Tin Can Dinners

Tin can stew is easy to make, and tastes good, too. The girls will eat anything if they cook it themselves. If we cooked it for them they'd be too picky, and refuse it, but when they do it themselves, it is a whole different ball game!

Take a large size tin--empty, about 19 ounces (like the large tomato tins). Put hamburger in the bottom of it, then potatoes and carrots. These need the most cooking, so they go at the bottom. Other vegetables like peas, corn etc. can be placed on top. Onions add to the flavour. Cover the tin can with a piece of foil over the top, and stand it up on the coals of the fire. It takes very little time to cook (about 20-25 minutes) and you can eat it right out of the can (no dishes to wash!). You'll need tongs to get the cans out, and a good pair of oven mitts. Remember to let the cans cool down before you eat. We cooked this in the rain at one camp, and everyone was so glad to have a really hot meal.

Note: Recently there has been quite the controversy over whether or not tin can ovens are safe to use. Some cans have a plastic inner lining (some large tomato juice cans, for example) which will melt when the can is placed in the fire. It is probably a good idea to ensure that the cans you use do not have this sort of lining. If you're unsure, you can always fall back on the good old tinfoil dinner method of cooking.


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