Campfire Chef Life: Our Favorite Outdoor Cooking Tips & Recipes

 

🔥 Campfire Chef Life: Our Favorite Outdoor Cooking Tips & Recipes

Hey friends, and welcome back to Outland Adventures! If you’ve ever caught the scent of bacon at a campground and immediately turned into a cartoon character floating through the air — you get it.

There’s just something about cooking outdoors that hits different. Whether it’s propane stoves, cast iron over the fire, or the magic of foil-wrapped anything, meals made outside always seem to taste better — maybe it’s the fresh air, or maybe it’s just because Chris is the cook and Amanda insists on snacks while she supervises.

So today, we’re sharing how we make outdoor cooking easy, delicious, and doable — plus a couple of favorite go-to recipes that even work on the road.

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🍳 Outdoor Cooking, Outland Adventures Style

We keep things simple, flexible, and packable. Our current setup includes:

• 1 propane stove 

• A portable cast iron grill grate

• A 17 inch Blackstone (yes, it’s heavy — yes, it’s worth it)

• Foil, skewers, and collapsible everything

• A spice box that Amanda guards like it’s sacred treasure

We cook outside as often as possible — to avoid heating up Wildebeest, to enjoy the breeze, or just because fire + food = happiness.

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🛠️ A Few Outdoor Cooking Tips

1. Prep Before You Step Outside
   Chop your veggies, marinate your meat, or pre-measure your seasonings inside. It makes the outdoor part way more fun (and less chaotic when the wind tries to steal your onions).

2. Keep It Simple
   Think one-pan meals, skewers, foil packs, and easy sides. Bonus points if you can eat it with your hands or a spork.

3. Use Cast Iron Whenever Possible
   It holds heat well and can go from propane to fire without complaint. Clean-up is easy if you’ve got hot water and a scraper.

4. Have a Trash Plan
   Nothing ruins a good meal like chasing paper towels across the campsite. Bring a bin, or clip a grocery bag to your table leg.

5. Don’t Forget Dessert
   S’mores are great, but grilled peaches, banana boats, or brownies? That’s campfire royalty.

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🥘 Our Favorite Outdoor Recipes

🍲 Campfire Chili for Two (or Four with cornbread!)

What You Need:

• 1/2 lb ground beef or turkey

• 1/2 onion, diced

• 1 can chili beans

• 1 can diced tomatoes (with green chiles = bonus)

• Chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt & pepper

• Optional: shredded cheese, sour cream, corn chips

How To:

1. Brown meat and onions on the stove, or deep cast iron skillet over the fire.

2. Dump in beans, tomatoes, and seasonings.

3. Simmer over low flame or coals for 20–30 minutes.

4. Serve with toppings and enjoy while staring into the fire like a chili-loving cowboy.

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🥔 Foil Packet Ranch Potatoes

What You Need:

• 2 medium potatoes, diced small

• Olive oil

• Ranch seasoning or mix of garlic/onion powder + dried herbs

• Salt & pepper

• Optional: shredded cheese, bacon bits, green onions

How To:

1. Toss diced potatoes with oil and seasonings in a bowl.

2. Scoop onto a large piece of foil, fold tightly into a packet.

3. Cook over grill or fire for 20–25 minutes, flipping once.

4. Open carefully (watch the steam!) and top with cheese and other extras.

Perfect side dish for literally anything — especially burgers, brats, or grilled mushrooms.

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🍽️ Clean-Up Doesn’t Have to Suck

Amanda’s clean-up tips:

• Keep a wash basin + collapsible dish rack handy.

• Wipe cast iron with paper towel while still warm (use gloves!).

• Bring a spray bottle of vinegar water for quick wipes.

• Use biodegradable soap, even when you’re at a campground.

Chris’s clean-up tip:

“Cook everything in one pot. Eat out of the pot. Lick the spoon clean. Boom. Done.”

He’s not wrong.

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🔥 Cooking Outside Feeds the Soul

There’s something powerful about making food outside — about slowing down, getting your hands dirty, and eating something delicious with a view of trees, sky, or even a crooked picnic table you’ve claimed as your own.

We’ve shared meals with strangers, made midnight popcorn under the stars, and burnt cinnamon rolls we still laugh about. (There's a video on that last one if you're interested...)
Every outdoor meal becomes a memory — and most of them taste like freedom.

📍Currently grilling: Somewhere between “this smells amazing” and “should we add more just because?”