Meal in a Packet

I got in the mood to make little "foil packet" meals for us the other night. We were kind of low on groceries, so I made them real simple, but you can put ANYTHING in one of these. You can also customize them for different likes or dislikes. Usually, these are for putting on campfires. But I just laid these in pie tins (in case something leaked out), two fit nicely in each tin, then baked them in the oven.

I made four of these. I started with a square of foil for each, and oiled them (or you can use spray) so stuff wouldn't stick. First was a layer of sliced potatoes, then I sprinkled those with kosher salt, some black pepper and some Lawry's seasoned salt. (I think potatoes need a lot of salt.) Then sliced some smoked sausage on top, figuring that any juices from that would go down into the potatoes and help cook and flavor them. Then sealed up with a top fold and end folds, laid them in the pie tins, and baked at 350 degrees for an hour.

Hubby "complained" that it wasn't big enough, and that's a way of saying he liked them. They WERE good! The potatoes had a good flavor, and the meat was delicious.

You could do anything in these (commonly called a "hobo" packet), different meats, different veggies, seasonings, butter, just anything that sounds good. Maybe you could even do a chili cheeseburger! Just grab a piece of foil, turn the oven on, and let your food creativity take over. Then relax while the oven does the work.

Nighttime Baking

Hubby works at night, and even on his "nights off," he will stay up in order to stay in a routine. You never know what he (plus sometimes younger Son) will do during those night hours!

While I slept soundly last night, look what he whipped up ....

.... "Red Lobster" biscuits! They're flaky, they're buttery, they're garlicky. Yum, yum, yum, yum ....!

Individual Sweet Treats

It seems that if I make a bowl of jello salad and have it in the refrigerator, I'm the only one who eats it. So lately, I hit on the idea of making individual desserts in half-pint jars (plastic Ball freezer jars in this case). Any kind of jar with a lid, or you could even use little plastic cups with some plastic wrap over the top. Having it in ready-to-grab-and-eat portions makes it easy and fun to serve.

The first time, I made cherry jello, sliced bananas and mini marshmallows. This was a combo Mom made a lot when I was growing up. Then I've also used orange jello with the same combo. Then peach jello with just the mini marshmallows, as I was out of bananas that time. THEN, I've also made "pudding cups," first with just chocolate pudding and whipped topping. Then, the photo above shows a different combo I just made ... vanilla pudding, sliced bananas, vanilla wafers (crumbled, or even graham crackers could be used?), and whipped topping all layered however you want. The earlier desserts I used four half-pint jars. This time, since there were lots of ingredients to layer, I used six.

My boys may be teenagers, but I think they're having fun eating these, and I'm actually getting fruit in them with some of these combos. I'm even enjoying having a tasty, cool dessert or snack to just grab and enjoy.