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(All these recipes can be cooked on a traditional open cooking fire.)
Some Favourite Camp Recipes
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CORNED BEEF CHUCK-IN

Ingredients : (To serve 10 - 12 people with healthy appetites)
2 tins of Corned Beef
10 or 12 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 large onions peeled and very coarsely chopped
6 large carrots, cleaned and cut into chunks
1 swede, peeled and cubed (I believe our American cousins know them as rutabaga or something like that)
Any other vegetables you fancy, tinned* or fresh
2 or 3 oxo cubes & water
herbs, seasonings etc.
flour or gravy granules to thicken (optional)

Method
Prepare all vegetables (i.e. the girls prepare all the vegetables). and put in sufficient water to cover well in a large billy or stew pot over the fire. Add seasonongs - be sparing with salt, generous with herbs - and cook until all vegetables* are tender - *add tinned vegetables, if used, after fresh ones are "done." Open tins of corned beef, cube and add to vegetables; top up with boiling water as necessary. Boil to soften meat (as the beef is already cooked, this will not take long) then thicken gravy - granules are easiest, they are less inclined to go lumpy! Serve with dumplings (flour & shredded suet in the proportion of 2:1, mix with just enough water to bind, roll into balls and drop on top of boiling chuck-in when adding corned beef, replace lid and cook for further 15 mins) or chunks of bread.

(The true classical "Chuck-in" consists of corned beef into which you "chuck in" whatever vegetables you have available.)

CAROL'S SPECIAL SPAG BOL

Ingredients :
2lb minced beef or equivalent amount tinned mince
3 onions, finely chopped
6 carrots, scraped and diced
3 large tins tomatoes (if whole tinned tomatoes, chop them up)
whole tube of tomato puree
1 dessertspoon dried mixed herbs (preferably Herbes do Provence - bay, thyme, sage, rosemary and parsley) or better still, double the amount of fresh herbs
small amount of oil
water
granules or flour to thicken
vast quantities (read the label!) of dried pasta - twists or similar as "proper" spaghetti is messy to eat and sticks together if cooked in large quantities.
Parmesan cheese to serve

Method
Fry onions in the oil until beginning to soften then add mince and fry until it is nicely browned then put in a LARGE billy; meanwhile put the water for the pasta on to heat to boiling - read the direstions on the packet.
Add the diced carrots and the complete contents of the tinned tomatoes, juice and all, and herbs and carefully bring to the boil.
(Put the pasta on to cook when its water comes to the boil - add a knob of butter/margarine/drizzle of oil to stop it sticking together; keep an eye on it and top up with BOILING water as necessary.)
Add tomato puree and water to bolognese sauce to give required consistency and cook until meat is done and vegetables are tender; take off the fire and allow to stand until pasta is done.
Drain pasta and toss in generous amount of butter/margarine. Check consistency of meat sauce - if necessary, thicken with flour or granules; serve pasta topped with sauce and parmesan cheese.
CHICKEN DINNER
It is perfectly possible to cook a traditional "meat and two veg" meal on an open fire.

Ingredients:
1 portion of chicken per person
flour
Packet sage and onion stuffing
Packet parsley and thyme stuffing
cooking oil
salt and pepper
Chicken gravy granules or powder
Potatoes - new potatoes or firm ones such as Desiree if you wish to serve boiled, King Edwards for Mash
Vegetables in season or tinned veg.

Method:
Start the chicken first - wash and dry, remove skin if wished.
Roll in seasoned flour and shake off excess (an easy way to flour the chicken is to put the flour and chicken pieces into a LARGE plastic bag and shake well - make sure the bag has no holes in it!)
Fry the chicken in the oil CAREFULLY, a few pieces at a time - keep the pan at the edge of the fire to prevent it from getting too hot - turning the pieces continously to prevent burning; transfer to a strong lidded roasting dish (the old-fashioned enamel ones are ideal and can often be picked up cheaply at car-boot sales) and add enough water to come half-way up the chicken, cover with a double sheet of strong foil and put the lid on top. Place the dish (or dishes) over the fire but towards the edge - if you have sufficient space, allow part of your fire to die down to embers and cook over this part. KEEP AN EYE ON IT - don't let it burn (chicken cooks surprisingly quickly)
Meanwhile, you will have had the girls preparing the vegetables - put them on now!
Prepare the stuffing by mixing both packets together and adding boiling water as per the packet instructions. Line a shallow roasting dish with a double layer of greased foil amd put the stuffing into it; fold the foil over the top and cover with a lid; cook alongside the chicken. Check the chicken to see if it is cooked by prodding with a fork or skewer- if clear juices run out it is done - take off the fire and transfer the chicken to a serving dish, cover and keep warm. Thicken the juices in the dish with gravy granules, adding more hot water if necessary to make sufficient gravy for everyone.

Serve as a traditional "Sunday Lunch" - we usually have this as the evening meal on the first full day at camp, having taken a dish of cooked Yorkshire Pudding with us from home and reheating it (covered with foil) over the fire.

Substitute chops etc. for chicken if desired - make sure you have facilities for keeping meat fresh or serve on your first day of camp.
FRESH FRUIT SALAD

To feed 12 - 15 hungry girls you will need
3 oranges or 6 satsumas
1lb seedless grapes
4 red and 4 green apples
5 ripe bananas
4 kiwi fruit
1 melon
or an equivalent amount of whatever fresh fruit you can get
and a 2 litre bottle of lemonade - "Traditional Style" is best, but 7-Up works just as well.

Core the apples but do not peel them, and cut into bite-sized chunks. Peel the oranges, segment them removing any pith and membrane, then cut the segments in half. Cut the grapes in half and peel and slice the kiwi fruit. Peel and slice the bananas and chop the melon flesh into chunks. Mix all the fruit in a large bowl and add the lemonade or 7-Up. Leave to stand for a short while before serving - be sure to cover with a cloth or net to avoid the addition of extra protein in the form of flies and wasps!

This is delicious served with cold ready-made custard (straight out of a tin or carton!)