Spring Break on the Farm and Campfire Food Galore ((3 Campfire Recipes))
We had a great Spring Break at the farm! We camped, hiked and fished to our hearts desire. Now, by camping I mean, the men-folk slept in tents while us ladies slept in the RV. After one night of rain, the boys invaded our little haven. I secretly appreciated their company in those wee hours, and hearing their snores gave me a calm assurance that they had not succumbed to any ((imagined)) lurking dangers of the wild.
The first night, I made a version of one of my favorite meals: “Hobo Dinner“. Instead of using a hamburger patty, I added a mild, all beef smoked sausage.
Along with the thick slices of smoked sausage, I added chunks of rainbow carrots, Yukon gold potatoes & sweet yellow onion.
I topped it all off with some chopped green onion and parsley that I had previously prepared at home. Everything tastes better when it’s pretty, right???
I actually made the packets to order, which is a handy benefit of making Hobo dinners. Some of my herd hates potatoes ((gasp)) and bright green things make them cry — no problem, I just left the offenders out of their packets.
I made a vegetarian ((actually vegan)) Hobo dinner as well. Isn’t that a great idea??
Along with the Hobo dinners, we had fried cabbage ((a drizzle of oil and a dash of salt and pepper)) & cowboy baked beans ((out of a can)).
Cooked to perfection and so comforting.
- 2 lbs beef smoked sausage, cut into 1" to 1 1/2" chunks
- 4 medium rainbow carrots, cut into 1" to 1 1/2" chunks
- 6 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1" to 1 1/2" chunks
- 1/4 medium sweet yellow onion, diced
- 3 T fresh copped parsley
- 3 T chopped green onion
- 3 T cooking oil ((I used vegetable oil))
- salt & pepper to taste or McCormicks Montreal Steakhouse seasoning
- Prepare an open campfire for cooking or Preheat oven to 400°. Cut 6 12"-14" aluminum foil sheets. Place 1/2 T of oil in the center of each sheet & spread the oil around to coat the area the food will be placed on.
- Evenly divide the sausage, carrots, potatoes, onion, parsley & green onion and add to each packet ((according to the preferences of your diners)). Season with s & p or McCormicks, taking care to make sure the root veggies are well seasoned. Wrap each packet so that the seam is on top and well sealed.
- Place on cooking grate or in the coals of the campfire. Cook for 40 minutes or until the veggies are fork tender*.
- Serve in the packets
- Check one or two packets for doneness and rotate the packets periodically to make sure the food isn't burning.
Popcorn seems like a perfect campfire treat, right?? We loved making our own popcorn at the campfire — BUT, it was tricky. Several packets burned or didn’t pop at all. Just the novelty of it was totally worth the minimal effort.
Simply place ½ tablespoon of popcorn oil ((or butter)), a dash of salt and 2 to 3 tablespoons of uncooked popcorn kernels into the middle of a foil sheet.
Seal the packets up, leaving some air space within each packet.
Cook them over the campfire or in the coals of the fire. Shake the packets frequently to keep the kernels from burning. Keep your ears perked for the sound of popping kernels!
Enjoy some perfectly popped, slightly smoky popcorn. A fun campfire treat for sure.
- popcorn kernels
- popcorn oil or butter
- sea salt
- Place 1 T of butter or oil and 3 T of popcorn kernels in the center of each foil sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt. Wrap each foil packet closed, making sure the seam is on the top of each packet & tightly sealed. Leave some air space inside each packet.
- Place over a campfire on a cooking grate or in the coals. Shake each packet frequently to keep kernels from burning*. After 2 to 3 minutes of popping, remove the packets and serve.
- *Campfire heat is so unpredictable, we made 6 packets. Of the six, two burned & one didn't pop at all. The remaining three were perfect. This is just a fun campfire activity - plan on some burning.
Grilled cheese & turkey waffle sandwiches and scrambled eggs & bacon were on our breakfast menu. Campfire hotdogs were for lunch and of course roasted marshmallows and s’mores were for dessert. But our most favorite campfire treat was Cinnamon Baked Apples.
Core 6 baking style apples, we ((by we I mean David)) chose Fujis.
I cored each apple, making sure to remove all of the seeds, leaving about ¾” of apple at the bottom.
I filled each apple with 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and topped with a sprinkling of cinnamon, oats & sea salt.
Wrap each apple in a 12″ sheet of aluminum foil, making sure it is tightly sealed and the seam is on top.
I placed all 6 apples in a covered aluminum pan and nestled them among the burning coals. Be careful not to tilt or jostle the pan — if the apples tilt, the buttery brown sugar & cinnamon syrup will spill out of the apple. Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on one drop of that heavenly goodness!
These apples were so good! The sweet & spicy smell, intertwined with the fresh outdoors and the waves of campfire. I am not sure it can get any better.
- 6 baking apples, we used fujis
- 6 T butter
- 12 T brown sugar
- 3 T oats
- cinnamon
- sea salt
- Core each apple, leaving 3/4" of apple at the bottom of each core. Fill each apple with 1 T of butter and 2 T brown sugar. Top each apple with 1/2 T oats and a dash of cinnamon and a pinch of sea salt. Wrap each apple tightly with a sheet of aluminum foil, making sure the seam is at the top and the apple is well sealed. Place the apples in a lidded aluminum foil pan & cover with the lid. Place the pan of apples in the burning coals and bake for one hour or until all the apples are tender*.
- Once each apple is tender and cooked through, serve.
- *I carefully checked the apples at 45 minutes by removing the lid and squeezing each apple to test for doneness. When you do this, make sure you don't tilt or jostle the apples, you don't want the buttery brown sugar syrup to spill out.
Amid all of the cooking, I did manage to catch 21 largemouth bass — we caught 40 total. ((So I won the fishing contest, in case you needed me to clarify!!))
Gracie caught a few all by herself — which was some of the best entertainment!
Looking forward to our next campout!
