Chicken Bake
“I bet you could make this at home”
As much as I love to cook, and my family loves eating at home, we also LOVE to eat out! When our children were younger and could share our meal we did it more often than we do now. One of the places everyone enjoyed going was Cracker Barrel.
For the first several years of our time in Pennsylvania we didn’t have one near us. It was a wonderful day for us when one opened just down the road from our house. One of the seasonal (and regional) dishes they served was “Campfire Chicken“. It consisted of half a chicken with carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, corn and onions, wrapped in foil and baked. I loved it, and knowing it was for a limited time, we went there often that season. On one of our last visits my husband said, as he often does at restaurants, “I bet you could make this at home”. It seemed simple enough so I asked the waiter what spices they used. I tried it at home and have been making it ever since. It’s a great one dish meal that can be done in individual “packets”, in a large roasting pan, or in the crock pot. It would be ideal to take camping.
This Chicken Bake also uses simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
Here’s the Recipe:
Serves 4-5
Bone-in chicken (I most often use breasts, but 1 whole chicken cut up works very well. I once tried legs and thighs only and we did not like it – it was too greasy)
Potatoes – 4-5 med to large – washed but NOT peeled
Baby Carrots – about 1/2 bag
Onion – 1 small-cut into large pieces
Tomatoes – 1 15oz can or 2-3 large fresh
Corn on Cob – 1 small per person
Celery – 1 stalk
Season Salt – 1 teaspoon
Pepper – 1/2 teaspoon
Minced Garlic – 1/2 teaspoon
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes – 1/2 teaspoon
**This time I used a large roasting pan
Mix all dry spices together
Cut potatoes and carrots into bite size pieces. I cut onions and celery larger because they give a wonderful flavor but some in our house don’t eat them so they are easier to “pick out”.
Add tomatoes. If using fresh, cut them in large pieces.
Add garlic and half the spice mixture. Toss to coat. Add corn on the cob.
Place chicken on top of veggies and sprinkle with remaining seasonings. Cover with lid or aluminum foil.
Bake at 350 for about 1 1/2 hrs. or until juices from chicken run clear and veggies are tender.
Variations: Cook in crock pot on low for about 6-8 hrs or high about 4. Can also wrap individual servings in foil “packets”. Place them on a large baking sheet in the oven and serve right in the foil….kids think that’s really fun!