Single pot Camping Recipes

[OlBlueCJ7]

Anyone have either a resource for single pot recipes, or some personal concoctions you want to share?

I just picked up an MSR Whisperlite International, and I'm dieing to try it out.

Gimme some ideas!

[kmon35]

1 onion
1 bell pepper
some chicken
some smoked sausage/andoullie
some rice

Dice the veggies, chunk the meat. Sautee the veggies in oil with some salt and cayenne. Add the chicken for a while, 10 min., then sausage for about 5 min. Add the rice and mix well to coat. Add watter and simmer 20-30 min until water is gone.

The "some" comes from how big a batch do you want. 1lb ea and 1 cup of rice or 2 and 2. You can add more seasonings like essence or creole seasoning if you want. Bay leaf is nice, but not necessary. Chicken broth instead of water is o.k too.

Mine is different all the time and is kind of a Emiril jambalaya rip off.

[Yota]

I usually make cowboy stew, which is basically a can of hamburger, veg-all (sometimes we use minestrone soup), pasta and I think some beans thrown in there. It's an all-can recipe except the burger meat. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, tabasco to taste. Best served w/ fresh crusty bread. :)

The recipe above sounds pretty kickass tho. Making me hungry. :)


EDIT: Did I write "can of hamburger?" :lmao: OMFG :barf:


.

[Haire Ball]

Mmmmmm..... cobler

http://www.free-camping-recipes.com/dutch-oven-cobbler-recipes.html

lots of other stuff here too.

[jeep91xj]

I usually just make shells and cheese and mix in some canned chicken.I just like to keep it simple.

[OlBlueCJ7]

I just like to keep it simple.

Nothing wrong with that - that's what I'm aiming for here. I really don't want something that takes 2 hrs to make! Something hearty, easy to prep, and cooks quick.

Though I've been known to due whole roast chicken with all the fixin's before... :o

[JeepWheelin02]

Sausage, eggs, instant grits.

Scarmble and cook the sausage, add the eggs, scramble and cook, and the instant grits and water. When the grits are done you got a agreat breakfast. Throw some cheese on top.

[OlBlueCJ7]

wtf ARE 'grits' anyways?

It's an American thing, and I've never tried them.

[jnschwie]

wtf ARE 'grits' anyways?

It's an American thing, and I've never tried them.

Mark, they're like this thickened ground corn concoction. They have yellow and white, and come a variety of different ways. They don't have much taste, sort of a dulled out corn taste, I guess.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grits

I have NOT had them since moving out of SCarolina. Down there, it could be as simple as breakfast, but you could also have them as a side with dinner in a fancy restaurant (like a steak/seafood joint). The dinner kind I really miss, but I never would get the hospital cafeteria ones for breakfast. Or very rarely. The dinner kind are sometimes so thick you could almost mistake them for mashed potatoes in texture and appearance. Those were my favorite. Well, the texture would be grittier.

Don't bother picking up the instant oatmeal style grits at Safeway or anything, that won't give you the picture. Going to a restaurant in the deep south is the only way. Well, you could try the instant ones, but you'll probably be quite disappointed.




As far as contributions to this thread, I have little. One thing Sarah and I like to do while camping is make tacos. We just heat up the pre-cooked meat in our single (pan, in this case), and then wrap it in soft shells and add pre-shredded cheese, and pre-cut veggies. :) It is a nice camping treat.

[UnlimitedFun]

Taco-In-A-Bag

Pre-make your taco filler (meat, seasoning, beans, etc) at home and place in 1 gallon freezer bag(s). Then while camping heat it up in a pot, then spoon the filler into Grab Bag size bags of Doritos (crush up first) and mix it together. Works really good and cleanup is minimized to a pot and spoons (spoons work better than forks for this).

[OlBlueCJ7]

Thanks for the info Josh - sounds um, interesting. :D

UnlimitedFun - do you know if they make ziploc like bags that you can actually boil? How great would it be to be able to pre-cook your meat, and having it in the bag, just put it into boiling water to heat it up? Then you could use the clean hot water for cleaning up dishes!

[UnlimitedFun]

Hhmmm...that'd be a great way to do it. I'll need to check and see if they make them, thanks for the idea.

[OlBlueCJ7]

From a little Googling, it doesn't sound like regular Ziploc bags are safe to use.

I've got a vacuum sealer usually used for freezer service, but sounds like some people have used those for making boil meals. I may do a test run with it, and see what happens.

[flashover]

Ziplocs work very well for boiling/heating precooked foods. I have done this a lot, especially for camping in the winter when cleanup is zero fun. The only thing that you really need to watch out for is that the bag does not touch the bottom of your pot, or it will melt.

Along these same lines, a good side dish or breakfast to go along with your boiling water is some instant mashed potatoes, butter buds (dried butter flakes), bacon bits, etc. Add hot water for a filling breakfast. Scrambled eggs can be cooked right in a ziplock bag in boiling water.

Ryan

[OlBlueCJ7]

Everything from SC Johnson point to saying that boiling in Ziploc bags should not be done, due to the fact that "they are not designed to withstand the extreme heat of boiling." That doesn't say it's not safe, just that they might melt. :confused:

More info here though, says they ARE toxic if heated: http://camping.about.com/od/campingrecipes/a/ziplocbaggies.htm

I dug out our FoodSaver vacuum system the other night, and it says right on the box of bags that they are boilable. If I can get them to seal properly (wasn't working last night), I'll be using those instead.

[jdogg4]

When back packing in for a few days I love taking these with me. About hands down the best Freeze Dried food on the market you can find.

http://www.nitro-pak.com/index.php?cPath=147_61

One bag just boil water in a pan/pot then poor into bag let sit. After your done I just took a big zip lock bag for the used bags of food to track back out with me. Clean and easy to deal with. Same with the Tuna packets Just hit up fast food places that have mayo and spicey musturd and relish. take some pita pocket bread with you. Mix all the stuff up in the big tuna pouch then fill into the pita bread. when your done put it all into your ziplock trash bag and your done.

[JeepWheelin02]

Polish Sausage, chicken, rice, and whatever else you can think of.

Cook sausage and chicken before going. Start boiling water in your pan, add the chicken and sausage to heat i back up, put in the rice and whatever other ingredients you want (peas, carrots, etc). Cook until rice is done.

[formatt]

mark... another great addition would be a food dehydrator. When I used to hike a bunch and backcountry camp, we'd dehydrate tons of stuff for great meals. One of our favorites was to make a big batch of pasta sauce with peppers and sausage. dehydrate it and throw it in a bag. Throw some water and sauce into the pot and rehydrate. you'd be surprised by how much food or little space you can take up with these nice single pot meals by dehydrating first. Chili is another great one.

My buddy Matt is amazing with a dutch oven... oof!

[pineneedle]

My Dear OlBlueCJ7,

For nine years my sons and I led a group of college students on a 40 mile, 7 day backpack in the Holy Cross Wilderness. Our party averaged 12, and packing food for that many people for that length of time was a real challenge. After several years of taking components and actually trying to cook, we settled reluctantly on Mountain House freeze dried food. That was a great decision. Their chilimac, lasagna, spagetti, and beef strogonoff are outstanding. In the case of the chilimac, I defy you to make better grub from scratch. The beauty is that it is simply a matter of boiling the water, mixing in the dried food, letting it sit for ten minutes, and enjoy.

I know that you are asking for recipies, but I am giving you my real world experience repeated over nearly a decade, under all sorts of trying conditions, etc. It is the way to go.

However, in your question, you did not stipulate what sort of camping you had in mind. If you are car camping, it is a different animal. Then, you can afford the luxury of heavier and more varied cuisine. But for backpacking, you can't beat the Mountain House grub.

Pineneedle, a filled and happy true believer

[OlBlueCJ7]

Matt - we've actually got a dehydrator as well, I've just never used it. How do you dehydrate stuff like chili or pasta sauces? That just sounds like a mess!

Pineneedle - I'm not at all opposed to the freeze dried food, aside from the fact it's relatively expensive.

Most of my camping will be Jeep based, but with all the tools & associated gear I carry, space is still at a premium. Weight isn't really a factor, though hauling a cooler full of ice & water around seems unnecessary when there seems to be other viable alternatives.

[formatt]

slap it down on some wax paper and dry.. done deal. :)

[OlBlueCJ7]

Intalesting. Velly velly intalesting.

I'll have to give that a try.

I wonder if you can dehydrate poutine. :idea:

[pineneedle]

My Dear OlBlueCJ7,

Since you are talking about jeep based camping, I agree that perhaps commercial freeze-dried food is a luxury alternative. But I have to tell you that ever since those big backpacking trips, I have succumbed to the lure of freeze-dried food. It is just so damned easy. No heavy-duty clean up, precious little prep time, and really good food. Maybe it is the old lazy man in me. Long ago in my young manhood, when there were no alternatives to real food except perhaps outdated C-rations, I fancied myself a backcountry chef. At age 70, I am happy to simply tear open the envelope, pour the contents into the boiling water, and in 10 minutes dig into the good chow.

Pineneedle

[jdogg4]

Pineneedle - I'm not at all opposed to the freeze dried food, aside from the fact it's relatively expensive.

.

shop around between jax and sportsmans most meals are around 5 bucks. same as any fast food meal but this stuff is cheaper and better than any fast food for that price. Factor in the less mess and easy to dealclean up with and not having to haul ice and stuff around to keep it cool that makes it well worth the price.

That's what I'm planning on taking.

[Burrito Bob]

Try freezerbagcooking.com
They have some great, easy recipes.
If you use ziploc bags, be sure to use the name-brand Ziploc Freezer bags. I've never had one melt or open. Cheap brands don't work well, at all.

[Colin]

Intalesting. Velly velly intalesting.

I'll have to give that a try.

I wonder if you can dehydrate poutine. :idea:

I bet some crazy Canadian has done it!