Complete Protein Sources for Backpacking

I've been doing a lot of research about backpacking nutrition lately, because I'm planning on doing a thru-hike of the AT after I graduate. So here are some examples of complete protein sources for your next outing. 

 

Mac n Cheese

Cheese and Crackers

Pasta with Cheese

Milk and Cereal

Rice and Beans

Bean Burrito

Peanut Butter Sandwich

Rice and Tofu

GORP with Peanuts and Sunflower Seeds

These examples are based on the nutritional N, which is made up of Dairy, Grains, Legumes, and Seeds in that order. Any two groups connected by the nutritional N together make a complete protein source. 

First Poll Winner: Mac n Cheese

Sorry for the wait, but here is the dish that readers chose in my first poll. This is my recipe for Mac n Cheese. This feeds four.

Ingredients:
     4 cups uncooked shell pasta
     2 cups croutons
     1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
     2 cups milk
     8 tablespoons butter
     4 boneless skinless chicken breastss
     Water
     1 cup olive oil
Directions:
     1. First crush the croutons to make a breading. I usually put them in a Ziploc then use a rolling pin.
     2. Next use the crushed croutons to bread the chicken breasts. I do this by putting the breading on a plate the placing the chicken on top and pat it down then flip it over and repeat. Don't throw out the left over breading you will need it later.
     3. Pour the olive oil into a medium frying pan, and turn on medium heat. Place the chicken in the pan and cover. After flip when the bottom if golden brown, then remove when cook through and place on paper towels to drain the oil.
     4. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Cook pasta until tender, remove from heat, and drain.
     5. Return the pasta to the pot, and over medium to low heat add milk, cheese, and butter. Mix until sauce is even and creamy.
     6. Pour the mac and cheese into a casserole dish and sprinkle the bread crumbs you saved to cover. Place the chicken on top and bake for 15 minutes on 350 degrees, or until golden brown.

I like to serve this with ketchup, but everyone tells me I eat mac and cheese weird. Other things you can try with this it cutting up the chicken and mixing it in with the pasta before you bake it, using chicken fingers, using different cheeses, or cooking it in a dutch oven. I hope you like this recipe.

Chicken Noodle Soup

     Whenever I go winter camping we keep a pot of soup going all day as well as a pot of hot water for cocoa or hot kool-aid, which by the way is delicious. so here's my recipe for home made soup.

Ingredients:
     4 quarts water
     1 quart chicken broth
     2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
     2 cups coped celery
     2 cups chopped carrots
     1 cup chopped onion
     4 cups of egg noodles
     4 tablespoons Seasoning salt
     Any other seasonings you want

Directions:
     1. First add the water and salt to a large soup pot and bring to a boil
     2. While heating the water, cube the chicken breasts into half inch cubes
     3. Once water is boiling add all ingredients except noodles and broth to the boiling water
     4. Boil until chicken is cooked through then add broth and simmer for 20 minutes or until about 15 minutes before you plan to serve
     5. Turn up heat and return to boiling
     6. Add noodles
     7. Serve once noodles are finished

Notes:
     This makes enough to serve for with lunch for 4 or 5 people then keep it simmering if anyone needs another bowl to keep them warm until dinner. Hope you like this recipe as much s I do.

Toad in a Hole

     Sorry I haven't posted in awhile I've been sick so I haven't been cooking much but now I have a few new recipes for you.
     I just saw this recipe on The Chew and decided I wanted to try it but since bologna is disgusting I made it better.

Ingredients:
     1 egg
     1 slice of bread
     1 piece of pork roll
     1 tablespoon of butter
     salt and pepper to taste
     ketchup
     hot sauce
     1 1/2in cookie cutter
     4in cookie cutter

Directions
     1. Use the larger cookie cutter to cut the crust of the slice of bread
     2. Place pork roll on bread then use the small cookie cutter to cut a hole through the middle
     3. Melt butter in frying pan or on griddle
     4. Place pork roll and bread on cooking surface with the pork roll on the bottom
     5. Crack egg into the hole in the middle and cook until the pork roll is browned on the bottom
     6. Flip and cook until egg is cooked
     7. Serve with salt, pepper, ketchup, and hot sauce to taste

Notes:
     When making this dish for a camping trip be sure to remove the crust, and cut the whole through the pork roll and bread when prepping at home. Also the left over pork roll is perfect for using in omelets. Another idea you might want to try is placing a slice of cheese on top after you flip it. I hope you like this recipe.

Breakfast Burrito

This is a simple breakfast burrito recipe I came up with the other day. It's broken down to a single portion so just multiply by how many people you're feeding.

Ingredients
     4 eggs
     1/2 cup uncooked rice
     1/2 cup water
     1/3 cup grated cheese ( I use monterey and cheddar but you can use anything)
     Salsa to taste
     Salt and pepper to taste
     Hot sauce (optional)
     1/4 cup milk
     1 tortilla (burrito size)

Directions
     1. Boil the water add the rice cover and remove from heat.
     2. Crack eggs into a bowl and add milk. Whisk the eggs and milk together, and add salt and pepper to taste.
     3. Add all remaining ingredients but the tortilla to a medium frying pan and scramble
     4. Serve on tortilla
   
For a backpacking trip you can mix all the ingredients in a boil bag at home then freeze it. Then all you have to do on the trip is put the bag in boiling water to cook and serve on the tortilla. Another tip is to warm the tortilla by placing it on the lid for your boiling water.

I hope you like this recipe as much as I do.

Backpacking Scramble

This is a meal I had back in November wile doing a weekend backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail near Sunfish Pond. It's perfect for backpack since it only requires you to boil water so no dirty pots and you can use the water for hot cocoa after you finish cooking. There's also a simple addition to change it from a dinner to a breakfast. This has been broken down to a single serving so just multiply by the number of people you're feeding.

Ingredients
     6 strips of bacon
     1 cup instant mashed potatoes
     1 cup water + water for hot cocoa
     1 Large Ziploc bag
Directions
     1. At home before the trip cut bacon into 1 inch pieces and fry
     2. Put the cooked bacon and the instant mashed potato powder in the Ziploc bag
     3. At camp boil the water
     4. Add hot water to the Ziploc bag and mix
     5. Serve from the bag and you're done

To make this a breakfast meal all you need is 2 eggs and a boil bag. Crack the eggs into the boil bag at home and freeze them. At camp put the boil bag in the boiling water to cook the eggs before making the potatoes then make the potatoes and mix the eggs int the potatoes.

I hope you like this meal as much as I did. It's perfect for late fall or early spring, but I wouldn't do it during the middle of winter because it doesn't seem to stay hot for too long.

Chicken Flavored Rice

This is a recipe I've come up with just messing around in the kitchen when I'm hungry.

Ingredients
     2 cups uncooked ice
     1 can chicken broth
     3/4 cup water
     1/4-1/2 sleeve of Ritz crackers (depending on taste)
     Salt and pepper/ seasoning to taste
Directions
     1. Mix broth and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper.
     2. Add rice and crush and add crackers.
     3. Cover and remove from heat
     4. Keep covered for about 5 minutes then serve.
This is  great side dish for any kind of chicken, or to make it a main dish you can boil strips of chicken in the water and broth before adding the rice, or you  can cook the chicken separately  then combine the two in a Dutch Oven and place over coals for 15-20 minutes for a simple casserole. Have fun cooking this ad as always practice before you go camping so you know what you're doing out there.

Chicken and Dumplings in gravy with a Dutch Oven

This is a simple recipe which can also be made in a regular pot, but i prefer the Dutch Oven method. The most important thing for this recipe is good hot coals so I would recommend a chimney to get the as hot as possible.

Ingredients
     2 lbs boneless chicken breast cut into strips
     2 quarts of water depending on how much gravy you want
     4-8 cups of all purpose flour depending on how thick you want the gravy.
     2 teaspoons salt
     1 teaspoon pepper
     3 eggs
     salt and pepper/ seasonings to taste

Directions
     1. Pour water into Dutch Oven and place on coals to bring to boil.
     2. Add chicken replace lid and cook till tender.
     3. While chicken is cooking make the dumpling dough by combine 2 cups of flour, eggs, salt and pepper, and mix well.
     4. When chicken is finished slowly add remaining flour to dutch oven while mixing until gravy is at desired thickness. Salt and pepper the gravy to taste.
     5. Use a spoon to scoop chunks of dough into the Dutch Oven.
     6. Replace cover and heat oven over hottest coals for 20 minutes or until the dumplings are fully cooked.

Serve this dish with corn and bread to mop up the extra gravy. For something a little different you can add a can of peas and carrots wen yo add the chicken. I hope you like this recipe as much as I do and as always feel free to experiment, and don' forget to try it before you go camping so you know what you're doing.

Hobo Stew

For my first real recipe post I thought I'd keep it simple. Hobo Stew also called Tin Foil Stew or Pocket Stew refers to any stew made in a pouch of tin foil. When camping it is cooked by being placed in the coals of a campfire, but at home it can be thrown on the grill or baked in the oven.
Hobo Stew was always a favorite in my old scout troop because everyone could make it however they wanted since it is made in single serving pouches. Here is my recipe for Pocket Stew, but feel free to make it your own (this is the perfect time to try out your secret spice from my last post).
Ingredients (per serving):
     1/4lb ground beef
     1 whole potato diced
     1/4 of a medium onion ( more or less depending how much u like onion)
     1 cup mixed veggies ( I like peas and carrots)
     1/2 cup of water
     Salt and pepper/seasonings to taste
     1 piece of tin foil about a foot and a half long
Directions
     First you need to do the prep. I'd recommend doing it at home and storing it all in one ziplock bag till you're cooking it.
     1. To make the pouch or pocket that the stew will cook in first fold the tin foil in half long ways the rolling the two side perpendicular to the fold inwards to form a pocket large enough to hold all the ingredients plus a good amount of extra room.
     2. Next throw all the ingredients into the pouch. I recommend adding the ground beef in small chunks so it cooks faster.
     3. Roll up the opening of the pouch and place on bed of coals being careful not to puncture the foil.
     4. The pouch will puff up if there are no holes in the foil. This means it should be just about done because the water has turned to steam and blew up the pouch. If it hasn't blown up after about 10 minutes you should start checking every few minutes to see if its done.
     5. Find one of the larger chunks of meat in the stew. If its cooked all the way through your stew is done, otherwise roll it back up and put it back on the coals for a few minutes, but it will not puff back up so remember to check it.

So that's a basic recipe for hobo stew. You can use any seasonings you would like, and feel free to try other ingredients. personally I like mine with some beans, a some cut up pieces of bacon, ad either hot sauce or BBQ sauce. I hope you like this recipe as much as I do.