Beef and Zucchini Foil Packets Slow Cooker. Here’s a fun dinner idea that almost cooks itself! You wrap everything up in foil, drop it in the slow cooker, and walk away. Easy, right?
What Makes This Recipe Cool
My sister showed me this trick — you put your food inside little foil packages, like tiny presents! The slow cooker does all the hard work while you play outside or do homework. When dinner’s ready, the beef is super soft and the zucchini tastes sweet and yummy. Best part? Almost nothing to wash after!
People have been cooking food in foil over campfires for a long, long time. Now we can do the same thing right in our kitchen!
Makes: 4 servings
What You Need
- 1½ pounds beef stew meat, cut into small chunks
- 3 medium zucchini, cut into small half-circle slices
- 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup
- 1 packet dry onion soup mix
How To Make Beef and Zucchini Foil Packets
Step 1 — Get your foil ready Tear off 4 big pieces of thick foil, about 12–14 inches each. If your foil feels thin, use two layers so nothing leaks out. Gently push the edges up a little bit so the food stays put while you fill them.
Step 2 — Mix the sauce In a bowl, mix the cream of mushroom soup and the dry onion soup mix together until it looks thick and smooth. This yummy sauce will keep the beef soft and juicy while it cooks.
Step 3 — Add the beef Put equal amounts of beef chunks in the middle of each foil piece. Stack them up in a neat little pile so you can close the packet up tight later.
Step 4 — Add the zucchini Put your zucchini slices right on top of the beef in each packet. As the zucchini cooks, it lets out water that makes even more sauce — pretty cool!
Step 5 — Pour on the sauce Spoon the mushroom-onion sauce on top of the beef and zucchini in each packet. Use the back of your spoon to push the sauce into all the little spaces.
Step 6 — Close the packets Fold the long sides of the foil up and over the food, then press them together and fold them down tightly a few times. Then fold up the short ends and squeeze them shut. Your packets should look like puffy little pillows!
Step 7 — Put them in the slow cooker Place all 4 packets in your slow cooker with the folded side facing up. It’s okay if they touch each other, just don’t pile them on top of each other too much.
Step 8 — Cook! Put the lid on. Cook on LOW for 7–8 hours or HIGH for 3½–4 hours. You’ll know it’s done when the beef is so soft it falls apart when you poke it with a fork.
Step 9 — Open carefully! Use tongs to pick up the hot packets and put them on plates. Open them slowly — hot steam will come out fast! Add a little fresh parsley on top if you want it to look fancy.
Step 10 — Eat and enjoy! Eat right out of the foil and pour the tasty juices over rice, bread, or noodles. When you’re done, just throw away the foil. That’s it — barely any dishes!
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