Campfire Nachos

Nachos made over the campfire, perfect for a group that's ready to get down on crunch and cheese

Nacho spread, set up so everyone can pick and choose their toppings

So you might have had taco night and you have all these leftover toppings. That means it's time for campfire nacho night. It's a great excuse to get a fire going and get ready to be inundated by CRUNCH, overwhelmed by CHEESE, and flooded with GOOD VIBES. Because, you must have good vibes around a campfire and if you aren't the person who's providing the vibes by playing guitar, you might as well being the one providing it by great food. That is fact.

"Inundated by CRUNCH, overwhelmed by CHEESE"

Nachos are one of those food items that are good at it's most humble, barebones state (think chips and nacho cheese that they give you at a ball park), as well as when its been elevated through the roof with the entirety of your fridge contents on top. You really can't go wrong. As long as there is crunchy vehicle (preferably in the corn chip variety BUT I will say that a french fry is an absolutely delightful substitute) and cheese (because, yeah, you must have cheese), then you got yourself a nacho night.

You have some kind of protein? Add it. Veggies? Add. Something seem like it might be weird but kinda good? Go ahead and add. Add, add, add, the more the merrier. We made it easy for all our happy campers to personalize their nachos by making one cheesy, chip-filled base, and then had a little toppings bar so that you could add as much or as little as you please, so no worries if you have a topping doesn't end up working. One person may love it, another hate it. So it goes. This is campfire nacho night, have a damn time with it.

Tip: If you're just going camping for the weekend, feel free to cut up your toppings before or pre-cook your meat so when it comes down to nacho time, it's only a matter of heating a few things up.

Campfire Nachos

Ingredients

Serves: 2 greedy humans

Prep and cook: 30 minutes

• Bag of your favorite tortilla chips

• 1-2 cups of Mexican blend cheese, or Monterey Jack

• 1/2 pound ground beef (or whatever other protein you like)

• 1 taco seasoning packet (only if you're doing ground beef or another protein that you'd like to cook in a seasoning)

• 1 can refried beans

• 1/2 small white onion, diced

• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

• 1 roma tomato, diced

• Salsas: hot, medium, or mild; guacamole; sour cream

• Anything else delicious you may have lying around! Spiced up rice, leftovers, veggies, etc.

• Aluminum foil

• A grill basket or baking pan, if you have (or just double line your foil and create a small dish using only the foil)

Directions

Get a real good fire going and have a grate placed over it so that it gets a decent amount of heat, kissing the flames, or above hot coals.

1. Prepare your ground beef per the instructions on the taco seasoning packet. Keep covered and set aside. Heat up your can of beans at the same time as the meat, either by sticking the can in the fire (pop a little hole in the top for pressure release) or prep in a small saucepan. Again, cover and set aside to keep warm.

2. Roll out your aluminum foil in your grill basket or bake pan, if using. If not using, just create a small dish using just foil, making sure to double up on foil if doing this method and to not make your dish too big, so it remains sturdy when you lift your nachos.

3. Create your base layer by evenly spreading your chips across the foil, covering every last bit of space. One or two layers of chips is what you're looking for. Top generously with your cheese.

4. Lightly tent the chips/cheese with a layer of foil and place them on your grate. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until your cheese gets melty. Peek in the foil every so often to make sure you aren't burning your chips and if you need more/less heat, move the grate up or down.

5. Prep and chop your toppings as you wait for the chips and cheese to be ready and make your toppings bar. Reheat the meat or beans, if necessary, and set out with the other toppings.

6. Once the cheese is melted, it's nacho time. Carefully remove the chips from the fire and either top the entire batch with your toppings, or serve out chips and cheese to individual plates and pick and choose which toppings you'd like to put on there. Voila, it's time to EAT.

Nacho salsa station, ready to spice up your camp trip