Grocery Store Recipes for a beginner Backpack

[Bob Shuff]

I’m taking a crew of scouts on a beginner backpack in about a month.  I estimate 8-10 scouts with a mix of beginners and experienced backpackers.  If this number holds, I was thinking of splitting that into two cook patrols (4-5 each) with their own cookmasters.  The cookmasters should do their own meal planning, and I’ll go along with them for a food buy a few days beforehand.  I can guide them in their decisions, which leads to my first question.

What are some good ideas or go-to meal ideas for Dinner and Breakfast in camp?  I know my son and I have done freezer bag mashed potatoes with foil-packed chicken and bacon bits, ramen and/or instant soups, and oatmeal usually for breakfast.  We like what we like.

Also would you guys promote cooking Philmont style with a bigger pot and fewer stoves, or would you buddy up with smaller pots shared between 2-3 scouts?  Even though the troop has backpacking patrol boxes, I haven’t looked at them.  I also know some have Jetboils, which are limited to cooking 1L per boil – although it does cook fast.

I’m planning to demonstrate using esbit to bake a giant muffin in my 5″ fat daddios pan inside my 1.3L evernew/Caldera Cone system.  I know BSA doesn’t like scouts using alcohol stoves, but most of my setups will work as well with esbit.

Thanks again for your advice,

Bob

[Jeffrey Peters]

If your not going to Philmont I would not use the “Philmont Way” of cooking unless you have to.  But, Most of the Philmont meals give you close to 3000 calories a day. Most of the meals  are off the shelf food you can buy at a supermarket. You can google Philmont menu and they will come up.

 

[Bob Shuff]

I should clarify in case I misunderstand the Philmont way.  I just meant larger pots and fewer stoves.

[David Thomas]

Mac & Cheese.  Either the foil pack of orange, cheese-like substance, or powdered milk for fresh and olive oil for butter/magarine.  Like any pasta, you can boil then seep with the stove off to save fuel.

Tabouli.  Maybe be too adult a taste for Scouts, but if you start an hour before lunch, it reconstitutes just fine, is no-cook, and you carry no water weight (except for last hour).

With Ramen, you can use the same hot water to soak many batches of noodles.  Every few batches, you add another flavor packet, but you save most of the water-heating fuel costs that way.  Rather than carry tongs, use “chopsticks” (i.e. two clean sticks) to remove each batch of noodles after 2-3 minutes in the hot water.  Or task your most uber-pioneering-merit-badge Scout to lash together a spaghetti grabber out of twigs and dental floss.

[ed dzierzak]

http://www.trailcooking.com has lots of recipes. A lot of the items can be bought at a regular grocery store. Sarah gives options for either cooking in a pot or using freezer bags. I’ve used a lot of her recipes on my own outings.

[Bob Shuff]

Nice resource.  This will keep on giving since I can show it to the scout cook masters (and their parents).

[Jay L]

There are a couple from the first Freezer Bag Cooking cookbook that are favorites with my Scouts: “Miss Q’s Tater Delite” and “Cranberry Chicken Rice”

Doesnt look like either one made the jump to trailcooking.com – Sarah (@sarbar) posted Cranberry Chicken Rice here: https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/17047/#post-1461599

Miss Q’s doesnt turn up in any searches.  It is “jazzed up” mashed potatos with chicken and topped with french fried onions.

[ed dzierzak]

Sarah also has several books available. I’ve still got her first one somewhere. All are available on Amazon, a few are also available as digital.

BTW, Cranberry Chicken Rice is in the FBC section on her site. I’ll try to find the book if you’re interested in the “Tater Delite”. It may be a bit, though. I’m getting set up for a 10 day AT section starting the end of next week.

[Daniel Lee]

Bob-  May be a bit late to the discussion but hope these ideas help… Consider Stove Top stuffing with foil pack chicken.  May appeal to more simple tastes.  Couscous, foil pack chicken and sun-dried tomatoes is another option.  Add some spam into your mac/cheese.  For breakfast, I got tired of always eating instant oatmeal and have added cheesy grits with bacon bits (and sometimes Goldfish crackers) to the menu.

[Bob Shuff]

Hi Dan,

Those all sound good.  I want to go on your treks!

I have a couscous with cranberries and some other stuff and a foil pack of chicken from a trip that fell through last fall.

I like spam and everything about that breakfast recipe.

[Daniel Lee]

Bob,

Thanks… I was introduced to the couscous recipe by a friend who also added some fresh spinach.  (Forgot to mention adding some olive oil.)  I had never thought about that but it was nice to have something “fresh” on the trail.  It was light, easy to pack and provided some good green stuff.  Let us know how things shape up for your crew!

P.S.  Here’s a pic of where I first had that couscous recipe…

[Raymond M]

Here are a few recipes I use all the time including portions in a spreadsheet (change the top number to adjust the shopping list for quantities):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8709j9zbj0k0mxd/Example%20Weekend%20Meal%20Planning.xlsx?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rihpdvwvcicfjhj/Weekend%20Planning.xlsx?dl=0

The Pesto Pasta with Chicken is my favorite. Hope this helps!

[Clifford Deakyne]

Bob,

When I led a boy scout weekend backpack trip, I dried can chicken for the trip.  Canned chicken is pressure cooked so when it is dried it will re-hydrate and not become jerky.  It dried easily in and oven with forced air at 165 F. The boys all had esbit with foil wind screens and coat hanger tripod stands used to boil water in small pots.  The patrols all selected their meal plans and purchased as a patrol but cooked as individuals or pairs.  Knorr meals mixed with the chicken was the common choice for dinner (a very large selection).  Oatmeal and cocoa was the common breakfast.  In past years the troop purchased Mountain House Beef stroganoff in 2 person bags and we cooked Philmont style with with gas stoves and large pots supplying hot water to each of the dinner pairs.  It worked equally well.

[Jeffrey Peters]

Last week we made this instant  mashed potato meal. It was pretty good.

4 oz package of Idaho 4 cheese mashed potato

1 Package Cream of Chicken cup of soup mix

1 Package mountain house fire roasted vegetable mid

7 oz  Foil package of  Tyson chicken

A dash of Old Bay seasoning – Added because we are from Maryland and never backpack without it.

 

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