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trippclark
11-14-2005, 12:21
My wife recently found and purchased Hamburger Helper Singles for the microwave. These are a new product, wrapped in individual foil pouches, with Hamburger Helper including dried ground beef. The package instructions are to add 3/4 cup hot water, microwave (6 minutes, I think), and then let stand to thicken.

I wanted to see how it might work as a non-microwave backpacking meal. I used an empty Enertia Trail Food zipper bag and emptied the Hamburger Helper package into it. I then added 3/4 cup of boiling water and sealed the bag. I then put it in my Enertia Wrap "cozy" (Antigravity Gear) and set it aside for 15 minutes.

Afterwards it was cooked . . . the noodles were done and the meat was rehydrated well. It was a bit "soupy," since it was cooked in a sealed bag, so next time I will reduce the water a bit.

I am not a huge hamburger Helper fan, but for a very simple lighweight meal that includes meat, this looks like a great new option to consider.

Tripp

hikerjohnd
11-14-2005, 13:15
Thanks for the info - I'll check the supermarket shelves and give this a try this weekend! :sun

Big Dawg
11-14-2005, 13:38
I got these a few weeks ago,, & tested it out by dumping the contents in a ziploc along w/ requested boiling water, placed in my cozy,,, checked it a few times before it looked completely done, no excess water,, & dug in,,, yummmmmm,,, pretty good, considering. :)

MDSHiker
11-14-2005, 13:57
Thanks for the tip...haven't seen those in my area yet.

neo
11-14-2005, 14:28
cool i will look for it,thanks :cool: neo

Lanthar Mandragoran
11-14-2005, 18:03
wow... sweet... I love hamburger helper...

DLFrost
11-16-2005, 06:47
My wife recently found and purchased Hamburger Helper Singles for the microwave. These are a new product, wrapped in individual foil pouches, with Hamburger Helper including dried ground beef.[...]

I wanted to see how it might work as a non-microwave backpacking meal. I used an empty Enertia Trail Food zipper bag and emptied the Hamburger Helper package into it. I then added 3/4 cup of boiling water and sealed the bag. I then put it in my Enertia Wrap "cozy" (Antigravity Gear) and set it aside for 15 minutes.
Yea, interesting find... thanks for the heads-up.

Chances are that you can rehydrate/cook the meal in its own pouch. I don't bother with ziplocks for stuff like Lipton/Knorr pasta or rice meals. I just cut the top off, pour in 1 cup of boiling water (olive oil optional), roll down to close, and place in the cozy. Saves the hassle and expense of repackaging, and the foil-lined pouches are tougher and hold in heat longer.

Doug Frost

The Solemates
11-16-2005, 12:28
why would you want a single?! i can eat a family serving by myself while on the trail.

fivefour
09-19-2006, 11:24
we just now got these in our area. they are no longer in foil packages but a tough paper package. i rehydrated one easily but they are small. the one flavor i tried (beef stroganoff) only had 170 calories per serving.

Cuffs
09-19-2006, 11:40
Man! Im off to the grocery store now to find these! Thanks for the info, hope mine turns out as well as stated above!

fivefour
09-19-2006, 12:02
they may have just recently started trying to sell these again. i had never heard of such a thing until i started seeing commercials for them.

The Solemates
09-19-2006, 12:22
i remember seeing these over 2 years ago when we did our thru in 04. nothing new.

Ewker
09-19-2006, 12:58
I haven't see them in any store

headchange4u
09-19-2006, 14:21
My wife recently found .....*SNIP*
Tripp

Which store did she buy this at?

trippclark
09-19-2006, 15:02
In South Carolina, I have found these at "Food Lion" for certain, and I think at Walmart also.

weary
09-19-2006, 15:42
why would you want a single?! i can eat a family serving by myself while on the trail.
That was my experience also. I could easily eat a normal six-seven ounce package of "helper" augmented with whatever meat was available -- usually chunks of summer sausage, occasionally cans of corned beef, sometimes a can of tuna.

The prepackaged dried meat in the "singles" is a good idea -- if the price is right. I suspect I could eat several "singles," once the hunger pangs set in.

Weary

Alligator
09-19-2006, 16:02
I'd consider the price for the single serve. Often you pay more per serving for the convenience of a single serving. You could potentially dry your own hamburger and split up a regular box for less, then cozy cook the meal. I personally could eat a whole regular size box.

DawnTreader
09-19-2006, 17:19
I love hamburger helper

sarbar
09-19-2006, 22:36
I'd consider the price for the single serve. Often you pay more per serving for the convenience of a single serving. You could potentially dry your own hamburger and split up a regular box for less, then cozy cook the meal. I personally could eat a whole regular size box.

Or..you could do this!:

Faux Hamburger Helper For Trail and For Home:
This is a mix you can make in advance and use in a number of ways.

At home mix together:

2 cups nonfat dry milk
1 cup corn starch
1/4 cup low sodium beef bouillon powder (one could use regular bullion if they don't watch salt)
2 tablespoons onion flakes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon garlic powder

Store tightly sealed. Use mix as a base for the following dinners:

Chili Mac:
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 cup water
1/2 cup macaroni noodles (uncooked)
2 cans no salt added diced or stewed tomatoes
1 Tlb chili powder
1/2 cup dry mix


Stroganoff:
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
2 cups water
1/2 cup dry mix
2 cups uncooked egg noodles
1/2 cup sour cream


Potato Beef Casserole:
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
3/4 cup water
6 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup frozen mixed veggies
1/2 cup dry mix
Directions:
Chili Mac: Combine all and simmer 20 minutes or until macaroni is cooked
Stroganoff: Combine all except sour cream. Simmer 20 minutes or until noodles are tender. Stir in sour cream and serve.
Potato Beef Casserole Combine all and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cover and cook until excess water is evaporated.
The above recipes can be dehydrated and taken with you for simple FBC style meals, or one could simmer in camp. To cut down on cooking time, one could use dried sliced potatoes (found in bulk sections), freezedried vegetables (sub 1/2 cup fd vegetables for 1 cup frozen) and precooked and dried pastas. Precooked pasta will cut back on cooking time by about half. Canned tomatoes can be pureed and dried at home.

Servings would be in the 2-4 person range, per recipe made.

The orginal recipe I got from I think Cloudwalker, and did the changes for camp cooking. Home dried hamburger is incredibly easy to do.

No MSG, and the sodium is controllable.

Paws
09-19-2006, 22:59
I did the same thing, sorta, with "Easy Mac", I took the contents out of the microwave bowl and put it in a freezer ziplock bag. Added boiling water ( a little less than what it called for), sealed the bag waited about ten minutes and it was yummy. We did a section hike out of Springer in April - it was my main staple.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-20-2006, 06:06
I've been making and drying my own casseroles for years - way more tasty than hamburger helper and I can add veggies for a one pot meal that is nutritious. I also do tuna helper and chicken helper type meals. I usually puree cooked chicken before drying for trail meals because it hydrates more easily. Tuna and ground beef hydrate well without this.

Easy Mac is cooked macaroni that has been dehydrated. You can also get 'no cook' lasagna noodles in the pasta aisle - the same product in a different form.

headchange4u
09-25-2006, 15:00
I tried the Cheesy Lasagna for lunch today and I thought it was pretty good. Not a bad deal either at 3.50 for 4 packs. There is not as much hamburger in the packs as I thought or would have liked.

The portion size is a little small. One pack was barely enough for lunch. After a hard day of hiking I could probably put 2-3 packs down easy. I think if I was carrying them for a hike I would combine 2 packs into one freezer bag.

uscgretired
09-25-2006, 15:26
Bought two boxes for $5 (4 in a box). Cheeseburger Mac and Cheesy Lasagna. Portions are very small. Microwaved one of each. Not to bad on taste. Combing several packs into one would be the best solution. If their was any hamburger taste, it was overwhelmed by the cheese sauce. I believe I will just stick with Easy Mac or my own home brew mac n' cheese. IMHO.

sarbar
09-25-2006, 23:01
Safeway has been selling bags for 29 cents as a promo. I made one for my son, and yes, it is a small portion. Perfect for a kid appetite though.
Though, if I was going to be lazy, I think I'd get him Ezy Mac and add home dried hamburger ;)

Big Dawg
09-26-2006, 12:44
Home dried hamburger is incredibly easy to do.





Hey Sarbar, what steps do you take to dry hamburger at home. Then, out in the field, is there anything else you do to the dried hamburger to prepare it for the meal.

Footslogger
09-26-2006, 12:57
I have dried ground meat before. The "yield" is pretty low. I took a half pound of lean ground sirloin and browned it in a skillet with onoin and A1 Steak Sauce. Poured off the grease (of which there wasn't much because it was about 96% lean to start with) and spread the little chunks out on a paper towel to soak up the remaining liquid.

Then I spread it out on the drier tray and popped it in the dehydrator at high heat for about 5 - 6 hours.

Ended up with a sandwich sized ziplock full of tiny dried hamburger chunks. Added them to noodles on several hikes. They reconstituted very well and had great flavor.

Not sure it's worth all the effort and time though. Exception to that is that I knew exactly what went into the meat and that it was of high quality.

'Slogger

sarbar
09-26-2006, 16:32
Hey Sarbar, what steps do you take to dry hamburger at home. Then, out in the field, is there anything else you do to the dried hamburger to prepare it for the meal.
Hey BD, I put a pictorial on my website :)
http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/gearstuff.htm
Go about halfway down the page, and you will see the section on drying!

There are two ways of rehydrating: alone and in the food. As long as you make sure your hamburger is all small (no big chunks) it comes back to life in about 10 minutes in a cozy with boiling water. It only need a 1:1 ratio of meat to water. If you add it to a meal, just add in the additional water. It is cheap, easy to do, and fills you up ;)

And if you see 25% fat hamburger for $1 a lb, sure, buy it, and use it. You drain the grease so it isn't an issue ;)

Big Dawg
09-26-2006, 19:12
Thanks guys! I don't have a dehydrator. Can I get the same results using an oven to dry the beef?

blackbishop351
09-26-2006, 19:20
BLECH!! I tried Easy Mac at a friend's suggestion, and it was possibly the nastiest thing I've ever eaten....and I'm a mac 'n' cheese junkie at home! I'll never buy that crap again...

sarbar
09-26-2006, 19:57
Thanks guys! I don't have a dehydrator. Can I get the same results using an oven to dry the beef?
Yes, it is easy: just set your oven to the lowest setting, and you can prop the door open with a wooden spoon, to help keep it cool enough. Lay it on a parchment paper lined cookie tray. Takes 4-8 hours to dry. Stir every hour or so, to break up clumps. You are looking for rock hard when done.
Hamburger is about the easiest thing to dry :)
1/4 cup of it dried is usally enough for most appetites. That "usually" is about 8 ounces of uncooked meat (scary to think it gets that small after cooking and drying!).

berninbush
11-06-2006, 11:15
I did an overnight hike this weekend, and tried out the Hamburger Helper Singles Beef Stroganoff. I ate one packet of it, plus a cereal bar, and was satisfied... but if I'd been ravenously hungry I'd probably have eaten two.

It was definitely convenient and tasted reasonably good. I brought it in the original envelope, tore the envelope lengthwise down one side to empty it into a freezer bag, added the not-quite-boiling water I heated over a tiny campfire, and stuck the bag inside the torn-open envelope to serve as a "cozy." This worked pretty well. Since I don't own a dehydrator and I don't feel like it's dinner without some kind of meat, I'm likely to use this again on a future hike.

Gaiter
11-06-2006, 11:52
does the Cheesy Lasagna contain meat? or is there a chicken or non-ground up meat singles version?

partinj
01-13-2007, 20:33
Hi just to let you know i found that at the food loin where i live. They had 4 kinds of Helper bu i think you would need to est two on the trail to fill you up.
But will be taking some with me on my Thur-Hike this year.:clap

GOOD FIND