Camping Food

After over 4 years of absence I slept in a tent again.  That's right, we went camping.  This time was a little different than previous trips, mostly because we went with a toddler.  It went well.  We stayed 2 nights, which turned out to be the perfect amount of time.  We put in a little hiking, saw some pretty sights, got our fill of s'mores, and C actually slept through the night, so bonus.

I did a fair amount of research into camping food before we left.  This was the one area that I felt stewardship over, so I wanted to make sure it was good and easy.  My favorite ideas that I found online were precooked dinners that could be warmed- little work, dishes, and no raw meat.

My favorite dinner that we put together was chicken burritos.  Here's how it went down

Camping Chicken Burritos

Canola Oil
Chopped Onion
Chopped Red Bell Pepper
Leftover White Rice
Canned Corn
Shredded Chicken Breast
Picante Sauce
Seasonings- salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, oregano

Saute onion and pepper in a little bit of canola oil.  Cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add leftover rice with some water- just enough for the rice to soak up while it heats.  Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the corn, chicken, picante sauce, and seasonings.  Season to taste.

At this point, I stored the mixture in a plastic container until we reheated it in a frying pan on the camp fire.  You could also freeze if you need it to keep for longer.  I also packed avocado, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and salsa.

Fill a tortilla with chicken mixture and top as desired.

Hello Autumn Chicken Sliders

To go along with my post from earlier this week, I thought it appropriate to share one of my first "Autumn" dishes.  I made these for a church pot luck, so there are way more than you would normally need, so adjust as needed.

First of all, I made my mom's famous dinner rolls for the sliders.  C was a huge help.  You could use any store bought variety and that would be fine.

Autumn Chicken Sliders

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
Chinese Five Spice
Ground Ginger
Salt/Pepper
Slider Rolls
Cheddar Cheese, sliced thinly
Apples, sliced thinly- Gala or Granny Smith would be good.

Cut chicken into roll size pieces.  Combine 5 spice with ginger.  I used a 2:1 ratio.  Rub seasonings onto chicken then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Let sit for 10 minutes or so.

My pieces are a little big

Preheat skillet or indoor grill to medium high.  Lightly oil surface.  Cook chicken, turning once, until done- about 4 minutes each side.

Cut rolls in half.  At this point you can do one of two things.

1. Place a cheese slice on the bottom portion of each roll.  Top with a piece of chicken.  Place on cookie sheet and cover with aluminum foil.  Warm in oven preheated to 350 until cheese is melted.  Then, top with apple slice and top of roll.

2. Arrange bottom half of roll on tray.  Layer a piece of chicken, cheese, and apple and then the top of the roll.

I warmed mine in the oven

You will probably want to secure these with a toothpick.  I really liked the Chinese 5 spice combined with the apple and cheese.  I think it had nice Autumn notes without being over the top.

Chipotle Peppers in Adobe Sauce

If you don't know what these are you seriously need to go to your grocery store and find out.  The flavor of these peppers is smoky and spicy.  It craves a creamy addition and makes you want to come back for more.    It's perfect for Mexican cuisine, but can be used in lots of other applications.  The one problem is the can size.  Sure, the can looks really small. But, after you use the 1t. necessary for the recipe you realize that you could feed a whole lot of hungry Mexicans with this can of peppers.

The good news is that it keeps well in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.  I'm thinking about trying to freeze it as well.  Whenever there's a leftover can I keep my eye out for an new recipes to use it up.  This week I found a star.  Bonus, you'll never have to buy the expensive bottled version of this sauce ever again.

Raspberry Chipotle Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Adapted from here and here

(Sorry for the awful pic- Have I mentioned recently that I'm not a photographer?)

1 Bone in, skin on chicken breast- poached
2 Heaping T. of mayo
2.5 oz. Cream Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
6 Slices bread
1/4 C. Raspberry chipotle sauce (recipe to follow)
Spinach leaves

To poach chicken, put chicken in saucepan and fill with water to cover.  Add bay leaves, salt, onion, celery, carrots, etc. to add flavor.  Bring to simmer then reduce heat.  You want it to cook slowly in order to keep it tender.  About 45 minutes.  Cool and shred.

Soften cream cheese and mix with mayo and salt/pepper to salt.  Mix in chicken to coat.

To assemble sandwich, spread chicken on one piece of bread, pour on 1-2T. of sauce.  Top with spinach and other piece of bread.


Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

1 T. Olive oil
2 T. Diced onion
1 Clove garlic, minced
1 T. Chipotle peppers- I used the sauce in the can with a little bit of the pepper.  Use more pepper for a hotter sauce
1 Pint raspberries
1/6 C. Apple cider vinegar
1/4 t. salt
1/6 C. Brown sugar
1/6 C. White sugar

Heat oil in small sauce pan.  Sweat the onions and garlic until soft and translucent.  Add pepper, sauce, and raspberries.  Cook until raspberries are soft, about 3 minutes.  Add vinegar, salt, and sugars.  Simmer on medium low until reduced by a third.

Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce until smooth.  Press the sauce through a mesh sieve to remove seeds.  Cool before using.  Makes about 1 cup.

The Oven

When Steve and I moved to Fort Worth we lived in a Duplex that didn't have central air.  The months of May-September were mostly miserable.  The living room and bedrooms did have window units, and this worked fine while we were sleeping or watching TV, but meals in general didn't really work very well.  The kitchen had zero ventilation and I'm positive I was cooking in 100 + temps some days.  The dining room was pretty blocked from the living room air, so eating warm foods wasn't really appealing.

During those two summers I forced myself to leave the oven off.  This effort was mostly futile because I was drenched in sweat most days, but for some reason I felt better about it.

I realized this week that I'm still cooking in the oven, a lot.  Part of me feels guilty about this.  It's June after all, so shouldn't I be oven free, eating fresher foods, more salads and sandwiches.  But, then the other part of me thinks, "I'm not sweating, so who cares?"  Plus, when I use the oven for food that screams summer, it just seems right.

I feel like drumsticks are very summer; I'm not sure why.  Maybe because I can eat them with my fingers and that somehow feels summery to me.  In any case, I'm kind of having a love affair with them.

They, like so many things I cook, have a lot of room when cooking times are concerned.  You don't want to leave them in the oven forever, but you have some leeway and security to know that your product not only is done but still moist.

Italian Grilled Drumsticks


Chicken drumsticks
Garlic cloves
Dried basil
Kosher salt/pepper
Olive oil- not extra virgin

Preheat oven to 375 degrees or higher.

Mince the garlic and add basil, salt, pepper, and oil.  Spread over drumsticks so all areas are covered in oil.

Preheat grill to medium-medium high.  I use an indoor non stick grill pan, but use whatever you have.  You could also do a regular saute pan.  Add drumsticks.  Make sure they aren't too close or they won't brown well.

Cook to deep brown on all sides, about 20 minutes.  Place in glass baking dish and bake until done, about 30 minutes in 375.

What to Get Rid of

Apricot jam, that's what.  One more thing out of my fridge.  The problem with being so proactive about emptying our food stores is that I just finished our mayo.  Do I get a new one with only 5 weeks til the move?  Will I want mayo?  If I don't buy it will I be forced to use something else, or will I just be frustrated?  Who know, but it it exciting knowing that the food won't be wasted.  Also that all of my condiments now fit on my refrigerator door.

This week I made seared chicken with a lemony sauce, finished with apricot jam.  It's topped with sliced almonds and makes for a really nice dish.  This is a recipe I found when S and I were first married.  I worked at a really slow desk job and spent a good majority of my time browsing allrecipes.com.  I actually looked through their entire database of quick and easy recipes.  Yep.

This recipe isn't necessarily quick quick and easy, but it's not bad.  I usually have the ingredients on hand so it's nice when I haven't planned anything but have a little time.

Apricot Lemon Chicken


For 6 Servings

5 T. Lemon juice
3 T. Dijon mustard
2 Cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t. black pepper
5 T. olive oil- not extra virgin
6 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 C. Sliced almonds
2 C. Chicken broth
1 t. Cornstarch- dissolved into 1 T. water
2 T. Apricot jam- you could sub peach or orange
2 T. Butter
1 T. Dried parsley
1/4 t. Crushed red pepper flakes

Combine lemon juice, mustard, garlic, pepper, and oil.  Place chicken in shallow container and pour marinade on top.  Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.

Toast sliced almonds in skillet.  Remove and set aside.

 Remove chicken from marinade.  Pat dry and reserve liquid.  To prepare pan to sear chicken, heat on moderate heat.  Pour a little vegetable oil on a paper towel and grease hot pan. Add chicken and cook, turning once, about 7-10 minutes per side, depending on thickness.  Remove chicken to plate and cover with foil.

Strain marinade into skillet.  Boil one minute.  Add chicken broth and cornstarch mixture.  Cook over high until sauce has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.  Add jam and cook until it dissolves.  Stir in butter and them parsley and red pepper flakes.  You can return chicken to pan and top with almonds or pour sauce over chicken on plate and top with almonds.

Notes
* You want to make sure you remove as much of the marinade as possible from the chicken.  The marinade burns easily.
* You don't want to burn the chicken, so you can finish the chicken in the oven if the sear is getting too dark.