Camp Our House: Black Bean and Chicken Salad

We decided last year we would go camping for Father's Day weekend.  Thatboy loves camping, and the weather is perfect for it in early June.   And then the Coronavirus became a thing and we weren't going anywhere.

When they mentioned that campgrounds would be opening, we had a serious discussion about going.  Seems safe enough, right?  Except I have some friends in Canada, where they're kicking the pandemic's butt, and I remember when their campgrounds opened and all the restrictions that were put in place.  One of my friends got an RV because one of the restrictions was that they weren't opening the bathrooms at campgrounds.  No such restrictions were being put in place in California campgrounds.  They were open for business as if there was never a shut-down.  So we decided no on the camping.  (As a side note- we were totally right because less than 2 weeks after opening, we'd already had an outbreak at a San Diego campground.)

So instead, on Father's Day weekend, we found a campground much closer to home - our backyard!

We found that scavenger hunts are a must when we go on hikes when we camp, and earlier this year I had found these "Seek and find" sheets in the Target Dollar Spot and bought them.  Lucky for me, they work equally well on hikes around the neighborhood.

Hiking around, you can work up and appetite, so when we got back, we made a little snack - butterfly trail mix bags.

I also pulled out some of our crafts from our camping supplies.  The kids had just as much fun making bubble snakes in the backyard as they do at the campsite.

We did some family tournaments, like cornhole and bocce ball.

And a little bit of archery

Another Target dollar spot find were these Backyard Bingo games.  (We have roadtrip versions too)

For lunch, I had "packed" us a lunch we would have had a campground - a leaf-less salad that travels well, watermelon, and some sangria for the grownups.

Our neighbors happened to be out of town during the week and we were in charge of feeding their cat and making sure their pool got used, so we spent the afternoon pretending it was a lake.  When we got back, Thatboy lit a fire and we all sat around reading by the campfire.

And doing that resting thing you do at campgrounds.

We grilled hot dogs for dinner, and ate them with more watermelon and lots of chips.

And after we had hot chocolate (which is my kids' favorite part of camping I think)

And smores (their other favorite part?)

And then we let them stay up late telling "spooky" stories, which turned into silly stories.  We also let them stay awake in the tent whispering and giggling for a while.

Eventually the boys fell asleep, and Thatboy and I stayed awake listening to every little sound - we were both a lot jumpier in our own backyard than in the middle of the wilderness!  Our only problem is that the kids have been asking to sleep in the backyard every night since then.

One of the things that kept the whole thing feeling "real" (especially since we had indoor plumbing) was the fact that I did my best with authentic camping food.  We learned a couple years ago that the best way to keep our kids happy was to bring mostly prepared food.  Either foods that could be eaten cold, or foods that were already cooked and just needed to be heated.  The boys lack the patience for true camp cooking.  This salad is perfect to make ahead and bring with you, but that also makes it great for picnics - and when this is all over, summer barbecues.   Because there's no lettuce, there's nothing to wilt.  Rather than dressing, which can get gloopy even without lettuce (and yes, gloopy is the scientific term) there's just some lime juice which keeps everything fresh and bright tasting.  

Black Bean and Chicken Salad

1 can black beans

1 1/2 cups frozen corn

1 shallot, minced

1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 Tbsp cumin

1 avocado, diced

1. Combine beans, corn, shallot, tomatoes, and chicken in a large bowl.
2. Add the lime juice and cumin and toss well.
3. Gently fold in avocado.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Summercamp: Camping Macaroni and Cheese

I think we have finally figured out this camping with young kids thing.  Really, we figured it out last year, but after doing it twice, I know that it wasn't a fluke.

First, location!  When we've tried to do the kind of camping trips that Thatboy and I used to do before kids we found that being in the middle of nowhere with just wilderness wasn't going to work anymore.  The kids just got too bored.  So now we go to a place with trails right off the campsite.  Near a town for exploration. 

Thatdog is not a morning dog apparently.  Too cold.  But he definitely keeps an eye out anytime one of his pack needs to leave the tent and go to bathroom.

The boys love being in their sleeping bags, and it makes for sweet morning cuddles.

Pro tip #2?  Bring a ton of activities.  When we've had absolute fails of camping trips its because I let Thatboy talk me into the "the kids should just sit and enjoy nature" school of thought.  My kids are too young to just sit and enjoy nature.  So instead or success depends on me bringing a bag of fun stuff for the kids to do.  Slime kits for while we set up the site (bonus since I don't allow them to have slime in our house - it gets everywhere), beads to make necklaces, journals to write or color, and foam dart arrows to keep them occupied in the morning.

We also make use of activities in town, instead of just hanging out at the campsite.  This trip we went to explore an honest to goodness goldmine dating back to the 1870s!

Thatbaby was a little nervous about going in.  I don't blame him, the idea of going down into a mine brought out a little of my claustrophobia.  I convinced him to take a couple steps into the entrance and once he saw it wasn't dark, he was okay with venturing all the way in.

They also got to try their hand at goldmining.  Even though they didn't get to take home the gold they found, they really enjoyed the actually mining process and seeing the gold in their pans.

They much preferred their gem mining experience though.  So much so that this was a repeat from last year.

Their favorite campsite activity is making their walking sticks.  I bring a bunch of washi tape and they wrap it around the walking sticks they find.  This also helps with splinters and cuts from sharp pieces of stick.

Then we use those sticks, along with a scavanger hunt I print out, when we go for family hikes,

The trail we picked this time was so cool and shady.  We got into a big fight with the boys when we suggested a 1 mile hike and they wanted to do a 3 mile hike.  I knew my kids would not make it on a 3 mile hike, and Thatbaby was complaining towards the end of this hike, so I know we made the right choice.

I picked up some color firewood packets to place in our fine.  It made for a really pretty fire at nights.

The most important tip I found to keep kids happy when camping is the food.  It needs to be made quickly.  Gone are the days of slowly cooking food over the open flame, or throwing packets in to be cooked and eaten later.  Of course, they always have patience for s'mores.

But everything else is precooked.  I make ham and cheese croissant sandwiches, freeze them, and then reheat them on our camp stove while I heat up water for hot chocolate.

Same with foil packet dinners.  They're made with cooked chicken, frozen, and then just reheated, which takes less time than cooking the chicken.

And the new trick from this trip was making macaroni and cheese.  If you bring the noodles with you, precooked, then it doesn't take long at all to make the sauce.  I use evaporated milk instead of regular milk because it comes in a can for easy packing, and you don't need to worry about refrigeration.  I also prepackage all the dry ingredients together in a little ziplock or tupperwear so they can just be poured in together.

My family likes breadcrumbs on their macaroni and cheese - I love the little crunch it gives, but since you're not baking it, your best bet is to toast it and bring it, stirring it in at the very end.

Camping Macaroni and Cheese

1 can evaporated milk

3 Tbsp flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 lb macaroni, cooked

1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

toasted panko breadcrumbs

1. Combine flour, milk, salt and mustard over low heat, stirring.
2. Stir in the macaroni.
3. Stir in the cheddar cheese and continue stirring until the cheese is melted.
4. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with panko.

Camp Out!: S'mores Muffins

My kids get the short end of the stick when it comes to summer vacation.  Mostly, because they don't get one.  I'd feel worse,  but Thatboy and I don't really get summer vacation either.  There's no lazy days of summer, sleeping in, and lounging about.  For Thatbaby, Thatboy, and myself, the only thing that marks the difference between summer and the rest of the year is that it's warmer outside.  For Thatkid, camp takes the place of school.

But we try to give them a little bit of a summer in the activities we participate in.  As the summer drew to a close, I asked the kids if there was anything they wanted to do over the summer that they didn't get to do, and Thatbaby firmly answered that he wanted to go camping.

Camping.

Camping last year was a disaster.  We were all miserable.  So I was a bit surprised that this was his request.  But last year's camping trip was planned by Thatboy, and I thought that maybe if I took a swing at it, I could figure something out that was more enjoyable for all of us.

I did some quick searching and found an open reservation for one night at a campground in Julian on Labor Day weekend.  We packed up the car and headed out.

Because we know Julian fairly well, we knew all the best places to stop.  Which puts everyone in a good mood.  First stop was lunch at Dudley's.  Since we had Thatdog with us, we ate in the car, but it didn't change the tastiness of the sandwiches.

Our next stop was Julian Station.  Where we got to drink mead, 

and cider.

Since the apple orchards weren't open yet, the kids used this time to get their own apple cider fix.

And play old school video games.

And ride quarter operated rides.

Our final stop before getting to our campsite was the Julian Mining Company.   My boys love love love love love rocks and minerals.  It's one of their favorite parts of the fair. So it made their entire weekend to be able to mine their own giant bag of gems.  

When we finished up with that, it was finally time to check in to our campsite.  

While Thatboy set up camp, I kept the kids busy.  Which was the second part of my plan to make this trip better than the last - a whole bag of crafts to keep the kids entertained.

Part three of the plan, which tied in to part one, was going someplace we knew there was food.  So we weren't reliant on the campfire, which proved to be a little much for my impatient kids.  It made the trip somewhere between camping and glamping, but was perfect for small children.  Our dinner was at the Julian Brewing Company.  Outdoor seating for families and dogs.

Jenga and cornhole to play.

And delicious pizza and beer.

In fact, Thatkid enjoyed his pizza so much, he wanted to come back the next day!

After dinner it was back to the campsite for some glowsticks and story telling around the fire before bed.  Which went so much better than bedtime last year!

The next morning we woke up, ate some granola bars, and headed out on a hike.  The location had several that started right off the campsite which made it really easy.

I had also made the boys scavenger hunts to do during the hike.  Which kept them both busy and interested.  

When we got back, Thatboy started taking down the tent, and I pulled out the craft bag again.  This time to help the boys decorate the walking sticks they'd found on their hike.

And give them sidewalk chalk while we packed up the car.

It was short, it was sweet, and it was a super successful camping trip. And of course, no end of summer campout is complete without the quintessential campfire food - s'mores.

Sure you can make these at home.  And we certainly have, but there's nothing like getting sticky and messy when there's lots of dirt to stick to that sticky mess.  At home, it's far easier to go with something cleaner.   These s'more muffins capture all the flavors of camping, without the smoke smell that clings to your hair for days.  Or the stickiness that you just can't seem to rinse off.  It's not quite the same, but it's a good way to relive it months later!

S'mores Muffins (From the Food Network)

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup flour

1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

 1 stick butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

3/4 cup marshmallow fluff

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a muffin pan with silicone or paper liners.  Toss the chocolate chips with 2 tsp flour and set aside.  
2. Whisk remaining flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3. Whisk the sugar, melted butter, milk, vanilla, and eggs in a medium bowl until smooth.
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, just until they care combined.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Divide the batter between the muffin cups, tapping the pan against the counter to smooth out the batter.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack to cool completely.
7. Top each muffin with 1 Tbsp marshmallow fluff.