I’ve fallen into a pattern with these meals where the prep time is under a half hour, but the cook time is longer.

So I’m changing my rules. This is my blog anyway, right?

I ate this meal a lot when I was younger. My mom loved how such simple ingredients, simple prep, and simple cleanup yields a meal that is “soooo good!”

And it’s true. Whoever thought of cooking food in foil packets/was too lazy to get out a pan/didn’t have a pan/didn’t want to clean up was a genius. And is my friend. In spirit.

Also, like most things I make, and in most recipes, you can swap out a lot of ingredients for what you have on hand, and hey, even use fish instead of chicken.

Are you convinced yet?

Italian Chicken in Foil Packets (From my Mom )

Serves 4

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 to 1 1/2 lbs)
• 2 medium zucchini
• 2 medium onions
• 3 medium red potatoes
• salt and pepper
• Italian seasoning
• garlic powder
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• Parmesan cheese for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lay out 4 sheets of foil (18 x 12 inch pieces). Slice the vegetables in 1/4 inch thick slices.
2. Divide the potato slices evenly on each sheet in an even layer. Top with the slices of zucchini, then the slices of onion.
3. Place the chicken breasts on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Top the chicken and vegetables with the ketchup (about 2 tbsp per packet — or load it with ketchup if you really love it).
4. Wrap the foil securely, leaving a bit of space at the top to allow steam to escape. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

My Two Cents: I hadn’t made this meal in a really long time, and today I asked myself “why!!?” It’s so good, and like I said before, so easy.

I find the Perdue chicken that’s individually wrapped tend to be the perfect portions for these meals. If they’re frozen, I suggest partially thawing them, otherwise they may still be a bit pink at the end of cooking for an hour.

I’m partial to the veggies in this packet — the onion gives it a lot of flavor, so don’t swap that one out. But try other veggies — broccoli, green beans, red and green peppers — all of them would be great here.

Enjoy!