This post has been sponsored by Del Monte Foods, Inc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Each year, I seem to love the holidays more and more. To me, I love any excuse to
make delicious food and have friends and family over. So I thought it would be
fun to share an easy meal idea and show you just how easy this meal was. I
thought it turned out very elegant, and everything was literally devoured
pretty quickly.
These Veggie Foil Packets are a great vegetarian dinner alternative or side dish. These foil packets are so familiar to most people (think campfire dinners) but by adding more unique and colorful ingredients, these veggie packets can be taken to the next level and even enjoyed at a holiday dinner as a side dish! Simply put, these foil packets contain an array of ingredients like potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions, fresh herbs like parsley and oregano, and of course the Del Monte mixed veggies and green beans. Also, if you are put in the position when you need to offer a few vegetarian side dishes during the holidays, the veggie packets and the cornbread would be amazing.
Del Monte is my number one brand for everything canned during the holidays and during every month of the year. You can find them at your nearest retailer using this store locator. This could be a cute meal for Friendsgiving, for a fall or holiday date night, or something special for a smaller crowd during the holidays.
Visit Del Monte’s website to check out TONS more holiday recipes, here!
Ingredients: (Serves 3-4)
VEGGIE FOIL PACKETS:
1-2 Cans Del Monte® Vegetable & Bean Blends Country Style
1-2 Cans Del Monte® Blue Lake® Cut Green Beans
4-6 pieces of foil (8”-10” squares) – 2 pieces per packet
CREAMED CORN CORNBREAD CAKE + MUFFINS:
1 package cornbread muffin or cake mix (I used one 15 oz. box but you can also use two 8 oz boxes as well!)
1 egg
1/3 c. oil
1 Cup Del Monte® Cream Style Golden Sweet Corn
½ - 1 c. milk
Muffin tin
Cupcake liners
WHOLE YOUNG CHICKEN:
1 whole chicken (organic when possible)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp salt
1-2 Tbsp seasoning (I used Greek seasoning, but use anything you would like)
Brush to apply olive oil (optional)
Parsley for garnish
Instructions:
1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare chicken. Place chicken onto a rimmed baking sheet and begin to brush olive oil over chicken. I basically drizzled the oil onto the chicken and then brushed it over. Next, I simply sprinkled seasoning all over the chicken. Cover with foil and bake for at least 1.5 hours. At a little over an hour, I carefully uncovered the chicken, then placed it back into the oven to finish baking. Make sure the breast is not pink anymore. A note on the chicken: there was a lot of juice in the cake pan from the chicken cooking. Be careful not to spill this juice or it may hurt you. Be very careful when handling this pan.
2.) Mid way through cooking chicken, prep for the veggie packets. Strain both cans of Del Monte veggies and divide them equally between 2 or 3 foil packets, To make the packets, simply place two sheets of foil on a baking tray, place veggies in the middle, then season with 1-2 tsp of your favorite seasoning mix and salt if needed. Fold two side of the foil inward, then twist the ends to keep everything inside. Place onto sheet pan and bake for 12-15 minutes or until steaming. Carefully open the packets as the steam can hurt you.
3.) Mix up cornbread ingredients and prepare pan. For my spring form pan, I sprayed it with cooking spray then lightly coated the pan in flour. Fill the springform pan about halfway full then pour the rest of the batter, cover with foil, and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes with foil covering until the last 10-15 mins. Pour the batter into the cupcake cups and bake muffins at 375F for about 15-18 minutes. The springform pan is not necessary, it just made for a wonderful presentation! Feel free to use any size or shape of square or round dish you have.
4.) To serve, place chicken into shallow serving bowl or platter and garnish with parsley. Also, feel free to place cornbread cake onto a cake stand or on a cute dish with a spatula for serving. Lastly, either have guests grab veggies from a serving bowl or straight from the packets!
Cleanup was super easy with this whole process. If you do not want to cook a whole chicken, you can use chicken drumsticks, thighs, or even chicken breasts. I say this because it can take up to 2 hours for the chicken to be fully cooked if the bird is 4 pounds like mine was.
I absolutely LOVED the green beans and the other vegetables in the new Mixed Veggies collection. I actually liked the vegetables more than any other part of this meal, and my friends also raved about each and every part. I had so much fun treating a few of my favorite people to an exceptionally thoughtful dinner during the holidays, which can be a super hectic time when people may forget to eat a “real meal”.
What are your favorite vegetarian side dishes to serve during the holidays?
Look out for these mixed veggies from the brand:
Del Monte® Vegetable & Bean Blends California Style
Del Monte® Vegetable & Bean Blends Classic Style
Del Monte® Vegetable & Bean Blends Country Style
Del Monte® Vegetable & Bean Blends Mexican Style
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