Tuesday, July 20, 2010

tin foil dinners


Nothing says summer like camping, and nothing says camping like tin foil dinners. Although we didn't feel up to driving up the canyon and building a fire (especially since it was past dinnertime already), we used our math skills and figured that if A = B and B = C, then A = C (that's right, Mr. Kerr, I was paying attention). So for us, nothing says summer like tin foil dinners... a la grill! :) We did eat them on our front porch whilst sitting in camping chairs. That counts for something, right?

They're easy-peasy. Here's how you make 'em.



RECIPE: Tin Foil Dinners

Ingredients:
Tin foil dinners can be made with just about anything. The way we make them generally includes the following staples:

tin foil
ground beef
potatoes, thinly sliced
onions, chopped
carrots, chopped
seasoning* (a good amount)

*For seasoning, we generally use Lawry's seasoning salt and freshly ground pepper, but use what sounds good to you. Also, we generally use white/yellow onions, but this time all we had in the house were green ones. So we used those, and it was really tasty! Seriously, tin foil dinners are so easy and versatile. Almost anything goes.

Then we throw in whatever else sounds yummy. This time, we had leftover kabob-ingredients (cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers) in the fridge, so we chopped them up and used them too.

I stop there, but Derek likes to add a dollop of Cream of Mushroom soup to his. Both ways are super yummy.

Directions:
Assembling the lil' guys is easy as well. Lay out a big piece of tin foil (or layer two, if you want to be on the safe side)- about 2 ft. long. Put your meat down in the center; flatten it into a patty of sorts; season it. Then pile on the veggies and whatever else you decided to add, seasoning that as well. Seal the foil up like a package- pulling the longer sides up and rolling them together first, then closing up the ends.

Toss those puppies on the grill, over med-high heat, for 20 minutes- flipping them half way (so 10 minutes on each side).

Serve warm and enjoy. Mmm... summertime!

PS. This is a great meal to let kids help with (which almost guarantees they'll eat it afterward). James assembled his own, grabbing a handful of this and a handful of that. I even let him help with the seasoning. Super fun, and healthy too!

What do YOU put in your tin foil dinners?