Camp Dinner Ideas Easy Fajitas

Not sure what a great camp dinner is? These Easy Fajitas are a hit every time and are now a first night tradition. Look at EVEN FASTER Fajitas prep alternatives to keep chopping and chores to a minimum, and time relaxing at camp to the max!

Ingredients

Serving 4, two fajitas each

• 2 tablespoons of a neutral cooking oil (vegetable, avocado, canola)
• 1 pound tender meat, sliced thin and against the grain (especially for beef)
• 1 onion, halved and sliced thin
• 2 bell peppers, any color, cored and sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons Fajita seasoning blend
• 8 tortillas, the small or medium size
• 8 oz shredded cheese like Colby jack
• 8 oz sour cream

Equipment

• 10 inch skillet
• Cutting board
• Chef or utility knife
• spoon for sour cream
• 2 tongs
• 6 forks (one for each person, one for meat, one for veggies)
• 11 Paper plates (one for each person, one for the cooked meat, one for the veggies, one for toppings, two for prep work, and two to cover food if the flies are bad)
• Clean kitchen towel, if warming the tortillas

EVEN FASTER Camp Dinner Ideas Fajitas

Buy frozen, fully cooked, pre-seasoned fajitas and a bag of frozen peppers and onions. All the slicing is done for you, and these frozen bags can help keep the cooler cool.

Home prep for Easy Fajitas

Want to cut down on prep at camp? Want to leave the cutting board and the knife at home? Bell peppers and onion can be sliced and frozen or sliced and kept for 2-3 days refrigerated. Buy meat that is cut for stir fry to save on time and on handling raw foods. Avoid traditional cuts of beef for fajitas like skirt steak – this fast recipe doesn’t marinate, which makes these meats tender. Look for stir fry or top sirloin type cuts, and cut against the grain to make it tender. If you slice the meat yourself, remember to package it tightly, keep it under 40 degrees, and that it might keep for only 1-2 days. Keep all ingredients in airtight containers and keep meat separate from vegetables and other ready-to-eat foods to prevent cross contamination. Learn more about safely handling and storing meat here: https://foodsafety.uconn.edu/meat/

How to make Easy Fajitas

TELL ME EVERYTHING! About camp dinner ideas easy fajitas

Start at Every Step to Easy Fajitas which includes how to cut the ingredients and what you need at your workstation.

I’m comfortable in the kitchen – just the main info please.

Simplified Recipe:

Preheat pan. Add a tablespoon of oil. Then add onion and pepper to the skillet and season with fajita seasoning, working in batches if needed. Cook for 4 minutes, until vegetables are tender, then remove from pan. Add a tablespoon of oil then add sliced meat and season with fajita seasoning. Brown meat on all sides, working in batches if necessary. Once meat is thoroughly cooked, remove from pan. Warm tortillas in the pan, flipping often, and keep warmed tortillas in foil or a kitchen towel. To make a fajita, start with a warm tortilla, add sour cream, cheese, veggies, and meat, then fold and enjoy.

Every Step to Camp Dinner Ideas Easy Fajitas

Prep your workspace and ready your fire or stove. Make space for your cutting board, set out a plate for sliced veggies and a plate for cooked veggies. Ready a trash bag or trash bucket for scraps. If you will loose sunlight before you finish cooking, have lighting ready.

If cooking with cast iron, start preheating your pan.

The onion

Slice the onion in half, through the top and root. Place one half face down on the cutting board. Peel off the skin of the half you’re starting with. Slice quarter inch slices down the onion working toward the top or root, making half rings. Put the sliced rings on the prep plate for sliced veggies; put the end of the onion and skin into the trash bag. Repeat with the other half.

The peppers

Cut the top and bottom of the first pepper. Keep the ends. Set the pepper on the cutting board, with the now open top facing you. Cut down one side. Place the pepper on its side. Starting where you made the slice, slowly cut the membranes of the pepper. It should look like the pepper is “unrolling”. Discard the seeds, core, and any white membranes which can be tough to chew. Slice top to bottom in quarter inch slices, sort of like matchsticks. For the cut off bottom of the pepper, place it skin side on the cutting board, and slice into quarter inch slices. For the top, pop out the stem and put it in the trash. Place skin side down and slice into quarter inch slices. You can discard the entire top if you like. Put the slices with the sliced onion, repeat with remaining bell pepper.

The meat

To prevent cross contamination, handle the raw meat last. Cut the meat into slices, a quarter inch thick and about 2 inches long. It’s more important to get the sizes close to the same size, than to be these exact measurements. If the meat is the same size, it will cook at the same speed. If using beef, cut against the grain to make it easier to bite. To do this, examine the cut of meat, and try to see which way the fibers go. Cut perpendicular, or opposite the long way of the fibers, to make them short.

Let’s Cook! Preheating the Pan

Check that the pan is warm enough. You can do this by flicking a little bit of water in the pan. When the water beads, the pan is ready. If the water sizzles and puddles, the pan is too cold. If the pan is over heated the water vaporizes – let it cool down before adding the oil. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan, let the oil warm, which takes about a minute. The oil should shimmer when the swirled around the pan. Then add enough meat to almost cover the bottom of the pan. You may need to cook in several batches. Sprinkle fajita seasoning over the meat.

Let’s Cook! Fajita Meat

When the meat no longer sticks, it is ready to turn. Brown the meat on all sides, and add more seasoning to taste. Don’t cook by looking at the color of the meat. Thin slices should cook quickly – check the thickest pieces with a meat thermometer. When meat is cooked, put it on a clean plate. If there are too many bugs, invert another plate over the food as a cover. Work in batches, adding meat and seasoning, then adding the cooked meat to the plate. When all the meat is cooked, move on to the veggies. Use one pair of tongs on raw food, and the other for veggies and cooked food.

Let’s Cook! Veggies

Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and let it warm – it should shimmer when swirled around the pan. Add the sliced onion and peppers, enough to barely cover the bottom of the pan. You may need to cook in batches. Sprinkle with the fajita seasoning. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and get even cooking. When the veggies have softened and some have browned, remove them from the skillet and add it to the clean plate for veggies. If the bugs are bad, invert a plate to cover the food.

Let’s Cook! Extra Fancy Dinner Easy Fajitas

You can heat tortillas in the same skillet. Place the tortilla in the skillet. Wait 15 seconds and flip. Keep waiting and flipping until the tortilla is warm. Fold kitchen towel in half. You may use foil or put folded foil inside the kitchen towel. Place the warm tortilla in the folded towel. Warm tortillas are easier to fold because they are less likely to tear.

Let’s Cook! Get the Toppings Ready

Open the bag of shredded cheese, then open the sour cream and add the spoon, and take the covers off the veggies and the meat. Start building your fajita! Here’s how we do it. Start with a tortilla, add the sour cream, then the cheese, the veggies, and top with the meat. Fold and eat! Building the fajita this way prevents the cheese from falling out everywhere. Still messy? Fold the bottom of the tortilla one third of the way toward the center, then fold. This “bottom” can still leak juices but should keep toppings contained.

Making easy fajitas **Fancy**

Try additional toppings like: salsa, cups of guacamole, pico de gallo, cliantro, or crispy tortilla strips. Take along taco sauce, hot sauce, and lime wedges or lime juice.

Menu Planning: Camp Dinner Ideas Easy Fajitas and Other Meals

Need some side dishes? Try a can of refried beans, a box of beans and rice (look for stove top instructions), chips and guacamole or salsa, or some corn on the cob with some chili powder, butter, a little mayo, some cotija cheese if you can find it, and a twist of lime. It’s called elote.

Easy Dinner Fajitas partners with breakfast burritos, omelets or egg scramble, and lunch wraps.

Would you try some Easy Fajitas?