cooks

There has to be dessert while camping, and while s'mores usually will make their way to the menu sometime during a camping trip and other times I'll find myself making the usual "dump cake" with whatever pie filling I have on hand, sometimes a warm fruit crumble is just what I'm craving. This recipe uses plums, but peaches, rhubarb...just about any fruit can be substituted.

Plum Crumble by Everyday Dutch Oven

I can't forget a breakfast recipe.....that's actually my favorite time to cook while camping. I get up early, stoke the fire and get my coffee boiling on the fire before everyone else is awake. Sometimes we do pancakes on the griddle, almost always we have bacon and eggs (the smell is to die for over the fire in the morning air), but every now and then I like to change it up and make something fun. Again I have to thank Everyday Dutch Oven for this recipe.....as I said earlier, when we first started to camp with the boys, this website full of recipes was exactly what we needed, and the recipes are so good we still use them. Enjoy!

Baked Eggs With Corned Beef Hash by Everyday Dutch Oven