easy? gourmet? kid friendly? delicious? bbq or campfire? whaaaat?

posted by:  jennifer

so this is an oldie, but a goody.... and you know that those oldies sometimes get forgotten.   and this deserves to be brought back to the front burner when it comes to meal planning.  even more so now, during the summer when thinking about camp meals... or backyard cookouts.

hobo packs!

you know... vegetables, herbs, protein... all wrapped up in a cute little pouch and cooked in it's own juices.   

the many benefits of such a meal include, but are not limited to:
  -easy clean up
  -adaptable to many tastes/dietary restrictions
  -kid friendly
  -damn tasty

the process:
  1. cut up any desired vegetables (squash, onion, peppers, garlic, potatoes*, kale,  whatever!)
          *for the potatoes, i cut into slices and then par-boiled until almost done
  2. cut up any desired protein.  we used chicken breasts and sausage.  i know my husband 
        and son would love shrimp, and tofu would work perfectly as well.
  3. chop up any fresh herbs.  we used:  parsley, summer savory, chives, and thyme.  
  4. gather salt and pepper, olive oil and butter
  5. for each pack tear a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil. mine were about 18 inches long, 
         and about a 12 inch square of parchment paper.
  6.  make your masterpiece:
        -place the parchment paper in the center of the foil
        -in the center of the parchment add any desired ingredients
        -drizzle your vegetables/herbs/protein(s) with olive oil and a pat of butter if desired.  
           season to taste with salt and pepper
        -gather up the parchment and then the foil into a pouch.  you can either use a sharpie
          marker to mark your pouch for identification, or do like my kids do and shape the foil
          in a unique way so you know which is yours.
  7.  on a hot grill, or near the embers of a campfire, cook your hobo pack.  if you are cooking 
        in a campfire, be sure to place the packs on the edges of the embers so that they 
        don't burn.  you will need to rotate them during cooking.  but be sure not to turn them 
       upside down, or you will lose all of those great juices.
  8.  you should smell when they are done.   your mouth will start watering, as mine is now as 
        i type.  i kid you not.  they will probably take about 20 minutes.  
  9.  unwrap, savor, clean up by tossing away the wrapping.

what will you put in your hobo pack?  share if you so desire.  i would love to steal your ideas!!

cheers!