Simple Campfire Treats

The boys and I love campfires, and (for us) no campfire is complete without a tasty campfire treat. Of course, roasting marshmallows is always fun, but today I am sharing a few of our favorite simple campfire treats.

1) Non traditional s'mores - Everyone loves s'mores, but we like to shake things up by experimenting with different cookie and chocolate choices. We love smushing a toasted marshmallow between two chocolate chip cookies or using a Reese peanut butter cup. Yum!

And if you feel really ambitious, you can set up a full s'more bar. Fill a tray with different options for cookies and chocolate, and let everyone select their favourites.

Everyone will love combining the ingredients to make their own creations.

I also like to put out a container of wipes for sticky fingers.

And if you want to put out a fun "s'mores bar" sign", you can print the one I designed for FREE. Just click on the picture below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 8X10 photo.

2) Cinnamon sugar treat - This delicious snack is made from biscuit dough, butter, and cinnamon sugar. It's a delicious alternative to s'mores, and you can find the recipe here.

3) Campfire cones - This campfire treat is as fun to make as it is to eat. Just fill a waffle cone with bits of fruit, cookies, marshmallows and chocolate chips. Then, wrap it in foil (attached to a toasting fork or stick), and have the kids toast it until it is ooey gooey.

4) BBQ'd Donuts - If you have never tried BBQ donuts, what are you waiting for?!? A warm toasted donuts is the perfect campfire treat. Find the instructions here.

Aren't these all fantastic campfire treat ideas? Do you have a camping recipe that I should try this summer? I'd love to try something new!

♥ Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Cinnamon Sugar Campfire Snack

I have found the best campfire snack... seriously. The boys and I tried it out last weekend (with our new backyard fire pit), and it turned out fantastic! If you like cinnamon, you are going to love this cinnamon sugar campfire snack. 

To make this great alternative to s'mores, you'll need: a marshmallow roasting fork, tin foil, canned biscuit dough, butter, cinnamon, and sugar.

Then, just follow these simple directions:

1) Cover a roasting fork with tin foil.
2) Stretch out a piece of biscuit dough, and wrap it around the roasting fork.
3) Spread some butter over the dough.
4) Sprinkle both sides with a cinnamon/sugar mixture (1/4 cup white sugar and 1/2 tbsp cinnamon)
5) Roast over a very hot fire as close to the heat source as possible until it is no longer "doughy". 
6) Allow to cool slightly, and then enjoy!

This is such a delicious alternative to roasting marshmallows.  If you give this cinnamon sugar campfire snack a try, let me know what you think.

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Making Ice Cream in a Bag

One of the things on our summer checklist is "make ice cream in a bag".  It is really easy, requires no special equipment, and is lots of fun on a warm summer day.  Want to make ice cream with your kids?

First, gather your supplies.  You'll need:  big ziploc bags, small ziploc bags, salt, ice, sugar, vanilla, and coffee cream (18%).

Then, 
1) put 1/2 cup of course salt and a bunch of ice in the big bag, and 
2) put 1/2 cup coffee cream, 1 tsp vanilla, and 3 tsp of sugar in the small bag.  
3) Seal the small bag, place it in the larger bag, seal the larger bag, and shake it until ice cream forms (approximately 10-15 minutes).

Once the ice cream has formed, you can add some fun toppings, or you can eat it plain.

Eating it right out of the bag is half the fun, but try not to get salt from the outside of the bag into the ice cream.  You might want to give it a quick wipe with a cloth before you give it to the kids to eat.

Yummy, right?  Enjoy your treat!

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Personal-sized Pizzas on the Grill

In my house, we don't all agree on what toppings make the best pizza, so a couple of weeks ago I thought it would be fun to make some personal-sized pizzas.... on the BBQ.  This recipe is easy, tasty, and makes the perfect {easy} summer supper.

Here is how I made each of my boys their very own {delicious} grilled pizza:

1)  I started out with a simple crust, which had the perfect consistency for grilling.  You can find the recipe here.  When the dough was ready, I divided it up into small balls (about the size of a baseball), and rolled each one out to slightly less than 1/4" thick.  (Note: If you are stacking the rolled out dough, make sure to put parchment paper in between each layer to prevent sticking.)

2)  While I was rolling out the dough and getting the toppings ready, my husband oiled the grill and heated it to medium.  Then, I placed the crusts on the grill and cooked them for about two minutes (until they started to bubble).  My husband used tongs to flip them over, and cooked them for another two minutes.

3)  We quickly added our toppings, closed the lid, and let the pizzas cook for another 3 minutes.  (Note:  It is very important to have the toppings "ready to go" beside the grill because they need to be placed on the pizzas quickly after the crusts are cooked.)

What is your favorite pizza topping?  Would these "mini" pizzas be a hit in your house?  

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)