Monday, November 06, 2006

Cooking Methods : Foil Packet Dinners

Cooking with foil packets is a clean and healthy way to cook. That said, it won't work for every meal, I think pork chops and steak need a little direct heat to give them some color and taste, but using chicken breast you can vary this method in a thousand ways.

To cook with a foil packet, work in layers. From the bottom up:

A big piece of aluminum foil (roughly a 15-18 in. sheet).
Rice right in the middle, but not too close to the sides, think a rectagle about 3 in. by 5 in. with the 3 in. side parallel to the long side of the foil.
A raw chicken breast
Dry seasonings
Sauce or Salad Dressing
Choose two chopped veggies
Shredded cheese

Fold up the long ends of the foil to make a tent over the mound of food. Crimp the foil so that it is sealed, then crimp the ends. Put the packet on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 deg. for 25-30 minutes.

When it's finished, just transfer the packet to a plate and pierce the foil a few times to release steam (away from your face, it's hot!)

Here's how I like to make foil packets, but be creative!

When I boil the rice water I add a chicken boillion cube. On top of the chicken breast I sprinkle ground cumin and cayenne pepper and drizzle on ranch dressing. I top it with broccoli florets and diced pepper (red, green, orange, whatevers handy). Finally, I love colby jack cheese.

Wouldn't it be easy to replace the dressing with spaghetti sauce and use mozarella - almost like chicken parmesan. Or you could use jasmine rice, teriyaki sauce, and snow peas for a sort of Asian packet. That's why this recipe is more of a method than a meal.

No comments: