Campfire Fajitas

Camping season is upon us - a few quick, easy to prepare ahead meals are essential for the family cook to enjoy the trip. Here is one that we enjoyed on our first outing this year.

We prepped the food the night before. We were only staying one night this time around. When that is the case, I've learned to prepare the meal at home in my own kitchen and then take the food in a thermos. By the time we leave after James gets home from work, we get to camp right at dinner time. Everyone is hungry and the food is hot so we can eat right away. It works out nicely and really cuts down on the complaining from hungry children.

We have a couple of thermoses I use just for this purpose.

This one holds about 6 cups of food which is plenty big for this fajita recipe or taco filling or sloppy joes, etc. It is supposed to keep hot foods hot for up to 6 hours. We have only tested it for 2-3 hours, but it has worked great!

You can also use a little hard sided cooler like this one. If doing so, I wrap the food in foil packets and tuck them inside. I have taken foil (hobo) dinners in this thermos after baking them about halfway in the oven. The thermos acts like a crockpot and continues to slow cook the meals while we drive. We will open them up and they are still piping hot 5-6 hours later. We can do an entire day trip without needing to pack any cooking equipment - it is great!

Campfire Fajitas

1 lb boneless chicken breast

2 large peppers, any color

1 med onion

4-5 cloves minced garlic

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp dried cilantro

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp liquid smoke

2 Tbsp lime juice

Flour tortillas

sour cream 

guacamole

shredded cheese

At home: Slice chicken into strips and place in ziplock bag. Add garlic, vegetable oil, spices, liquid smoke, and lime juice. Allow to marinate while getting to the campsite. (You could even do this step way ahead and place the bag in the freezer. Then it could just thaw in the cooler until you need it.) Slice peppers and onions (being sure to remove the seeds from the peppers) and place in a second ziplock bag.

At camp: Remove the chicken from the marinade and cook in a large frying pan over an open fire or camp stove. When the chicken is nearly done, add the peppers and onions and cook until the onions become translucent. Combine everything in a flour tortilla and top with your choice of toppings.