Tin Foil dinner suggestions

[moosetracker]

Ok I am organizing my very first Outdoor leader skill weekend. So I thought my very experienced trainers could guide a little better then they are.

 

I got from them that they want a tin foil dinner for participants to make. So what have they done in the past.. "Ummm Ahhh.. a little of this, a little of that.. all sorts of stuff.. silence..."

 

So can any of you suggest tin foil dinners.. that are

1) easy prep (they don't have much time between classes)

2) low to mid-range budget..

3) Easy for me to figure out quanity depending on participants.. (like 1 chicken breast, 1 potato etc per meal packet) I tend to buy to feed an army, if I am unsure of quanity...

4) That is pretty tasty for a tired hungry group.. (Of course if you are tired and hungry anything tastes good)

[moosetracker]

Oh also if you have any type of trail mix that has something like cereal or popcorn since if it is all nuts & raisins it can be expensive for a small quanity.. I figure to offer some healthy snacks, but also would like to put out some sort of trail mix.

[Nike]

Use the chicken tenders, not breasts, in foil dinners. They cook faster, especially if already half or fully thawed. Have spices/sauces/italian dressing too.

 

The GORP we always made had chex cereals and/or cheerios, pretzel sticks, raisins, M&Ms. I'd ask everyone to bring a cup or two of something, whatever they like and you provide just the cheerios or chex. Of course you might end up with nothing but M&Ms, which wouldn't be a bad thing.

[oldisnewagain1]

I don't remember were I found this but this is a good one

 

Chicken and Shrimp

Chicken breasts, shrimp, snow peas, celery, and bean sprouts. Similar to a stir-fry. The meat was place on the bottom (btw the chicken had been slightly cooked prior to going), with the vegi's on top. I had a couple of dashes of Teryaki sauce, some spices (tarragon and others from a pre-mix spice jar).

 

The only difference is we use chicken tenders so we don't have to pre-cook and you could get the deveined cooked shrimp if you wanted.

 

Though I haven't done it since I was a scout there was no foil meal we use to do. Take a potato and carefully cut a core out of the middle (length wise) of the potato. Fill the center with a mix of hamburger, onion and cheese. Create plugs for ether of the potato using the core. Now it seems to me we use to seal the plugs with some egg white but I think there were times we forgot the egg white too. We would put a layer of mud around the potato and put it in the coals for about an hour or so. I guess if you wanted to skip the mud you could wrap in in foil instead (maybe two layers).

 

The really important thing to do is to try the foil dinner you decide on first before the training(This message has been edited by oldisnewagain1)

[shortridge]

Pita pizzas. Delicious. Don't have to cut 'em upen - just glop the sauce on the pitas, throw on some cheese, plop on some pepperoni, and voila!

[Fox 76]

Try undiluted condensed soup in your recipes.

 

We bought chicken legs & thighs, skinned them, added chopped veggies and a big dollop of Price Chopper condensed cream of chicken soup. Delicious!

 

In another recipe, we used chopped meat, veggies, and a blob of condensed tomato soup. and added paprika. It made a very presentable goulash.

[dg98adams]

I'll 2nd & 3rd what Fox said, whatever foil dinner you choose a couple dollops of cream of mushroom, cream of celery or even tomato soup can really make a difference in flavor. Also eliminates the need to add salt since they are all hi in sodium.

 

I have replaced the cabbage most foil dinners use as a moisture/burn layer with apple peals, banana peals, wet tortillas, potato skins, orange skins... get creative.

[qwazse]

Just in case you really want to go "over the top ..."

 

There's this Middle Eastern dish called Kibbee. It is basically lean ground meat and crushed wheat mixed together and baked. (Actually, if you trust the farmer who raised the lamb you could eat it raw, but I digress ...) There are lots of variations, but one simple one is to mold two patties of the stuf and put fried onions and your favorite mix of nuts and spices in the between the two. This is perfect for a foil pack!

 

Do a search and you'll find tons of recipies, pick the one with flavors that you like and go for it.

 

The down side: 1. GET THOSE HANDS WASHED BEFORE YOU START.

2. mixing the meat and wheat might constitute some work, but I've seen most guys take it as therapy.

 

P.S. - You dutch oven guys, I've tried this, but it is pretty tough to get the timing right in a dutch oven. Do a single layer if you try it. Foil pack definitely works best.

[Austinole]

I did a buffet one campout. They could chose from chicken, scallops, shrimp, salom and hamburgers. We just got the bags of frozen stuff from Walmart. We added butter and garlic and all turned out really well. A really good addition is canned whole potatos. Just add salt and pepper and they will come out great.

 

For desert the banana boat is a winner. Cut out a wedge of the banana fill it with marshmellos and chocolate chips. It's really good.

 

Make the foil packs with a handle and name on them so it's easy to move them around.

[moosetracker]

They all sound great.

 

I like the idea of haveing each person bring a bag of their favorite add for the Trail-mix, for a surprise combo..

 

I use to love cooking with the chix tenders, I use to buy 5 lb bags of the stuff from our warehouse store then divide & freeze them, simple & inexpensive. Our warehouse stores no longer carry it.. It is now small little packets that are high price like they are the filet mignon of the chicken world.. So maybe I will just pre-cut the chicken breasts if I use chicken.

 

I might hold off on the meat patty mixing, I know I get greasy hands, and we are outhouses and jug water for this trip. But it sounds good. Might try some other time.

 

I was thinking about the banana boats. It is one of my favorites. We do have them doing a campfire program at night, so that will be good.

 

[boomerscout]

http://macscouter.com/cooking/FoilCooking.asp

[John-in-KC]

Locally, I am able to buy leg quarters in bulk. Gets my cost down to 50 cents a pound or so...

[GKlose]

For an annual Webelos outing that our troop puts on, we feed a large crowd of Webelos and parents by putting out a buffet of items to add to foil packs: ground beef, chicken, italian sausage, steak tips, kielbasa, hot dogs, onions, bell peppers, hot peppers, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, etc. Although there are plenty of people that pick and choose, the intent is for everyone to take a melange of ingredients to put in their pouches.

 

Guy

[moosetracker]

GKlose - love those type of spreads.. But it is dangerous for me to put that one. I will buy enough chicken to feed everyone (because what if that is the most popular), then I will buy enough beef to feed everyone (because what if that is the most popular), on and on until I end up not feeding 20 participants, but 200 participants..

 

Then I will have to go the Council with my tail tucked between my legs to explain why I spent $2000 on a course that only brought in $200 total in the first place..

 

Very dangerous am I if left to run amuck!!!

[RANBOW]

Well Moosetracker. I guess your experienced trainers want to see some originality and or resourcefulness. lol. I unfortunately have nothing more to add to what has already been stated.

 

Contained within this post and the link provided by Boomerscout are a lot of good ideas. Some I've not heard before and will be giving a try.

 

I have to wonder however, without taking away from the original intent or question of this thread, if anyone knows or has heard of a "foil dinner" recipe for pancakes or combination of them and a breakfast meat etc...?

 

See you on the trail, ----RANBOW----