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Friday, July 1, 2011

Foil Dinners


I think summer is finally here, the temperatures are in the 90's and we saw the first wildland fire on our mountain. Years ago, before charcol briquets Greg and I were dating. I was going to impress him with my outdoor cooking abilities. We went to American Fork Canyon--the most beautiful canyon ever, and built a fire. When it reached about 4000 degrees we put our foil dinners in to cook. I took them out 45 minutes later and we had burnt beef and charred veggies. Not a success.
Greg married me anyway. Foil dinners are a perfect beginning cooking project for scouts. Since Greg has been in Scouts for the last 35 years he has developed some tried and true methods that will produce perfect foil dinners every time.


Tin Foil Dinners

  • One pound of ground beef generally makes 4-6 foil dinners
  • Add a thick ( ¼ inch) slice of onion to each dinner.
    • Don’t like onions?  Add it anyway – toss it and enjoy the flavor!
  • One carrot, sliced or matchsticks
  • One potato sliced
  • 2 Tablespoons Cream of Mushroom/Chicken/Celery Soup or Gravy
  • Salt and Pepper
    • for a perfectly seasoned meal lightly salt & pepper each layer
  • 8 coals/briquets for each foil dinner, place dinner directly on briquets
  • 10 minutes on each side
  • Time varies based on temperature/elements
  • Use Extra Heavy Duty Foil           
    • We think it may now be called Super Strength
  • Would be tasty with chicken & lemon pepper, mushrooms, garlic, etc.
  • Greg always takes a square of Extra Heavy Duty Foil and some lemon pepper when he goes fishing. Nothing better than a fresh caught, just cooked trout
  • Carefully open the foil--it is hot! Eat dinner right out of foil. Scouts add ketchup, I don't
  • This is a great family activity, dinners can be customized to suit individual tastes




7 comments:

Unknown said...

Cindy, We enjoy foil dinners often. I have made them in the oven, on the grill or over a camp fire!

purabi naha said...

Wow, foil dinners can be such fun! I didn't try them yet, but now I am tempted to do so!!

Kayte said...

Oh, yes, camping days would not be complete without foil dinners and desserts. How fun to see your family's recipe...I have a similar, but not quite the same. I wonder if we are camping anytime soon so I can try this out? Could probably do it on the grill just as easily, right? Next time those guys are over for evening swims, may just try this one out on them.

Cryzzle said...

Thanks for this! Going to try it out sometime this summer.

Anonymous said...

Ah, so many memories of tinfoil dinners (the one that sticks out involved food poisoning...) & American Fork Canyon! The latter is where we had our engagement pictures shot. In January. In the snow. & I made what I thought was a rational decision to not wear socks. Let's just say the only photos that turned out were from the first 15 minutes of the session! Thanks for bringing back so many funny memories! Unfortunately, we can't grill or have campfires here (the state of NJ appears to be decidedly anti-open-flame), but hopefully someday I'll be able to enjoy a food-poisoning-free tinfoil dinner again!

Cindy said...

we also love foil dinners, we place them in a glass pie plate to hold everything in, just in case they leak. Look out for steam when you open them. We have used boneless skinless chicken breasts, broccoli tops, cauliflower, fresh mushrooms, sliced, different squashes, various seasonings, boneless pork chops cut into strips or cubes. Love these, no heat in the house and clean up is a snap.

Grandma Scott said...

When I was at girls camp and doing foil dinners on the campfire I did a layer of foil, a layer of wet newspaper, and another layer of foil... Paper is scorched but the dinner is just perfect..