On one of our camping trips last year, I had the idea to try and make some sort of pasta dish over the fire in our large cast iron pot. This wasn’t much to go on, but I knew I wanted something that was mostly pre-made and that would be delicious. We would be having this on the night we arrived at our campsite, so it also needed to be super easy and quick. In the end I went with mostly frozen ingredients and it went super well! In fact, we decided to make it again this summer for a large camping trip we take each year, which is where these pictures are from. I do want to note that the pictures are mostly of a double batch, except for the ingredients picture. I just don’t want you to worry if yours doesn’t turn out with as much food as what is pictured here.
Gather Your Ingredients
I purchased almost all of our ingredients at Target, so you may find slightly different products and brands available at your favorite local store. Because we were making this the first night, we did not need to worry about the frozen items defrosting, but if you need this meal for later in your trip, you will want to consider how to keep things frozen, purchase shelf-stable options, or buy them day-of from the local store to where you are camping. I am going to go over exactly what I used here, but later, we will talk about the ways you can make this meal your own. I chose two large bags of cheese ravioli, one bag of Italian-style meatballs, a large jar of classic meat sauce, some finely shredded parmesan cheese, a small amount of olive oil, and premade garlic bread. We tried most of these ingredients before at home, so I was confident that no matter what, it would taste mostly good. This recipe is really flexible so if you have to fudge the sizes of everything just keep the general ratio of sizes of everything from the picture in mind.
Prepare Your Fire and Cook Everything In The Pot
This meal is SUPER easy to make, so follow these simple steps and you will be set. First, start with a fairly large fire that you let burn down to mostly coals with a bit of flames left. Think of right before your fire is ready for roasting marshmallows and you should be set. You will need to be able to slowly feed the fire as you continue to cook everything, so make sure the grate you are using will allow for that. Once your fire is ready, put your cast iron pot over it with a small pour of olive oil in the bottom. After the pan is hot (you can tell by adding a few drops of water and seeing if it will sizzle) add your meatballs and cook until brown, stirring occasionally. Next, add your sauce and mix with your meatballs and cook until the sauce begins to bubble slightly. Finally, you need to add in your pasta. Because that pasta is precooked, it will not take much to cook through while being heated in bubbling sauce. Please remember to make sure to follow all preparation guidelines provided by the manufacturer for food safety. Once everything is properly cooked, you will want to remove the pot to a safe place to be able to cool off while you cook the garlic bread. As you are serving the pasta, add a bit of the shredded parmesan on top of each serving. I prefer bowls to serve this, but we have also had it on plates which worked ok.
Give it Your Own Special Twist
So here is the thing about almost all the recipes I share with you all, they can all be tailored to your particular tastes and styles. Don’t like meatballs? How about precooked grilled chicken strips? Want to make it all from scratch? Go for it! Prefer white sauce? Give it a go, just don’t heat it as long as it will get thick really quickly. I think you can also find success with this by trying other types of pasta such as tortellini. If the frozen items are an issue, you could try the refrigerated pasta and meat selections that are available at most larger stores now in the deli area. I also think you could scale this recipe down for two or even one if you can pre-portion the ingredients at home before you head out. Although I will say, we had leftovers from the first time we made this and they were amazing! The sauce ended up having a very smoky flavor and we loved it! I just want to remind you that whatever ingredients you choose to go with, just make sure to follow the instructions and safety recommendations from the manufactures, I do not want you getting sick!
A Favorite of The Trip
Not only did our family like this the first time we made it, when we made it this summer for a large family camping group, everyone who tried it liked it, and asked us to please make it again next year! This meal is also super easy to make and takes very little prep work (unless you decide to go home-made) and is great to have cooking while you are setting up your camp as it doesn’t need much in the way of active cooking. I hope you give this one a try, and I honestly cannot wait until we can try some twists on this ourselves. I am thinking sausage tortellini with a vodka sauce could be amazing, right? Let me know in the comments below what you think would be a good option for you and how it goes when you try it!
