The peace on a lake surrounded by mountains God created is breathtaking. I’m blessed to relax upon a turtle.

Just call me when it’s 5:00 p.m.

It’s always a pleasure to relax knowing dinner’s either cooking or prepped and ready to go. That’s where my faithful freezer cooking/make ahead meals come in handy. I can rest assured we can have dinner on the picnic table within 30 minute or less. And that makes a huge difference when you’re camping with five hungry kiddos.

We love the Cascade Lake beach area and my kids love riding in the canoe. This is our two-year-old’s first time out and she already wants to control the paddle. Who’s in control here?

Our meals consisted of:

Grilled Thin Crust Pizza using homemade tortillas and speedy pizza sauce (prepped from home) with fresh corn on the cob. It’s prepared exactly like my grilled flat bread pizza. I wanted a thinner, lighter carb version of pizza to try and this was the ticket. It’s not ideal for holding up a ton of veggies, but it’s great for thinly sliced/diced veggies you have on hand. We added a little local dill and garlic chevre cheese to the adult’s pies and yummy was the word.

3 minute pizza prep: Spread pizza sauce on top of a fresh tortilla. Top with your favorite toppings

2 minute cook time: Grill on low until cheese is melted and bottom is lightly toasted.

World’s easiest boiled eggs {bumper car style} and no bake 5-ingredient granola bars (made at home) were super easy for grab and go items for the guys on the kayak and the girls who like to sleep in. I also prepped some quicker cooked yukon gold potatoes for homefries and turkey sausage and thinly sliced red peppers and onions. The peppers were useful for our grilled Hebrew National hot dogs and grilled pizza.

And while we had this much fun, we had potatoes crockin’ outside. Grilled dogs and crocked potato bar (sorry, no picture). Easy peasy.

And for dessert, a little smores with the make ahead smores box.

With very little prep area in the camper and pouring rain outside for a full day, I was thankful for prior planning. And the meals came together in a snap.

 

We had fun, food and fabulous family memories. What kind of summer memories are you making?

 

What makes our camping trips memorable? Is it these adorable camping chairs? No, it must be the kids

Is it our water play (which happened to be at Dollywood Splash Country)?

Is it the ridiculous rides our kids coax us on?

Or our delicious whole foods (which we mostly prepare ahead of time)?

Our Camping Shortcuts:

 

• Smores make ahead box to make these yummy Reese Smores

• Microwave potatoes until mostly soft prior to homefries. They brown quickly and taste like you’ve cooked them for the full hour; NOT.
• Crock pot cooking: Shredded beef fajitas waiting on us after a full day of water play at Splash Country. Have you tried baked crock pot potatoes, our easy camping favorite.

• Bake ahead/Pack Healthy Snacks: Homemade Granola Bars and real peanut butter and whole wheat crackers to take to Dollywood or any outdoor park.

The money we save? We combine our Dollywood season pass with our Passport America Camping Pass (50% off discount) to further save money.

Our family bonding? We definitely have more bonding time since we’re spending less time in the kitchen and more time around the camp fire making family memories.

Our family loves water, camping and the great outdoors. This is just one of our frugal summer trips. We have many more recipes, tips, tricks and savings ideas in the Tasty Travel Series.

What are your best camping tips, tricks or food shortcuts? What kind of summer memories are you making?

Shutterfly is sponsoring a  Long Live Summer Photo Contest on Facebook 

Win a trip for four to The Bahamas and a professional photo shoot so you’ll remember your vacation forever.  All you need to do is upload your favorite photo and caption based on the theme of the week.  Get a gift from Shutterfly just for entering! This week’s theme is water fun! I think we’ve all been enjoying the water with this hot weather.