Boy Scout Chicken

We have been having some wonderful weather here in Hampton Roads and it is the kind of weather that makes you want to fire up the grill and cook outside. But what to fix? I decided to make an old favorite (and I do mean old!) that I call Boy Scout Chicken. It got this name from back in the day when I was a Girl Scout and we went camping and needed something easy to cook that also did not require much clean up (who wants to wash dishes in the woods!) We (Girl Scouts, of course) heard that it got its name from being something so easy even Boy Scouts could make it!

We used to make this dish with chicken parts but this time I used my old standby- boneless skinless thighs. Whether you are grilling in your own backyard or camping in the wilderness, this is easy and delicious and all you need for a full meal is fruit salad, a melon, or a green salad (hard to carry if you are backpacking, but for car camping - perfect!) This is also a great dish for playing with food. Once you have the "formula" you can play with the recipe a bit based on your own personal taste. This is also a great recipe for kids - except for handling raw chicken, the rest they can assemble themselves... and no pots and pans to wash!

So whether you are camping for real or planning on toasting marshmallows over the grill or backyard firepit, try this recipe... even a Boy Scout can do it!

Boy Scout Chicken

For each serving:

1 piece of heavy duty foil (about 12-18 inches long to allow room to fold- you know how much stuff you are putting in!)

Pam or other cooking type spray

1 chicken thigh (If small, you could use two)

1-2 potatoes sliced uniformly thin (you could use white or sweet or a combination)

3-4 slices of onion (sweet or red is great)

Salt and pepper

1 pat butter

Spray inside of foil with Pam. Place potatoes in center of foil. Salt and pepper lightly. Place chicken on top of potatoes. Place onions on top of chicken and fold foil into a pocket that encloses all the ingredients tightly. Place over campfire on grid or on grill. Cook for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time. Remove from fire or grill, cut open foil and enjoy!

Note: You could play with these ingredients, adding garlic, your favorite herbs and spices,even additions like mushrooms, olives or artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, olives, whatever you like. Instead of butter, try a glug (technical culinary term!) of Italian salad dressing on top of the chicken. The formula is the same, so be adventurous... and play with food!