Walking Tacos!

As summer is hitting the half way mark, my family and I are finally getting ready for camping!  And this year we are lucky enough to be going with my husband’s entire family while we are spending his summer block leave “home” in Oregon. Camping has so many awesome benefits… Especially when you have kids! Getting them outdoors, exploring nature,  breathing in the fresh air, and taking a break from the hustle and technology of every day!

I have great memories from camping trips while I was growing up. One of my favorite memories was the food. Something about cooking over an open flame and getting those special meals only served while camping! S’mores, roasted hot dogs, campfire donuts and biscuits on a stick!

But now as an adult, I’ve realized that cooking while camping definitely isn’t as easy as it seems. The key is preparing what you can before you leave! Cause no one wants to spend most of the day prepping and doing dishes! Come on, I wanna take naps, go on walks and sit by the campfire to relax!

When we camp with the entire family, the deal is we alternate meals… One person covers breakfast for the entire family, one lunch, and one dinner, etc. In an effort to make this camping trip not only fun, but relaxing, I’ve decided to test run a few meals at home here in North Carolina so i’ll be prepared for when it’s my turn to cook for the whole family!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/dlarkin33/4_zpshbrsdype.jpg

The first one was walking tacos! My conditions for picking camping meals is as follows… Easy prep. Easy clean up. Minimal dishes. Yummy and filling. Cheap for a crowd.

And with walking tacos, I think I nailed all five!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/dlarkin33/1_zpsxszsnkkm.jpg

To make them you start with 1 pound ground beef. Taco seasoning. And 1 can black beans. Brown your ground beef, draining any grease. Add in taco seasoning plus 1/4 cup water. Dump in one can, drained and rinsed black beans, heating through.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/dlarkin33/2_zpsr7vd7d5d.jpg

For camping, I’ll precook the meat, and store in a large zip lock bag. When ready to eat, dump your taco meat and 1/4 cup water into a large pan and heat over the fire or camp stove until warmed through.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/dlarkin33/3_zpsahcimbfp.jpg

To serve, pick any flavor of chips in the personal sized bags. This time we used nacho cheese, but for camping I will take more of a variety to suit everybodys taste buds! Start by taking your personal bag of chips, cut the tip of one corner off, then crush the chips. Next, slide the scissors into the hole and cut the side of the bag open. Roll the side down and top with all your favorite taco toppings! And since walking tacos are a cross between tacos and a taco salad, I also provided our two favorite taco salad dressings… French and Ranch!

We like…

• Shredded iceburg lettuce
• Diced tomatoes
• Shredded cheese
• Salsa
• Sour cream
• Ranch dressing
• French dressing
• Black olives
• Diced Avocado
• Cilantro

So many possibilities and options to make everyone happy!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/dlarkin33/5_zpsj57tdfas.jpg

What’s your favorite camping recipes? I’d love to know!