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Pineapple BBQ Chicken Foil Packets

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It’s the end of August. School started a couple weeks ago, which typically marks the end of summer. With the boy in school, it’s impossible to go on a vacation, which is hard because Labor Day seems to be my end of summer. The weather is still hot and I’m ready for a last trip, even if it’s just a quick getaway to Tahoe. Alas, none of that is going to happen this year so one must make do with what one has.

This is where the pineapple comes in. The pineapple? Yes, the pineapple. The pineapple is synonymous with tropical, fun, vacation, and relaxation. It can be eaten plain. It can be controversial (on pizza). It makes a great foo-foo drink (pina colada). And frankly, it’s one of the cutest fruits around. Rejoice the pineapple!

Next, there’s barbecue, another symbol of summer. I’m not going to go into the discussion of barbecue versus grilling. That’s for another day. Today I’m just writing about that delicious, sweet, and tangy saucy stuff. It’s like summer in a bottle. Work with me here.

Camping. I love it. Some of you hate it and I still like you, but for those campers out there, the foil packet is a treasured item. Take some meat. Take some veggies. Shake some salt and pepper over it. Wrap it up. Throw it on the fire or grill. Voila! Dinner!

So I was pretty happy when I found this recipe to help with this staycation: Pineapple BBQ Chicken Foil Packets. And it’s super easy.

First, heat up the grill. I’m including this part of the recipe for you grillers out there, but I decided to oven bake mine because I didn’t feel like standing in front of the grill when it’s a million degrees. I compromised by heating up my air-conditioned house with a 425F oven. First world problems.

Cut your pineapple (yay!) into chunks. I cheated and used pineapple my grocery store already cut up for me. I think cheating is perfectly acceptable. You can used canned pineapple too. Or you can cut up a whole pineapple. The choice is up to you.

Slice up your veggies: onions and bell peppers. The original recipe (thank you Kitchn!) called for red onions and green bell peppers. I was all out of red onions, which was a shocker because that never happens around here. I have a constant supply for my big-ass salads. (To clarify, the salads are big, not my ass.) But I did find some white onions leftover from our tacos the other day. Next, I was supposed to use green bell peppers. Ummm. Just no. They are bitter and not tropical at all. You want a red pepper. You can sub for yellow or orange too. Just don’t use green unless you really like them.

Pineapple BBQ Chicken Foil Packets

Place your fruits and veggies in a bowl and pour in a cup of your favorite barbecue sauce. My favorite lately is Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce, and I’m not getting any money for saying that. Then, throw in some salt and pepper, and mix it up.

Pineapple BBQ Chicken Foil Packets

Now the fun part. Make four large sheets of heavy-duty foil about the size of a small, quarter-sized baking sheet. You could make one sheet and try that out first, and if it’s the right size, make three more of the same size. I took a gamble and eye-balled it, but it worked. You just want to make sure you have about 2″ around the sides for the crimping. If it turns out you made your sheets too small, just make a larger one and place it under the original sheet. It’s all good. There’s no precise science to this. And if you don’t have heavy-duty foil, just double line your packets to prevent leaking.

Pineapple BBQ Chicken Foil Packets

Scoop four equal servings of the pineapple mixture on each sheet. Take four boneless, skinless chicken breasts seasoned with salt and pepper, and place it on the pineapple mixture. Pour 1/4 cup of sauce on top of the chicken. Spoiler alert! This is a very saucy dish. I think I would have used less sauce in the pineapple mixture or just brush a little sauce on the chicken. For many of you, you’ll serve this over rice and the quantity of sauce is perfect. Not so much for the rest of you.

Wrap up your chicken and pineapple mixture. Fold the long sides to the middle and crimp. Fold up the ends to seal. I found a really good article on the tbsp. that explains exactly how to do this, with pictures and everything. Mine are not perfect, and that’s ok.

Pineapple BBQ Chicken Foil Packets

Place your packets on the grill or in an oven (on a sheet pan) for about 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the veggies are tender. I used my trusty meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature chicken was 165F. Just poke through the top of the packet to check. You don’t need to unwrap it. Yes, you will let some of the steam escape, but overall, no harm is done.

After it’s cooked, let the packet rest for about 10 minutes, and then open the packets CAREFULLY to avoid getting a wave of unpleasant, hot steam in your face or burning your fingers. Serve all that goodness over rice or skip it. Deliciousness. The pineapple makes it sweet, but not too much. I think the milder white onion (instead of strong red) along with the red pepper (instead of bitter green) is a much better combination that complements the pineapple perfectly. The sauce gives it a tang to mellow the sweetness out. It’s summer wrapped in a packet.

Pineapple BBQ Chicken Foil Packets
Pineapple BBQ Chicken Foil Packets

Pineapple BBQ Chicken Foil Packets

Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups pineapple cut in chunks
  • 1 medium white onion sliced
  • 1 medium red bell pepper sliced
  • 2 cups barbecue sauce divided
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper divided
  • 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • flat parsley leaves optional, for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Heat an outdoor grill to medium-high, direct heat. For oven cooking, preheat the oven to 425F.
  • Place chunked pineapple, sliced onion, and sliced red pepper in a large bowl. Add 1 cup of the barbecue sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper. Toss to combine.
  • Prepare 4 sheets of aluminum foil about the size of a quarter sheet pan, approximately 10 inches. Use heavy-duty aluminum foil or double wrap.
  • Divide the vegetable mixture among the 4 sheets of foil, leaving a 2-inch border on all sides. Season 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Place a breast on each vegetable pile. Pour a 1/4 cup of barbecue sauce over each chicken breasts.
  • For each packet, fold the long sides of the foil to meet over the center, and then fold and crimp the short ends to create a sealed packet.
  • Grill cooking: Place the packets directly onto the grill grates, cover, and grill until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
  • Oven cooking: Place on a rimmed baking sheet and roast at 425F for 20 to 25 minutes.
  • Let cool for 10 minutes before opening the packets and serving. When served, garnish with parsley (optional).
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Sheet Pan Vinegar Chicken

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I like easy recipes and I cannot lie.

But sometimes easy recipes are bland and boring. To get around this, try to find a recipe with your favorite meat/protein (duh) and that one flavorful ingredient that will make it stand out. For me: olives.

I know olives aren’t everyone’s thing, and if you hate them, don’t make this recipe, but I happen to love olives so here we are. Olives are tangy, make great snacks, and are practically a health food. They come in all different varieties. Green. Black. Kalamata. Garlic stuffed. Blue cheese stuffed. Castelvetrano. Woah, what?

I don’t claim to be an olive connoisseur. I’m really quite ignorant and had only recently discovered the Castelvetrano olive, the olive that I had no idea I loved. While making this recipe, I was popping them into my mouth and was a little concerned I’d be spoiling my appetite for dinner!

This delicious recipe comes from Valerie Bertinelli on The Food Network. If you haven’t watched her show, Valerie’s Home Cooking, give it a try. She’s funny without being annoying. One of my pet peeves: chefs screaming at you in excitement…darling, nothing in cooking is that exciting, trust me. But Valerie’s also educational without being condescending. I’ve learned a lot from her. Best of all: her recipes just work, like this one.

I changed the recipe a little because I can’t stand skin-on chicken so I removed that before baking. It’s completely up to you to leave it on or not. I also used red wine vinegar instead of sherry vinegar because that’s what I had.

Slice up an onion and toss it in olive oil on a baking sheet. Throw some chicken on that and season with smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Drizzle some vinegar over that and then roast in the oven for 15 minutes. No, not quite done yet.

Sheet Pan Vinegar Chicken

Take your tomatoes, olives (yum), rosemary (try to use fresh…you’ll thank yourself), and garlic plus olive oil and more salt and pepper. Throw that onto the chicken and roast for another 15 minutes. Done. Seriously.

Sheet Pan Vinegar Chicken

The rosemary and garlic make the chicken special, but the tangy olives makes it amazing. Then you have those fresh roasted tomatoes that reminds you it’s summer. It’s really an awesome meal you have. Serve it low carb or with some bread or pasta.

Sheet Pan Vinegar Chicken
Sheet Pan Vinegar Chicken

Sheet Pan Vinegar Chicken

Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium red onion 1/4-inch slices
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on or skinless
  • 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup sherry or red wine vinegar
  • 2 cups mixed color cherry tomatoes
  • 3/4 cup Castelvetrano olives pitted
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
  • 2 cloves garlic sliced or minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
  • Toss the onions with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil on a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange the chicken thighs on top and sprinkle them all over with the smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Drizzle the vinegar onto the baking sheet, and then roast in the oven about 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, toss the cherry tomatoes, olives, rosemary and garlic with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, a big pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Add the mixture to the baking sheet with the roasted chicken and continue to roast until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes more.
  • Sprinkle with the parsley and serve the chicken with the vegetables and juices from the baking sheet.
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Campfire Stew

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This summer has been a strange one so when our annual camping trip came around, I was both nervous and excited. Nervous…the virus…need I say more? And excited…I really needed to get out of the house before I lost my mind.

If you do have the opportunity to go camping this summer, go for it. Easy to physical distance and just wear a mask if you do come in contact with others, which wasn’t very often. Camping cleared my mind and gave it a rest from the sensory overload that is my life. I spent a week without news, emails, social media, and work, and gained a week of books, floats on the river, and s’mores, which leads me to the point of this blog. Cooking!

Cooking at camp has been a love/hate relationship for me. I want to try all these fancy meals (oh someday I’ll make a dutch oven cake!), but there are a few complications. The dust. The wind. The bees. Oh, the bees! My nemeses while cooking. Plus our camp stove takes forever to heat up anything. What’s this girl to do?

My strategy is to make our dinners at home and heat them up on the stove. I found the perfect recipe for such a situation: Campfire Stew. I made it for this past camping trip for the first time and it was delicious. I just wish I had remembered to take pictures of me heating it up on our old-school Coleman camp stove, but I was distracted by the dust, wind, and bees. “Damn you bees!” as I shake my fist at them.

Start out by cooking whole chicken thighs seasoned with salt and pepper for about 7 minutes until there’s a nice golden brown sear on them. Flip and throw in some chopped onions and minced garlic.

Campfire Stew

Cook for another 7 minutes until the thighs are cooked through. You will be cooking them a little more, but they shouldn’t be raw. BTW, thighs are really forgiving, especially compared to breasts, which dry up if you cook them just a tiny bit too long.

When the chicken is cooked, chop it up into large chunks. At this point, I let it cool and put it in a Ziploc bag. At camp, I will heat up the chicken, add the rest of the ingredients, dodge the bees, and serve. You could do this at home, which for purposes of this blog, I’ll show you what comes next.

Place the chicken back in the skillet, and add seasonings and canned tomatoes. Stir. Add sliced olives and beans.

Campfire Stew

Stir again and simmer until it’s heated through. Take a picture. Ignore that your kid photo-bombed your photo. The food still tastes good.

Campfire Stew

For camp cooking, some might say this looks fancy (work with me here…it looks fancy when served in a disposable plastic bowl along with the finest white plastic cutlery).

Campfire Stew

It’s not the same as grilling a hot dog on a stick (which is amazing in its own right), but this stew is very tasty without a lot of work. I’m impressed at how the flavors meld together without a lot of cooking time. Just a few basic ingredients becomes a quick, delicious meal. Now I have more time to float in the river.

Campfire Stew

Campfire Stew

Ingredients
  

  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/2 large onion diced
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried mint
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 15 ounces diced canned tomatoes
  • 2 1/4 ounces canned sliced olives well drained
  • 15 ounces canned cannellini beans do not drain

Instructions
 

  • Heat oil in a skillet. Salt and pepper the chicken. Cook chicken for about 7 minutes. Flip and add onionis and garlic. When chicken is cooked through and the onions are slightly softened, remove chicken from skillet and cut into large chunks.
  • Add the chicken back in the skillet. Add thyme, mint, oregano, and tomatoes. Stir. Add olives and beans. Stir. Simmer until heated through.