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Mini folding camp stove with canned heat. I use a Jetboil that I purchased at REI that is amazing!

My grandson and I both carry one in our backpack when we backpack the mountains. Let's say one person has to go for help and either takes the Jetboil or leaves the Jetboil. That means someone is left with no way to cook their food. For that reason on the trail, each person always has their own gear and always carries their own gear.

But let's just say that suddenly power goes out and you have no way to cook dinner. These little Jetboils are zippity-doo-dah fast and if you have a collection of MRE's (meals ready to eat) you typically just mix with water and BOOM you have yourself a meal. Open a can of anything and cook out of the can or pour into a heat resistant small pot.

Do not underestimate the power of one of these little guys. The contraption underneath the cup fits inside the cup for easy storage in its own little bag. We Love ours!

I recently added the photos above of an 'alcohol burner stove'. You can use 71%, 91% or 99% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) or you can use 'Denatured Alcohol', which burns a bit cleaner. Either will work.

I recently went through my backpack and came across my 'alcohol burner stoves'. While my grandson and I use the 'Jetboil' while backpacking, pictured above, I also pack a spare stove as they are Light-weight and add virtually no weight to the backpack. Although the weight of the bottle of alcohol adds to the backpack.

Alcohol Burner Stoves are relatively inexpensive as you can find them online for as low as $12.99. They are study, dependable and clean. They will surely come in handy during a grid down power outage. Get one or two and practice using them before a grid down occurs. That's what preppers do. They prep and practice.

Camp Grill or Stove with butane or propane. You can get these campstoves anywhere camping supplies are sold, but then again I'm super-partial to REI.

A Coleman stove is a very popular and affordable stove if you are cooking for a family because you have two (2) burners going at the same time.

I have never owned a Coleman Stove by my sister has one that her family uses when they camp and they cook anything and everything on it.

The stove comes like a little suitcase. Some stoves are bigger than others so it just depends on your budget. And from what I've seen they are pretty easy to use.

Propane for the grill. I'm not really fond of propane tanks under the grill. I've seen way too many DUMB and downright stupid accidents with these tanks, but that does not mean you have to be. It's just not my bag. Instead, I'm a charcoal griller.

You can get your propane tanks at any big box store or home store, such as Home Depot or Lowes. Price it out and see if propane works for your budget.

These tanks work well for the 1, 2 or 3 burner stands, one of which you will see below. We do have single burner stand that we use the propane tank for when we are boiling a big pot of something, let's say corn-on-the-cob, if we want it boiled instead of grilled. It just a personal preference and an option.

You can also get a 3, 2 or 1 burner portable propane gas burner, with legs. It's pretty cool. Like I said, we have a single one that works well for a big pot of 'something'. It uses propane and there ya' go. You are ready to cook an entire meal.

I have a personal preference of cooking with cast iron and using Dutch ovens.

I like a little bit of everything so I'm happy we have this option because these burners are also great for frying a whole turkey.

Certainly cooking with propane, there are a zillion video's you can search for to use propane safely. This page is just to give you ideas on how to cook your food.

There are single burners that use butane or you can single burners that have a cord. Maybe you do have a small generator that you can plug small appliances into. You have options.

You can find these single side burners at any big box store.

I have a couple of them simply because I'm a camper and because at Thanksgiving there is always that one last minute when it would be nice to have an extra burner or two.

Just be well aware of what cooking dish you can put on it to cook or heat. I've been down the melted dish road. It's not pretty.

Charcoal for the grill. I'm a charcoal girl myself for many reasons. Not only is our master grill a smoker, but when we camp I like to cook over an open flame or I like to cook with my tripod and cast iron dutch ovens.

You can get your charcoal anywhere but the better buy will be at the bigger buy-in-bulk stores or at Home Depot or Lowes. They always have 'two-for' sales.

Cooking with cast iron Dutch ovens requires charcoal because the heat above and it before creates the 'oven'. And you can absolutely put a certain amount of charcoals on the lid of the Dutch oven that will get the temperature to 375, 400 or 425 degrees, etc., to whatever you are cooking.

When you are cooking with cast iron Dutch ovens you can literally cook for an army and you can make absolutely anything! You can even bake a cake (no kidding) because the as the name implies 'Dutch Oven' it is literally cooking in an oven.

Using the Dutch Oven with a tripod makes it easy to simmer or cook something like chili for hours, if in fact your chili takes hours to cook. My doesn't.

You can even make a pizza in your cast iron Dutch Oven. Check out that video link because that is me making pizza while camping. Note the captions because it tells exactly what I did. It's so easy anyone can do it.

You can make a pot of chili, chicken soup, whatever you like. My grandson and I typically make Taco Soup of something hearty like Chicken and Rice when camping. Cooking with a Dutch Oven is like making a Dump Cake where you just dump in all your ingredients, which turns into something beautiful and delicious.

It's easy to cook with a Dutch Oven and charcoal. You lay the charcoals underneath the oven and then lay charcoals on top of the oven and it cooks the food just like an oven. There are a set number of charcoals that will create the desired temperature. I have lots of recipes, so I will post them too for you to use.

You can buy Dutch Oven cast iron anywhere, including big box stores and farm supply stores.

I find stacking my dutch ovens cooks an entire meal too, but whatever appeals to you and your budget is the way to go.

I have about five (5) different sizes of Dutch Ovens so you can stack them pretty dang high as they have little tiny legs to sit on top of each other.

You do have to keep in mind that the charcoals under are also the charcoals for over, but under for the next Dutch Oven. It's a trick to cook with so many Dutch Ovens at less temperature moving up the food chain (Dutch Oven stacking), but cooking with soups or sloshy meals like chili, taco soup and chicken and rice make it pretty easy to learn.

Keep in mind that cooking with cast iron Dutch Ovens require oven mits or you can use some of the cool cast iron tools to lift off lids.

An open flame campfire goes without saying because who doesn't know how to roast a hotdog, a smoked sausage dog, shishkabobs, marshmellows, etc., on an open flame.

You can also take the grill out of the oven and lay it on some rocks or bricks above the fire to throw your hamburgers on.

We use to take the grill out of our kitchen oven all the time and take it camping. It was always better than the one at the campground.

Oh my gosh, and whatever you do, DO NOT forget to get your coffee and think about how you will be making your coffee if there is a major power outage. If you grind your beans, you might want to figure out that scenario and get yourself a coffee pot that you can sit over a campfire or dangle from your tripod stand over the flame.

The next page will be ways to keep your foods refrigerated during a power outage. I will link above and below when it is posted.

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