For almost 25 years, a great group of friends have called a particular beach spot near San Felipe their own. It started out as a small group, but has grown over the years, in people and frequency of trips.The adventures can range from the core group huddled against the cliffs during a storm to a weekend long music festival with light shows. People have found each other, lost each other, had children, and grown up themselves over these years. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have been a part of many of those trips, felt the love and profound connection of sharing such sacred moments, and know that these are the friends you want to grow old with – that is, if any of them ever get old (not likely).

For me, part of the fun is in the food. The trips can run up to five days (or more), and we try as a group to be self-contained, save the trips to town for ice and beer. Some of the meals are difficult to pull off with just a grill but that’s the challenge. Other times, it pays to have a go-to meal that can be thrown together after a long day of, well, lounging around. This quick Chili is one of those fast meals.

12 oz. cooked Roast Beef
½ lb. Pork chorizo
½ onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
28 oz. Can roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
8 oz. Chicken broth
15 oz. can kidney beans, undrained
5 oz. can chopped green chiles
2 T. chili powder
1 t. cumin

Simmer onions and garlic with chorizo until cooked through. Add remaining ingredients. Cover; simmer up to an hour. Warms up real quick.

Perfect Garnishes: Tortilla Chips, Cheese, Sour Cream
Even more perfect Caballero Cocktails: Beer, Tequila, Whiskey

This is also a great warm-up for our mild winter tailgate parties here in the southwest;and works for camping anywhere – the California Desert, or the Colorado River. What makes this great is the simplicity. That and it tastes great. You can easily make at camp; or precook at home, transfer to a camping pot and warm up over the fire at your destination. Serves 6