He has risen!

He has risen indeed!  Happy Easter!

Our Easter weekend was filled with, well, Easter stuff.  Also camping stuff.  As we were getting ready to head to the Easter Egg Hunt at our church yesterday, it hit me that Halloween camping trips (click HERE for our 2014 trip) will start booking soon.  Some texts with my best friend, conversations with others, and we've got our plans all set in hopes that we can get our preferred sites on the day booking opens up.

Today was beautiful out.  Husband took advantage of the good weather and climbed up on the roof of the camper to wash and protect it.  I didn't think to take a picture until after he'd climbed down, and there's the obvious window screen.  If I'd gotten a pic of Husband up there, I'd have said something about him rising, too.  The moment passed, the double meaning lost, picture isn't great quality.  Anyway... Husband also got the rest of the camper washed and waxed with some help from Oldest Kid.

Camping season is approaching, prep is starting!  We'll make our first trip next month, and I'm ready to get out there!

Not yet

Is it camping season yet?  Is it camping season yet?

No, not yet.

The snow has melted.  There's a promise of warmer days, but it's not as warm as I'd like.  I see buds on trees, but no flowers yet.  Crocuses are one of my favorites, they're a sign that spring is really coming.  Like pretty much everyone in Michigan, I'm just tired of winter.  I'm ready for walking barefoot on green grass, kids playing outside for hours, the garden growing.  I am also ready for camping.

It's been a long winter.  We've taken a number of day trips, some sledding but not enough because it was waaaaaaay too cold.  I've worked a lot.  On days I don't work, I try to get caught up around the house.  Today, I spent a thrilling few hours scrubbing the grout on my kitchen floor (really, is there anything vinegar can't do?).  The kids have gotten another year older since I started this blog.

I'm in full-on planning mode at this point.  Planning for camping, planning for family stuff.  I think there are a lot of great things happening for our family this year and I'm really looking forward to it.  Since this is a camping blog, I'll just stick to the camping stuff (yeah, yeah, cleaning my kitchen grout isn't exactly camping).  We've got some great trips planned.  We'll be visiting new places - Mohican State Park, Cottonwood in Quincy, and Wolf Run State Park.  We'll be visiting yearly favorites like Sleepy Hollow State Park and Hoffmaster State Park.  We will also hit up preferred campgrounds that we haven't visited in a while, Tawas Point State Park and Maumee Bay State Park.  I know we've got opportunity to travel more weekends, and those will get planned at some point.

I'm looking forward to each of these trips for different reasons.  Time with friends, time with my in-laws, time with just our family.  New sites to see, favorite sites to see, exploring favorites in new ways.

I'd love to know what you're most looking forward to in Camping Season 2015!

Allie's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday, we got about 13" of snow dumped on us.  Husband kept going out with the snow blower but within a couple of hours, you couldn't tell that he'd done anything.  Everything is shut down today and everyone is digging out.  Snow day means playing outside, then coming in to hot chocolate and freshly baked cookies.  These are also great to pass around the campfire.

I am not Allie, but she makes amazing cookies.  She shared this recipe with our group of friends, and those friends have shared the recipe.  Now, I'm sharing the recipe.  Allie does not have a blog, but I'll recommend her Etsy shop.

These cookies are huge.  Certainly, you can make them smaller and adjust the cooking time.  Isn't one of the joys of childhood eating a cookie bigger than your head?  It does limit you to eating too many because you just know that 1 is plenty.

Allie's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

What you need:

• 2 cups flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup melted putter (1.5 sticks)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups of semisweet chocolate chunks or chips

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium sized bowl.
3. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars
4. Add eggs slowly, then vanilla.  Slowly add the sifted dry ingredients.
5. Stir in chocolate chips by hand
6. Drop 1/4 cup balls, 3 inches apart on a baking sheet (they'll spread!)
7. Bake for 15-17 minutes.  When they cookies are starting to brown on the edges, take them out.  You don't want to overbake these!

Flawless Fudge

Last night, we went to a dinner party and I was in charge of dessert.  I've made this fudge numerous times, it's always a hit.  One of the other party guests repeatedly commented that this fudge melts in your mouth.  I'll take that compliment!

Bonus, it's super-duper easy.

What you need:

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
Dash of salt
1/2 to 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

What to do:

• Line 8" or 9" square pan with aluminum foil, spray lightly with cooking spray.  Set aside.
• In heavy saucepan, melt chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt.  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla and nuts (if desired).  Spread evenly into prepared pan.
• Chill for 2 hours, until firm.  Turn fudge onto cutting board.  Peel off foil and cut into squares.  Store covered in refrigerator.

Taco Seasoning

Monday was Taco night this week.  I shared my recipe for Taco Chili last week and said that I'd share my personal recipe for taco seasoning that doesn't use a packet or orangish-redish powder, leaving the meat an orangish-redish color.  Using my own seasonings also cuts out sodium and makes the meat much more flavorful.

Last summer, I decided to try growing some of my own spices and dehydrating them.  You can see in the picture that I used my own dried oregano and basil.  What a flavor punch compared to your store bought stuff!

Here it is, the official recipe, not just what I had on hand last night:

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs chili powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder or minced onion flakes
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tps dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

What to do:

Brown 1 lbs of ground beef.  Drain fat.  Mix seasonings into pan and continue to cook on low for 5 minutes.

Note: I like to add a little bit of Zesty Salsa to my tacos when I assemble them.

Ice Art & S'mores

As I spent some time on Facebook this morning, I saw a posting for Ice Art & S'mores at Sleepy Hollow State Park for Saturday, January 10 from 11-1 pm.  First of all, this is one of our favorite places to camp, partly because it's so close.  Second, what a great way to do camping like things in the winter.

I will admit, I don't peruse the Michigan events calendar.  Seeing this, I now know I need to search it to see what else is available that might be camping related.  Having just looked briefly, there are a lot of neat sounding events.  Ice sculpture events, museum events, music events.  I need to remember to check out these events more frequently.

Now, we need to figure out if we can make Ice Art & S'mores work with the kids' social calendar.  Maybe I'll see you there.

Taco Chili

It's a cold and blustery January day in Michigan.  We had a wind chill advisory for most of the day, making it feel -14 degrees.  Husband suggested that maybe soup or chili would be great for dinner tonight.

Normally, I make Taco Chili in the crockpot.  My work schedule today had me putting it on the stove top and simmering all the ingredients for an hour (it's simmering as I type, I hope it turns out as flavorful as it normally does).  I have a strong love for my crock pot and it's definitely been part of the camping meal plans.  Ok, all 3 of my crock pots have made the trip (hey, sometimes you need varying sizes).

Taco Chili

1 lb ground beef

1 1.2-oz package taco seasoning mix

2 15-oz cans chunky Mexican-style tomatoes

1 15-oz. can red kidney beans

1 15-oz. can whole kernel corn

1. In a large skillet cook ground beef until brown.  Drain fat.
2. In a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker, combine the cooked ground beef, taco seasoning mix, undrained tomatoes, undrained beans, and undrained corn.  Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4-6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-3 hours.

Top as desired with corn chips, sour cream, sliced green onions, and cheese.

Note: I make my own taco seasoning usually.  I'll post the recipe that I started using, but now I just stare at the spices on hand and add to my taco meat without measuring.  It cuts out the sodium and creates better flavor.

July 4th Planning

Winter is when I think about camping, and plan camping.

Today, I booked our camping trip for July 4th weekend.  This makes our 2nd booked trip for 2015, since I booked Memorial Weekend back in November.  For big holiday weekends, I like to make plans ahead of time, make sure we get a site.  Since we tend to aim for state parks, the booking window starts at 6 months in advance.  Which means today if planning a 3 day weekend.

The friends we're going with have potential obligations of picking up their son from Boy Scout Camp.  Apparently, the Boy Scouts don't work around my 6 month planning window.  Seems pretty selfish to not worry themselves about someone who lives in a different state, without a child enrolled in Boy Scouts, without a child that's a boy.  I mean, really.  C'mon here.

This Boy Scout issue meant we're camping in Ohio.  Much like Michigan DNR revamping their reservation website a year ago, Ohio DNR revamped their website in the month since we booked Memorial Weekend.  Much like the Michigan revamp, the Ohio revamp required recreating your account.  Unlike Michigan, Ohio wasn't completely accurate in rolling over your previous information, like current reservations and reward points.  D'oh.  A phone call fixed the problem, but it was still frustrating to have problems.  And I'm sure the ODNR employees are frustrated with having to fix this problem.  Also, the new website take some getting used to (read: many clicks to figure out the same info you were used to getting in 1 click).  I'm sure, with time, I'll get used to it.  I'm just not there yet.

With planning ahead, we were able to get into a very popular campground on a holiday weekend.  It's a campground we've never been to, though I've been to the area about 20 years ago.

We are looking forward to the trip.  Where do you plan on camping for 4th of July?