Do the great outdoors beckon you to the campground all summer long? Today’s guest, Jenn Buse from Tyler, Minnesota, is such a seasoned camper, I knew we’d have fun talking about meals and snacks she shares with family—whether fireside folk singing, watching the sun set over Lake Poinsett, or cozied up in the camper on a rainy day.

Jenn 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. Jenn shares how she came to love Midwest summers as a bassinet camper, a few of her favorite campgrounds in South Dakota and Minnesota, the surprising way she grew up eating graham crackers for breakfast, and her approach to simplifying the dreaded unloading process on the return home. 

She is so generous to share family-favorite recipes that we can make for camping, a picnic, or a summer day at home. With breakfast being the most important meal of the day, we begin with omelets in a bag, their famous Buse flapjacks, and toad in a hole. For lunchtime and snacks, Jenn shares MacKenzie’s Mustard Dip, her mom’s horseradish pickles, and Grandma Beth’s macaroni salad that never misses a camping trip, and Grandma Henkel’s potato salad that people used to buy by the ice cream pail. Once supper rolls around, we’re firing up the grill to make hobo dinners, Jamie’s glazed ham and SPAM pizza burgers.

We leave the best for last—the sweet treats for the campfire, like what they use to switch up their s’mores, how to make pie pockets in a bonfire sandwich cooker, and the funniest story about her dad, popcorn and raccoons. 

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, which she co-owns with her sister-in-law, Amy. While you’re listening, please enjoy the recipes, links, and photos on randomsweets.com. If you aren’t already, please subscribe to this podcast so you can binge-listen while on your next camping adventure.

Show Notes & Links

Recipes and photos from this episode: https://randomsweets.com/18-camping-meals-and-snacks-plus-jenn-buses-favorite-campgrounds-in-south-dakota-and-minnesota/

Lefse Ladies

Shear Attraction

Douglas Lodge at Itasca State Park

Aebleskiver Days

Honey Days

Lake Poinsett Recreation Area

Oakwood Lakes State Park

Itasca State Park

Sleepy Eye City Park and Lake

Lake George Blueberry Festival 2023 

SPAM Museum

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website: randomsweets.com 

Instagram: @potatoesandmittens

Instagram: @randomsweets

Facebook: Random Sweets