Being able to cook a full, delicious meal outdoors, in any weather, without electricity, is an impressive survival preppers skill.  If this is your goal, start by mastering basic fire building -- either with matches, a fire starter ferro rod, friction, flintstones, or a magnifying glass. You need to learn how to regulate the temperature of the fire, to make sure your food is cooked, without it burning on the outside and leaving it raw on the inside. You need to know how to cook on a campfire; Cooking over an open flame is different than cooking on a stovetop. To do it right, it takes patience, control and some experience. To raise your campfire cooking skills, practice using a grill, Dutch oven, campfire tripod. aluminum foil oven, and foil wrapped meals.  Learn how to create a heat pit or use hot stones. If you can, build a rocket stove or rocket mass heater for more efficient fuel use.  How to Build Eight Different Rocket Stoves for Survival + Cooking When you are cook...

Biscuit Twisters         Biscuit mix Milk or water Honey Follow the direction on the biscuit box using a little less liquid than called for Twist the dough around the end of of a green stick or metal skewer* Hold the skewer while rotating slowly over hot coals of fire until cooked  Dip into honey and enjoy Can also use butter and jam, or gravy Campfire S'mores Video  * If you use metal, you need to protect your hands from the hot metal

Rice Krispie Squares 4 T  Butter 4 c  Marshmallows or 10 oz 5 c  Rice Krispie cereal Melt butter in saucepan over campfire/low heat Add marshmallows and stir till melted  Cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly   Remove from heat, add Rice Krispies and stir until all are coated  Using buttered spatula, press evenly into buttered 13x9x2" pan Cool Cut into 2" squares Make it Chocolatey Add chocolate to the mix

Hobo Popcorn Recipe Heavy Duty aluminum foil Butter 4 Teaspoons of Cooking oil Salt 4 Tablespoons of un-popped Popcorn Cut the aluminum foil into four large squares. In the center of each square, place one teaspoon oil and one tablespoon popcorn Bring the four corners of foil to the center, making pouch like hobo knapsack Seal edges well With string, tie corners of each pouch to long handled barbeque tool or a green stick Place pouch directly on hot coals and shake often until corn is popped Carefully open pouch and season popcorn with melted butter and salt. Make it Into a Sweet and Savory Dessert When you open the foil, add shaved chocolate and allow it to melt onto the hot popcorn. Make it Hot Sprinkle it with cyenne pepper

Camping Seasoning Mix 1/3 c  Salt 1 T  Paprika 1 T  Garlic Powder 2 t  Onion Powder 1/2 t  Cayenne or substitute Curry 1/2 t  Pepper Mix well and store in a double zip-lock bag or a good glass, screw-top container.

Campfire Recipes in Aluminum Foil and Over Campfire Grilled Cheese Sandwiches can be made without a pan--use a buddy burner if you have one or wrap the sandwich in foil and place just above the coals for a couple of minutes, on each side. To make it more filling, add tomatoes, onions and sliced ham, or turkey. You can add these or or any combination of your choice before cooking or after cooking. Kebobs  taste so good, they are easy to make - and you don't need a pan.  If you use wooden skewers, soak them in water to slow down the burn rate and make sure you can cook without you needing to hold them by hand, over the fire. If you use metal skewers, make sure there is a cool handle on it, you have to wear gloves.  Kebobs are made with wieners, smokies, sausage or meatballs.  Pre cook chicken, turkey, ham or any other meat cubes.  You can include a variety of veggies such as peppers, canned taters, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc.  While the kebobs are cooking...

  Corrugated Cardboard Box Campfire Oven 1 Brick or flat rock 1 pk heavy duty Aluminum foil 1 Corrugated cardboard box 1 Metal pie pan, old 3 Wire coat hangers 4+ Charcoal briquets Light the charcoal in the aluminum pan Completely cover the inside and outside of the box and flaps with 3 or 4 layers of aluminum foil. Lay the aluminum foil covered box on level ground so that it opens oven-style or front door style. Straighten the coat hangers, then run them from one side of the box, to the other - about 2/3 of the way up from the bottom - to form a rack. Set the brick in bottom.    Use an oven mitt or hot pad to put the pan of hot charcoal on the brick.  Place food to be cooked into a pan and put the pan onto coat-hanger rack, and close oven door. Watch your food carefully by checking it often.   ➡️➡️  Each hot coal makes about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. How to Make An Oven Using a Pizza Box Video

Here are three tips to help you make your backpacking trip less stressful when it is time to eat. Save the powered, packaged mixes from mac and cheese, ramen noodles and salad kits and pack them in food baggies. These flavor packets can be used later to add pizzaz to different dishes.  When you buy the boxed food with the separate flavor packets, do not use the entire packet at one time. A little bit  of that seasoning goes a long way.  You can save and store some of the unopened packets and use an opened packet two or three times.   Take powdered milk in baggies. Use it in your coffee, cereal, instant potatoes and in your cooked dishes. Margarine, even though it is not good for you, will travel well. Just make sure it is tightly paced in a leak-proof container. As an alternative, you can make your own butter, on the trip.  How to Make Butter Using Powdered Milk Freeze-Dried Backpacking Meals

Basic Survival Skills Here are some very simple ideas for dehydrated and light-weight foods you can take with you on your trek. Dehydrated vegetables and full meals are available at camping stores. Try Ramen noodle soups or any of those soup in a cups, packaged in baggies, so they take up a lot less room. Dehydrated bean flakes, cooks in 10-15 minutes, and are available in many varieties can be mixed with some spice and cooked rice. Put it beans and rice in a tortilla and you will see, it is delicious and filling. Yum! Flavor them with onion powder, garlic powder and/or cumin powder. Cheese holds up very well in backpacks. When it is properly wrapped, you don't have to deal with cheese oil dripping on your other items. The fat will do you good if you are hiking for hours. If it's cold, the fat can help you stay warm.  You need a lot more calories when it's cold. Add a cheese to your soup, pasta, rice, or dehydrated veggies you're cooking. Pasta, the King of the backpack...

  Campfire Biscuits These are easy to make biscuits and they can be cooked in a Dutch oven or in aluminum foil. 2 c  Jiffy Baking mix 2/3 c  Water Directions:  Mix well and knead. If too soft, add a little more mix for a dry handling dough. Put flour on aluminum foil and pat dough to about 1/2 inch thickness.  Divide dough into biscuits.  Bake at moderate heat for 15-20 minutes, or until biscuits are done.  Remove from heat and serve hot.

Where's the Food OK, you've been working hard all day, getting things done and now it is past time to eat. You have decided on a can of canned beans, salmon and some potatoes. Then your realized you will need some way to open the cans and the packages of air-tight crackers. Don't Forget the Can Opener  For most people, this is the smallest tool that usually gets left behind—and it is one of the most essential. A manual can-opener. As an added bonus, a couple of strong knives.  You have stockpiled hundreds of cans of a variety of food, but if you don’t have a way to open them, without power, they’re will just sit there mocking you.  You should keep at least two manual can openers: one in your storage area and one in your to go bag. It is possible to open cans with a knife but, it's best not to take the chance of breaking your knife, you will definitely need a knife before your situation ends. Test them regularly. Don't depend on the cheap dollar store can openers and...

It's time to eat. But what can you do when the lights go out and your electric stove becomes not more than a big appliance in the kitchen?   Knowing how to cook without electricity can keep you alive and even boost your morale. To know exactly what to do when a crisis occurs, start by using portable stoves, rocket stoves, solar ovens, or open fire pits, right now.  What is the Best Type of Cookware to Use Outdoors? Cast iron cookware is the best. It is durable, reliable and it will not be damaged when used for flame-based cooking. Start by mastering some basic meals, that require minimal ingredients and fuel.  How to Cook With Cast Iron Over an Open Flame It doesn't matter what the meal is going to be - a few pieces of bread is a necessity. Without a loaf of bread from the store and no electricity to bake a fresh loaf, what can you do?  Bake a loaf of fresh bread over the campfire, in a Dutch oven. Learn how to bake bread in a Dutch oven in the video below. You ...

Prepping isn’t just buying a lot of food and shoving it in your pantry and storage boxes and waiting for the day you will need to use it. You have to develop a system so that you will not have a mess on your hands and a lot of wasted food.  The most critical part of your system is food rotation.  Use the FIFO method (first in, first out) Always eat the oldest items first and when you purchase more items, put them behind the items already there. This method keeps your food fresh and prevents wasting your time and money.  Keep a logbook of what you have and what you need to replace and purchase. Set calendar reminders to review your storage every few months.  Store foods in an organized way—canned goods in one section, separated, grains in another—so nothing gets lost.  If you don’t rotate, you risk letting the food expire and becoming an issue during an emergency, when fresh, nutritious food matters most.  Proper prepping is a habit, not a one-time even...

Do you know what to do if you are suddenly in the middle of a disaster? It could be from unemployment, illness, Nature or something else. But, no matter what, it's best to know what to do - if the time comes. Now is the time to learn how to be prepared for an emergency and how to survive a disaster. We never know when, or for what reason we may find ourselves without the basic necessities of life.