Foil Dinners — Campfire Cooking Made Easy
Have you ever had these things? Because if you haven’t, you should. These were actually made and consumed while we were in Colorado last summer. It’s cabin food. 🙂 It’s also Girl Scout food. We made these a LOT on camping trips growing up!
And if you’re looking for specific measurements, this is not the post for you. Foil dinners are made to order and can be absolutely catered to individual tastes. That is part of the reason I love them so.
So, rip off a big piece of foil and lay it out on the counter. Spray it with cooking spray (unless you want to go all out and get the non-stick foil…or you really like your food stuck to metal…) and crumble some uncooked ground beef into the center. Then sprinkle on some chopped onions.
Toss on some sliced carrots.
Then throw in some potatoes…or a lot of potatoes….mmmm, I love potatoes.
And now for the seasoning! We sprinkled on parsley, dry onion soup mix, pepper, and minced garlic. You can go wild here. Get creative. Mix flavors. Be bold.
Then add a few pats of butter…
And it’s folding time! This part is actually very important. That’s the reason I always make my mom do it. She’s better at these things.
Pull the edges to meet in the middle and make little folds all the way down to the food.
Now fold in the left side, then the right side (okay, so that part of the order isn’t that important)
And you have a perfect little foil packet.
Throw it on hot coals for 15-20 minutes.
Hungrily wait…
And wait…
And then get so excited that the food is done that you forget to take pictures of the finished product…because you consumed it all in 5 minutes. Because it’s just that good. And because there are no pictures to prove it, you’ll just have to believe me.
This is my FAVORITE side dish during the summer. I add chunks of zucchini and I put fresh minced garlic in it. I’ve never thought to put the meat right in there (we usually have them with burgers) I can’t wait to try it this way! I have done it in the oven before (I live in rainy WA and I was desperate lol) and it’s “ok”. By the way, I believe we are related in some way shape or form- I am a moose fan and a potato/french fry addict!!! Just stumbled across your blog tonight and I’m in heaven!!
That’s hilarious. I love it!
How funny! What a brilliant cooking technique! I’m not sure if I would try it myself, but I definitely believe it would work!
Ground turkey is a great idea!
My parents used to make something similar to this that they called Manifold Meals because they would put the foil packs on the manifold as we were driving. When we stopped for dinner at a rest stop (3-4 hours into our drive) we would have a toasty hot dinner! I wonder now at the wisdom of this method, but I’ve heard it’s still done!
Yes! These are a stable when I’m camping with friends. We call them Hobos. For a healthier spin- you can use ground turkey instead of beef.
Babe, you and Dad did work hard that day!
Amy, they are amazing! I’ve been tempted to bake them in the oven before, but I just can’t imagine that they would taste the same!
I love foil dinners. They really are so good, aren’t they?
That dinner was sooo good! I remember being so tired that day after chopping and hauling all that wood that day. I can’t wait to do it again!