Creative Camp Cooking

One of the challenges of the Venture Vermont Challenge under the INVENT category is to "Create your own outside food recipe (one you enjoy cooking and eating outside)". Many campers have made chicken & vegetable packets over a fire, but Jessica Rouse, Meg Baker, and Asa Rouse-Baker have perfected a few that are sure to please - (and you can earn 10 points towards the Venture Vermont Challenge by making this!) Visit our family camping menu ideas webpage for more.

Below are their family's favorite combinations:

• Cubed chicken, onions diced, apple chunks, sweet potato chunks, salt, and thyme
• 1 T soy sauce, powdered or fresh ginger, cubed chicken, red pepper chunks, diced onions
• Cubed chicken, diced onion, 2-3 T yogurt, apple chunks, chickpeas, and 1 t cumin

Add about a cup total of chicken & veggies, wrap in aluminum foil and put on coals of the fire for about 15 minutes.


Helpful Tip: You can use ketchup to mark the exterior of the foil packets with initials so that everyone can identify their own.


Feast and Enjoy!

Want some entertainment for after dinner? Read Asa's favorite campfire story and retell it when you go camping!

After dinner, Meg, Jessica, and Asa enjoy telling stories around the campfire. Below is one of their favorites.

Author’s Note. The Great Big Enormous Asa Bear and the Little Tiny Toby Mouse are popular stories in our family. They do many of the things we do, from swimming lessons, to learning how to kayak, to moving, to spending the night over at each other’s houses. This is the story of when...

The Great Big Enormous Asa Bear and the Little Tiny Toby Mouse Go Camping

Once upon a time there was a Great Big Enormous Asa Bear who lived in a cave in the words with his Great Big Enormous Mama Bear. And, there was a little tiny Toby Mouse who lived in a stone wall in the meadow on the edge of the woods with his six brother and six sister mice, and his Little Tiny Ahmee Mouse.

One day, the Great Big Enormous Asa Bear and the Little Tiny Toby Mouse were playing together when the Little Tiny Toby Mouse asked if the Great Big Enormous Asa Bear wanted to go camping in one of Vermont's Beautiful State Parks. He did, so they went home to ask their mothers if they could, and to pack. The Great Big Enormous Asa Bear carried the tent, because he was so much bigger the then Little Tiny Toby Mouse.


They set off on a trail, and they hiked and hiked and hiked. They stopped for a drink and a snack, and then continued on up the trail. At last they came to a little clearing near a lake. They set up their tent, and then went swimming. The Great Big Enormous Asa Bear said he was getting hungry and he was going to catch some fish for dinner, and the Little Tiny Toby Mouse said he had seen some raspberries near the campsite and he would pick them. They cooked the fish over their campfire, ate the berries, and then the Little Tiny Toby Mouse pulled out a bag his Ahmee Mouse had tucked into his backpack. It had marshmallows in it! They each found a stick and toasted the marshmallows over the fire. They ate all of them, because they knew you couldn’t leave any food in your tent, lest the bears get it.

Then they brushed their teeth, got ready for bed, climbed into their tent and snuggled into their sleeping bags. The Great Big Enormous Asa Bear fell right to sleep, but the Little Tiny Toby Mouse kept hearing a snuffling and a huffling. Finally he woke the Great Enormous Asa Bear, saying, “I think there is a bear in our campsite. I keep hearing a terrible snuffling and huffling.” “Of course there is a bear in our campsite!” said the Great Big Enormous Asa Bear. “I am a bear.” Both animals laughed, and the Little Tiny Toby Mouse was able to fall asleep.

They woke up the next morning, had some more fish and raspberries for breakfast, and then hiked home.