Backpacking Menu & Recipes

Stretch dough into a long rectangle. Cover with streusel mix. Roll up and slice into 4 - 6 rolls. Arrange in pan and bake approximately 25 minutes. 

from the Traveling Light Backcountry Baking guide; Pg. 9 

Tortillas

Add the water to the biscuit mix and knead until smooth. Tear off a piece and flatten, then pan fry both sides in a little oil with the cover on. 

from Backpacker Magazine; September 1996; Pg. 43 

Quaker's Fruit & Cream Oatmeal

Empty 2 packets into bowl. Add ¾ cups boiling water and stir. 

Hangdog Oatmeal

At home:
Mix ingredients in zip-lock bag and tape it shut. 

On the trail:
Boil 4 cups of water, add contents of bag, stir, reboil, remove from stove and set aside until cool enough to eat. 

from Backpacker Magazine; April 1996; Pg 45 

GORP

• Cashews 'n' Cherries:

This one is simple, but tangy! Cures thirst, but can cause heartburn. Tastes GREAT!!! 

2 lb bag	Granola
1 lb bag	Cashews
1/2 lb bag	Dried Cherries (for less tang, use dried blueberries!)
1 lb bag	Chocolate chips

• Fruit Mix:

This one is mostly fruit, some granola, add nuts as desired. 

2 lb bag	Granola
1/2 lb bag	Mixed dried Fruit bits (raisins, apples, apricots, dates - SunMaid)
1/4 lb bag	Dried Bananas
1/4 lb bag	Dried Papaya
1 lb bag	Cashews/almonds/peanuts/whatever (optional)

• Nestle's 'n' Reese's Mix:

This one has a LOT of sugar, mostly chocolate and peanut butter. It doesn't go too well with fruit, as it is my experience that mixing a lot of chocolate with any kind of highly acidic foods is dangerous to the bowels. This stuff is great energy food, though. 

2 lb bag	Granola
1 lb bag	Chocolate chips
1 lb bag	Peanut butter chips
1 lb bag	Cashews/macadamias/almonds/walnuts/whatever

• GORPISH:

This one isn't illegal (yet). If you like chocolate, this is THE mix! 

2 lb bag	Granola
1 lb bag	Chocolate chips
1 lb bag	Butterscotch chips
1 lb bag	M & Ms (plain/peanut/almond, your choice here)
1/2lb pkg	Andes Mints/Butterscotch (again, your choice, maybe both!)
1 lb bag	Cashews/macadamias/almonds/walnuts/whatever

 

Lipton Rice & Sauce

Bring 2 cups water, 1 Tbsp butter and contents of package to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until rice is tender. Sauce will thicken upon standing, about 2 to 3 minutes. 

Lipton Noodles & Sauce

Heat the 2 cups water and 1 Tbsp butter in a saucepan. Add the milk carefully so it doesn't burn. Bring to a boil. Stir in contents of package. Continue boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes or until noodles are tender. Sauce will thicken upon standing, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve, if desired, with grated Parmesan cheese. 

Lipton Pasta & Sauce

Bring 2 1/3 cups water, 1/8 cup powdered milk, and 1 Tbsp butter to a boil. Stir in contents of package. Continue boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 12 minutes or until pasta is tender. Sauce will thicken upon standing, about 2 to 3 minutes. 

Hamburger Helper

At home:
Dehydrate the ground beef and put into a zip-lock bag. 

On the trail:
½ hour before dinner, put the dehydrated hamburger in a large-mouth 1 quart water bottle and cover with water to rehydrate. 

Bring the water and hamburger from the water bottle, the rice, and sauce mix to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 25 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Uncover and cook until desire consistency. 

Betty Crocker Mashed Potatoes

Heat water, milk and butter to boiling in a 2-quart saucepan; remove from heat. 

Stir in 1 packet Potatoes and 1 packet Seasoning Mix just until moistened. Let stand about 1 minute or until liquid is absorbed. 

Whip with fork until smooth. For stiffer potatoes, let stand 3 to 5 minutes. 

Pizza

Blend ingredients, then mix in warm, not hot, water. Once blended, knead about 5 minutes (if the dough is sticky add more flour), then stretch into the pan. Rise 5 - 15 minutes. 

Sauce:
A little sauce goes a long way. 3 - 4 Tbsp is enough for a 10" pizza. Canned, bottled or packaged work fine. For a light weight, non-refrigerated sauce, mix tomato paste (little tubes from delis are convenient) with a little water, olive oil, minced garlic and Italian spices. Or try a mustard sauce - 1 Tbsp mustard & 2 Tbsp olive oil; whisk together and spread on dough. 

Toppings:
Parmesan, Romano and mozzarella are traditional, but just about anything goes. Most cheeses keep well in their sealed wrappers for a few days if its not too warm. Dry cheeses keep longer. Some good backcountry toppings include sun dried tomatoes (soften in warm water while you make the crust), dry Italian olives, pepperoncini peppers, pepperoni, dry salami, anchovies, etc. Resist the temptation to overload your pizza - it won't bake as well. Bake about 20 - 25 minutes. The crust should be golden brown on bottom and sauce bubbly. 

Focaccia:
This delicious Italian pan bread is made just like pizza. Instead of sauce and toppings, drizzle top with olive oil, minced garlic, and Italian spices. Great with soup! Follow recipe for pizza crust. 

from the Traveling Light Backcountry Baking guide; Pg. 7 

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese

Boil 8 cups water and add the macaroni. Boil 7 to 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Drain. Add the butter, milk, and cheese sauce mix. Mix well. 

Couscous Curry Ginger

At home:
Mix ingredients (except vegetables) in a zip-lock bag. Bag the vegetables separately. Tapes the bags shut. 

On the trail:
In the morning, place the vegetables in a large-mouth 1 quart water bottle and cover with water to rehydrate. 

At mealtime:
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add all ingredients, including the rehydrated vegetables with the water. Boil under tender (5 - 10 minutes). 

from Backpacker Magazine; April 1996; Pg 45 

Shell Noodle Surprise

At home:
Mix ingredients in zip-lock bag and tape it shut. 

On the trail:
Boil 6 cups of water, add ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from stove, cover and wait 5 minutes. 

from Backpacker Magazine; April 1996; Pg 45 

Chicken & Dumplings

Mix the soup, chicken meat and vegetables in a relatively deep pot with 2 to 3 cups water. Place on camp stove. Heat to simmering, stirring occasionally. While soup stuff is heating, add water (see Bisquick box instructions for qty.) to Bisquick and knead in the zip-lock bag. When soup stuff is hot, tear off a corner of the bag and squeeze out plops of Bisquick into the pot. Cover and cook for about 10 mintues on low heat. 

Fred's Potato Soup

Boil 4 cups of water. Add the ingredients, bring to the boil and simmer for a moment. 

from the Hungry Hiker's Book of Good Cooking; Pg. 163 

Jerky Stew with Dumplings

At home:
Put into 4 small bags: 1. Jerky; 2. Carrots, parsnips, and mushrooms; 3. Potatoes; 4. Biscuit mix 

On the trail:
Soak the jerky in 4 cups water for as long as possible, at least an hour. 

Bring the jerky and water to a boil and cook for 1 hour. During the last half hour, add the carrots, parsnips, and mushrooms. Add the potatoes the last 15 minutes. Add water if necessary to keep the ingredients just covered. 

Add the gravy mix and stir 

To make the dumplings: Add ¼ cup water to the bisquick mix and make a stiff batter. Form small balls about the size of ping-pong balls, and float them on top of the stew. Cover so they steam and cook until done, about 20 minutes. 

from the Hungry Hiker's Book of Good Cooking; Pg. 183 

Camp Frosting

Add 1 Tbsp cold water to the ingredients and stir. Very slowly, add 1 to 2 tsp more cold water, stirring, until you have frosting consistency. (It very easily becomes too wet.) 

from the Hungry Hiker's Book of Good Cooking; Pg. 265 

Jello Gelatin

Add 1 cup boiling water to package contents; stir until dissolved. Stir 1 cup cold water. Refrigerate until firm. 

Chocolate Brownies

Mix all except flour, then add flour. Stir in nuts with a few quick strokes. Bake 15 - 20 minutes. It'll be soft in the middle and drier around the edges when done. Cool before cutting. 

from the Traveling Light Backcountry Baking guide; Pg. 9 

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

At home:
Combine all ingredients except water, oil and chocolate. 

On the trail:
Add ½ cup water and the oil to the dry ingredients and mix well. (For the Traveling Light Outback Oven) Heat to "bake" range, then bake 20 minutes. 

As soon as the cake is done, top with pieces of the chocolate bar for the frosting. 

from Backpacker Magazine; September 1995; Pg. 37 

Cake - Chocolate, Lemon or Coffee

Combine the flour, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl mix the oil, water (or milk), sugar, eggs and vanilla. Combine the two and pour into the pan. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. 

Chocolate Cake:
Use 1 cup Flour and ¼ cup Cocoa powder 

Lemon Cake:
Delete the vanilla. Add juice of 3 lemons, plus water to make up ½ cup liquid; add 2 Tbsp grated lemon rind. Lemon glaze - 2 tsp lemon juice mixed with ½ cup powdered sugar. Spread over hot cake. 

Coffee Cake:
Top with the streusel mix from Cinnamon Rolls. Topping sinks into the cake as it bakes. 

from the Traveling Light Backcountry Baking guide; Pg. 9 

Apple Dumpling Dessert

At home:
Put into 3 small bags: 1. Biscuit mix; 2. Apples; 3. Sugar, salt, and cinnamon 

On the trail:
Cover the apples with 2 cups water in a pot and let them soak 1 hour. Then bring them to a boil and simmer, covered, while making the dumpling. 

To make the dumpling - Add ¼ cup water to the biscuit mix and form into one piece of dough. 

Add the sugar-spice mixture and 2 Tbsp butter or margarine to the apples. With a spoon spread the dumpling dough over them. Simmer covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the dumpling is done; it will be dry in the middle. 

from the Hungry Hiker's Book of Good Cooking by Gretchen McHugh; Pg. 262 

Back to my home page