Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Imagine the looks on your campers’ faces if you told them you were making chicken cordon bleu for dinner. This is a fancy classic French dish made of chicken breasts (pounded flat) stuffed with ham and Swiss cheese. Each stuffed chicken breast is then rolled in bread crumbs and baked. Now, while you could make it this way in camp and bake them in a Dutch or box oven, we found an easy way to make it casserole style, which is great if you’re feeding a crowd.

This casserole has all the flavors of chicken cordon bleu, including the crunchy breadcrumb topping, without the labor, and, if you are feeding a crowd, a casserole is always a good way to go. Much of the prep work could be done at home before you go so that when you get to camp it’s just “some assembly required.”

The chicken can be cooked at home and cubed along with the ham, and the cheeses could be grated at home. Everything can be loaded into containers for the ride to camp in your cooler.

You could also modify this by adding some broccoli to it. You could also kick it up a notch and add some bacon bits giving it more of a club sandwich flavor.

Equipment
12-inch Dutch oven or 9×13 baking dish, and a skillet

Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups small-cubed ham
1 1/4 cups grated Swiss cheese
1 1/4 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
4 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
salt and black pepper

Prep
At home before you go, cook the chicken breasts by either grilling, frying, baking or poaching, and cube them. Cube the ham and grate the cheeses. Load everything into containers or resealable bags for the ride to camp in your cooler. The cheeses could be combined in one container.

In camp, foil line (if you’re going to) and/or grease your Dutch oven. Put about a third of chicken in a layer in the bottom. Top with half the ham. Sprinkle over 1/4 cup of the mixed cheese. Repeat 1 more time, then finish with a layer of chicken.

You’ll probably want to start your coals about now.

In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Put the panko in a bowl, pour in half of the melted butter, mix well and set aside. Add the flour to the remaining butter in the skillet and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking out any lumps. Whisk in the milk, broth, Dijon and cayenne and let it cook until it begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt because the ham will bring some saltiness. You can always add more salt at the table.

Pour the sauce over the casserole. Sprinkle over the remaining 1 cup cheese, then the panko mix. Bake in a 350°F oven, using 17 coals on the lid and 8 underneath, for 25-30 minutes until the top is browned and the casserole is bubbling.

Makes about 6 servings. Serve with buttered noodles or a rice pilaf, and some green vegetables or a salad.

If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

Chicken Chow Mein

When we go out for Asian food whether it is dine-in or take-out, chow mein is always one of the dishes we order. It is great as an entrée or as a side dish. It also makes a great camping dish because, for the most part, it is a one-pot recipe. And, I don’t think I’ve met a kid who didn’t like noodles.

We’ve made this recipe a few times and we love it. My son has even gone back for thirds! It is loaded with healthy vegetables and the flavors, particularly the ginger, really pop.

If you need to cook gluten-free, you could easily swap out the Yaki-Soba for gluten-free spaghetti. The flavor and texture will be subtly different, but with all the other flavors going on, you probably won’t notice.

You could serve this as a stand-alone dish or as a side dish. As a stand-alone, it serves 4-5. As a side dish, you could probably double that. If you’re serving as a side dish, you could omit the chicken and do something else with it like Teriyaki Chicken or my Kung Pao Chicken.

You could also serve the chow mein (with or without the chicken) with my Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry. You could serve this with an Asian marinated flank steak. You could serve this with pot stickers, egg rolls or just a simple Asian salad. Really, the possibilities are endless.

A lot of the prep for this could be done at home before you go. In camp, you could make this in a cast-iron wok on a big camp stove or in a Dutch oven on the stove or over coals, or in a large, deep skillet. If all the prep is done at home, you can get this meal on the picnic table in less than 30 minutes, depending on what else you serve with it.

Ingredients
¼ cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger or ½ teaspoon dried, ground ginger
¼ teaspoon white pepper
3 (5.6-ounce) packages refrigerated Yaki-Soba, seasoning sauce packets discarded*
1 onion, sliced into half or quarter moons, depending on your preference
3 stalks celery, sliced diagonally
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 cup carrots , shredded or julienne sliced
4 green onions, sliced with whites and greens separated
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts , cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons sesame oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Prep
At home before you go, prep the chicken and load into a resealable bag or container. Prep all your vegetables. If you don’t want to shred all the cabbage, you can purchase a bag of pre-shredded (the kind used for coleslaw). The amount of cabbage will look like a lot but it will cook down. The onion, carrot, and celery could all go into a resealable bag or container together since they will all be cooked together. The cabbage and bean sprouts could also be transported together. The green onion should be packaged separately. Mix together the soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, ginger and white pepper and load into a container that can be sealed. Make sure you pack salt, pepper, and sesame oil. You should also pack some extra soy sauce and a hot sauce that folks can add at the table if they choose.

In camp, add some boiling water to a pot or a bowl and add the Yaki-Soba until loosened, about 1-2 minutes; drain well.

In your chosen cooking vessel (wok, Dutch oven, skillet) over medium-high heat, add a couple tablespoons of sesame oil. Add chicken, season it with salt and pepper and stir fry just until cooked through (it will continue to cook as you add other ingredients). Add onion, carrot, and celery, and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the cabbage and the bean sprouts until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in Yaki-Soba, soy sauce mixture, and white parts of green onion until well combined, about 2 minutes. Total cook time in camp is 15-20 minutes.

Garnish with the green parts of the green onion.

Serves 4-5 as a stand-alone dish or 8-10 as a side dish.

*Yaki-Soba is ramen-style noodles and they can be found in the refrigerated aisle of your local grocery store. In camp, all you need to do is place them in a bowl and pour hot water over them and let them rest for a few minutes to “loosen up.”

This post has been shared at Homestead Bloggers Network. If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

Celebrating 2016

We now have 117 posts, more than 1,400 followers, and nearly 22,000 page views. Wow!

I want to thank all my guinea pigs, I mean, family, friends, and scouts who taste tested every recipe I blogged about, and for all your comments and suggestions for blog ideas.

Let’s celebrate 2016 and look back at the 10 posts you gave the most “hits” to this year.

10. Best Ever Meatloaf

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Ugh! Meatloaf! Really?! I have to admit, I’ve had some really lousy meatloaves over the years. I have an aunt, who shall remain nameless, who frequently made meatloaf when we came to visit and, I swear, it was like eating sawdust! But have no fear, meatloaf phobes, this meatloaf recipe is a winner! It even won over my meatloaf-hating hubby many years ago. Read the post.

9. Scalloped Potatoes are the Mother of All Comfort Foods

Scalloped potatoes are one of my family’s favorite winter comfort foods. They pair very nicely with my meatloaf. They both cook at the same temperature. The potatoes go into the oven first because they cook 90 minutes and then I assemble the meatloaf and it goes into the oven for an hour. I time it so they are done at the same time. I serve them together with either a green vegetable or a salad. It’s heaven on a plate! Read the post.

8. Apple Raisin Monkey Bread

I think this just became my new favorite monkey bread! A couple weeks ago, we were going to a potluck brunch with friends and we wanted to make monkey bread. On a lark, we decided to add a diced apple and it was amazing! We loved it! Read the post.

7. Meatball Sub Pull-Aparts

Let me just say right up front, this is crazy good! Okay, now that we have that out of the way, we can continue. This is a warm, hearty meal that tastes amazing. From the rich and flavorful Italian meatballs and marinara sauce to the velvety, gooey mozzarella cheese to the fluffy and crunchy bits of French bread, this was so yummy! Serve it with a fresh green Italian or Caesar salad and you have a winner dinner. Everyone loved this. Read the post.

6. Chicken Mini Pies

This has to be one of our family’s top 10 favorite things to eat. We don’t make them very often because they are a bit labor intensive, but they are well worth the effort. In fact, they taste so yummy that we nearly devour them as soon as they come out of the oven, piping hot and scalding our mouths in the process. But we just can’t stop ourselves. They are that yummy. Read the post.

5. White Bean Chicken Chili

I have to admit that I was a little concerned at first when I saw and smelled the amount of cilantro that goes in because I’m not a big cilantro fan. But after simmering 30 minutes, the cilantro really mellows out and provides the signature flavor of this dish. I’m not sure what it is about white beans, but for me, they are a comfort food. This is such a satisfying soup but it is also light so it’s perfect for a cold winter or warm summer night. When I made this a couple weekends later, I served it with my cornbread. Read the post.

4. DIY: How to Build a Box Oven

A box oven is a cheap and easy way to add an oven to your outdoor cooking gear. They are simple to make and you can build as many as you want. If a Dutch oven is out of your budget, a box oven is definitely in your budget and they are so simple to make a Brownie or Cub Scout could build one. Even if you have one or more Dutch ovens, one or two box ovens can add that much more oven power to your camp kitchen. Here’s all you need to build a box oven: a cardboard box, heavy duty aluminum foil, 4 empty cans, and duct tape. Read the post.

3. Best Banana Bread

In honor of National Banana Bread Day, here’s a simple banana bread recipe. You could make this in camp and bake it in a Dutch oven or in a box oven or you could make it at home and bring it to camp for a healthy snack. It works well as either muffins or a loaf. If you make a loaf, you could also slice it up and use it to make French toast for breakfast! Read the post.

2. Best Buttermilk Biscuits

This is the best buttermilk biscuit I’ve ever tasted. It’s light and fluffy and buttery. It tastes great with gravy on it or honey or jam or just plain butter or nothing at all. Making these biscuits have become a weekend tradition. My family has declared them to be better than the ones made by the Golden Arches or the Colonel. Read the post.

And the most-popular post of 2016 was …

1. Beef Stroganoff on a Camp Stove

This beef stroganoff recipe is a nod to my grandmother’s eastern European roots. This is one of my son’s favorite dishes and was the first recipe he asked me to teach him how to make. It is fast and easy, and I can usually have it on the table in less than 30 minutes. This would make a great Friday night dinner after rolling into camp because it is so quick. Read the post.

Keep those comments and suggestions coming! Now, let’s make 2017 even better and let’s get outside and get cooking!

If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

Chicken Mini Pies

This has to be one of our family’s top 10 favorite things to eat. We don’t make them very often because they are a bit labor intensive, but they are well worth the effort. In fact, they taste so yummy that we nearly devour them as soon as they come out of the oven, piping hot and scalding our mouths in the process. But we just can’t stop ourselves. They are that yummy.

The cream cheese chicken mixture is well seasoned, but not spicy. It goes so well with the paprika seasoned pie crust. It’s comfort food you can hold in your hand.

To make assembly in camp easier, both the pie crust and the filling could be made ahead of time at home and ride to camp in a cooler. Here are a few more tricks we’ve learned along the way.

We chop all the vegetables really fine so every pie gets a nice variety of goodies. Dicing the veggies extra small also makes sure the filling is not too lumpy, which makes assembling the pies harder. When making the filling, we add the celery at the very last so it’s still a little crisp, but don’t forget to add it (like I’ve never done that before).

For the poultry seasoning, we prefer Johnny’s but you could also use Lawry’s or whatever poultry seasoning happens to be your favorite.

We make our own pie dough from scratch in 2 batches. I’ve tried to make one big batch, but it’s too hard to handle. For a flakier pie crust, make sure to refrigerate the dough before rolling out. So, making ahead actually works better for the pie crust.

If you choose to use store-bought pie dough, just give it a light, even, dusting of paprika as you roll it out. Use about a teaspoon of paprika and evenly distribute across your pie crusts. The pies won’t taste the same without the paprika pie dough. And you’ll need the equivalent of about 4-5 pie crusts.

To cut out the pastry rounds, we use Pampered Chef’s 4-inch round cut-n-seal or you can use a 4-inch biscuit cutter and then crimp the edges with a fork. I can bake 4 at a time in a 12-inch Dutch oven.

I can bake 7 at a time in my 16-inch Dutch oven.

I can bake 8 on a 17¼ x 11¼ baking sheet in a box oven (apple box) or a regular home oven.

For instructions on how to make a box oven, see my blog post, “DIY How to Build a Box Oven.”

Any way you bake them, they will disappear as fast as you can make them. Make sure you get one before they are gone!

Equipment
Dutch oven or 17¼ x 11¼ baking sheet, skillet, mixing bowl, pastry cutter, measuring cups and spoons, 4-inch round cut-n-seal or 4-inch biscuit cutter, and a 2-tablespoon ice cream scoop.

Filling Ingredients
¼ cup celery, finely diced
¼ cup onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons butter
3 cups chicken, cooked and finely shredded, fresh or 2 13-ounce cans
3 tablespoons chicken broth
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ cup cream cheese

Pastry Ingredients (make 2 batches)
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon paprika
1 cup cold butter, grated or diced
8-10 tablespoons cold water

Prep Work for the Filling

In a large skillet, sauté onion in butter. Stir in chicken, broth, seasonings, and cream cheese. To the chicken mixture, add the celery and just heat it through.

Prep Work for the Pastry

Sift together flour, salt and paprika. Cut in butter until it resembles small peas. Gradually add water until ball forms. Shape into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled. Roll out pastry to 1/16-inch thickness. Cut rounds.

Assembly of the Meat Pies

Mound 2 tablespoons of filling on half of the rounds you cut (we use a small 2-tablespoon ice cream scoop).

Moisten edges with water; place another round on top and seal the edges either with the cut-n-seal or with a fork.

Place in ungreased Dutch oven or on ungreased cooking sheet. Prick tops with a fork. Bake in a 375°F oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

For a box oven, you’ll need about 15 coals.

For a 12-inch Dutch oven, you’ll need 27 coals, 9 underneath and 18 on the lid.

For a 16-inch Dutch oven, you’ll use 38 coals, 13 underneath and 25 on the lid.

Makes about 20 pies, which will feed 10 if everyone has 2 pies or 6 if everyone has 3 pies (it’s been known to happen). If there are leftovers, at home, they reheat very nicely in the microwave. In camp, we just wrap them in foil and warm them by the fire.

This post has been shared at Homestead Bloggers Network. If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

 

White Bean Chicken Chili

Last month, our Boy Scout troop was camping on the White River and one of my soon-to-be-eagle scouts made this soup for his patrol, the Screamin’ Eagles. The weekend was all about camping and working on the Cooking Merit Badge so our dinner Saturday night was served potluck style, which meant everyone got to try every dish. This soup was such a hit. I blinked and it was gone. I was grateful for the small cup I managed to get before it disappeared. And the scout, being the humble guy that he is, gave all the credit to his mom’s recipe. I reminded him; however, that he was the one who executed the recipe and he did a fantastic job.

I have to admit that I was a little concerned at first when I saw and smelled the amount of cilantro that goes in because I’m not a big cilantro fan. But after simmering 30 minutes, the cilantro really mellows out and provides the signature flavor of this dish. I’m not sure what it is about white beans, but for me, they are a comfort food. This is such a satisfying soup but it is also light so it’s perfect for a cold winter or warm summer night. When I made this a couple weekends later, I served it with my cornbread.

For the cornbread recipe, please see my blog post: “Cookie’s Killer Cornbread.”

It took me about 20 minutes to get everything prepped and then it was everyone into the pool. Bring it up to a boil and then turn the heat down and let it simmer for 30 minutes. It is that simple to make. Serve with cornbread, quesadillas, a cheese scone or biscuit, and a salad and you’ll have a great meal.

Equipment
4 quart Dutch oven or stockpot, strainer, cutting board, knife, stirring spoon and/or ladle, measuring spoons and cups.

Ingredients
2-2½ cups of chicken, cooked, fresh or 2 (13oz) cans (drained), diced or shredded
3 (14.5 oz) cans of white beans, drained and rinsed
2 (14.5 oz) cans of chicken broth
½ cup carrots, finely chopped
½ cup celery, finely chopped
½ cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
½ cup onion, finely chopped
¼ cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika

Prep
Prep all your ingredients. It took me about 20 minutes. Combine all the ingredients in the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Makes about 8 1-cup servings

This post has been shared at Homestead Bloggers Network. If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Chili Dinner!

For a weekend camp out, typically we roll into camp on Friday night. The vehicles barf out the gear and we commence setting up tents, camp kitchens, rain flies (here in the Northwest that’s standard-operating-procedure), and all our other little creature comforts. Dinner needs to be fast and easy because we don’t want to be eating and cleaning up at midnight. I, for one, will turn into a pumpkin if I stay up that late!

Here is a super easy, hot dinner that you can have on the picnic table in 20 minutes! It serves 4-6 so multiply it up if you’re feeding a larger group.

For home, if you keep these ingredients in your pantry, this can be a quick, simple dinner on those nights everyone is running in different directions and you need a fast, hot, hearty dinner.

Equipment

One pot and something to stir and serve with.

Ingredients

2 cups (16 oz) of your favorite salsa. You could also use 2 prepared packages of Backpackers Pantry Salsa.

28 oz of canned chicken (draining is optional depending on how much liquid you want). The amount is approximate depending on the size of your cans. You could also poach a couple of chicken breasts at home, shred them, and bring them in your cooler.

1 can (15 oz) pinto or black beans, drained. I like to use black beans because they go so well with chicken and I like the contrasting color they add to the soup. I can’t help myself; I’m a visual person.

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon pepper

salt to taste (I did not use any salt at all and I thought it didn’t need it, but depending on the type of salsa and chicken you use, and your taste buds, you may decide to add some salt.)

Prep

Combine salsa, chicken, beans, and spices in a pot or Dutch oven. Cook over medium-high heat for about 10-15 minutes, until ingredients are thoroughly heated through and you’ve shredded all the chicken. Have a taste-test along the way and add more spices to your liking.

Serve with chips, tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole or whatever else you like.