Sausage and Bean Dutch-Oven Stew

Prepare fire as directed below. Mix ingredients except for oregano with 3/4 cup water in a 4- to 6-qt. cast-iron camp dutch oven. Cover.

Arrange coals for bottom heat cooking and cook, checking pot and stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, and adding more water if stew gets dry, until peppers soften and sausages swell, 30 to 45 minutes. Serve with oregano sprinkled on top.

How to Use a Dutch Oven

Prepare the fire. If you have a campfire going, move any large pieces of still-burning wood to the side and level out your hot coals to fit the size of the dutch oven. If the campground doesn't allow wood fires, burn 50 charcoal briquets till they're mostly gray, 10 to 15 minutes, and spread into an even layer the size of the dutch oven.

Set up the oven. For many recipes, you just set the dutch oven on top of the hot coals ("bottom heat cooking"). But there are times when you'll need to heat both the top and bottom of the oven. Just scrape about half the coals to the side and arrange the rest in a circle the size of the dutch oven's outer edge. Set the oven on top of the circle of coals, then pile the rest of the coals on top of the lid.

Start cooking. Lift the dutch-oven lid occasionally to check the food and temperature. To decrease the heat, scrape away some fuel. To increase the heat, or to cook longer than 45 minutes, add 6 to 10 new briquets or more wood embers (from that still-burning wood you moved to the side of your firepit) every 30 minutes.

Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.