Guest Author - Denese Tyler
Summertime is a popular time for Girl Scout camping adventures. S’mores is an all-time favorite campfire food among Girl Scouts, but there are many more foods that can be prepared over a campfire.
My troop’s favorite camp food is Spaghetti. It is not hard to make at camp with a few simple ingredients: a bag of frozen meatballs, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and a box on spaghetti noodles. The sauce and meatballs can be warmed up over the campfire in one pot while the noodles are cooking in boiling water. Combine all cooked ingredients in one large pot and then feed happy Girl Scouts! I admit, it is not a fancy Italian dinner, but my girls love it. That’s all that matters at camp!
For dessert, my troop loves Pineapple Donuts! It is the campfire version of Pineapple Upside-Down Cake! Here is the recipe:
Cake donuts, one per girl
Pineapple slices, one per girl
One teaspoon of butter each
One teaspoon of brown sugar each
One piece of aluminum foil each (big enough to wrap the donut)
Place one piece of foil on table. Place one cake donut in center of foil. Slice the donut in half. (Be sure to slice it so that you have two “zero” shapes, not two half moons!) Place the pineapple slice on top of the bottom donut slice. Spread butter on top of pineapple. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of butter. Place top donut slice on top of brown sugar and pineapple. Pull up front and back sides of foil to top. Fold down from top, then fold in each side. Place on campfire coals only. Be sure your campfire has burned down, nearly out. Do not place foil packets directly into the flames. Place the foil packets on hot coals for about 15 minutes, or until warm. Carefully remove packets with tongs and carefully unwrap dessert. Girls can eat this dessert right out of the foil packets!
If you have great campfire recipes to share, consider helping a Cadette Girl Scout troop with their Silver Project. The troop is gathering campfire recipes for an Outdoor Recipe Cookbook. They plan to publish the cookbook online with credit given to troops that submit recipes. The troop will share the online cookbook with anyone who submits a recipe.
If you are interested in sharing your troop’s favorite recipe, email the troop leader, Wendy, at wendy.henderson@gmail.com.
Also, share your recipes online at Leader 411 on Facebook. Scroll down the lists of posts until you see the campfire patch. Then post your favorite recipe.
It is lots of fun to experiment with Girl Scouts and outdoor cooking. Let them try new campfire recipes. As they become older Girl Scouts, they can do the cooking themselves. Enjoy your camping adventures!
