Everyday Something Different

The Perfect Tin-Foil Dinner in Six Easy Steps:

Camping is one of the greatest outdoor activities – if you’re reading this, I’m sure you agree. A great tin foil dinner is a classic camping menu item, it’s easy to make with just a few ingredients.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Follow these simple instructions and you won’t be disappointed!!

• LAY IT – Use 2 sheets of foil per individual dinner. I use 2 sheets because they are easy to puncture when you are flipping them over the coals.
• SPRAY IT – When it’s all cooked the potatoes seem to stick to the foil. Spraying the inside with cooking spray will ensure nothing will stick, and you get to eat the yummy crunchy stuff 😉
• FILL IT– I typically use:
  – 1/4 lb patty of ground beef or turkey (flavored with your favorite seasoning.My favorite is savory mesquite. The website has you by it in a combo shaker.)
  –  a handful of baby carrots – about 15 (I like to season mine with dried basil, salt and a little butter)
  – about 1 C. frozen tater tots
  – Salt & Pepper to taste
  *yummy additions – sliced mushrooms, cheese, sliced onions, etc.Using the tater tots is important. Most recipes use sliced raw potato in their dinner, but the raw russet potatoes take much longer to cook, which creates either well-done meat or undercooked potatoes. When I cook raw russet potatoes over the fire, I cook them separately and start them early.
• WRAP IT – There is no one way to wrap your foil. I take the short edges and fold them them together. Next, I take the remaining open, short side edges and fold them in.
• NAME IT – Once it’s wrapped, flip that sucker over and write your name on it with permanent marker.Usually everyone likes something a little different; more meat, no carrots, etc. this way you’ll know who’s is who’s. I make my lines for the names as dark as I can because once the dinners are on the fire, the marker seems to fade.
• COOK IT – Start the fire! Once you’ve got some hot coals going, use a shovel to push some aside. Put your dinners down on the hot coals for 10 mins., then flip and cook for another 1o mins.. Total cook time is 20 minutes.
• EAT IT!!

I went camping this last weekend to Big Mountain Campground, made these dinners just as I described and they turned out SO GOOD! I got happily full after eating mine.