My husband devours these immediately. Only 4 ingredients. The savory juices get trapped inside the foil for the most tender bite every time.My husband devours these immediately. Only 4 ingredients. The savory juices get trapped inside the foil for the most tender bite every time.

If you’d like to stretch this meal a bit, you can tuck a few thinly sliced onions or a handful of sliced mushrooms under or around each steak before sealing the foil, though that will technically add more ingredients. For a slightly lighter version, you can cut the butter down to 1 tablespoon per packet, but keep in mind that the butter is what makes the ranch seasoning melt into a silky sauce. Different cuts of steak will change the texture: chuck and round become very tender and almost shred with a fork after a long, low cook, while a slightly better-marbled sirloin tip will hold its shape more but still stay moist. If your family likes a little kick, you can use a spicy ranch mix or add a pinch of crushed red pepper to the dry ranch before sprinkling it on the meat. These packets also reheat well: store them wrapped in their foil in the refrigerator, then warm gently in a low oven or back in the slow cooker with a splash of water in the bottom so they don’t dry out. And if you ever want to take this idea outside, you can place the same tightly wrapped packets on a medium grill or over campfire coals, turning occasionally, until the steak is cooked and tender, using the slow cooker method as your guide for how the foil traps all those savory juices inside.