18 Camping Meals and Snacks, Plus Jenn Buse’s Favorite Campgrounds in South Dakota and Minnesota
Born on a Memorial Day in the 1970s, Jenn Buse has celebrated nearly all 49 of her birthdays at campgrounds.
Once she became a mom, she and her husband, Brent, carried on the summer camping tradition with their children, MacKenzie and Landen, and now their significant others.
And their fur babies.
In this week’s podcast episode, Jenn generously shares family-favorite recipes that we can all make for camping, a picnic, or a summer day at home. Whether fireside folk singing, watching the sun set over Lake Poinsett, or cozied up in the camper on a rainy day, Jenn’s recipes are crowd pleasers in her family.
Listen to Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens episode 25 wherever you get your favorite podcasts, or listen in the Spotify player below.
Jenn shares how she came to love Midwest summers as a bassinet camper, a few of her favorite campgrounds in South Dakota and Minnesota, why she knows how Tinder works even though she and Brent just celebrated their twenty-ninth wedding anniversary, the surprising way she grew up eating graham crackers for breakfast, and her approach to simplifying the dreaded unloading process once they return home.
Camping Breakfast
With breakfast being the most important meal of the day, we begin with omelets in a bag, their famous Buse flapjacks from Brent’s Grandma Leona Buse, graham cracker cereal, and toad in a hole.
Since she lives in Tyler, Minnesota, which hosts annual Aebleskiver Days, Jenn gave us the recipe she uses with Bisquick.
Lunch & Snacks
For lunchtime and snacks, Jenn shares MacKenzie’s Mustard Dip, her mom’s horseradish pickles (from already prepared pickles), and Grandma Beth’s macaroni salad that never misses a camping trip, and Grandma Henkel’s potato salad—which people used to buy by the ice cream pail. (Jenn and Grandma Murlaine Henkel are pictured at the top of the page in front of the Peace Pipe Vista sign at Itasca State Park.)
We also decided the horseradish pickles would be good on Jenn’s O’BLTs.
Supper (dinner to some)
Once supper rolls around, we’re firing up the grill to make poor boys/hobo dinners, Jamie’s glazed ham and SPAM pizza burgers. Jenn also shares how they use a turkey fryer to make a shrimp boil for a crowd.
Campfire Treats
Of course, we leave the campfire sweet treats for last, like what they use to switch up their s’mores, how to make pie pockets in a bonfire sandwich cooker, and the funniest story EVER about her dad, popcorn and raccoons.
The Family That Travels Together…
Since Jenn and Brent live in Minnesota, you can bet they escape the Midwest winters with trips to Arizona and Mexico too.
Lefse Ladies
If you like lefse, be sure to listen all the way to the end because Jenn has a little secret about how to buy it from the Lefse Ladies (if you’re in the area), which she co-owns with her sister-in-law, Amy.
Camping Deli Wraps
I’ve only camped a few times in my life, but one time was all I needed to make these camping deli wraps.
Links from this Camping Episode
Douglas Lodge at Itasca State Park
Lake George Blueberry Festival 2023
As I mentioned in the podcast, Jenn sent me this photo from the first time we met—in 1991. I was a little brat. But the couch is a classic.
Sweet wishes,
MacKenzie’s Mustard Dip
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
- 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients. Whisk well. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
Nutrition
Go back to the recipe by scanning this QR code:
All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
Beth’s Horseradish Pickles
Ingredients
- 80 ounce kosher dill pickles
- 3 tablespoons jarred horseradish
- 2½ cups sugar
- 1 cup vinegar
Instructions
- Drain pickle juice and set juice aside. Cut pickles into slices.
- In the empty jar, add the horseradish, sugar, and vinegar. Put the lid back on and shake vigorously.
- Place all the pickle slices back into the jar. Add reserved pickle juice to fill the jar nearly to the top.
- Place jar in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Shake the jar a few times each day.
Nutrition
Go back to the recipe by scanning this QR code:
All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
Beth’s Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
- 1 can SPAM
- ½ bag frozen peas
- 2 cups cheese, chunked
- 1 cup whipped salad dressing
- 1½ tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ tablespoon celery salt
- diced celery, optional
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients and refrigerate at least 6 hours. Store covered in refrigerator.
Go back to the recipe by scanning this QR code:
All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
