A hearty campfire meal: Camping cacciatore and green beans

This past spring we met up (at East Harbor State Park) with family who also enjoy the art of camp cooking. That weekend Steve whipped up a fantastic Chicken & Italian Sausage Cacciatore with a side of sautéed green beans. Watching Steve cook on his camp stove convinced me that I “needed” to upgrade from our small Coleman edition. Not only was the dinner superb, but he was right: the Camp Chef Expedition 3X Three Burner Stove is awesome!

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Chicken & Italian Sausage Cacciatore
(Recipe from Texas Treasury Dutch Oven Cooking)

One 5 lb. roasting hen skinned and cut into serving sizes (you could substitute chicken thighs or boneless/skinless chicken breasts as well)
1.5 lbs. mild, Italian sausage cut into 3 inch pieces
1 large green bell pepper cut into pieces
1 large red bell pepper cut into pieces
1 large yellow onion cut into pieces
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, rinsed and cut into slices
4 large cloves garlic, minced

Sauce ingredients:

3 tsp. dried parsley
1.5 tsp. fennel seed
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. sweet basil
1 tsp. Lowery’s Seasoning Salt
One 6 oz. can of tomato paste
One 14.5 oz. of stewed tomatoes
One 29 oz. can of tomato sauce

First, brown the sausage and when cooked through remove from Dutch and set aside.

Next, place chicken in the bottom of the dutch and add 1/2 of the peppers and all of the onion pieces and garlic. Pour all of the sauce ingredients over the chicken and cook for about 45 minutes (or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender).

Then add the rest of the peppers and mushrooms and return the cooked sausage to the pot. Cook for another 25 minutes at a brisk simmer.

Sauteed Green Beans:

1/2 lb. of bacon cut into chunks
1 large bag of frozen whole green beans
1 bag of frozen mini pearl onions
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large cast iron skillet, fry the chunks of bacon.

Next add the beans, pearl onions, and salt and pepper. Continue to sauté until beans are to your desired tenderness. If they are starting to burn either reduce heat or add a small amount of water to simmer.