My Take on Oven Foil Pack Dinners

Originally when I came up with this 30 day series I had not planned on spending so many days writing about food but I guess it is a big part of our lives. A part that can be really frustrating at times, especially for moms and dads of little ones.

I am always looking for simple, healthy recipes to feed me and little man because there are no separate meals at this house! I know some of you battle allergies and picky eaters so it makes it hard, but I have been blessed with a child who eats pretty much everything. And plus, when would I have time to make separate dinners anyway?

The recipe I am about to share is hopefully customizable for almost ANY type of eater. Pick your ingredients, toss them together and bake! Dishes not required!

I first found this Easy Foil Oven Packet recipe from Lindsay at the Makely School for Girls blog and I knew I had to try it out. Her blog is full of lots of awesome ideas and useful info so you should check it out when you have a chance.

You can find Lindsay's recipe here and below is the recipe that I ended up with after making some small changes.This was such a hit in our house that we made it two nights in a row!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef made into patties or turkey kielbasa, sliced

Small red potatoes, quartered (put in as many as your heart desire, about 1 c. total)

Chopped or sliced onion (about ½ c. total)

Baby carrots (about 1 c. total)

Chopped broccoli or broccoli florets (about 1 c. total)

1 tsp. minced garlic (from the jar) per packet

1 tablespoon butter per packet

¼-1/3 tub of Knorr concentrated vegetable stock per packet

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Place ground beef patties or slices of kielbasa on a square of aluminum foil about 12-14 inches long

3. Divide vegetables and garlic evenly and place on top of the beef patties or kielbasa

4. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the top of the vegetables

5. Add vegetable stock to the top of the vegetables

6. Add salt and pepper

7. Fold up each packet so that no juices leak out

8. Place packets in the oven and bake for 45 

**In my experience there is no real need for measuring the meat/veggies. I just chose the amount of meat I wanted per person/packet and threw in an appropriate portion of veggies. The first time I used turkey kielbasa, potatoes, carrots, onions and chicken broth. The second time I used ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions and vegetable stock.

We loved both ways so I say experiment with your meats, veggies and portions sizes. Everything was perfectly cooked after 45 minutes, even the potatoes, and I just put the packet on a plate and we ate it right out of the foil. I also had cooked some brown rice and threw a couple spoonfuls of rice and a dollop of sour cream on top.

The other cool thing is that you can make as many as you want and you could easily customize this to each person's preference without much extra effort. I made 3 so that I could have an extra for lunch the next day. Also, I just used pre-chopped broccoli and baby carrots that I had on hand from making school lunches!

I never say never but this will probably be one of the last food posts for now because I have too many projects on the "to do" list :) I do plan on sharing our school lunch menu in an upcoming post that will hopefully help you guys out because who doesn't need a little help with that, right?? My school lunches are not perfect but this is one of the only things as a mother that I actually feel like I do pretty well. Yes, I said only and I mean only :)

Have a great day and stay tuned for what is happening tomorrow on Day 14! Almost halfway through...woo hoo!