Cafe Thursday - Hobo Dinners

My family and I call these packets, but my mom first started me on these, calling them Hobo Dinners. When we used to camp in the summers when my brothers and I were young one of the things we looked forward to the most were making these Hobo Dinners. These simple dinners are basically meat and any veggies you want, wrapped in tinfoil, and baked till the meat is cooked through and the veggies are soft.

Now that I have a family of my own, I realize how very difficult it is to feed several people who all have their own likes and dislikes. That is where the true goodness of these Hobo Dinners lies. Each one of us can create our own ideal dinner of meat and veggies. The hardest part of this recipe is the chopping of the veggies, but I recommend you include everyone and really have fun with this.

Recipe:
Take one large piece of tinfoil. Coat it with plenty of Olive Oil. Add the meat of your choice, raw (chicken, fish and groundbeef are the best we have tried). Pile on all the veggies you like (potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, peppers, and zucchini are all delicious). Add the seasonings of your choice, depends mostly on your meat choice (we like steak seasoning best and salt and pepper) Fold in tinfoil so that no heat escapes your pile (DS makes a hershey kiss sort of shape, I usually make more of a big square packet). Bake on a baking sheet at 450 for about 35 minutes, but test for doneness after 30 minutes.

Let cool a bit. CAREFULLY open your packets, the steam will be HOT. Add steak sauce or katsup and enjoy!

Fasting for Healthy Mind and Body

A few weeks ago my DB challeneged me to take part in a fast with him. I wasn't excited about it, but told him I would do it. DD is also doing it, and her only stipulation was that we wait until after her birthday and Easter to start.

So it is that I find myself this morning beginning a 20 day fast. We are doing the Daniel Fast, which is basically only fruit, veggies, nuts and water. No animal products, yeast, or caffine, of course it is the latter that has me the most sad this morning. I LIVE on coffee, I drink it all day long in fact. I guess anything I am that dependant on must go, before it becomes some kind of idol, but boy this is harder than I thought it would be and it isn't 9 am yet!

I am interested to see if I feel any healthier or if some of my bad sugar and wheat addictions are cured after this fast. I did the Atkins Diet 5 years ago and stuck with it for a couple of years and lost 50 pounds, and I know from that experience that once you get a week in, the cravings for sugar and carbohydrates do leave. I am also taking this time to try and become more spiritual. I want to focus on my faith and my family just a bit more. I will be documenting my spiritual journey in my daily devotional blog.

Here's to a quick and successful 20 days!