For my Husband and I, camping used to mean jamming our backpacks with as much gear as we could carry and hitting a trail in the mountains for 2-3 nights. Now, with a 2 year old, things look a lot different. Plus there are not mountains in Wisconsin. To tell the truth, we haven't gone camping (not even car camping!) since she was born. We did have that one unsuccessful attempt last summer where we packed up all our stuff, drove to a campsite, then drove all the way back after being completely attacked by mosquitoes. Seriously, there were so many you could barely breathe without inhaling one. This weekend we are having attempt #2. We are pretty committed this time, since we reserved and paid for our campsite online for 3 nights almost 2 months ago.
Since this is our first camping trip with a toddler, and I don't really know how things are going to go, I'm trying to make it easy on ourselves with minimal cooking at the campsite. We're relying on pre-made salads that will hold well, as well as snacks and foods that don't need to be cooked or heated up. That means that I have been running around the kitchen like a crazy person trying to get everything prepped ahead of time. Here's what I'm bringing:
The homemade goodies:
Falafels. I just packed these into a bag. Plain - no dipping sauce or anything. They don't need them, they're that good.
Moroccan Style Chickpea Salad - Recipe to come.
Juice Jello - this time made with pureed canned lychees.

Sourdough Bread - pre-sliced for convenience.
Homemade Marshmallows - what would a camping trip be without them? Of course I'm bringing graham wafers and milk chocolate bars as well.
I didn't make everything I'm bringing. Some is store bought:
- Smoked salmon. With whipped cream cheese, capers and thinly sliced red onion. This, along with sourdough will probably be breakfast most days.
- Trail mix with Mini Peanut Butter Cups, Dried Cherries, Almonds and Cashews. Yum!
- Animal crackers.
- Fig and Almond Raincoast Crisps. So good!
- Individual UHT milk boxes
- Cheese curds. A real Wisconsin snack. Funny story: I took Peanut to the grocery store a couple of weeks ago, and this was the ONLY item she insisted we buy. She didn't request cookies, or candy or fruit. She requested cheese curds. I guess she's turning into a real Wisconsin girl.
- Smoked string cheese
- Jalapeno cheddar and buffalo cheese smokies. Except I dont' think they're actually called "smokies" here - they package calls them "smoked sausages". I've been getting very confused about terminology since the move. I mean, I knew Canadians had some unique terms (toque, chesterfield) but some words I just assumed were used everywhere. Like smokies. And parkade. Now I don't know if these are uniquely Canadian words, or if it's only Wisconsinites that don't use those words. Anyone care to offer insight?
Packing it all up:
Any of the homemade foods I needed to pack up were packed in disposable zipper bags. At home I usually prefer reusable containers, but the bags take up less space and involve doing fewer dishes.
On the road:
We'll also pick up a few things along the way, like fresh hot dog buns and maybe some bagels. Also, since we're kind of using this trip to explore areas of Wisconsin we haven't been yet, we will probably be eating a few meals in restaurants. Not typical camping, but it will work for us this time.
I have no idea how this will all work out, but I will let you know. Happy long weekend!
Julie
Wow. This sounds like a gourmet restaurant. I was just proud of grilled cheese the last time we camped!
Carissa
Well, turns out it was WAY too much food! I will have to cut back next time (or we'll have to eat more!)