Solo cooking dinner recipes

[Trent Tyre]

Ok so I have a MSR Titan kettle and a pocket rocket stove. I am looking for great recipe ideas. I hate pasta and anything with salsa or tomato paste and I really would like to not use the dehydrated foods from mountain house and backpackers pantry if i can (too salty). I am open to a new cooking system also. I have my base pack weight down to below 12 lbs before food and water so weight in the food department is of no worry to me.
I usually take ramen and some cambells chunky soup for my dinners because they are quick and easy. for breakfast i take oatmeal and fruit and usually eat more fruit for lunch with some trail mix. any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Ed Engel]

I'm sure you will get alot of suggestions. This may or may not have something you are your interested in but I thought I would post it anyway.
http://www.hawkvittles.com/

[Lori P]

trailcooking.com
harmonyhousefoods.com
packitgourmet.com
onepanwonders.com
http://www.adventurealan.com/food_general.htm
http://www.backpacking.net/gearfood.html
http://www.ultralightbackpacker.com/moosegoo.html

:)

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Trent, Lori posted my website (Trailcooking). Our recipes can be changed to different portions, though I base most recipes on serving 1 large man appetite :-) If applicable I include up to 3 different methods on preparing each recipe as well.

[Dicentra OPW]

And the One Pan Wonders site is mine. Ditto what Sarbar said on changing the portions to suit your needs.

I'm sponsoring a couple of PCT thru hikers this year, making their food… One is a man, the other a smaller woman. His food weighs about 5.5 oz per serving and her's is closer to 4 ounces per serving. Similar meals. Just add more of whatever you want more of. :)

[Trent Tyre]

These are all great websites. Thanks. It is so much easier to ask people on a forum like this than it is to scour the internet for hours trying to find good web sites. Thanks again and keep the suggestions coming!

[Dustin LaClair]

You should definitely check out http://www.hawkvittles.com/ ! Great food, big portions, and not loaded with sodium or preservatives.

You can see some reviews here, http://adkforum.com/showthread.php?t=6080

[Donna C]

Not loaded with sodium??? Some of the meals list well over 1000 mg of sodium. I find that rather high. Other meals are in the 300 range.

Dustin, aren't you the owner of these foods?

[JR Redding]

Hawk Vittles in owned by William Redhawk.

Re: Sodium — The portions for Hawk Vittles are larger than your average Mountain House meal. Sodium levels are way lower. We have had just about one of everything Hawk has made and none of them have the defining taste of salt the way that the commercially packaged products do.

[Kevin Tjaden]

Experiment with this one at home to get the taste the way you like it, but I like this one.

1 Cup instant white rice
1/4 cup dehydrated chicken (cubed) or TVP (for vegetarian)
1TBSP dehydrated Milk (more if you want it "creamier")
1/2TBSP ranch dressing mix (this one you have to adjust for taste)
pinch lemon pepper
1packet butter stolen from KFC (add after cooking)

Put in a small ziplock bag and shake for good measure. in camp bring 1 and 1/4 cups water to a boil, add to bag and wait until rice is cooked and chicken is rehydrated. add butter packet and stir. My kids also add a packet of lemon juice but I don't like how lemony it makes it. But if you like lemony…..

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Sounds good!

True Lemon powder would work good for the lemon flavor as well :)

[Dicentra OPW]

I've seen packets of lemon juice too. Cabellas has them (in the food court).

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

So do most of the Starbuck's inside Target :-D

[Dicentra OPW]

Ooohhh!!! I did not know that.

Scribbles!!! Thanks! :)

[Laurie Ann March]

Another way to add citrus flavors is to zest a lemon peel (or your choice of citrus fruit) and dry the zest. Just grate the colored part and not the white pith.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

You can buy commercially dried lemon and orange zest that is very good quality.
http://www.mccormickgourmet.com/Products/Spices/Lemon-Peel-California.aspx
Find in nearly all large grocery stores.

[Dicentra OPW]

Everyone knows I love the True Lemon products but recently I found orange and lemone powder (zest) in the bulk bins. It is made by Frontier Foods.

It won't work 100% as a replacement for True Lemon because it doesn't dissolve like that product does, but it is darn tasty! Good for non-drink dishes. It's fine enough that it would most likely work okay in a smoothie type thing though.

[Kevin Tjaden]

Here is another recipe I like- not as easy as some of the others but good, especially on a cold evening.

1/3 cup mini cheese tortellini (look in bulk food section)
1pkt olive oil
pinch salt
1 packet parmesan cheese

Place mini tortellini and olive oil in one bag.

In another bag mix together:

beef boullion or beef soup base (to make 1 1/4 cups
2TBSP dehydrated carmelized onion (or onion flakes)
2TBSP dehydrated crumbled hamburger
1TBSP dehydrated diced tomatoes
1/2TBSP dehydrated garlic
1/4 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf

If desired you may also add any of the following:

green beans
chives
mushrooms
Gruyère cheese (replaces dry parmesan)
dried croutons (add when ready to serve)

In pot bring 1-1/4 cups water, olive oil, salt to a boil.
add tortellini and allow to cook 2-4 minutes (check preparation time for the tortellini you buy). Tortellini should be slightly al dente.

Add tortellini and the water you boiled it in to the bag of other ingredients. Stir and let sit long enough to reconstitute the other ingredients. Remove bay leaf and sprinkle parmesan cheese when ready to serve.

You can make the recipe more "brothy" by adding more water or less "brothy" by adding less water to suit your taste.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Kevin,
That sounds good!

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