easy camping dinners – Cooking with Campfire

New Orleans Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya cooked over campfire

When I was in my 20’s, I visited New Orleans for the first time and fell in love instantly. That first trip my friend and I visited the New Orleans School of Cooking. We learned how to make jambalaya, gumbo, bread pudding and pralines. I highly recommend adding to your next trip to The Big Easy. On a recent camping trip, I decided to try making jambalaya over the campfire. I was happy it turned out great! Jambalaya is a comfort dish. It can feed a group and is perfect for a slightly chilly camping evening. The most common proteins in jambalaya are chicken, sausage, and shrimp but my recipe omits shrimp. Also don’t forget the “holy trinity” of Cajun cooking – onion, celery and bell pepper. I cooked this in my reliable cast iron pan and I paired this dinner with my campfire cornbread.

Ingredients –

1/4 c. oil
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded (I roasted a chicken for this before the trip. Just shred and add to a Ziploc bag to put in cooler)
4 andouille sausages
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped green bell pepper
1 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups of chicken stock or broth (I would bring extra like 32 oz carton)
3 large tsp. Joe’s Stuff seasoning (or voodoo seasoning)
1/4 c. paprika (smoked or sweet. I used smoked)
2-3 chopped green onions (optional)
1 14.5 oz canned chopped tomatoes

Sausage & Chicken with onion, bell pepper and celery (holy trinity) sautéing

Directions –

Cook sausage in pan with a bit of oil. Once fully cooked, remove and slice. Set aside for now
Add oil to cast iron and let it heat up
Once hot, add chopped onions, celery and bell pepper to pan
Stir the holy trinity until the tenderness you want
Add sausage and shredded precooked chicken to pan
Pour broth into pan and season with Joe’s Stuff (or Voodoo) and paprika
Bring to a boil
Add rice and bring to a boil again
Cover with foil and move pan to indirect heat
Cook until rice is done. This will depend on how hot your fire is but should take about 30-45 minutes
Check while cooking periodically and add more broth as needed to cook rice
Cook covered for 25 minutes and then remove foil and continue to cook until rice is done, stirring periodically to make sure rice doesn’t stick
When done, top with green onions and chopped tomatoes, if desired

I always love making Mexican dishes while camping because I always have the ingredients on hand and it’s always a crowd pleaser. On a camping trip this summer, I decided to branch out a little and try to make rice. I was nervous how this would do in my cast iron pan but then I saw these mini chicken broth containers at the store and knew I needed to try. They are small so they don’t take up much space which is great when camping but also you don’t have to feel like you are wasting a lot with a big container or not using a whole can. For the broth I used almost two small ones but I would definitely just gauge with the dry ingredients (veggies, chicken, rice) vs. liquid ratio. Also, for this recipe I used chicken that I cooked at home before the trip. Before any camping trip, I roast a small chicken in my oven for about 2 1/2 hours and then let it cool. Once cooled, I shredded the chicken and store in a ziploc bag. Once at the campsite, you have cooked chicken you can add to a lot of your meals if you would like.

Ingredients-

1 cup rice
1 cup salsa
2 cups chicken (pre-cooked) – I roast a chicken before the trip and shred pieces into a ziplock so you can add to anything
1 can black beans (or pinto)
Red bell pepper
Green bell pepper
1/2 yellow onion
Fajita spice mix
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
Mexican shredded cheese
Cilantro (optional)