Hobo Bags

Preheat oven to 400F. Soak the skewer for 30 minutes. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

While the skewer is soaking, add the peas/carrots, scallions, garlic, a little salt and pepper, and butter to a microwave-safe bowl; cover and heat for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. If using frozen cubed hash browns, you can throw those in the dish as well, but add another 30 seconds or so to the cooking time. After cooking, stir well and set aside until the skewer has fully soaked.

After the skewer has soaked for 30 minutes, place the sheet of pie dough in a small bowl (maybe 5″ wide) so that the sides of the dough overhang the edges by a couple of inches.

Start by adding about 1/4 cup of the meat to the bottom, then add about 1/2 cup of the veggies (peas, carrots, and potatoes) on top of the meat. You should not overfill the bag because you will not be able to close it properly and tie it. Do you still have enough room to fit a little more meat and veggies in the bag? If so, add some more.

Add a couple of tablespoons of the gravy to the top and tap the bowl on the countertop to get the gravy to settle. Can you add a little more gravy and still be able to close the bag and tie it? If so, add another tablespoon or two of the gravy. You can even add more, but an excessive amount of gravy weakens the pie dough and allows it to easily split during baking.

Gather up the sides of the dough and gently squeeze it about 1″ from the top. Take about 8″ of cooking twine and wrap it around the seal and tie it like a shoe. Trim the twine as needed.

Carefully remove the tied bag from the bowl and place it on the parchment paper. Remove the skewer from the water. I, personally, like to break off several inches from the skewer since I think it is too long for the size of the bag. I’ll leave that up to you. Slide the pointed end of the skewer through the dough where you gathered the seam until it just peaks out the other side.

Bake the bag for about 30 minutes, but start checking after 25 minutes. The bag is done when it is golden brown and delicious. This recipe serves two, but can be easily doubled, tripled, or more depending on the number of people you are feeding.

Recipe courtesty of Cooking Ventures at http://cookingventures.blogspot.com