Thanks for this post; it reminded me I have to book our camping sites for the cooler weather.
Just to clarify, we’re car campers and we pack so much shit it’s not even funny. We definitely are NOT “roughing it” when we go camping. It’s re-donk-ulous how much stuff we bring, but we’ve done it enough to be pretty proficient at setting up and breaking down. It sounds like this may be the first time taking your wife and daughters camping and you want to make a positive impression to make way for future endeavors. Kudos to you!
I’d definitely plan all meals in advance, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks too. Get input from your family on what they’d like to eat on their first camping experience. Once you have your meals planned out, get down to the granular details like specific ingredients. Try to do as much prep work and portioning in advance and package all the components of individual meals together so you’re not constantly in-and-out of your cooler looking for random ingredients. Freeze the meals that will be cooked towards the end of your stay and use them in place of ice. I like to keep a copy of the meal plan in a ziplock taped to the cooler as a reminder of what to thaw next.
Coffee is a big deal for us and we’ve tried different methods, in the end, we settled on a coffee press and an electric kettle to quickly boil water. Our friends always bring a percolater to make coffee over the fire, and while there’s no doubt campfire coffee is awesome, it also takes a long time. I need coffee ASAP after waking up. (When there’s no electric hookup, I use the outlet in the back of my truck - no shame in my game)
As others have mentioned a gas stove is probably a good idea, especially for breakfast. Grilling three squares a day sounds nice, but when people are hungry, they don’t give a damn whether it was made on the grill or on the stove. Given your circumstances, err on the side of caution.
My next comment isn’t related to camp cooking, but it has saved me several times. Practice setting up a ridgeline and hanging tarp(s) before you go, and practice doing it solo. You never know what conditions will be like when you arrive to your site, so master a few useful knots and keep these shelter items easily accessible on top of all your other camping stuff.