It’s time for your weekend, or week-long RV camping trip and the planning has begun. Meals are always an important item of focus when prepping for any trip along with hitting the stores to buy all of the essentials for cooking in your RV rental and on the campfire. For those of us that love cooking on the road, being a creative chef outside your home kitchen is an exciting challenge. But, if you want to make things a little easier, consider cooking less from scratch and bringing along some premade camping meals. 

These easy and delicious premade meals can free up more time for outdoor adventures.

Breakfast Taquitos

For a quick and hearty breakfast you can heat up on the campsite, try our easy breakfast taquito recipe. Home preparation - cook a pound of your favorite sausage or buy fully cooked sausage links. Set aside the cooked sausage, leaving a little grease in the pan. Scramble 5 eggs in the pan with a little salt and pepper. Once finished remove the eggs and let cool. Place 10 tortillas on a prep tray or foil. Divide the eggs among the tortillas, place a little sausage on top and sprinkle on your favorite cheese. Roll each tortilla up and wrap in foil. Store in the fridge until you leave for the campsite. 

Once at your location, warm the individual taquitos in the foil over the fire or unwrap and place in a campfire pan for a quick heat-up. Bring along your favorite salsa for dipping. 

Southwest Chicken

Home preparation - Place 2 chicken breasts on a baking sheet, dab with olive oil and cover with taco seasoning. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until fully cooked. Remove from pan and cut into ½ inch pieces. Set aside the chicken. In a saucepan, heat together a can of corn, ½ a diced onion and a can of black beans, drained and rinsed. Meanwhile, lay out 6 to 8-inch long sheets of heavy cooking foil. Once the bean mixture is cooled, place a 1/4 cup of bean mix on each foil sheet, add several pieces of chicken and cover with another piece of foil to make a contained packet. Refrigerate the packets until it’s time to go.

When at the campsite, open each packet individually and reheat on your RV stove. Add shredded cheese and other toppings as you like. If cooking outside, reheat in the packets or in a pan on the campfire for a delicious, easy meal.


Photo Credit: @taylormichaelburk

Chili!

A go-to meal for every camping trip. When we’re on the road, we often default to simple versions to save time and storage/fridge space. But settle no more! The great thing about making chili at home is that you can make it with all of your special, secret ingredients. Make your favorite version ahead of time and freeze or store it in the fridge until you leave. 

At the campsite, just warm it up on the stove in your Cruise America RV, or in a cast iron pot on the campfire.

Pancakes

Go ahead and indulge in the mother of all breakfast treats, the pancake. Prepare your favorite pancake mix and pour the cold mixture into large water bottles or a travel thermos. Refrigerate until it’s time to leave, then place it in your RV refrigerator or a cooler. Don’t forget to pack along a griddle, which will be a little easier to cook on than a regular frying pan.

If you need a pancake recipe, try this one: in a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of flower, 4 tablespoons sugar, 4 teaspoons baking powder and 2 teaspoons salt. Then add 2 cups of milk, 2 eggs and 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil and blend it up until smooth.


Mac & Cheese

Prepare your favorite mac & cheese recipe. If you don’t have one, here is a simple, easy and tasty one to try. Cook a package of elbow macaroni per the directions on the package. Rinse and put back into the pot. Add an 8 oz of jar Alfredo sauce, 1/2 a cup of shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, 1/3 cup of milk, salt and pepper and stir until fully mixed. 

Now comes the camping hack: spray a set of mini pie tins with a little cooking spray, place on the counter and fill each to the top and cover with a foil lid. Done! 

When you arrive at your site, open the individual containers and reheat in a small pot on the RV stove. Or if you want to cook outside, spread out the hot coals of the fire and place a cooking rack over the fire. Cook the individual tins over the fire for eight minutes or so.

Yogurt Parfaits

A great, light breakfast, or a mid-day snack, this healthy treat is easy to prepare and stores wonderfully.
Home preparation: start with as many sturdy plastic cups or mason jars (with lids!) as you would like to take on your trip. Six to eight ounces is a great size for breakfast. Start by layering 1/3 of a cup of vanilla yogurt in the bottom of each glass. Then add the fruit – berries work especially well so drop in your favorite combo of raspberries, strawberries and blueberries, followed by a small layer of granola. Repeat the steps until the cup is almost full. Put the top on and store in the refrigerator until time for the trip.

At the campsite, keep refrigerated in your RV until it’s time to eat. 



Try these premade meals or invent your own to make dining on the road and at the campsite little easier. Use the extra time to explore, take a nap in your comfy RV rental vehicle or go on an epic outdoor adventure.