Foil Packet Dinner

September 2024. Emma leaves for Minneapolis. The second child to leave. The house: four people now. Kevin, me, Jack. And the absence of saxophone and the absence of organized folders and the house that was built for five and now holds three and the holding is looser, the rooms echoing, the dinner table a geometry problem that no longer makes sense at its current size.

Jack starts eighth grade. Thirteen in September. The gardening club has twelve members. He's started a school composting program that the administration approved with the resigned understanding that denying Jack Holloway an agricultural initiative is like denying a river its course — futile and wet.

I made beef stew with wine — openly now, poured from the bottle while Kevin watched. My stew. My recipe. The stew that started as Marlene's and has become mine, one splash of wine at a time.

I worry about Roger. He's eighty-three. The drives to Grinnell continue — every other weekend, food stocked, garden checked, the vigil of a daughter whose father is aging in a house alone. He's okay. Okay is the best word. Not good, not bad. Okay. The Iowa diagnostic.

The stew is mine now — I know that — but some nights, especially when the table is set for three and I can still count the empty chairs, I want something that requires less ceremony and more warmth. Foil packet dinners have become that for me this fall: everything tucked in together, sealed up, no fuss, no wide pot reminding me how many people I used to be feeding. It’s the kind of cooking that suits a house in transition, a family still figuring out its new geometry.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 3

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef, formed into 3 patties
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 cup green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Tear three large sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, each about 18 inches long.
Season the beef. Mix garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper together. Press one beef patty onto the center of each foil sheet and season both sides with the spice mixture.
Layer the vegetables. Divide the sliced potatoes, carrots, onion, and green beans evenly among the three foil sheets, arranging them around and on top of each patty.
Dress and seal. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce over each packet. Fold the foil over the contents and crimp the edges tightly on all sides to seal completely.
Bake. Place the sealed packets on a large baking sheet and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender and the beef is cooked through to an internal temperature of 160°F.
Serve. Carefully open each packet away from you to release steam. Transfer to plates or serve directly in the foil. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Foil Packet Dinner — The Meal That Feeds a Smaller Table Just as Well