Trail Dinner Cooking Recipes

[dpage]

:banana My gf and i are doing an overnighter on the AT and she hates MRE's so i need some ideas for dinner on the trail, i have a hommade alcohol stove that is great for boiling 2 cups of water fast, some people tell me spag and meat sauce, mash'pot and gravy. I would like to have" just add water" recipes but because its just an overnight weight is not too big of a deal.


Thank You, DPage

[warraghiyagey]

:banana My gf and i are doing an overnighter on the AT and she hates MRE's so i need some ideas for dinner on the trail, i have a hommade alcohol stove that is great for boiling 2 cups of water fast, some people tell me spag and meat sauce, mash'pot and gravy. I would like to have" just add water" recipes but because its just an overnight weight is not too big of a deal.


Thank You, DPage
Lipton Dinners. Lots of choices. Just add water. Kick them up a notch by adding a tuna pak.

[Thoughtful Owl]

Lipton Dinners. Lots of choices. Just add water. Kick them up a notch by adding a tuna pak.

Use the Lipton Dinners - Chicken flavored and add a foil package of chicken chunks. Thin down a little and you have chicken and noodles. Awesome meal and one of my favorites.

I have recently started adding some dehydrated carrotts & peas as well.

[bigcranky]

Check www.freezerbagcooking.com for some ideas, too.

[jesse]

you can do most anything on an overnighter. I don't buy the pre cooked dehydrated food. I dehydrate my own. Chillie, red beans and rice. One of my favorites is Chicken and ramen soup. Boil the chicken with onion at home. Cut and stir fry onion, carrots celery. Put all in a freezer bag and freeze. It will mostly be thawed by supper time. At camp boil water mix with chicken, vegetables and ramen. Another is make burretos at home and freeze them. Wrap them in aluminum foil, and heat them up with the coals of an open fire.
I only do weekend hikes. I try to stay away from a lot of the processed foods, and go with fresh homemade stuff.

[Hooch]

You can do Liptons or mashed potatoes and add things like tuna, chicken or smoked oysters (Thanks for the idea, Ewker!). If you want a good bit of variety go look at Sarbar's site (http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/) for all kinds of great ideas with freezer bag cooking. Although I don't have the book yet, I've read several reviews of it that give it plenty of thumbs up. Also, I happen to like the dehydrated meals from Enertia Trail Foods (http://www.trailfoods.com/). Their meals are quite tasty, won't break the bank and easy to prepare. Many of them can be made by just adding boiling water to the bag with no simmering at all. I like the Max Patch Mac and Cheese (excellent with added tuna), El Capitan 3 Bean Chili and Moosilauke Goulash (with smoked oysters added). Bottom line? There's plenty of quick and easy variety out there, you just have to look for or create it. Good luck and happy trails. :D

[unl1988]

Cous Cous requires only boiled water and is very easy to make. I normally carry some tuna or chicken to throw in to flavor it up and provide protein. There are several varieties, I have used box stuff out of the grocery store (pasta aisle) or have recently started getting some pretty good oraganic stuff from Mary Jane's Farm.

Just a note, if the box says "serves 4" that translates to feeds one hiker at the end of the day.

[sarbar]

This is a recipe I did back for Turkey Day on my blog. Unlike most of the recipes on the website now..this recipe isn't for those on low sodium diets. But it is a fun, easy and tasty meal. It looks more impressive than it is as well. Add in some packed in wine or beer and dessert? She'll think you can cook :p

Thanksgiving On The Trail: Easy, Trashy & good:

This isn't one of the "it is good for you" meals. But, eh, you get it once a year, no? The meal is designed to feed 2-3 and it will make quite a bit. You can double the meat and use a 10 ounce can. If you do this, use the liquid in the can, and cut the water back to a generous 1/2 cup (instead of 3/4 cup).

You can leave the butter out of the stuffing, it does though add a nice flavor and texture...and if you are hiking in November, the fat is a good thing for staying warm. Butter is easy to carry in the colder months as well, so take advantage!

Being a meal to share this is one of the rare times I will suggest "bring bowls!". It makes the cooking easy to do as well as sharing the meal.

For the items used:
Simply Organic Roasted Turkey Gravy mix
Trader Joe's dried sweetened cranberries
Stove Top® Regional Blends instant stuffing in Monterey Style


Turkey Cranberry Gravy:

In a pint freezer bag put:
1 package Roasted Turkey Gravy mix (http://www.simplyorganicfoods.com/dspCmnPrd.php?p=p&cn=Roasted%20Turkey%20Gravy%20Seasoning%20Mix&ct=dfmosmgravy&br=Simply%20Organic&i=y)
1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries

Mark: Add can of chicken & 3/4 cup water.

Stuffing:

In a quart freezer bag put:
1 package instant stuffing

Mark: Add 1/4 cup butter and 1 1/2 cups water.

Mashed Potatoes:

In a quart freezer bag put:
3/4 cup instant mashed potatoes
2 Tbsp dry milk
1/4 tsp diced dried garlic
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Mark: Add 1 1/4 cups water.

Also take:
1/4 cup butter
1 can turkey or chicken (5 ounces)

Trail ready to go:
http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/Tday.jpg

In camp:

The stuffing:
The butter, diced up, and 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Stir well, and make sure the water gets mixed in.

Gravy:
Add in the can of turkey along with the liquid and 3/4 cup of boiling water. Stir very well and seal, pushing out the air carefully.

Mashed Potatoes:
Add in 1 1/4 cups boiling water, stirring well. Make sure to get any powder in the corners. Seal.

Put the 3 bags into a cozy (you may need two cozies) for 10 minutes. Plate up and eat!

http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/Tday2.jpg


From this page on my site. (http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/everythingelse.htm#149479866)

[JAK]

:banana My gf and i are doing an overnighter on the AT and she hates MRE's so i need some ideas for dinner on the trail, i have a hommade alcohol stove that is great for boiling 2 cups of water fast, some people tell me spag and meat sauce, mash'pot and gravy. I would like to have" just add water" recipes but because its just an overnight weight is not too big of a deal.


Thank You, DPageI like soups. Sarbar's recipes are really good. A simple way to do soup for hiking is to take a packet of dry soup mixes from the grocery store and mix in an equal amount of lentils. Paprika is a lovely spice to add to many things if don't like things too hot. Try different spices, and perhaps some greens from the field if you know what your looking for. Wood sorrel is a nice thing to add, You could also throw in a pouch of tuna or chicken or something like that. If you want bread with it you could try packing those dry breads, but any crusty bread should last a few days if you have the space. Add some wine and cheese and you've got a real gormet meal. You could maybe fortify a homemade wine with brandy, and then water it down in the field when you want to drink it. Mead is a nice alternative to wine also. You can flavour it with herbal teas.

[Hikes in Rain]

Second (third?) the Lipton Sides, which now come with veggies, by the way. My best to date: Alfredo Brocolli, salmon in the foil pack, some peppered bacon bits I was carrying for breakfasts, Asagio (sp?) cheese shaved on top with some fresh ground black pepper from my little Lexon grinder.

[Bulldawg]

Lipton Dinners. Lots of choices. Just add water. Kick them up a notch by adding a tuna pak.

Exactly what I do. Get the beef one, get a can of that canned roast beef, open it and put it in a ziploc before you leave. To me this makes an AWESOME trail meal!!!

[2Questions]

Might want to check out the "Bakepacker" also. You can take freeze dried meals, or Sarbar's freezer bag menu items and bake them in the Bakepacker while adding a biscuit or dumplings while there cooking. The bakepacker = no pot cleanup like freezer bag cooking and adds a dimension of baking to it. I'm amazed on how good we can eat out in the middle of nowhere.

[sarbar]

Bakepacker rocks! If you carry a big enough pot it is well worth the weight for their smaller version :) (It is what I based my tiny Fauxbaker on)

[2Questions]

I tried to make one of those but kept burning the bag in my Ti pot. So, I dug out my Bakepacker (smaller Ultralight version) and ahh...back in business...all with an Alcohol stove with a good simmer capability. Love your recipes Sarbar...thanks for making eating fun and nutritious!!

[Bulldawg]

Another meal I make on the trail is chicken quesadillas. I use chicken in those foil packs, cheese I usually carry anyway, and flour tortillas. I know there isn't any sauce on that list, but I get by fine without it. I just heat up the chicken with some spices in my pot, put the cheese slices on the tortillas, and spoon the hot chicken on top. You can eat them like quesadillas or roll them up like burittos, whichever suits you.

I love flour tortillas, very versatle bread that keeps well and carries well.

[mweinstone]

why is her name bannana girl? cooking boreing. girl. now.