Occasionally the chef goes out, and I have to make my own supper. Oh, the suffering! Usually I end up having a tossed salad with a can of tuna, or whatever is left over from the night before. Sometime though, I want a bit more, but don’t want to make a big mess. Cooking in foil pouches is a great solution!
Here’s a recipe that I’ve tried a few times, with excellent results. You can use fish or cooked ham instead of chicken, and whatever vegetables and liquid you prefer. For more than one person this works well too — each person can make a pouch with their own favourites, so everyone’s happy!
Even children enjoy this, when they get to create their own meal. Adults will have to open the pouches though, to prevent steam burns.
Chicken And Vegetable Pouches
- For each serving, make a pouch, using heavy duty foil, or a double thickness of regular foil.
- Into the pouch, add:
1/3 cup instant rice,
4 oz chicken breast,
1/2 cup sliced vegetables (e.g. carrots, zucchini and mushrooms), and
1/3 cup chicken broth.
- Sprinkle with a pinch each of basil and oregano, or a dash of Italian dressing.
- Double fold the pouch, to seal the contents.
- Place all the pouches on a baking sheet, and bake at 450°F for 15 minutes.
Open the pouches carefully, because the ingredients will be steaming hot!
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You can find more information on the gluten free section of my Excel tips website.
Technorati Tags: Chicken, foil pouches, Rice, Vegetables
I bought a new cookbook at Costco this summer — Low-Fat Express: Great Taste in 30 Minutes, by Jean Paré, part of the Company’s Coming series. I have several cookbooks from this collection, and many of our family favourites come from these.
Because I love asparagus, the cover picture sold me on the book, and a quick flip through it convinced me that it would be a good purchase.
In it, I found this pork recipe, which looked good. At the time, the rhubarb in our garden was still tender and firm, which is rare for late summer. We hauled the old bottle of cheap port out of the back of the cupboard, and used it in the recipe.
All the flavours blended beautifully together, for a delicious meal. I’d never tried rhubarb with pork, but it’s surprisingly good. Unlike most rhubarb recipes, this one is quite low in sugar, so it’s a good way to use the crop and not go into a sugar-induced coma.
If you don’t eat pork, this would probably be very nice with chicken thighs too.
Not-So-Portly Pork
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 4 boneless pork loin chops, trimmed of fat, about 1 lb total
- 1/4 cup port wine
- 1-1/2 cups sliced fresh rhubarb
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger (or 1 tsp finely grated gingerroot)
- Heat canola oil in large frying pan on medium high.
- Add pork, and cook for about 2 minutes per side until browned.
- Reduce heat to medium low
- Add wine. Heat and stir for 15 seconds, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Combine rhubarb, sugar and ginger in a small bowl.
- Add to pork mixture and stir.
- Cook, covered, for 8 to 10 minutes, turning pork after 4 minutes, until desired doneness.
- Transfer pork to serving dish, and spoon rhubarb mixture over top.
Serves 4.
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You can find more information on the gluten free section of my Excel tips website.
Technorati Tags: Chicken, port, rhubarb
