Camping season is nearly upon us! Okay, okay...all year long is camping season to some I know. We tried camping for Christmas one year. Little did we know that the temperatures decided to take an abnormal plummet that one night that week and we gave up around 1:30 am, kicked our "campfire" (we never could get a fire to sustain itself...it was just too wet and cold, even with the dry wood we brought), wadded up the tent and threw it in the car, dug the car out (we got it stuck earlier), and went home. When we got home and looked up the temperature it wasn't the 30 degrees as predicted...it was 10. But, it made for a fun story and memory. We want to try winter camping again sometime, but it may be a ways down the road before we forget how cold that was. So...you can camp during the winter, but the easier camping season is nearly upon us! Hooray! We love camping. Luckily we live in a great spot for loving camping; we're surrounded by National Forest around here and it's great! We're always trying to find some easy but yummy thing to cook while camping. Brats are easy, but they get a little old. Our dessert menu has been pretty limited to s'mores. Some camping food is good...others just don't turn out. Like today's Pinstrosity.
The Original Pin
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| http://campingwithgus.com/2012/09/08/easy-camping-treat-recipes-ideas-for-kids/ |
Linsey sent in this story: "Everyone loves a nice campfire right? Well I decided that we needed a campfire treat that would be delicious as well as 'easy!' A couple of months back one of my friends had pinned 'Campfire Brownie Oranges' sounds good right? Well I read about it and decided it did not sound hard at all. I went to the store and bought oranges and brownie mix, made the brownie mix (exactly how it said) cut the oranges and scooped them out. Again they didn't mention that if you cut the orange tops to small it wouldn't work. And if you happened to buy really juicy oranges you would be a sticky mess. Scooping the brownie mix into the oranges seemed to cause more havoc. And by this time I smelt like an orange and looked like a sticky gooey mess! So finally I wrapped the poor little oranges in tin foil, making sure to twist the top of the tin foil just as they suggested. I put them in the fire for 25 mins and decided it was time to take them out. I got the tongs and pulled them out laying them on a rock to cool."
The Pinstrosity
"Little did they mention that when I opened them even if it seemed cool, that the hot molten brownie mix that if not properly cooked would scald my hands. Which proceeded in me throwing the scalding hot orange peel on the ground and throwing my sticky, orange-brownie covered hands in the dirt, while screaming like a hyena, while spectators laughed at my stupidity. The out come was a soupy brownie, burnt hands, and a mess! And the brownies that did cook were unevenly cooked, and burnt to a char! I'm thinking now that these so called 'Campfire brownies' were cooked in an oven to perfection."
I think I'll stick with my s'mores. The worst that can go wrong there is that you shake your stick to try to put out your flaming marshmallow, only to launch it flying across the campsite where it lands on your tent, sending your tent, sleeping bags, and kindle up into instant flames, so you run and throw all your water on it and start kicking dirt only to end up covered in mud standing over the charred remains of your sleeping abode. No big deal.
A yummy campfire dessert that works are banana boats! My family has them every time we camp, and they're AMAZING!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/banana-boats
(the only thing with this recipe is that you would cook them over the campfire, not grill them)
I was goning to suggest banana boats too! They're pretty much the only time I eat bananas!
DeleteOh man, that sounds good. I miss bananas. I've developed an allergy to them and can't eat them any more. :(
DeleteI bet these might work better in a Dutch oven on the fire. Or maybe just make brownies at home and bring them :)
ReplyDeleteI love camping and used to go all the time, it helped that my mom was a Girl Guide leader and my dad was a Scout leader, it seems it is in my blood! My mom had tons of great campfire meals that we did with great success, although I've never heard of this one before.
ReplyDeleteOne dessert we used to do at Girl Guide camp was to put an oatmeal cookie on a sheet of tin foil, put a tablespoon (or how ever much will fit nicely inside the cookie) of cherry (or other fruit of your choice) pie filling on it and place another cookie on top. You wrap it in the tin foil and place this beside a nice coal, not in the fire itself, for a few minutes (sorry, not sure how long, just keep carefully checking it) until the cookies are soft and the pie filling warm/hot. They are sooooo yummy!
I'll check with my mom for other suggestions and email them to you for future camping trips. :D Have fun camping!
If I could get the original pin to work, even if it was made in the oven first, that would be frickin' amazing! :-O
ReplyDeleteI've never even heard of these orange brownies before but if Linsey put them literally "in the fire", that would probably be why the outcome was a burnt lava mess.
ReplyDeleteOver where I live we make "bonfire potatoes" - cook them either in tin foil or plain without (and just scoop the cooked potato out from the somewhat burnt peel later), they taste best with butter and fresh dill :) Anyway, like with the potatoes, my guess is that the oranges should not be placed anywhere near an open flame but should rather be cooked when the fire is showing signs of going out soon and there's lots of hot ashes and coals that aren't as hot as the open flame.
This is sad because I've actually made these before as a Girl Scout Camp Counselor . . . Next time, don't put the "cap" on them, so the brownie mix has room to expand. Also, don't fill them up all the way for the same reason. Each orange is different, just like each spot in the fire will be different, so they will need different cooking times. It's best to pull the tinfoil apart before it cools with tongs or some other utensil to keep from burning yourself, and that way, you can wrap it right back up and put it back in the fire again. I've also made these with yellow cake mix, and they're seriously delicious.
ReplyDeleteI've made them in the oven as well, and they do bake a little prettier this way. Cooking in a fire is always tricky, and you have to keep checking your food so that it doesn't burn. I agree with rojukene to stay away from open flame, but coals are often as hot or hotter than open flame. Hot coals will also provide a more constant heat to the oranges.
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ReplyDeleteWe made these all the time at Girl Scout camp! the key is to (as the original post says) to place on a bed of coals with more coals mounded on top! I encourage the submitter to try again!
ReplyDeleteWhen we go camping we make "tonkas" that's just what we called them but they are cooked in a little iron that you put in the fire and you can make a bunch of things wipe it out after dinner and make a sweet dessert. Usually you put buttered bread then a filling (cheese, pb and j, marshmallow and choco chips) whatever you think sounds good and then another piece of buttered bread. Yummos Here is a good sight with recipes: http://www.boondockers-used-sports.com/pie-iron-cooking.html
ReplyDeleteMy family makes those whenever we camp. We normally fill them with pie filling. They're amazing!!
DeleteI made calzones using pie irons on my camping trip a few weeks ago using these instructions: http://mustardseeds.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/06/pie-iron-recipe-5-calzones.html
DeleteWe make "tonkas" when camping that's just what we called them. Here is a link to what you can make in the pie iron: http://www.boondockers-used-sports.com/pie-iron-cooking.html
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a girl guide we used to bake stuffed apples on the campfire and they were AWESOME!!
ReplyDelete1. Core apples
2. Fill with marshmallows & caramel chocolate (or brown sugar and cinnamon, or whatever you want).
3. Wrap securely with tinfoil
4. Place in the EMBERS of the fire after it's finished burning
5. Cook for about 10 minutes, rolling them over occasionally
6. Remove from fire and unwrap (be careful they're HOT!)
ENJOY!!
When I was a girl guide we used to bake stuffed apples on the campfire and they were AWESOME!!
ReplyDelete1. Core apples
2. Fill with marshmallows & caramel chocolate (or brown sugar and cinnamon, or whatever you want).
3. Wrap securely with tinfoil
4. Place in the EMBERS of the fire after it's finished burning
5. Cook for about 10 minutes, rolling them over occasionally
6. Remove from fire and unwrap (be careful they're HOT!)
ENJOY!!
When I was a kid, my mom would make these, except she did white cake mix instead. I also wanna say that she cut them in half, but I can't remember
ReplyDeleteI too made these on camping trips with my Girl Scout troop. I don't remember all the details (hey, it's been 20+ years) but I do remember burying them in the embers. Since we had a fairly large troop, we actually had to build an extra fire to accommodate all our oranges (and our mothers' oranges) because you need each orange to be encased in the hot embers.
ReplyDeleteI too used to make these orange cakes on camping trips with my Girl Scout Troop. I don't remember all the details (hey, it's been 20+ years) but I do remember burying the oranges in the embers of the fire. It was important to have each orange completely encased in embers so that it will cook evenly. Also, make sure you have enough space between each orange or there won't be enough heat to go around. These cakes were awesome. Glad to see them making a comeback.
ReplyDelete