Hobos {Foil Packet Dinner}

Growing up, I remember my parents making these little foil packet dinners. We grilled them outside, cooked them in the oven during the winter time and I'm pretty sure even made them while camping.

I decided to make them for my own family this past week and they sure brought back many memories. It's crazy how food can do that. I also forgot how good something so simple can be.

I love how everything is all together in one piece of foil. Your whole meal, all together. You can try adding in some other veggies, but there's something about hamburger, potatoes and carrots that is comforting.

Hobos

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
4 potatoes
2-3 carrots
salt and pepper
garlic powder
Foil

Directions:
You'll need four to five large pieces of foil, set those aside.

Divide ground beef into four or five patties. Place in center of each piece of foil. Peel and cut potatoes and carrots into small chunks. Divide between each foil packet. Season well with salt, pepper and garlic.

Wrap each packet up and cook on grill for 30 minutes, or until meat is cooked through and veggies are tender. Remove from grill and serve. Serves 4-5

Five All-time Favorite Summer Meals

I've made some pretty good meals here on the blog before. Ones that we still like to incorporate into our meal plan. Today I've rounded up five of my favorites, meals that are perfect for the summer months. Maybe you'll find some new inspiration in these?

Chicken pasta primavera- I created this dish a couple years ago when we had tons of produce from our CSA to use up. It's light, yet filling and a fairly healthy meal too. You can omit the chicken for a meatless main and use any veggies you have on hand.

Grilled bacon caprese sandwich- I was never a big fan of grilled cheese growing up, until I experimented with different cheeses. This is one of my favorites, and it couldn't be any easier to make. Even the kiddos could help with assembling these.

Italian shredded beef- On hot days put the crock pot to use. These sandwiches require minimal work on your part. The beef is incredibly tender and flavorful after cooking all day long.

Tomato basil chicken- I think of this as sort of grown up chicken strips with a twist. The panko crumbs help create a nice crunch. Then topped with mozzarella, tomato and basil; it's quite delicious!

Stuffed pepper bake- Stuffed peppers are a favorite in the summer, but this casserole bake is a much easier way to enjoy this favorite.

Well there ya have it, hopefully you're able to add a little more inspiration to your menu plan!

Bacon, Egg and Tomato Sandwich

For the past seven weeks or so, I've been taking an continuing ed class at our local community college.  My other classes were always later in the evening, giving me ample time to prepare dinner. Now we're finding ourselves getting home from dance practice at 5 or after and seriously rushing to get dinner on the table so I can leave and be in class by 6:00.

If it weren't for simple meals and the help from each family member, we probably wouldn't be able to make this work so well. Or else we'd be tempted to eat out those two nights each week. This season in life is crazy busy but hey, we're making the best of it. I'm sure so many of you can relate all too well.

So these happened to be dinner last night. Ridiculously simple, yet so good! I hope you're realizing good food doesn't always have to be time consuming and complicated.

I quickly pan fried a few small potatoes from the farmers market in a tiny bit of bacon grease and they made for a delicious side. The girls of course added some fresh blueberries to their plate.  These made for a great dinner when we're craving hearty breakfast food. You can certainly keep these in mind for your breakfast during the week or on the weekend.


Bacon, Egg and Tomato Sandwich

Ingredients:
1 lb bacon
Eggs
Sliced tomato
Cheese, if desired
Ciabatta buns

Directions:
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside.

Prepare eggs in another small skillet, fry in a bit of bacon grease if desired.

While eggs are cooking, start toasting buns. When eggs are ready, layer each toasted bun with an egg, bacon and tomato. Add cheese if desired.

Serve with pan fried potatoes and fresh fruit.

Italian Burgers

Everyday at summer school when we take the kiddos outside I love to peek at the raised garden beds. They are filled with lettuce, spinach, peppers, tomatoes and tons of herbs. The basil plant is full of luscious leaves, far better looking than my own at home. I picked a small handful to bring home, with these burgers in mind.

Some of my favorite summer flavors shine through in this sandwich. I can't get enough of the basil and those juicy, ripe tomatoes make for a great topper. I kept this on the simple side, you can certainly mix up a fancy sauce or butter to slather on top. But I think good ol' ketchup is enough...or leave it off if you're not a fan.

Serve these burgers on toasted buns hot off the grill. Your family will thank you, and your stomach too! Enjoy!


Italian Burgers

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 basil leaves, finely diced
6 slices mozzarella cheese
6 buns,toasted
sliced tomato
lettuce
additional basil leaves, if desired

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix in Italian seasoning, pepper and basil into ground beef. Form six patties out of the meat and set aside.

Cook patties on grill for about 10 minutes each side, or to the doneness of your liking. Right before removing from grill, add a slice of cheese to each burger. Let cook just until cheese is melted and then remove from grill.

Serve burgers on toasted buns with lettuce, tomato, additional basil leaves if desired and any other toppings you like. Makes 6 burgers.

Beef Tostadas

I know, some of you have probably been muttering under your breath, where's the beef lady? I realized, unintentionally of course, I failed to plan any beef dishes lately.  You'll have to forgive me and I think this dish should make up for it. Plus it's another slow cooker meal!

We have some roasts in our deep freeze from our beef purchase and I'm always trying to come up with new ways in which to prepare them. The hubby doesn't like a traditional pot roast meal much and to be honest, I would tire of that quickly too.

But tacos, and Mexican food in general, everyone loves that! Tostadas are so similar to tacos and let's face it, a fun way to change up the meal plan. By letting the meat slow cook all day, you're left with the most tender and flavorful filling for your shells.

I used some of my favorite enchilada sauce from the freezer to cook the beef in, but any store brand will do the trick. And now that peppers and tomatoes are popping out of the garden, they deserve a chance to be piled high on top of these tostadas!

Beef Tostadas

Ingredients:
2 lb. beef roast
2 cups enchilada sauce
1/2 cup salsa
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
Corn tortillas
desired toppings

Directions:
In a bowl, mix together enchilada sauce and salsa and set aside. Season roast with garlic powder, cumin and chili powder.

Place roast in a crock pot. Pour sauce mixture over top. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove roast from crock pot and shred meat using two forks.

Serve meat over corn tortillas. Top with desired tostada toppings such as: lettuce, tomato, peppers, avocado, cheese, sour cream and additional salsa.

Crock Pot Beer Brats

Yesterday it was too hot to cook, even for the grill. It would have been cruel and unusual punishment to make the hubby stand outside in this heat and humidity.  So the crock pot it was, even for brats.

This was our first experience using the slow cook method for brats. But it worked pretty well. I loved being able to leave dinner to cook all day and not have to worry about any prep work. For more of an authentic grill look, you could definitely brown them a bit before or after cooking, in a skillet or indoor grill pan.

Since I have onion haters in my family, I left those out. Otherwise, they would be a great flavor enhancer to the dish. Same with sauerkraut.

Oh and do you see that bright colored piece of sweet corn on my plate? Yeah, it's a pretty big deal around these parts. I think we all look forward to those first ears of corn, fresh from the farm. I'll be busy soon adding some bags of corn fresh off the cob to our freezer. It's what summer is all about!


Crock Pot Beer Brats

Ingredients:
8 fresh brats
12 oz. beer of your choice
Buns, to serve on
Desired toppings

Directions:
Place brats in crock pot and pour beer over top. Cover and let cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Remove brats from crock pot and place onto a large plate. Serve on buns with desired toppings.


Ideas for side dishes to serve alongside:
Grilled veggies
Kale-broccoli slaw
Potato salad
Twice-baked potatoes

Broccoli and Chicken Stir-Fry

It's suddenly turned extremely hot here in the Midwest.  Humid and just darn right uncomfortable to be outside, unless you're in the pool. I foresee many crock pot or no-cook meals in our future this week.

Today's dish was one we tried in early June, in effort to use up some leftover chicken. The hubby doesn't like stir frys much but they really are a great way to use up leftover veggies and meat.

The girls and I really enjoyed it though. I loved the little bit of heat from the red pepper flakes. With the weather being so warm right now, you could certainly serve this cold and it would still taste just as good!

Broccoli and Chicken Stir-Fry

Ingredients:
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1 cup broccoli florets
2 cups chopped bok choy
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
pinch of ground ginger
prepared rice, for serving

Directions:
Combine garlic, red pepper, olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and ginger in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat on stove, combine chicken and sauce in the skillet. Let cook for a few minutes, then add in broccoli and bok choy. Continue to let cook until bok choy cooks down, about five minutes.

Remove from heat. Serve over prepared rice.