Cajun Style Foil Dinner

Summer is a busy time for my family.  Justin is out of school, weather here in Michigan is beautiful and kids are wanting to play outside.  So we spend a lot of our weekends hanging outside or camping.  We really enjoy camping as a family.  The kids get to play outside all the time and we're away from most technology (mommy sometimes surfs Facebook and sharing our life's adventures with friends).



This recipe I had planned on making while camping, but we decided to head home the night before our original departure - just to miss 4th of July traffic (since our trip TO the campground took 1.5 hours longer than expected ... so 2.5 was 4 hours. It was frustrating.).

This meal had a bit of prep, but it was simply chopping food up.

Result: It was delicious.  As usual I used a bit more creole seasoning than it called for, and it was superb.  I did not add any chicken broth - that may have helped soften the potatoes faster or tame down the spiciness.  But everything was delicious.  I highly recommend it.  This version was baked in the oven but can be grilled or in the fire pit while camping!

Recommendation: Use leftover veggies.  Do you have a lot of zucchini from the garden? Peppers that are getting a bit soft? Tomatoes that are softening?  I say chop them up and them to this meal.  I did this with our zucchini and it was delicious.

Original recipe adapted from:
Favorite Family Recipes

Makes 4 aluminum foil dinners

Ingredients:

• 3 corn on the cobs (cut into 3 inch wide pieces)
• 16 oz. of deveined, deshelled, tails off medium / large shrimp
• 3 to 4 medium red potatoes, washed and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 lbs. smoked turkey sausage, cut into bite size slices
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced and then cut in half
• minced garlic (1 teaspoon each foil dinner)
• (any other veggies, chop up)
• creole seasoning
• blackening spice
• cooking spray
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• aluminum foil

Preheat oven/grill to 400°F or prepare coal in the bonfire bit.

Prepare all the veggies and meat as above.

Lay out 4 aluminum foil dinners (2 pieces of aluminum each).  Spray 4 of the sheets with cooking spray, sprinkle with creole seasoning.  Separate the vegetables and meat evenly over the foil. Add blackening spice to the top as well as a good sprinkle of creole (it's to your discretion...we went spicy and didn't regret it!), Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of melted butter on the top of each pile.  Take a pincher and gently mix the seasoning in. 

Fold in the first immediate layer of foil in with the longest sides first.  Then the short sides.  (Double fold if possible on each end)  Then flip it so the seal is towards the inside of the next layer and repeat the folding as you did with the other.  Do this for each set of foil.

Put in the oven/grill/bon fire pit for about 20 minutes and then flip and then cook until potatoes are tender. (I put the 2nd timer in for about 25 minutes - and it was perfect.)

Enjoy!