Sweet & Sour Pineapple Chicken Camping Style

First a disclaimer:  You can make this in a casserole at home if you want.  It turns out just as yummy!

If you would like to refer back to the original recipe where I got this idea, you can click HERE.

Now for the real thing!

SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN  ala FOILIE

Rice--Steam enough to give each person about 1/2 c. each serving.  Minute rice is great if you are out in the wilds!  If you want to be safe from burning, line the bottom with cabbage leaves before the rice layer. 

Chicken--I have used raw, canned and left over  (can you tell that I love this stuff?).  They all work.    Plan on 3 - 4 oz. per person.

Veggies -- Anything goes!  Here are some examples of what I have used.

• Carrots, slivered
• Celery, chopped
• Zucchini or Yellow Squash, diced or sliced
• Onions, diced
• Mushrooms, sliced
• Broccoli, chopped
• Cauliflower, chopped
• Green bean, chopped
• Cabbage, sliced
• Sweet peppers
• Just about anything botanical ?  Make it gorgeous dahling, if it's pleasing to the eye, it tastes better!
• Pineapple-- chunks or tidbits are fine, actually I cut the chunks down to tidbit size.  Save the juice!!

It's easiest to have all these all chopped and ready to go.  I set them all out in containers and let each person "build" their own foilie.  Even the little munchkins can have quite an opinion.

Scatter the chicken around through the veggies to distribute the flavor.  Now add the pineapple and scatter it about . . . ready for the sauce??  Yum!

I make the sauce out of:

• 1 c. --Pineapple juice, add water to make it come to about 1/2 c. per foilie
• 1 T. --Apple cider vinegar,  white or rice vinegar is also OK.
• 1 T. --Sugar
•  Tiny pinch --Ginger per cup of sauce,  powdered if you are camping
• Good squirt --Catsup, not really authentic, but it's good mind you, good (from the great book, Guerrilla Wife, ever read it?).
• Soy sauce, a good dash per cup of sauce or according to taste.
• Corn starch, 1 t. per cup of sauce
• Salt, if you want more salty without so much soy sauce.

Now for the "procedure".  Grab a cup to the side.  Carefully some of the juice into the cup.  Notice I didn't say how much?  This is not an exact recipe here.  It all depends on what you like and how much there is left to be distributed amongst all the diners.  Making it all in one batch might be the easiest.  So grab a bowl . . . . 

Put in the juice, vinegar, sugar (sugar and vinegar should be equal amounts) , ginger, catsup, and soy sauce into a bowl.  Mix them up good stir.  Add the corn starch and stir again.  Scoop half a cup in each foilie. 

That night, I warmed the sauce up in the microwave, stirring it every minute so to thicken it.  I have made it out in the wilds and just put it over the food so that it would  thicken as it cooked.  Worked fine.  

I tried to get pictures that would show how I brought the sides of the foil up to contain the sauce until I wrapped the dinner.  This is actually a large one for my hubby and me.   I covered the top with a second piece of foil and then folded all the sides like I usually do the top and sides.

Cook it on coals as you usually would.  Being so large, I cooked it for 35 - 45 minutes on moderately hot coals.  Who could resist this?

Believe It or Not!

Believe it or not, I have been busy trying new ideas with my food storage and cooking outside.   I have also been making bread and treats.  I have even been taking pictures!  Left is a giant foilie of the sweet and sour chicken.

I have also fallen in love with making this Artisan Bread.  I am trying to figure how to make several smaller ones for bread bowls.  Each baking dish needs a lid.

It has been a busy time with getting ready for another school year of baby sitting and just cleaning out thirty two years of accumulating marriage  junk  . . .  Let me make it clear, I am getting rid of the junk, not the husband!

I am finding it hard to organize everything so that I can get to it to rotate through using my food stuffs on a regular basis.

I hope to start posting all of these tonight . . . after the grand sons come over to paint and make some wooden toys.

What Not To Do?

I love blogs, you can make a total fool of yourself and who would know if they see you on the street.  I made some of the one hour bread last night.  Hubby came home and I rushed it so that I could get to bed, it was 11:00 pm and I was bushed.  Aren't a great "little" wife (not)?

Here are the pictures, such as they are.  I did try making it using some non-soy ingredients since my grand son comes over a lot and can't have the soy.  Today, I am going to go ahead and make it from original recipe.  I have several issues to correct, as you will see.  I am sharing these with you to save you the problems :-]


Here is the recipe with the experimental ingredients in blue.  I did cut the whole thing in half until I have it coming out right and soy-free.

Pantry Secrets Bread

• 10 ½ cups bread flour or whole-wheat flour (or combination) ( I used white & half whole wheat)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• 3 rounded Tablespoons SAF Instant Yeast
• 3 Tablespoons soy lecithin (or 2 1/2 Tab. dough enhancer or both) (1/4 c. oil , 1 1/2 T. vinegar & 1/4 c. gluten flour)
• 4 cups HOT tap water (or 3 cups hot water and 1 cup applesauce)

Mix dry ingredients (and dough enhancer if using).  Add lecithin directly into 3 tablespoon indentations in the flour and water.  Mix for one minute and check for consistency.  If dough is too dry or lumps to one side, add more water.  If dough is too moist, add a little flour.  Mix for 5 minutes for white bread, 10 minutes for wheat bread.  It will eventually clean the sides of the bowl.  Dough will be sticky.  Don’t add any more water or flour after it has finished mixing.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray counter and bread pans with cooking spray.  Cut dough into 4.  Shape loaves and cover with a dish towel.  Let rise 20-25 minutes without touching or moving the dough.  Bake for 25 minutes.  If using a convection oven, bake 14 minutes.  Immediately remove  from pans to cool.

1.  I let the machine knead the dough for 5 minutes and it wasn't as smooth as it usually is so I gave it another couple of minutes, it didn't help.  2.  Pour a small amount of oil on the counter.   3.  Spread it out for molding the dough.

4.  Form the dough into a smooth ball by kneading a few times by hand.  Let it rest for a minute or two.  5.  Cut the dough into equal portions.  Remember that I cut the recipe in half so I only have two loaves worth.  

6.  Work the dough into a smooth roll and pinch the bottom good to make sure it holds smooth while baking.  

7.  Put the dough upside down into the well oiled pan  to coat the top with oil and them flip.  8.  Let it rise in pans with towel over to keep the top from drying out.  If it is day time (or even night in southern AZ) put it outside and it'll rise like crazy for you!  9.  Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.  My favorite way to cool bread is to place it inside of a brown paper bag on top of a cooling rack.  When it is pretty cool go ahead and put it into plastic bags.

I will make another batch exactly as the recipe says today and share that with you.  So far I am not having the best luck, but Angela's was wonderful, so I know it is me, not the recipe.

LESSON LEARNED:  Try out new recipes before you are depending on the results.  I usually make good bread!  This is also why it is so important to learn to make bread before you need to.  It does usually take a little practice so it would be great to be a good bread maker before you are dependent on it!!

SNEAK PREVIEW:  This is the Artisan Bread recipe that Angela gave me at the same time as the Whole Wheat Bread.  It turned out so good last week end that I doubled this batch!  Pictures and results later today.  It needs to "stew" for a few more hours!

Promises, Promises . . The Bread Is In The Works!

If anyone tells you they are sad or bored with their "empty nest", have their head examined!  I am blessed and lucky to have my kids and grand kids nearby.  This summer my daughters (including my DIL) are helping me pull my house together.  So when they can come, everything else goes straight to the back burner.

The bread is in the works, I am taking pictures and will be writing up the post through out the day as I go.  Should be on tonight as I sink my teeth into the nice fragrant warm bread, straight out of the oven and dripping with some butter and home made jam.  Can't you just smell and taste it already?  My hubby will love coming home to it tonight!

ONE HOUR WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

I will be doing several posts in this series.   First let me" introduce myself".   I started making bread by hand when I was still single, in the mid-seventies.  It was light, delicious, and held together beautifully.  I had no idea why, I just worked with it until it was right.  I also realized that kneading bread by hand could give you quite a work out, good for the arms, especially the triceps and even for the abs.

Fast forward . . .  got married was broke as a church mouse when my husband changed careers five months later and it had to be good or we were in trouble, since I couldn't go out and buy some.  OK, I still had a little pride intact at that point and had to preserve a little dignity.  I married a really nice guy who had great cooks in his family.  He was the poor old bachelor (30) that everyone liked to take care of, so I had to live up to that.  The point being, please don't ignore this thinking, "I have a good recipe, don't need this".  It is good bread and who doesn't want to stretch their time in each day? 

• First -- I will post the original recipe
• Second -- will be the making of the recipe with pictures and results.
• Third -- will be tweeking and playing with the recipes, because I am me, this is my blog and I can't help myself.   Angela said that it was OK because she did the same thing . . . wish I had gotten to know this kindred spirit earlier than a week before she moved!
• Fourth -- I have learned a lot this week as I have used different ingredients, some of which I can't use if my grandson is going to be eating it.  I will be learning more as this process takes place and will share the good, the bad and ugly with you.  Left my pride behind me years ago and just want to make this life a growing experience for me and for anyone I can spare you the same "failures" that I may have  . . .  I am a mother and seem to take that old hen approach with any one around me.  Blame this one on my mom, she was that way.
• So from an "Old Dog" , please don't write this series off if you feel you have nothing to learn.  I am 60 and still learn more every day.  Some of these are so quick it hurts.    Time is a priceless commodity in today's world.  This will help.

Some of the first lessons I learned :

•  Know Your Machine --- When Angela showed me how to make this bread at her house, it was kneaded for 10 minutes.  When I did it at my house before teaching the bread class, the dough was really weird, lumpy and just wouldn't work up to a nice smooth surface like I am used to when forming loaves.  I finally realized that her machine had a dough hook like this.  It is a large industrial sized Kitchen Aid, just like I thought I wanted to replace mine with.  She said that it has a hard time kneading a four-loaf batch of dough when it is pure whole wheat flour.  So now I am wondering, like I can afford to buy anything right now . . .  

• I have an old K-TEK machine that I bought about 25 years ago.  I made 6 loaves at a time, often twice a week.  If you notice, there are actually two hooks on this one and the white "flat arms" that stick out are stationary, so the hooks are pulling the dough against them while kneading.  Very efficient, but can murder your gluten in a heart beat if you don't pay attention. Who knew?  This wasn't the first time it has happened, just the first time in years.
• So the moral of this long winded epistle is, read your owners manual!

Pantry Secrets Bread --  Angela's tweeks in (  ) 

• 10 ½ cups bread flour or whole-wheat flour (or combination)  -- (we used 8 of whole wheat and 2 white all purpose flour that day)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• 3 rounded Tablespoons SAF Instant Yeast
• 3 Tablespoons (liquid) soy lecithin (or 2 1/2 Tab. dough enhancer or both)
• 4 cups HOT tap water (or 3 cups hot water and 1 cup applesauce)

***It is important that you measure all ingredients very accurately!!***

1.   Mix dry ingredients (and dough enhancer if using).  
2.   Add liquid lecithin directly into 3 tablespoon indentations in the flour and water.

  

***  I tried to make one with a quarter cup, didn't work, so just make Tablespoon holes   Loved this little trick!***

3.   Mix for one minute and check for consistency.  If dough is too dry or lumps to one side, add more water.  4.   If dough is too moist, add a little flour.  
5.   Mix for 5 minutes for white bread, 10 minutes for wheat bread.  
6.   It will eventually clean the sides of the bowl.  Dough will be sticky.  Don’t add any more water or flour after it has finished mixing.

7.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

8.   Spray counter and bread pans with cooking spray.  
9.   Cut dough into 4 equal pieces..  
10.  Shape loaves and cover with a dish towel.  
11.  Let rise 20-25 minutes without touching or moving the dough.  
12.  Bake for 25 minutes.  If using a convection oven, bake 14 minutes.  
13.  Immediately remove from baking pans and allow to cool on racks.

Old Dogs Can Always Learn New Tricks!

I just spent a very long wonderful day with all good things to do and learn,  It was Super Saturday at church for the Relief Society.  If yo are not familiar with that group, it is one of the auxiliary for women, 18 and over in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  All of us who participate find it to be a wonderful support for us and our families.  We have leaders who are called to teach, serve and mentor us, whatever age and stage of life we may be in.  It is a privilege to serve in Relief Society which brings growth to us when we are in that capacity as well.

Some times we have "Super Saturdays", where we just get together and do things, learn things and enjoy the time to be together as friends, sisters and mothers/daughters.   It got a little long for Mariah and I since our day started with Bountiful Baskets at 5:00 am. Linda, in the middle, was pretty well in charge today since the others presidency members were not able to come.. No one can make a girl feel more welcome and comfortable.

I did teach a quick class about making bread and learned so much.  It 's kind of funny, I have been making bread since the mid 70's and just learn/relearned many bread making principles.  After all those years making it by hand, I still have to remember that machines can actually over develop your gluten.  I absolutely destroyed one batch one batch  and then wiped out the yeast trying to keep some attack dough live and workable so that everyone could knead it and get the "feel" of good bread dough texture.  It was so funny/weird watching it sit there and just go belly up . . . . . .   will share all of this tomorrow with pictures as I make it all over again and do it right!!!  The little gal on the right with the dark ponytail was my partner in crime at Girls Camp.  she laughed when I told her that we were making dutch oven bread.  I was't kidding.  The Artisan bread can and would  bake beautifully in a dutch oven.  Yum!!  I'll have to do that on Monday.


ARTISAN BREAD  --  I just had to try these recipes.  I can not tell you how good this was!  It takes a little preplanning, but it was gone is 10 minutes.  If you ever go to restaurants and wish you could take home tones of that lovely bread with the light crunchy crust and wonderful melt in your mouth soft chewy insides, you want to try this bread!!  It's easy and will make any simple meal gourmet!  Wish I had taken pictures of it.  I will tomorrow!

ONE HOUR WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

No your eyes don't deceive you!  I learned how to make this a couple weeks ago and will be trying it on my own today.


First I am about to drag my "old Feller" out of bed to finish my kitchen mess.  In case your wondering, he LOVES it when I get "In Over My Head" (Oh wow, that sounds like a good TV show, doesn't it? :-]  ) and he gets to rescue me.


Anyway, back to the bread.  The bread was really nice and soft.  Angela's girls were pretty excited that she was making it and kept coming in and out to see if it was done yet.  Jon & I had a hard time staying out of it so that we could have my girls try it.

OK, admit it, you're curious. .  . .  maybe even  a little interested!  Angela shared a big ole bunch of recipes with me, so don't miss this next batch of adventures!!!

I even made room in my freezer so that I can have a ball and not lose any.

I will be making them with the good ole hard red wheat and hard white wheat.  If yo live nearby, drop by and I'll share some!

CAMP COOKING RECIPES -- Good for Cooking In Backyard BBQ to Take the Heat Outside!!

I found most of these at recipezaar.com  It is one of my favorite websites for looking up something new.  


Perhaps I should have used my own, but I never write them down and change them every time I make something, depending on my mood at the time.  When I do try to measure and write a recipe down, it never seems to turn out as well.  Some times that is partly the reason that it takes me so long to get something posted.  I am working on it and early next week, I will make some of these again, add pictures and share my tweeks . . . .  you KNOW I have them.  


Fire-Roasted Veggies Recipe #28126  1¾ hours | 10 min prep   SERVES 4 -6

·         2 medium potatoes, cubed into approximately 1/2-3/4 inch pieces

·         1 green pepper, sliced into approximately 1 inch pieces

·         1 medium onion, sliced into approximately 1 inch pieces

·         1 head broccoli, florets,only,discard stems

·         2-3 tablespoons mccormick's roasted garlic monterey poultry seasoning

·         1 tablespoon garlic powder

·         1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. wash, and slice all veggies as directed.
2. place in large resealable plastic bag, add McCormicks Seasoning, and garlic powder.
3. seal bag and toss, to distribute seasoning.
4. add olive oil.
5. reseal bag and toss to coat veggies again.
6. pour veggies into med foil pan, cover with aluminum foil, puncture foil a few times with knife to create vents.
7. place on med fire, for about 1-1 1/2 hours.
8. cook longer is desired.
9. note: i am more of a dump cook the seasonings mentioned are approx.
10. use more or less as you choose.

PINEAPPLE CHICKEN   Prep Time: 45 minutes   Total Time: 45 minutes   Servings: 4

Ingredients:

·         4 skinless chicken breasts

·         1/4 cup catsup

·         2 tablespoons cider vinegar

·         2 tablespoons brown sugar

·         1 small can pineapple chunks, drained

·         1 green bell pepper, chopped

·         1 small sweet onion, chopped

·         salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Make the sauce first. You can make this ahead of time at home and bring it to the campground in a container in your cooler. First, chop the pepper and onion into big chunks. Then mix all ingredients (except the chicken) in a sauce pan and bring to a slow simmer stirring occasionally.

Next tear off a piece of foil big enough to wrap each chicken breast. Spoon some sauce onto each piece of foil, place a chicken breast on top, and spoon more sauce over each breast. Salt and pepper to taste. Wrap foil tightly and cook for 30-40 minutes over campfire coals or on the grill. Turn occasionally.

Camp Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe #210566

We make this whenever we go camping and it really does taste just like pineapple upside down cake. We usually put the packets on the grill grate on the camp fire ring if there is one; if not, we use our BBQ grill.

by JenniferK2     10 min |     SERVES 12

·         12 cake doughnuts

·         12 slices pineapple

·         1/2 cup butter, softened

·         1 cup brown sugar

 Cut 12 large squares of aluminum foil.

1. Cut doughnuts in half the way you would a bagel.
2. Spread the cut side of each doughnut half with 1 tsp of butter and sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp of brown sugar.
3. Top half of the doughnuts with a pineapple slice, then with the other halves of the doughnuts.
4. Seal each doughnut tightly in foil.
5. Lay over medium coals for about 10-15 minutes, turning halfway through. Open carefully as it will be very hot.

Prep Time: 10 minutes    Total Time: 10 minutes     Ingredients:  1 can biscuits,  squeeze butter,  1 stick

Preparation:

Roll out a biscuit with your hands so that it becomes elongated and about one inch thick at the center. Wrap it tightly around the end of your stick and pinching it as you go to insure that it stays on the stick while cooking. When done wrapping, the biscuit should take up about six inches of the stick. Heat over the campfire until golden brown. Pull it off the stick, pour butter down the hole left by the stick, and enjoy.

DESSERT BURRITOS

Ingredients:

tortillas
pie filling - blueberry, cherry, apple, ...
chocolate chips
mini-marshmallows
peanut butter

Notes:

This dessert has become our favorite. It is Sweet, easy, has very little clean-up, and doesn't get hands really messy if a little care is used.

Instructions:

Open the cans and put a spoon in each one.
Tear off squares of aluminum foil.
Put a tortilla on the square of foil.
Add peanut butter or pie filling.
Sprinkle with chocolate chips and/or marshmallows.
Roll up the tortilla and fold the bottom edge in.
Wrap foil around tortilla and place on grill above fire or on ash around edge of fire.
Wait for the ingredients to melt.

---

Hints:

·         Main problem is putting too much stuff in the burrito - try to talk people into taking smaller amounts.

·         Put all the tortillas in a foil wrap and carefully heat them before so they are more flexible.

·         Putting tortillas directly into the coals will burn them - keep them away and rotate often.

Each person should mark his burrito wrapper somehow so he knows it is his - special foil fold or permanent marker or series of poked holes in the foil

Campfire Orange Rind Cake Recipe #310705 LDSMom128 1¼ hours | 15 min prep

12 -15 Cakes

·         12-15 oranges

·         18 ounces white cake mix

·         3 eggs

·         1/2 cup oil

·         1 cup water

·         aluminum foil

1. Prepare the oranges by cutting off one end. Save the parts cut off for later. Remove the pulp from the oranges, but leave the rinds intact!
2. Make the cake batter with the cake mix, eggs, oil, and water. Stir well.
3. Pour the cake batter in the orange rinds, about 1/2 full. Put the tops of the oranges back on the orange. Wrap the oranges in aluminum foil.
4. Lay the wrapped oranges into the hot coals from a campfire. Cook for about an hour or until the cakes are cooked through.
5. Enjoy Eating out of the orange rind!

PITA POCKETS

Ingredients:

1 pkg pita bread
1 can spaghetti sauce
1 cup grated cheese
1 pkg sliced pepperoni
optional: sliced black olives, pineapple chunks, diced peppers, ...

Notes:

Use precooked meat since you are just heating it up.
Mark your own foil with a special fold so you know its yours.

Instructions:

Cut each pita in half and spoon spaghetti sauce into pocket spreading it evenly.
Add cheese, pepperoni, and other toppings.
Wrap in foil and place in coals. Cook for a couple minutes, flip, and cook another two minutes.

DESSERT BURRITOS

Ingredients:

tortillas
pie filling - blueberry, cherry, apple, ...
chocolate chips
mini-marshmallows
peanut butter

Notes:

This dessert has become our favorite. It is Sweet, easy, has very little clean-up, and doesn't get hands really messy if a little care is used.

Instructions:

Open the cans and put a spoon in each one.
Tear off squares of aluminum foil.
Put a tortilla on the square of foil.
Add peanut butter or pie filling.
Sprinkle with chocolate chips and/or marshmallows.
Roll up the tortilla and fold the bottom edge in.
Wrap foil around tortilla and place on grill above fire or on ash around edge of fire.
Wait for the ingredients to melt.