Monday, February 13, 2012

Cowboy Stir-fry (aka Hobo Dinners)

Well it has been a while. I hope to get on track with actually doing this regularly.... and with photos! For now, I wanted to share a recipe that has evolved over the years. When I was growing up, my mom made Hobo dinners. Hobo dinners start with a hamburger patty, onions, sliced potatoes and other veggies all wrapped in a foil packet, placed in a 10x13 dish and baked until the hamburger meat and potatoes are done. I adapted this recipe and now we call it Cowboy Stirfry.

You will need 2 green bell peppers, 1 red bell pepper, and 1 medium onion and hamburger meat. The amount of hamburger depends on your family. Make as many hamburger patties as you need to feed your family (you'll want to make them fairly thin), season them with cavendars and set aside. Slice the onion and peppers and place them in a 10x13 baking dish. (I ditched the foil packets a few years ago because they made for more prep work and cleanup and didn't really change the turnout of how this cooked at all.)

Place the hamburger patties on top of the peppers and onions. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes. The time depends on how long it takes for your hamburger patties to cook thoroughly.

While the meat and veggies are cooking, prepare white rice. I use Minute Rice so I usually wait to fix it until I think we are getting close on the rest.

When the meat and veggies are done, remove from the oven. BE PREPARED... the fat from your meat will be the juice that helps cook your veggies. You will want to immediately remove the meat and veggies from the fat and juices and serve over rice. If desired, add soy sauce and you are done.

This is a crowd pleaser at my house. Even my picky eater will eat the meat. I usually have to fix a side of green beans for him but that is not required if you aren't raising a picky eater.