camping food.. spicy turkey chili and skillet potatoes and a day of duning..

 

every year for the last several years we go camping at the dunes for presidents day.. it sometimes is the only time we get to the dunes.. you can't go after march it's just to hot.. we meet a group of friends out there and we all camp in a circle with our fire pit in the center.. during the day it's duning, riding and relaxing.. night time is lighted up bachi ball.. drinking and telling stories from camping trips past around the fire pit.. ohh and of course there are marshmallows being roasted and s'mores being made.. i can honestly say these trips are some of the best trips ever!! the first night we arrived around 7 and i quickly made my spicy chili.. it was chilly at night and this warmed us all up in a hurry.. very good and satisfying...

spicy turkey chili

prep time: 5 minutes

cooking time: 45 - 60 minutes {depending on how much time you have}
servings:  6-8

ingredients:

2 lbs ground turkey (or beef if you prefer)
1 {16 oz} can chili ready or mexican style diced tomatoes
1 {16} can of crushed tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
1 {16 oz} can of kidney beans
1 {16 oz} can of pinto beans {or black beans}
2 tblsp. of "hot" taco seasoning {my recipe below} a package of taco seasoning is fine too use too
olive oil

toppings: {optional}

shredded cheese
diced onions
diced pickled jalapenos
chopped cilantro
tobasco
light sour cream
crushed fritos

a few turns around your large pot with the olive oil.. heat over a medium high and place turkey in pot and cook until evenly brown and crumbly.. add tomato paste.. stir around and incorporate into meat.. about 2-3 minutes..  add taco seasoning.. cook for about 2 -3 minutes.. add tomatoes and beans (don't drain them) bring to a boil.. reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30-60 minutes stirring often so it doesn't burn.. i then top with diced onions, shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream, jalapenos and tobasco. {for camping we brought flour tortillas and fritos.. it was so good}

taco seasoning

 

prep time: 5

ingredients:

1 tbsp. chili powder (i use mexican hot)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. ancho chili powder
1 tsp. chipolte chili powder
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. smokey spanish paprika
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. course sea salt

combine and keep in a mason jar so its always ready for whenever you need it..

 

for breakfast the next morning i made skillet potatoes, scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage and left over chili.. it was soo good.. we made bloody marys and our "camping" neighbor brought us over their version of bloody mary's which was a blt.. it had bacon, fresh lettuce leaf and a tomato slice.. very good!!!

camping breakfast potatoes

prep time: 15 minutes
cooking time: 30-45 minutes
servings: 4

ingredients:

olive oil {or canola oil-or while camping bacon grease works awesome, i had made bacon for our bloody mary's}
4-5 russet potatoes, cut into chunks
1 small white onion, diced
1 bell pepper, any color, cored, seeded and diced
1 tblsp. italian seasoning
salt and pepper

wash and pat dry your potatoes, cut into chunks.. in a cast iron skillet heat two~three twirls around the pan with olive oil over medium heat until hot..{or use the pan you cooked bacon in leaving the bacon grease} add potatoes, onion and bell pepper.. crank heat up to medium high.. add seasoning.. {salt, pepper and italian seasoning} and stir around to make sure everything is covered in your oil or bacon grease.. leave alone uncovered and without stirring for about 5-10 minutes.. you want the underside to start to brown.. then stir around and cook the other side of potatoes.. another 3-4 minutes.. then stir around and continue to do so until potatoes are tender and starting to get to the level of browning you like.. reduce heat.. then when the rest of breakfast is done.. serve immediately... i also served with it my scrambled eggs.. {what is funny that post for the scrambled eggs is the second recipe i ever posted on this blog.. i guess i should up date it.. ha}

after breakfast it warmed up for the girls to hang out in tank tops...





 

then it was time to go for a ride in the sand car.. 

tina and lo up front and shell and sam in back!!

 



 

with all the dust and dirt shell thought my hair should be french braided.. augh look at those roots.. luckily i have a hair appt. next weekend..

 



 

some guy basically landed in our camp.. and then came up a truck they piled his chute in the truck and took off.. it was funny.

while the girls were duning, jake and a crew of them all went riding.. 



jake, shell and pete going for little family ride..

 

 

we really had fun and of course we ate like kings.. for lunch the first full day we had chili dogs and chili burgers.. for dinner that night i made pollo asada and carne asada {no pictures to dark}, the next morning we had tomatoes and eggs.. for lunch that day we had french dip {i will make them again and post recipe shell said it was the best thing i've ever made out there} and for dinner we had grilled tri tip, baked potatoes with the works and bread salad..pete made the croutons on a baking sheet using the outdoor grill.. they were awesome.. even camping you can eat great...

 

enjoy and get cook'n!!