CAMPFIRE PACKETS
Why is that everything tastes better outdoors? And everything also tastes better when cooked over a campfire. It must be all about the experience, which is really what we mean by “Great to Gather.” This brings back fond memories of my younger days of camping.
And, what better place to practice social distancing than in the middle of the woods. Assuming you have a place you can go out in the middle of nowhere. Anyways, on with the recipe!
And, what better place to practice social distancing than in the middle of the woods. Assuming you have a place you can go out in the middle of nowhere.
So when I was younger, everybody would take a couple of sheets of tinfoil, load it up with veggies, then grab a handful of ground beef, season with salt and pepper, then wrap up tightly in 2 layers of foil. Next, toss it in the fire on the hot coals and sit and tell stories around the campfire until it’s time to eat. This is super easy, delicious, and a great way to warm you up and fill you up on a chilly night.
You could also slice all the veggies and put in individual bags or containers before heading to the campsite to make assembly super easy. For that matter, you could even prepare the packets at home ahead of time and store in the fridge until you’re ready to go. But I think part of the fun of these is letting everyone assemble their own outside by the fire. Oh, and don’t forget to bring some long handled tongs along to make turning the packets in the fire a little easier. In a pinch, you could also use a long stick, but it’s easy for it to poke through the foil and get ashes in your food (trust me on this one.)
THE INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 pound ground bison or hamburger meat
- 4 idaho potatoes, sliced about ¼ inch thick
- ½ small bag of baby carrots, sliced in half lengthwise
- 2 stalks of celery, sliced into 2 inch chunks, then slice each chunk in half lengthwise
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 onion, sliced thin
- Other veggies, such as broccoli, summer squash or mushrooms if desired
- Salt, pepper, and seasoning salt to taste
- Shredded cheddar cheese and A1 for serving.
- Tin foil
- Olive oil
THE INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare your tin foil for the packets by tearing off about 18 inches of aluminum foil. Take two pieces of foil with the shiny side on the bottom. Rub the top side with olive oil and then place
It’s best to use heavy duty foil, but you can always double or triple wrap it if you don’t have heavy duty.
We used ground bison (we love Red Cedar Bison!) for this recipe, but hamburger meat would work too. Place the potatoes on the bottom, then the carrots since they will take longer to cook than the other veggies. I like to season the potatoes with seasoning salt before adding the other veggies. Then add the celery, then the peppers, and put the onions on last so they’ll cook next to the burger and flavor the meat.
Pat the ground bison or burger into equal size patties/loaves in whatever shape you want. They should be about ¾ to 1 inch thick. Place on top of the veggies. Season again with salt, pepper, seasoning salt, garlic powder or any other seasoning you like to use on burgers. To make the packets, bring two ends of the foil together and fold over at the top to seal, then roll up both side edges to form a tight seal. If needed, wrap another layer of aluminum foil around the whole packet. You’ll want to place the packets directly on the hot coals towards the outer edge of the fire. If it’s too hot, they’ll burn up, but if it’s not close enough to the heat, they’ll take forever to cook. They will typically take 25-30 minutes to cook depending on how hot your fire is. You’ll want to turn the packets several times during this cooking process to ensure even cooking. And, it’s a good idea to add the packets to the fire at about the same time, so they’re all ready about the same time and you can eat together.
Once they are done, put each packet on a plate and open the foil. Top with whatever additional toppings you like. We love cheese and A1, but really anything would work.
CAMPFIRE ECLAIRS
Ok, so this was an idea I saw on Pinterest and had to try it. It’s a nice change to the traditional campfire dessert of s’mores and not any more difficult to make.
- 1 jar Nutella (you won’t need all of this)
- 4 vanilla pudding cups
- 1 can of refrigerated crescent rolls
- Canola oil or baking spray
- Find a long stick about the width of a broom handle. Wrap the top end of the stick in aluminum foil so that it covers about 6 inches of the end of the stick. Make sure to form it tightly around the end of the stick so that no wood is showing through and that it stays put. Lightly coat with canola oil or baking spray. Take 2 crescent rolls and press together to form a rectangle. Wrap around the foil covered edge of the stick with enough overlapping to cover the end of the stick. Press down to form an evenly shaped tube of crescent dough at the end of the stick.
- Roast over the fire making sure to turn often to it browns evenly on all sides. Don’t get too close to the fire or it will burn on the outside and still be raw on the inside. You can tell when it’s done when it slides off of the foil easily and doesn’t stick. Then, take your eclair “cup” in your hand and spoon in vanilla pudding all the way to the top. Spread Nutella over the top and enjoy!