At Hillcrest Healthcare, we take pride in providing delicious and nutritious meals to our patients and residents.
We offer high-quality meals, drinks and snacks with variety and personal service – all overseen by our professional registered dietitian team. Among our collection of menus and recipes, there are some “fan favorites” that are loved and repeatedly requested.
Since food brings more joy when shared, we thought we’d share a couple of recipes from our communities with you.
BBQ chicken foil packs for a crowd
6 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
12 cups barbecue sauce
12 cups pineapple tidbits
2 pounds red bell peppers
1 pound red onions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Drain pineapple.
- Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces and toss with barbecue sauce in a large bowl.
- Cut 25 sheets of aluminum foil into pieces approximately 18” long and lay on a flat surface.
- Add a helping of chicken to the center of foil and top with pineapple, peppers and onion.
- Bring the top and bottom ends of the foil up and fold them down over the top of the chicken to seal. Then fold the left and right ends toward the center to seal.
- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until internal temperature of chicken is 165 degrees.
- Let foil packets sit for 5 minutes before serving.
We asked our nutrition staff what meals are among the favorites for residents. Chicken and dumplings top the entrée list followed by fried chicken. Favorite sides include green beans with sautéed onions and bacon, fried okra, macaroni and cheese and cider-glazed Brussels sprouts (recipe below).
Classic American fare such as burgers, fries, chili dogs, sloppy joes and tater tots are loved by our residents as well. Pecan pie and banana pudding top the dessert favorites.
Cider-glazed Brussels sprouts
8 servings
4 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted (optional for topping)
- Fry bacon in a large skillet on medium heat until crisp.
- Remove bacon from skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
- Discard all but 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings from skillet.
- Add butter, onions and Brussels sprouts to skillet and cook on medium-high heat 1 to 2 minutes or until Brussels sprouts are lightly browned.
- Mix vinegar, sugar, nutmeg and black pepper until blended and pour over sprouts.
- Cook 5 minutes or until liquid has evaporated and sprouts are evenly glazed, stirring occasionally.
- Add bacon back in and stir.
- Serve as is or with toasted sliced almonds on top.
Hillcrest Healthcare offers feeding assistance services, in-room ordering from our anytime menus and treats for special occasions. Dining at Hillcrest Healthcare is both delicious and flexible, and we enjoy the smiles from our residents when their favorite dishes are served.
We hope you will try one of our recipes or share one of your own with us to try! Send your images and recipes to us on our Facebook page, and please like our page while you’re there.