Campfire Cooking

Cooking takes on a whole new dimension when it's done over an open fire! Alex and I went camping this weekend with some friends, Jeff & Tara. We went to Cunningham Falls State Park, in Western MD, sort of close to Camp David. While it poured on Friday and made everything wet, the rain held back for our actual camping experience. Tara had never been tent camping before and she was a real trooper. Although, I don't think we'll get her in a tent again!

I scoured around online for campfire recipes, astounded at how ridiculous some of them seemed, but fascinated by others. We decided to do foil cooking, which is basically cooking your dinner in foil packets tucked in among the hot coals. I made Hobo Pies for the men and Lemon Chicken for us ladies, with sweet potatoes on the side. Jeff provided the breakfast recipe, which was pretty much the coolest thing ever - Egg in an Orange. I got such a kick out of it. I actually liked the lemon chicken so much that I'll probably make it again, in our regular oven. Mosquitos and gigantic spiders not invited.

Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

Boneless, skinless chicken breast (one per person)

Lemon

Garlic powder

Italian Seasoning

Foil

Cooking spray

Instructions

Spray a large square of foil generously with cooking spray. Slice the lemon thinly (unless you really like lemon!) and lay 4 slices down to form a square. Top with the chicken. Sprinkle with garlic powder and italian seasoning, and then top with one more lemon slice. Fold up the long sides of the foil, and roll down to create a packet, tucking and rolling up the sides as you go. Make sure it's well sealed!

Place the packets right on the hot coals. Cook for 40 minutes, turning every 10.

Hobo Pie

Ingredients

Ground beef (or turkey...or hamburger patties)

Potatoes, sliced

Carrots, sliced

Onions, sliced

Ketchup

Seasoning

Anything else you want (garlic, other vegetables)

Foil

Cooking Spray

Instructions

Double up on a foil square and spray very well with cooking spray. Lay down the ground beef and season with spices. Top with vegetables and ketchup. Seal up the edges and roll down to make sure it's tight. Place onto hot coals and cook for about 50 minutes.

Egg in an Orange

Ingredients

Orange (one per person)

Eggs (2 per person)

Foil

Cooking Spray

Salt/Pepper

Instructions

Slice an orange in half, cross-wise, and eat the fruit like it was a grapefruit. Spray a foil square with cooking spray and place the hollowed out peel onto it. Carefully crack an egg into the orange and top with salt & pepper. Wrap up the foil and place directly onto the hot coals. Allow to cook for 3-5 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs.