The Camp Cook
Camp eBook's spot for Food, News, Tips, Ideas and Recipes

Chicken is possibly the most popular food in the world. It is economical and easy to get. It goes with almost any side dish and it can be cooked on the grill. This is great when summer gets here and you want to spend time outdoors grilling instead of being in the kitchen.

Grilling chicken can seem overwhelming to some people. Will it be done all the way through? What about the bone? Will the chicken breast be dried out? Now sit back and take a deep breath before we continue.

Chicken can be cooked boneless or bone in on the grill. Just like steaks, the meat that is closest to the bone will take longer to cook than the rest of it. For chickens also, the dark meat needs to cook longer than white meat portions.

Boneless chicken pieces are healthier for you and take less time to cook. Marinate your chicken breasts for at least an hour, overnight would be best. Don’t pierce the chicken to get the marinade to seep in. use a cutting board and a meat tenderizer before adding the chicken to the marinade.
A meat tenderizer also creates a cut of chicken with the same thickness throughout. This helps the cooking time. Most chicken breasts are thicker through the middle and thinner on the ends. That’s why some chicken breasts have burnt or dry ends because it cooked faster than the middle.

Marinating chicken pieces add a lot of flavor. Shake off excess to avoid flare ups. Chicken, like other meats need be turned only once. Too much turning slows the cooking process. Once the meat is done on one side (about seven minutes), turn it over for even grill marks and even cooking.

If you want to add barbeque sauce, the key is to wait until the meat is almost done before brushing it on. You don’t want to gum up your grill with the sweet sauce or have it burn. Brushing it one stops the sauce from running off the meat and into the fire.

Chicken with bones left in will take a little longer to cook. These pieces will need to turn a couple of extra times to ensure that the meat near the bone is done. To test for doneness, remove one piece of chicken and cut into it for a look. Since all the chicken was added at the same time to the grill, one piece is a good indicator. Other than the test piece, don’t poke any other pieces. Do not use grill forks as this causes the juices to run out and dries the chicken. The use of long handled tongs will be easier on the chicken.

Do you love chicken? Then don’t be afraid to throw it on the grill! Grilled chicken makes a healthy meal for everyone.

Be A Grill Master Cookbook. Tips for the Beginner Grill Chef.

Grill Recipes - 300 Recipes that will impess your friends and family.

Labels: Chicken, Grilling

Do you know there are many different ways to conduct an Easter Egg hunt? As a young child growing up, my parents used to add fun new twists to our Easter Egg hunt each year and some of them have become fond memories. Today, we often do the same with our children as well. If you’re looking for a fun twist for your Easter Egg hunt this year, here are a four great versions we have tried in the past.

The Easter Bible Verse Hunt:

This version works best with older children and teens who can read and decipher clues well. The year that we did this, the older teens were paired up with one of the smaller children. Then, each “team” was given an envelope with a Bible verse in it. The verse was a clue to the location of the first treat and the next clue. After 4-5 clues, the last clue took us to the biggest treat: a large Easter basket for each of us.

Putting together the clues may seem like a lot of work at first, but it’s actually fairly simple. A verse about rocks told us to look in the rock garden. A verse about sleeping would mean to look in your bedroom. If your children are a little younger, you could help by highlighting the portions of the verse that are most important to finding the location.

An Easter Treasure Trail:

This version is perfect for very small children/toddlers. When our eldest was 18 months old, we greeted her on Easter morning at her crib with a basket. Leading from her crib was a trail of mini Easter eggs. She took the basket and followed the trail, putting the eggs in her basket as she went. The trail led through the house and ended behind the couch where a bigger treat was waiting.

When laying out your treasure trail, keep your child’s attention span in mind. Some children will follow the trail for quite a while before getting bored, others may need something shorter or more broken up. Perhaps a series of smaller prizes along the path where they can stop and enjoy if they wish?

An Easter Scavenger Hunt:

A scavenger hunt is another fun variation and it can be modified to suit any age. For older children, a written list of items to collect will work. For younger children, a sheet with pictures of the different treats they need to find may be a better choice. A very simple version would have children look for specific colors: 1 red egg, 3 blue eggs, etc.

For those who, like us, add other items besides chocolate eggs, your list might include a chocolate Easter bunny, a skipping rope, a chocolate bar, a crème egg, a small toy, etc. Items are hidden at random throughout the specified area and make sure children understand not to remove items that are not on their own list.

The Easter Challenge:

The Easter challenge is a fun party game version of an Easter egg hunt that older children and adults will love. Instead of hiding candy eggs, you would hide small plastic eggs. Inside each egg would be a task that has to be completed. Sing a song, recite a verse from memory, jump on one foot for 10 seconds, draw a picture, etc. After each task is completed, the child receives another treat for their basket. Make sure to keep a camera on hand to capture all of the fun.

So, as you’re dyeing your Easter eggs and planning your egg hunt, take one of these suggestions – use as is or improve upon it – and make it a wonderful Easter egg hunt.

Kids Fun Recipes, Creating Fun Foods that Kids will Love.

Labels: Chicken, Holidays

For a quick dinner, what can be more perfect than chicken? It is economical and there are tons of recipes for every part and piece of it. Here are some ideas for cooking chicken in a crock pot.

Chicken is a favorite staple of the American diet. People raise chickens and other poultry on farms. They are plentiful and can be prepared more readily than a cow or a pig. If you visit any relatives in the Deep South, you are sure to have a chicken dinner at least once or twice a week.

In a slow cooker, all parts of the chicken work well, but you must be careful with your temperature settings. White and dark meat portions of the chicken will cook at different rates. You notice this when you fry chicken as well. Thighs and legs finish cooking sooner mostly due to the high fat content of these portions. Wings are usually next followed by the thicker chicken breasts.

Another difference in chicken pieces is the bone. Pieces of chicken with the bone in cook better in the slow cooker because they are less likely to dry out. On the other hand, boneless chicken breasts can dry out if they are cooked too long.

One way to avoid drying out is to cook chicken from frozen. The great thing about a slow cooker is that it works well whether the meat is frozen or thawed. Thawed meat will of course need less cooking time because the heat works directly to cook the meat. If the chicken is frozen, the heat defrosts the chicken before actually cooking it.

Prepare your chicken pieces as you would if you were cooking them in the oven. Clean the chicken thoroughly and season it. This will help to remove Salmonella bacteria commonly found in raw chicken, not to mention you don’t want a lot of bloody juice in the bottom of their crock pot.

A liquid is needed at the start of cooking. Instead of water, add some seasoned chicken broth to infuse the meat with flavor. Another hint is to lightly flour and sauté the chicken for a couple of minutes before slow cooking. The bits from the pan will flavor the broth in the slow cooker even more. Frozen chicken needs very little liquid as liquid will be created as the chicken defrosts.

Vegetables can be added with the meat if you choose. Tougher veggies like carrots and potatoes can be added at the beginning because they take longer to cook. A dish that calls for a tomato base such as a cacciatore will have the tomatoes added near the end of cooking. Tomatoes are one vegetable that doesn’t stand up well to long periods of cooking. Instead of whole tomatoes, you will have mush after six hours.

Chicken pieces need to cook for three hours of more in a crock pot. With a slow cooker, two hours on a low setting would be equal to about one hour on the highest setting. Frozen chicken will need the maximum time to cook.

Any spices you add to chicken dishes can be left for last. Fresh herbs will infuse quickly throughout the meal so an hour in the cooker is good. Dried spices can take a bit longer to flavor so add about two hours before the meal is done. Stir up the dish so the herbs and spices are evenly distributed.

For More Crock Pot Recipes, See Our Crock Pot Cookbook - Check It Out.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Chicken, Crock Pot

What You Need:

1 whole chicken
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T parsley
1 bay leaf
2 t salt
8 C water
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen baby carrots, partially thawed
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen peas, partially thawed
1 (6 oz) can mushrooms, drained
1 C light cream
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t celery salt
1/8 t pepper
1/2 C all purpose flour
1 pkg (2 included) refrigerated pie crust
4 foil pans (5X1 in)

How to Make It:

Place the water in a large pot over high heat.
Add the chicken, celery, onion, parsley, bay leaf and salt.
Bring to a rapid boil.
Reduce heat to low.
Cover the pot and simmer 2 hours.
Allow the chicken to cool in the broth.
Once chicken has cooled remove from the broth.
Cut the meat off the chicken bones.
Strain the broth and reserve 5 C.
Place the chicken, carrots, peas and mushrooms together in a large mixing bowl.
Stir to combine.
Place 4 C of reserved broth into a sauce pan.
Stir in the cream, nutmeg, celery salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
In another small mixing bowl combine the last C of reserved broth and the flour.
Stir until smooth.
Pour into the boiling mixture.
Reduce heat to low and simmer 2 minutes.
Pour over the chicken mixture.
Allow to cool completely.
Flour a flat surface.
Roll out pie crust.
Divide each crust in to two parts.
Place 1/2 of the crust into the bottom a foil pan.
Fill with chicken mixture.
Cover with the remaining crust.
Pinch to seal all the way around.
Wrap in freezer paper.
Freeze for up to 3 months.
To bake preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Unwrap each bowl and place on a cookie sheet.
Cut a slit in the top of each to vent the steam.
Bake 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.


For More Chicken Recipes, Click Here.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Chicken

What You Need:

2 1/2 lbs fryer chicken, cut up
3/4 C sour cream
1 T lemon juice
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t celery salt
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/2 t paprika
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 C dry bread crumbs
Aluminum foil

How to Make It:

Combine sour cream and lemon juice in a small bowl.
Stir in Worcestershire sauce until completely blended.
Add the celery salt, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic and mix well.
Place bread crumbs in a shallow bowl or on a plate.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a large baking pan with a non stick cooking spray.
Dip chicken pieces into the sour cream mixture.
Roll in the bread crumbs.
Place in a single layer in the baking pan.
Bake 50 minutes or until chicken is tender and brown.
Let chicken cool before removing from pan.
Once the chicken has cooled wrap each piece in aluminum foil.
Freeze for up to 2 months.
Reheat by preheating oven to 450 degrees.
Place each piece of chicken still in the aluminum foil on a cookie sheet.
Bake 35 minutes.
Unwrap from aluminum foil and place back in the oven.
Continue baking 10 minutes or until crisp.

For More Chicken Recipes, Click Here.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Chicken

What You Need:

1 lb chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
1 (16 oz) pkg. baby carrots cut in half
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 (8 oz) can bamboo shoots, sliced and drained
1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, sliced and drained
1 (3 oz) pkg. oriental flavored noodle soup mix
1 (32 oz) can chicken broth
1 C frozen sugar snap peas, thawed
2 green onions, chopped

How to Make It:

Place the chicken thighs into the bottom of a crock pot.
Layer the carrots, celery, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts in that order.
Sprinkle the oriental seasoning packet from the noodle soup.
Pour in the broth but do not stir.
Cover and cook on low temperature for 7 to 8 hours.
Remove the chicken from the crock pot and carefully shred it with two forks.
Return the chicken to the crock pot and stir to combine.
Break the noodles from the soup mix into the mixture.
Add the snap peas, cover and continue cooking an additional 15 minutes or until the noodles are tender.
Sprinkle in the green onion just before serving.

Serving Size: 6

3/4 C of regular sweet peas can be used in place the sugar snap peas. Using chicken thighs is important when it comes to crock pot cooking. They keep their shape better and remain moist during the long cooking time. They also enhance the flavor of the soup better than chicken breasts.

For More Crock Pot Recipes, See Our Crock Pot Cookbook - Check It Out.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Chicken, Soups

Chicken is routinely eaten at evening mealtime in American households. We each have our favorite ways of preparing it. When cooking a whole chicken, you can do wonders with what you don’t eat for dinner. Here are some ways to make that roasted chicken appealing to the family.

Learn to slice a whole chicken. Slicing one properly makes it easier to remove the rest of the meat from the bone. The skeleton can be used to create broth. Boil it in some water until the rest of the meat falls off.

You can season the broth with herbs and spices. After it cools, pour it into jars for storage. You’ll be able to keep the broth for a few weeks. Use it to flavor soups and casseroles.

Do your kids carry their lunches to school? Instead of buying lunch meat, slice leftover chicken breast for sandwiches. It will be a nice change from the usual lunch fare.

On the weekends, instead of ordering a pizza or going to McDonald’s, use that chicken. Cube a few pieces to toss on top of a salad with some cheese and croutons. Combine with peppers and onions in a skillet to make filling for fajitas or soft tacos.

Does your family like chicken pot pie? Add some of that chicken, along with vegetables (canned or frozen) and a can of creamed soup to a pie crust and you’ve got an instant dinner that takes less than an hour to prepare. It is a quick meal idea perfect for busy families. A salad on the side will make a complete and healthy dinner.

Chicken based casseroles can be made and frozen for future meals. The family may be all “chickened out” for the week, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make the most of the chicken you have left for future weeks.

Do you still have more chicken? Well let’s keep going with more ideas. Hey, our mothers and grandmothers learned to use chicken in many ways and so can we. What tastes the best when you have a cold and are feeling under the weather? Why, chicken noodle soup of course.

Don’t settle for canned soup with small noodles. Make your own soup with juicy chicken pieces and wide egg noodles. That broth you jarred up will serve as a nice base and best of all it is already seasoned.

Add wide egg noodles and sliced vegetables like carrots, celery, and onions to your soup. When the noodles are tender, add the chicken. Since it is already cooked it just needs to warn up. Ladle up a bowl for the sick and the healthy as a light weekend lunch.

What are you doing with your chicken after dinner tonight? Try some of these ideas to make that chicken do double and triple duty to save on your family’s grocery bill. The best part is that the new meals are just as tasty as the original dish.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Chicken