Backpacking Recipes
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Recipe Links: (Alphabetical)
Wilderness Dining and Freezer Bag Cooking!
Breakfast
Breakfast Cereal
2 cups Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal
1/2 cup Grapenut cereal
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup dehydrated banana slices
3 Tbsp milk powder of your choice
At home: combine all ingredients into a quart size freezer bag.
In camp: combine the 3 Tbsp of your choice of milk powder, e.g. soy, rice, plain, vanilla, and 1 cup cold water into a separate bag. Mix and pour over your not-gorp trail mix.
Hangdog Oatmeal
2 1/2 cups Oatmeal
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Dried Bananas, powdered
3/4 cup Chocolate chips
At home: Mix ingredients in zip-lock bag and tape it shut.
In camp: boil 4 cups of water, add contents of bag, stir, reboil, remove from stove and set aside until cool enough to eat.
Cranberry Orange Rice
1/4 cup instant rice
1 Tbsp dried cranberries
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 packet True Orange©
1 tbsp powdered milk
1 tsp brown sugar
At home: combine everything except the honey in a zip lock bag. Carry honey separately.
In camp: add enough hot water to cover mix. Let stand until rice is tender. Top with honey. Makes 1 serving.
Chocolate Banana Oatmeal
1/3 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp powdered milk
2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 cup freeze-dried banana, broken up
chocolate cookies, crumbled (optional)
At home: Combine everything except the cookies in a zip locking plastic bag. If you are
bringing the cookies, package them separately.
In camp: Bring 1 cup of water to a boil, add the oatmeal and stir. Simmer until the oatmeal is cooked through. Serve topped with the cookies. Serves: 1
Note: Don’t try this with regular dried bananas, they are too hard. Look for the freeze-dried
ones instead which you can get them from Just Tomatoes.com or in the cereal aisle as 'cereal toppers.' You can also try the same thing with freeze dried strawberries or raspberries.
Trail Pancakes
1 cup Biscuit mix
1 Tbsp dry milk
1 Tbsp sugar
2/3 cup water
1 Tbsp squeeze margarine
At home: Add mix, milk, and sugar into a quart size zip lock bag. Seal and shake well.
In camp: Add water and margarine to bag, seal and squish bag with hands to mix it and remove air and lumps. Cut hole in the corner of the bag and squeeze onto a hot pan. Cook until bubbles form, flip, and cook till they are golden brown!
Note: Instead of squeeze margarine, you may substitute vegetable oil. If you do, keep 1 Tbsp of oil in a seperate container and pour onto pan before cooking pancakes. Syrup and jam can be used and individual packets can be found at local food diners, or you can pack your own. Makes approximately 6 pancakes.
Omelette Supreme
Crack 2 eggs into a quart freezer bag. Add in whatever you would like with them into the bag.
Ideas:
Ham, chicken, sausage, etc.....
Dried bell peppers you have soaked in a snack bag.
Onion flakes done the same way.
Shredded or cubed cheese.
At home: Add the ingredients and any salt/pepper/herbs you want, seal well, getting the air out. Squish around carefully to mix up.
In camp: Bring a pot of water to boil. You want the pot about half full of water. When it boils turn it down to a simmer. Pop the sealed bag in and let it simmer in the water, flipping over carefully every once in awhile. You will want to take the bag out of the water periodically and carefully squish the contents so that uncooked egg inside gets to the outer. After a couple minutes you eggs are done-and are nonstick also.
WARNING: Eggs can go bad quickly, so only use eggs on the beginning of your trek.
Strawberry Sensation
1 cup Strawberry Frosted Mini-Wheats
1/2 cup dried strawberries
1/4 cup yogurt covered raisins
1/4 cup chocolate chips, milk or dark
At home: Combine all ingredients into zip-lock bag.
On the trail: Can be eaten as breakfast or a snack. Makes 1 serving.
Lunch
Peanut Butter & Banana Wraps
1 Tortillas
1 tube squeeze peanut butter per tortilla
1 small banana
In camp: Onto a tortilla, cut the banana into slices and lay on the peanut butter. Roll, eat, and enjoy!
Latte Bars
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup instant coffee crystals
1/4 cup milk or heavy cream
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
At home: Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease a 13 by 9 inch pan. Beat the eggs in a
mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, vanilla and butter, beating to combine.
Stir in the flour and salt. Set aside 1 ½ cups of batter. Stir the coffee crystals and cream and add to the remaining
batter. Spread the coffee batter into the prepared pan. Add chocolate chips to the reserved
batter and spoon over the coffee batter. Run a knife through the two batters to marble them.
Sprinkle the pecans over the top. Bake 20-25 minutes or until the center is firm and set. Cool before cutting into bars. Wrap
tightly in plastic wrap.
On the trail: Unwrap and enjoy! Makes about 2 dozen.
Note: These firm up as they cool. They are not like a granola bar. More like a dense coffee cake or brownie.
Ford Wraps
1 package smoked salmon (the kind in sheets)
2 single serving packages cream cheese
2 large tortillas
At home: Wrap the tortillas in foil. Carry the cream cheese and salmon separately.
On the trail: Spread 1 package of cream cheese on each of the tortillas.
Put half of the salmon on each. Roll and eat. Makes 1 - 2 servings.
Logan Bread
7 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cups dry milk
1/2 cup dry milk powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts
Raisins, other dried fruit
At home: Stir all above ingredients together. Then add 2 cups water, 3/4 cup honey, 3/4 cup molasses, and 3/4 cup melted butter or margarine. Stir all the gooey stuff into the dry stuff until you get a stiff dough. Smash into a greased pan. Bake for 1 hour at 300. Then turn the oven down to 200 and open the oven door the least amount you can so it still stays open, and thus let it dry out/bake for 2 more hours. This recipe will fill an 11x17 inch pan (1 inch high), and makes about twenty four 2.5 inch square pieces.
Note:
This energy-packed backpacking recipe, a classic originally used by climbers, is very dense so it resists smashing.
Tuna Salad Wraps
1 foil pouch tuna (use the small 3 oz size pkg)
1 packet mayo
1 packet relish
2 tortillas (soft taco size)
Rip open tuna pouch, add mayo and relish, beat around with spoon, and put on tortillas.
Dinner
Zesty Pasta Salad
4 ounces cooked and dehydrated tri-colored curly/corkscrew pasta
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 Tbsp dehydrated sliced black olives
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pine nuts, toasted
Couple Tbsp of Parmesan cheese
Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 packet lemon juice
1 packet Dijon or regular mustard
1/2 tsp each dried basil, oregano and dill
1 tablespoon dehydrated shallots or onions
1/4 teaspoon pepper
salt to taste, if desired
At home: Add pasta, raisins, and olives into quart size freezer bag. In a small snack size zip lock bag combine the dressing ingredients, seal and shake well.
In camp: Cover the pasta, raisins and olives with boiling water. Seal well, and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Drain off any remaining water carefully. Pour dressing over pasta, seal the bag tightly and toss to coat. Add in the nuts, stir in and toss with Parmesan cheese to taste. Makes 1 serving.
Note: The olives dry well on a tray with the same time as the pasta. For ease, buy canned sliced olives and drain well. This would be considered a "warm" salad. One could cool it down by sealing it tightly and chilling it in a cold stream. It would work well with chicken or cubed cheese added in as well-or any freeze dried vegetable that is liked (add in with water).
Curried Rice
1 cup instant rice
1/2 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp dried onion flakes
1/4 Tbsp sugar
1/2 Tbsp chicken or vegetable bouillon
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
Salt to taste
Chopped cashews (optional)
At home: combine everything in a zip locking plastic bag. If you are bringing a foil pack of chicken, carry that separately.
In camp: bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add rice mix and simmer for about 1-2 minutes or until the rice is tender. Serve topped with chopped cashews. Makes 1 serving. Serves 2 if you add a foil pack of chicken or tofu.
Cheesy Chicken Rice Soup
1/2 cup instant rice
3 Tbsp cheese sauce powder
1 Tbsp dried powdered milk
1 Tbsp dried veggie mix or freezedried vegetables
salt to taste, if desired
A 3-5 oz can of chicken.
At home: combine all ingredients into a quart sized freezer bag.
In camp: add 1 cup boiling water and chicken with liquid. Stir, put in cozy, and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Makes 1 serving.
Backpacking Biscuits
2 cups biscuit mix
1/4 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup water
At home: combine mix and milk into a quart size zip lock bag.
In camp: gently stir water into bag. Make the dough into biscuit shapes. Cook on pan, turning them when light brown. Makes approzimately 12 biscuits.
Four Cheese Hamburger Rice
1 cup instant rice
1/3 cup instant milk
1 package of Four Cheese sauce blend
1/2 tsp butter powder
1/2 cup dehydrated hamburger
At home: combine all ingredients into a quart size freezer zip lock bag.
In camp: add 1 1/2 cups of boiling water, stir well, and put in a cozy for 10 minutes. Stir and eat. Makes 1 serving.
Bacon Polenta
1/2 cup instant polenta
2 Tbsp shelf-stable bacon
1/2 Tbsp onion flakes
2 tsp butter powder
1 tsp chicken or vegetable broth powder
2 packets Parmesan Cheese
At home: combine everything except the Parmesan in a zip-lock bag.
In camp: bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Add the polenta and simmer until cooked and creamy. Top with the Parmesan cheese. Serves 1.
Veggies, Beef & Rice(Low Sodium)
2 cups instant rice
1/4 cup freeze dried vegetables (mixed works well)
1/2 cup dried hamburger
2 Tsp low sodium beef bullion
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Also take 1 ounce Swiss cheese.
At home: Combine all ingredients into a quart sized freezer bag.
On the trail: Add 2 2/3 cups boiling water, stir well and put in a cozy for 10 minutes. Top with Swiss cheese. Makes 2 servings.
Wilderness Dining and Freezer Bag Cooking!
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