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What if I told you that this weekend you had the opportunity to sleep on the hard ground, get eaten by bugs, eat out of tin cans, and oh yeah, that you will most definitely not get to shower. Not exactly a rousing description and yet, that is exactly what I, along with thousands of other people around the country, will be doing this Memorial Day weekend and for the next several months in the classic summer activity known as camping. The flip side of that description is that along with the bugs and tin cans come hiking, swimming, barbecuing and all the getting in touch with nature that one could hope for.
For all the downsides of camping, I am pretty sure I can handle it for the enjoyment of the upsides. For bugs there is bug spray. Air mattresses are a life saver when it comes to the hard ground. And who needs a shower when you have deodorant? But when it comes to eating from tin cans, that’s when a little imagination is needed to avoid several nights of ramen noodles with a side of canned green beans.
When it comes to cooking in the great outdoors (and by that I do not mean your backyard), planning and a cooler are really all you need to have a few days of wholesome, tasty meals without the comforts of your kitchen. For my upcoming camping trip, pretty much all I can count on is that there will be fire pits and a place to buy ice. Where there is ice, there is the ability to store raw meat, and where there is fire, there is the means to cook that meat. The rest is just planning.
One trick for camping meal planning is to prep as much as you can in advance of the trip so as not to have to drag your whole kitchen with you. For instance, chicken kabobs can be skewered and thrown into large Ziploc bags with a marinade before you leave. By the time you pitch the tent and light the fire, the chicken will be full of flavor with no work needed besides charcoal and a grill.
Remaking leftover meat into a whole new meal for lunch the next day is another way to cut down on both cooking time and necessary ingredients. For instance, extra chicken from the kabobs can be shredded and mixed with diced apples, chopped nuts, and a little curry powder and mayonnaise for a curried chicken salad that can be spread between two slices of bread or scooped onto a bed of lettuce.
Side dishes can be made easier by either making them in full before you go, or taking vegetables that don’t require prep. Pasta salad, quinoa, and couscous are all great carbs that lend themselves well to vegetables and vinaigrettes for an easy make-ahead side that can be eaten hot, cold, or room temperature. Veggies like corn and sweet potatoes can be wrapped in foil and thrown right with the coals for a no prep side dish that practically cooks itself.
Since you might not even have the ability to clean dishes, making foods you can eat with your hands using not much more than a disposable paper plate is a great way to ease up the camping clean-up duties. There is a reason hot dogs and hamburgers are the token food of the great outdoors; if you have two hands and maybe a napkin to wipe up the ketchup dripping off the bun, you have all the utensils you need. Here’s where the canned food comes in handy to take standard camping fare up a notch. Bring along a jar of kimchi to top the hotdog for a spicy alternative to sauerkraut. Bring a tub of wasabi paste to mix with mayonnaise for a Japanese style topper for a turkey burger along with sliced cucumber and avocado.
The great outdoors certainly isn’t for everyone. But for those of us who hear its call, half the adventure is figuring out how to survive without our creature comforts. When it comes to food, one needs little more than a can opener to survive. But with some planning, prepping, a cooler, and a fire, you’ll be eating meals so delicious and filling that no mosquito or rock-hard ground will get between you and satisfying good night’s sleep.
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/894-outdoor-meals/
Great Meals for the Great Outdoors
What if I told you that this weekend you had the opportunity to sleep on the hard ground, get eaten by bugs, eat out of tin cans, and oh yeah, that you will most definitely not get to shower. Not exactly a rousing description and yet, that is exactly what I, along with thousands of other people around the country, will be doing this Memorial Day weekend and for the next several months in the classic summer activity known as camping. The flip side of that description is that along with the bugs and tin cans come hiking, swimming, barbecuing and all the getting in touch with nature that one could hope for.
For all the downsides of camping, I am pretty sure I can handle it for the enjoyment of the upsides. For bugs there is bug spray. Air mattresses are a life saver when it comes to the hard ground. And who needs a shower when you have deodorant? But when it comes to eating from tin cans, that’s when a little imagination is needed to avoid several nights of ramen noodles with a side of canned green beans.
When it comes to cooking in the great outdoors (and by that I do not mean your backyard), planning and a cooler are really all you need to have a few days of wholesome, tasty meals without the comforts of your kitchen. For my upcoming camping trip, pretty much all I can count on is that there will be fire pits and a place to buy ice. Where there is ice, there is the ability to store raw meat, and where there is fire, there is the means to cook that meat. The rest is just planning.
One trick for camping meal planning is to prep as much as you can in advance of the trip so as not to have to drag your whole kitchen with you. For instance, chicken kabobs can be skewered and thrown into large Ziploc bags with a marinade before you leave. By the time you pitch the tent and light the fire, the chicken will be full of flavor with no work needed besides charcoal and a grill.
Remaking leftover meat into a whole new meal for lunch the next day is another way to cut down on both cooking time and necessary ingredients. For instance, extra chicken from the kabobs can be shredded and mixed with diced apples, chopped nuts, and a little curry powder and mayonnaise for a curried chicken salad that can be spread between two slices of bread or scooped onto a bed of lettuce.
Side dishes can be made easier by either making them in full before you go, or taking vegetables that don’t require prep. Pasta salad, quinoa, and couscous are all great carbs that lend themselves well to vegetables and vinaigrettes for an easy make-ahead side that can be eaten hot, cold, or room temperature. Veggies like corn and sweet potatoes can be wrapped in foil and thrown right with the coals for a no prep side dish that practically cooks itself.
Since you might not even have the ability to clean dishes, making foods you can eat with your hands using not much more than a disposable paper plate is a great way to ease up the camping clean-up duties. There is a reason hot dogs and hamburgers are the token food of the great outdoors; if you have two hands and maybe a napkin to wipe up the ketchup dripping off the bun, you have all the utensils you need. Here’s where the canned food comes in handy to take standard camping fare up a notch. Bring along a jar of kimchi to top the hotdog for a spicy alternative to sauerkraut. Bring a tub of wasabi paste to mix with mayonnaise for a Japanese style topper for a turkey burger along with sliced cucumber and avocado.
The great outdoors certainly isn’t for everyone. But for those of us who hear its call, half the adventure is figuring out how to survive without our creature comforts. When it comes to food, one needs little more than a can opener to survive. But with some planning, prepping, a cooler, and a fire, you’ll be eating meals so delicious and filling that no mosquito or rock-hard ground will get between you and satisfying good night’s sleep.
Lemon and Oregano Marinated Chicken Kabobs
Made with wooden skewers, boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, red onions, fresh rosemary, oregano, garlic, lemons, olive oil, salt, black pepper
Made with wooden skewers, boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, red onions, fresh rosemary, oregano, garlic, lemons, olive oil, salt, black pepper
Serves/Makes: 4
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
- 2 medium red onions
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 tablespoons oregano leaves
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 wooden skewers
- 4 pieces pita bread
Cut each chicken breast into pieces about 1-inch by 1-inch. Cut each onion in half lengthwise then cut each half into thirds. Cut each slice into pieces about same size of each chicken piece. Thread chicken and onion pieces onto skewers alternating one piece of chicken with one piece of onion.
Remove rosemary leaves from the stems. Roughly chop rosemary and oregano leaves. Peel and mince garlic. Whisk together chopped herbs, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Place skewers in a large plastic bag or in a shallow dish. Pour marinade over chicken and coat evenly. Let chicken marinate for as little as 15 minutes at room temperature or as long as one day in the refrigerator.
Heat a grill over medium high heat. Remove chicken from marinade and grill on all sides until cooked through, about 12-14 minutes. Grill pita bread to heat through. Serve chicken with pita bread.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/894-outdoor-meals/