One of my best quick fix meals are foil dinners. They can go on a barbeque, oven or campfire. There’s very little cleanup, and you’ve got the entire meal in one bag. With very little fuss the kids can create meals along with different ones for the adults.
Probably the best part of making the pouch meals is how the kids get to make their own meal. My sis, Judy, and her family made these and they frequently did a burger in a bag. If I recall correctly they sometimes made them before they left home and froze them in advance.
If I were writing a brand new recipe today I would still probably go with chicken, but add broccoli, carrots, mushrooms and sugar snaps in my foil bag. Fresh herbs will also bring additional flavor to the meal. Sauces can be added, just make sure they’re appealing to everyone. Just thinking my new version might have a little orange marmalade and soy sauce blended together.
If you’re cooking a pouch meal for lots of people consider all the meat in one bag and all the vegetables in another. If you’re looking for something for closure use fresh fruit with a crumble topping. The fruit can be frozen in advance, and the ingredients for the crumble can be in a Ziploc bag ready to drop over the top.
It’s storming pretty seriously here in Branson West, so I need to make this column a little shorter than usual. Try a pouch dinner it will leave the cook time for a craft or a good book. Simply yours, The Covered Dish.
Chicken in a Bag
(For grill, campfire or oven.)
18-20 inches heavy duty aluminum foil
Vegetable spray
1 large chicken breast or 3 strips
Head County BBQ seasoning*
1/4 cup sliced green pepper
1/4 cup sliced red pepper
1/4 cup sliced sweet white onion or red onion
6-8 chunks pineapple in natural juices
2-3 tablespoons Teriyaki sauce**
Preheat home oven to 350 degrees, start the grill or campfire. Spray center of foil with vegetable spray. Lay in chicken breast and sprinkle generously with bbq seasoning. Layer peppers, onion and pineapple over the chicken. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of Teriyaki sauce over all ingredients. Seal pouch and prepare to cook. In a home oven a single bag is done in approximately 20-25 minutes. The recipe could also be presented with 2-3 tablespoons of instant rice under the chicken. If you use this approach be sure and use 3 full tablespoons of the sauce.
Another alternative method is to prepare an entire 9 x 13 baking dish with the recipes. The baking time would range depending upon many factors. If you do a full 9 x 13 pan start monitoring at 40 minutes. This would probably be for 6-8 chicken breasts.
*For test purposes Head Country Seasoning was implemented.
**For test purposes P.F. Changs Teriyaki sauce was used.
