Recipes for Cooking on the Road

When you’re living a life on the road, gas station food just doesn’t cut it. Trust us.

Breakfast: Breakfast Tacos

They say this is the most important meal of the day, so why not do it right? You’re going to need something to jump start your body besides caffeine (though we love our coffee as much as anyone.) We made these Breakfast Tacos on one of our very first camping trips together at the beach in South Carolina and we’ve been making them ever since.

Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 13 min
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

4 small tortilla shells (corn or flour)
6 eggs
Colby Jack Cheese
1 sliced avocado
Arugula
Pinch of salt and pepper
Olive Oil
Salsa

Directions:

1. Crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk them until the yolks are broken and eggs are blended together.
2. Add salt, pepper and cheese to bowl and stir.
3. Light your cookstove and coat your pan with olive oil.
4. Pour the bowl of ingredients into the pan and cook eggs on low heat, stirring with a spatula the entire time so that the eggs don’t stick and the cheese melts.
5. Remove when cooked and let rest in the pan.
6. Heat up the tortillas directly on the gas flame til tiny black or brown specks appear. Flip and repeat on the other side.
7. Put the eggs into the tortillas.
8. Add your sliced avocado.
9. Drizzle salsa.

Goes best with coffee. We recommend Kuju!

Lunch: The Ultimate Grilled Cheese with Pesto + Tomato

This is often the most underrated and unappreciated meal. I mean, let’s face it. Lunch can sometimes be downright inconvenient. When you’re out adventuring, who really wants to stop to cook? This dish is quick though and super tasty. Best part is, that you can use some of the ingredients in your dinner so nothing goes to waste.

Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 25 min
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Bread
Cheddar, Fontina, Smoked Gouda (whatever you have or love. How can you go wrong with cheese?)
Tomato
Avocado
Pesto

Pro tip: We like to eat whatever is freshest and in season. If it’s not tomato season, sub avocado or a sauteed portabella mushroom.

Directions:

1. Heat your grill
2. Put butter and pesto two slices of bread. The butter goes on the “outside” and the “pesto” goes on the inside.
3. Place the buttered side down onto the pan.
4. Put the cheese on top of the pesto.
5. Put the tomato on top of the cheese.
6. Place the second slice of bread on top of the cheese with the buttered side up (pesto side down).
7. Grill until the bread is lightly browned and then flip over.
8. Continue grilling until the cheese is melted. (Turn down the heat if you start to see smoking or the bread begins to get too well-done.)

Have you had any water to drink yet today?! We often forget to drink until we’re so thirsty we can hardly stand it. Down some water with lunch, y’all.

Dinner: Frontier Foil Packet Fajitas

If you’ve spent any time around Caroline and I, you know that we’re always thinking one meal ahead. This recipe is one of our go – to staples on the road.

Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 30 min
Serves: 2

Ingredients/Materials:

Foil
½ pound of chicken (tenders are probably the easiest and require the least amount of prep)
1 small onion
3 small mini peppers (green, red, yellow)
¼ cup of olive oil
Pinch of salt and Pepper
1 lime

Optional:
Leftover rice if you have any from lunch!
Cilantro
Sour cream
Hot sauce

(On second thought, are these really optional?)

Directions:

1. Lay out two sheets of foil about 12 inches by 12 inches onto a flat surface.
2. Slice the onion and peppers.
3. Slice the lime.
4. Slice the chicken into thin strips.
5. Put the chicken, sliced onion and sliced peppers into a bowl and toss it with olive oil.
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Stir everything together.
8. Put the chicken and vegetable mixture onto the center of the foil and then fold the foil so that everything is in a nice little packet and won’t fall out.
9. Light the grill.
10. Put the foil packets on the grill and cook with the lid shut on a medium heat until the chicken is done. On our Coleman it takes about 10-12 minutes.
11. Carefully remove the packets (they will be H O T!)
12. Warm the tortillas on the grill
13. Place cooked chicken and veggies into the corn tortilla.
14. Add any optional extras like more cheese, sour cream or cilantro.
15. Eat and be merry!

Goes great with Wedge Brewing Co. beers!

Pro Tip: Prepare extra packets and have this meal for lunch the next day! It’s a great way to make sure you use everything up that you buy so that nothing goes to waste.

If you try any of these, we’d love to see your photos and hear your thoughts!

In addition to being Hipcamp Field Scouts Erin and Caroline are freelance web designers, photographers and writers who are based in Asheville, North Carolina. Follow their adventures at @e.mcgrady + @carolineperdue and their blog Authentic Asheville.

Got #vanlife on the brain? Check out our other post Prepping Your Adventure Mobile for a Cross-Country Road Trip.