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Sky’s Favorite Camping Recipes: Spitfire-Roasted Chicken with Grilled Veggies

Spitfire-Roasted Chicken with Veggies

For the past few weeks, I’ve been sharing a variety of great healthy camping recipes, but today, I want to share with all of you one of my favorite camping recipes: Spitfire-Roasted Chicken with Grilled Veggies.

On camping trips, we like to do a lot our cooking over the fire pit with a spit, and you’ll soon learn why if you try out this recipe. Cooking your meat over the fire creates a very different flavor from simply roasting it in the oven. The fire gives the chicken a smoky flavor that is simply to die for.

While this recipe calls for chicken, keep in mind that you can also do rotisserie cooking with spare ribs, a rack of lamb, or prime rib as well.

Ingredients

  • 1–3 whole chickens (depending on size of your family/group)
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 2–10 cloves of garlic (depending on how many chickens), sliced and cut lengthwise (slivered)
  • sage
  • veggies (choose your favorites!)

Directions

  1. Prep the chicken. Using a knife, create an opening in the skin of your chicken and slide slivers of garlic underneath at 2- to 3-inch intervals. Then oil the chicken evenly and douse with salt, pepper, and sage.
  2. Set up your spit. To create hot coals, start a fire and then let it die down until the flames are no more than 6 inches from the wood. Then center the spit over the fire (you’ll want to do this without the chicken to get the correct placement).
  3. Turn spit outward and put chicken on the rod. This step can be tricky because you want a good tight fit so the spit turns the chicken with it. If your spit comes with prongs, use those to hold the chicken in place.
  4. Cook the chicken. Turn the spit so the chicken dangles over the fire. Depending on how hot the fire is, you may need to adjust the spit’s height to prevent the chicken from burning. Keep stoking the fire and adding wood, if needed, to keep the flames low. The chicken should gently sizzle and become golden over time. It should cook for one hour.
  5. Cook the veggies. This step won’t take long, so you can wait to cook your favorite vegetables until you’re near the end of the hour. Prep the veggies first with spices and olive oil (I like grilled asparagus marinated in a blend of olive oil, garlic salt, and pepper). Then you can either grill or steam your veggies for 10 minutes.
  6. Check the temperature. After cooking your chicken for an hour, use a meat thermometer to make sure the meat is done; it should be at least 165 degrees. Then cut up the chicken, serve, and enjoy!

So You Think Outdoor Cooking and Culinarians Don’t Mix … Read On

I love to cook, and I love being outdoors. With My Camp Kitchen products, you will feel like you have a kitchen outside (literally everything but the kitchen sink). Imagine how easy standing upright at a countertop with ample workspace would make outdoor cooking. Now picture a closable cabinet behind this workspace that literally holds everything you would need to cook and serve a great meal. That’s right—pots and pans, Coleman stove, utensils, spices, oils, dishes, cutting board, paper towels, cups, wine glasses … and so much more. Now imagine this next to your grill. No more hot dogs! What are you going to cook?

C&NN Releases Updated Edition of “Together in Nature: Pathways to a Stronger, Closer Family” Tool Kit

I follow Richard Louv and his work on getting kids and families back to nature. He is the man who termed the phrase “nature deficit disorder.” As a psychotherapist, I see this all the time. Anyway, here is link to a recent post by them well-worth reading:

Children and Nature Network (C&NN) Releases Updated Edition of “Together in Nature: Pathways to a Stronger, Closer Family” Tool Kit

30 Blogs That Help Parents Develop and Maintain a Family Routine

I wanted to share with you Carol’s blog. She has many posts on developing healthy family relationships through routines. Please click here to find great information on how routines can help your family!

Kids and Nature … What a Beautiful Thing

I was reading through my emails this morning and found my C&NN newsletter. Opening it up, I read two beautiful pieces that I want to share with you.

Tierra y libertad

The first is written by a young man after camping with his family for the first time: TIERRA Y LIBERTAD: A Camping Trip Illustrates Nature’s Place in Family and Heritage.

Peace in nature

And the second, which I actually read first, was written by a young girl contemplating a beehive: PEACE IN NATURE: Aylee Tudek, 16, Shares Her Sense of Wonder.

Both are beautiful and so well-written. I could not say it better. Thanks, Juan and Aylee.

Go Outside and Play!

I just read an article in the newspaper this morning about a 100-year-old woman who attributes her long life to listening to her mom’s advice to “go outside and play.” Where safer and better to play outside than camping? Oh, the freedom and fantasies—I remember it well!

You, Too, Can Cook Gourmet Meals While Camping

Yep, it’s easier than you think with the right gear, and of course, a Summit or Outdoorsman helps tremendously. This past summer while camping here in Colorado, we made a video of my dad, Richard, making Soused Shrimp (aka Shrimp Scampi) with a twist. You’ll find the recipe on our Videos page. Enjoy!

Families That Play Together Stay Together … So Let’s Go

How many of you rush to relax with your family? Do you work till 5 or 6 pm, only to come home and make dinner, followed by time spent making sure the kids have done their homework while helping those who haven’t? What time is it then? 8 or 9 pm? Then weekends … between doing chores and driving the kids to their extracurricular activities, when do you have time to stop and relax and just have fun with your children?

Studies show that when families actually plan family leisure activities like camping and let go of all the rushing, they experience increased family satisfaction (Zabriskie & McCormick, 2003) and improved communication (Huff, Widmer, McCoy, & Hill, 2003). The family as a whole even becomes more effective (Wells, Widmer, & McCoy 2004).

As we approach spring and summer—prime camping season—plan your next family campout. And when you get there, let everything else go—no more work or school or errands … just you and the ones you love. Play, relax, and have fun!

References

Zabriskie, R.B., & McCormick, B.P. (2003). “Parent and child perspectives of family leisure involvement and satisfaction with family life.” Journal of Leisure Research, 35(2), 163–189.

Huff, C., Widmer, M., McCoy, K., & Hill, B. (2003). “The influence of challenging outdoor recreation on parent-adolescent communication.” Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 37(1), 18–37.

Wells, M. S., Widmer, M. A., & McCoy, J. K. (2004). “Grubs and grasshoppers: Challenge-based recreation and the collective efficacy of families with at-risk youth.” Family Relations, 53(3), 326–333.