When winter rolls around, I love to get out and really enjoy this special season. My father was a forest ranger, and as a child I went with him to the woods. We loved to snow shoe and test our skill at skiing.

When I was 12, my family moved from Monticello, Utah, to Salt Lake City. Part of my father’s job was to learn to ski, because he was responsible for avalanche control over the ski areas along the Wasatch Front.

When my father learned something, the whole family also learned it. It was not long before all of us were outfitted with skis and could be found on the ski hills snow-plowing our way to the bottom. I will always remember that when lunch came we did not head for the expensive restaurants. We went to the trunk of the car, where my mother had prepared hot chili in a cardboard box with a slice of delicious cheese on fresh homemade whole wheat bread.

I will never forget these winter picnics. What I have learned when you dress for the close it is great to get out and enjoy nature. One of my favorites is that there is not any bugs and most of the people do not venture out so that is a lot of solitude when you go to the woods in the winter.

Here are some of my favorite winter foods to create memories that will last forever. Take time to get out and “Enjoy the Journey.”

Winter Picnic

You probably know the kind of appetite you can build up when sledding, skating, skiing or playing outside in the cold, so a winter picnic may be a good idea! Be sure you take along a poncho to lay over the snow. Cardboard boxes for sitting can later be used for sledding.

Hot Box or Fireless Cooker

For your winter picnic, you need to keep the hot food in a hot box. Choose a box three to four inches larger than your food container. Place a 1-inch stack of newspapers on the bottom of the box.

Line each side of the box with an additional 1-inch-thick pad of newspapers. Make sure the food and its container are very hot! A thick aluminum pot or heavy cast-iron kettle with a good lid will help the food retain heat the best.

Place the container of hot food in the newspaper-lined box. If the newspapers do not fit snugly around the container, stuff in additional newspapers so the container nests tightly and can’t move. Place at least one inch of newspapers over the top of the container, then close the box tightly over the newspaper. This insulated box will help keep food hot for at least three hours.