Sausage, Potato and Green Bean Camp Casserole

Since we have lived in Colorado, we have missed lots of 4th of July fireworks.  Which means a lot of things:

1.  Copper loves life a lot more.

2.  We have spent the holiday mostly in the mountains.  

3.  The fireworks in CO are pretty lame!  Just sayin'!

This year, Scot, the mountain man, declared, "I need mountains AND fireworks!"  So, we took a hiking/camping trip and made it back to the city for the fireworks.  Since Scot is resting from an injury, I took his sister up Mt. Elbert.  And we survived!  Without boys!  

I am honestly a little surprised.  

Nothing against the sis-in-law, it is ME.  When I say I have no sense of direction, I mean it.  And getting lost on the tallest mountain in CO is just not ideal.  Especially when I am chaperoning a newbie.  

Luckily there were 8 million other people also hiking it AND only one turn/decision along the entire trail.  I love being dramatic and making things seem way harder than they are!  Yay!  

After a long hike, making use of the first aid kit (several times) (sis-in-law secretly fell off the mountain...aw, she's fine), and plenty of blisters later...we were ready for a hearty dinner.  And this is what we had!

Smoked sausage is a great day 2/3 camping ingredient.  First, it is meat.  And meat is good when you are in the woods.  Gawd, it is so good.  Second, it is pretty "food safe".  (I have no proof of this, so I am not liable...if it doesn't work out for you.)

Something about this meal was so full filling (butter).  Stick to your ribs.  Meat and potatoes.  Yum!

For dessert, we tried out this baked banana dessert thing (it is kind of like a fancy s'more stuffed in a banana):

I personally did not indulge in one of these babies because that is just too much for me to handle.  But Scot thoroughly enjoyed it.  Sis-in-law did too but was a little on the fence about warm banana-ness.  Definitely fun and different from your typical s'more.  

Sausage, Potato and Green Bean Camp Casserole

adapted from Allrecipes

1/2 stick of butter

1 medium onion, diced

3/4 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces (I used Kielbasa)

3/4 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and halved

7 small to medium sized Yukon gold potatoes, diced small

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup water

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.

In a large cast iron skillet, melt butter. Add onion and kielbasa and let cook for about 5 minutes. Add green beans, potatoes, salt, and pepper. Add water and tightly cover with foil. Place over a grill for 20-30 minutes (opening up and turning occasionally…added more water as needed) until potatoes are tender.

(Servings: 3, Prep time: 20 min., Cook time: 40 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  8/10

Scot (taste):  8/10

Effort:  2/5

Dishwashing Effort:  2/5

Copper just isn't a floor dog.  And I wouldn't be one either, so who am I to judge.