S’mores-style Camping Cookbook

Two years ago today, Greg’s little (middle) brother married his college sweetheart. Happy anniversary, Phil and Trish! In their honor, I thought I’d do a little flashback to the gift we made them. (Sorry about the photo quality — they’re the only shots I have!)

One of my wedding-gift-giving strategies is to purchase something(s) off the couple’s registry and then supplement it with a personal touch. The registry item we gave Phil and Trish was a camping tent, to which we added marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers. That got us thinking about camping recipes, and soon the cookbook was born.

We decided to model the book’s shape after a s’more, with heavy tan covers, white recipe pages and a slab of faux chocolate in the back. We used photo corners to place the recipe cards, and we left open photo corners for them to later add camping photos to the book. I hope it was as fun to receive as it was to make!

Make your own s’mores book (camping recipes follow):

Supplies:
2 1″ binder rings
Chipboard, at least 12 x 25″
Cardstock or white scrapbook paper
White posterboard
Dark brown foam board, at least 5.5 x 5.25″
Photo corners
Glue
Hole punch
Black Sharpie
Xacto, straight edge and cutting surface

1. Cut two 6 x 6.25″ rectangles from a piece of heavy chipboard or matboard. In the upper and lower left corners of the chip/matboard rectangles, punch a hole 0.5″ from the left-hand side and 1″ from the top or bottom. It’s hard to punch, but it can be done!

2. Cut dark brown foam board into 5.5 x 5.25″ rectangle with an Xacto. Glue dark brown foam board rectangle onto one of the chip/matboard rectangles, leaving a 0.25″ margin to the top, bottom and right-hand edges.

3. Make recipe cards: either print recipes onto white cardstock and cut in 4 x 4″ squares, or cut cardstock into 4 x 4″ squares and hand write recipes on the sheets.

4. For every two recipes, cut one 5 x 5.5″ rectangle of white posterboard. To leave room for photos (like we did), cut additional pages. In the upper and lower left corners of the posterboard rectangles, punch a hole .5″ from the left-hand side and .5″ from the top or bottom.

5. Affix one recipe to each side of each posterboard rectangle with photo corners leaving a 0.25″ margin on each of three non-hole-punched sides.

6. Stack posterboard rectangles on top of the chip/matboard to which the foam board is glued. Place other chip/matboard rectangle on top.

7. Align hole punches and insert binder rings in the holes.

8. Use Sharpie to draw graham-cracker-like design on the front chip/matboard. Write HERSHEY’S and draw a chocolate pattern on the foam board.

Recipes:
I’ve included the original sources that I was able to track down. My apologies to the rest!

S’mores
1 large marshmallow
1 graham cracker
1/2 chocolate candy bar

1. Heat the marshmallow over an open flame until it begins to brown and melt.
2. Break the graham cracker in half. Sandwich the chocolate between the cracker and the hot marshmallow.

Variations:
1. Replace plain chocolate with a peanut butter cup, or spread on raspberry jam or peanut butter.
2. Substitute a chunk of roasted banana for the marshmallow, white chocolate for regular chocolate and vanilla wafers for graham crackers.

Trail Mix
1 cup honey roasted peanuts 
1 cup dried cherries or raisins
1 cup granola
1 cup Reeses Pieces or M&Ms

Combine all ingredients in gallon sized bag.

Breakfast Skillet
From Jesi A. at allrecipes.com

1/4 pound sliced bacon
2 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 onion, chopped (optional)
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Cook bacon in a skillet over campfire. Remove bacon from the skillet and set aside. Stir the potatoes and onion into the hot bacon fat. Cover, and cook until the potatoes are soft, about 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Crumble the bacon into the potatoes. Stir in the eggs, cover, and cook until set through, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the cheese, and allow to melt before serving.

Beer Pancakes
Pancake mix
Beer

Use the beer as a substitute for the water (same amount) called for in the mix recipe. Cook as usual.

Sausage and Green Bean Foil Packs
from Tonya Merriman at allrecipes.com

6 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
1/4 pound red potatoes, quartered
1/2 large onion, sliced
1/2 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons water

1. On a large sheet of foil, place the green beans, red potatoes, onion, and sausage. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with oil, and top with butter. Tightly seal foil around the ingredients, leaving only a small opening. Pour water into the opening, and seal.
2. Place foil packet on the prepared grill. Cook 20 to 30 minutes, turning once, until sausage is browned and vegetables are tender.

Fillet of Fish Foil Packs
Fillet of any fish
1 packet of Lipton onion soup
2 tablespoons flour
Pepper

1. Put flour and pepper into opened packet of onion soup, shake and mix. Put fillet of fish on sheet of foil and shake soup mix on both sides of fish.
2. Wrap foil tightly and insert on grill or campfire for approximately 4 minutes (longer if thick).

Caramelized Onions
From The Dahl House on allrecipes.com

1 large Vidalia or sweet onion, peeled and cut into wedges
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
garlic salt and pepper to taste (optional)

1. Place the onion wedges on a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Dot with butter, then sprinkle with bouillon, garlic salt, and pepper to taste. Fold the aluminum foil into a packet, leaving only a small hole at the top to allow steam to escape.
2. Place packet on preheated grill, and cook until the onions have softened, and cooked to a deep, rich brown, 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the temperature of the grill. Stir the onions after the first 30 minutes, or as needed to keep from burning.

Scalloped Potato Foil Packs
From Rebecca Gould at allrecipes.com

4 large baking potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced
1/2 (10 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter
black pepper to taste
garlic salt to taste
crumbled bacon or bacon bits (optional)
sauteed mushrooms (optional)

1. Prepare 4 pieces of aluminum foil with vegetable cooking spray. Combine potatoes, green onion, soup, cheese, (and bacon and mushrooms if using) in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Evenly divide the potato mixture among the squares of aluminum foil. Dot with butter. Fold into foil packets, sealing well.
2. Cook foil packets on the grill for 12 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes have cooked.

Campfire French Fries
4 potatoes, cut into strips
1–2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon margarine
2 tablespoons bacon bits
salt & pepper

1. Place potato strips on a large square of heavy duty foil, dull side out. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cheese. Shake a bit to coat. Dot with margarine and sprinkle with bacon bits.
2. Seal the foil, leaving a steam vent on top. Grill over hot coals turning several times until potatoes are tender; about 30 to 40 minutes.

Five Cup Salad
1 cup coconut
1 cup mini-marshmallows
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup pineapple chunks, drained

1. Combine all ingredients, stir until well mixed.
2. Chill, serve.

Banana Split Foil Pack
2 large bananas, stems removed
2/3 cup baking chips (semisweet chocolate, peanut butter
and/or butterscotch chips)
1/3 (10.5 ounce) package miniature marshmallows

1. Spray sheets of aluminum foil, large enough to wrap bananas, with cooking spray.
2. Slice the peel of the banana from stem to bottom, while slicing the banana inside (think hotdog bun).
3. Carefully open the banana just wide enough to place the chocolate chips and marshmallows inside the peel with the banana. Fill with as many chips and marshmallows as desired.
4. Wrap the bananas with the aluminum foil and place on the grill or directly in the coals of a fire. Leave in long enough to melt the chips and the marshmallows, about 5 minutes. Unwrap bananas, open the peels wide, and eat with a spoon.

Cinnamon Apple Foil Pack
1 apple (Granny Smith or other tart apple is best)
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
raisins (optional) 

1. Cut apple in half and core. Keep skin on. In the cored areas place butter, brown sugar and raisins. Sprinkle with spices.
2. Put two halves together and wrap well in foil. Place in hot coals and cook for 10 minutes or while eating supper. Carefully remove from fire and unwrap onto plate. Use a spoon or fork to eat.