If you enjoy making these delicious Cooking with Foil Packets (Campfire Stew) over a fire while camping, now you can make them anytime, at school or home, in the convenience of your oven. It’s a great way to incorporate a variety of nutrients and food groups!

Set

• Ask students to list the dinners they’ve eaten in the last week or two. After they’ve made their lists, ask them to circle any meals that were homemade and draw a line through any that were fast food, takeout or delivery, frozen dinners or any other premade food.  What’s left?
• Discuss that many people turn to these premade convenience foods for many reasons:  lack of time or skills, want something that’s quick/easy to prepare and even clean-up especially if schedules are busy due to work and sports activities.
• This is where you can introduce foil packet cooking. Hold up some aluminum foil, some frozen veggies, a package of ground beef, some grains, cheese and seasonings and ask students what they can make. Or ask them if they’ve ever been camping and used foil to prepare a meal. In either situation, all of the ingredients can be used to make a healthy, well balanced and hearty foil packet dinner and this leads to the next lab!

Teacher Prep for Day 1

• Cook ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey and onions in a crock pot so it’s ready for the prep day of the lab.
• Make sure the frozen vegetables (corn and peas & carrots) are thawed for the prep day and the spinach is washed.

Prep Day

• Each lab group will be assigned to prepare one of the grains below according to package directions.
  • Orzo, Rice, Hash Browns, and/or Quinoa
• After grains are prepared set them up as a buffet along with the cooked meat, thawed vegetables and fresh spinach.
• Also include one or more pre-grated cheeses to the buffet such as Colby Jack, Mozzarella, Parmesan, etc.
• Add the follow seasonings to the buffet as well: mesquite, pepper, basil, garlic, Italian seasoning, oregano, bacon bits, and all spice

Student Procedures

• Once the starches/grains are cooked, ready to go, students will receive a piece of foil.
• Students will spray their foil with non-stick cooking spray and then proceed through the line.
• Students can take the following amounts to place on their prepared foil and keep track of the ingredients they select:
  • Ground Meat: 2-3 tbsp.
  • Grains/Starches: 2 tbsp. (Choose one)
  • Veggies: 2 tbsp. per vegetable (must select minimum of one)
  • Cheese: 1 tbsp. or less
  • Seasoning: Add desired seasonings by sprinkling over the ingredients
• Once their food selections are made, they will wrap their foil like a Hershey’s Kiss and write their name on the outside of the packet with a Sharpie.
• All foil packet will be stored in the refrigerator overnight on baking sheets.

Day 2:

*Note: Teacher will bake the packets so they are ready for class.  Place foil packets on a baking pan and bake for 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

• When the foil packets are done baking, students will remove them from the oven and vent away from them when opening the foil.
• After students have eaten their Campfire Stew, they are to complete some follow-up questions.
• Additionally, students will create a nutrition label for their version of campfire stew using recipe nutrition analyzer on the Very Well Fit website, and add it to their document, before turning in for a grade.

Attachments

• Cooking with Foil: Campfire Stew Directions (please make a copy by going to file, click make a copy in order to have your own editable version)
• Cooking with Foil: Campfire Stew Follow-Up Questions (please make a copy by going to file, click make a copy in order to have your own editable version)