Everything you need for a great meal with little thinking:
From Nic, who posts on the Backpacker.com forums, posted this fabulous meal for the backcountry:
“My scouts have pizza in a pot EVERY outing they plan. This is their absolute favorite menu.”
(I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it a little more user friendly)
Pizza in a Pot
At home cook up:
16 ounces rigatoni pasta
1 lb ground meat (beef or turkey), cooked with onion, mushrooms and green pepper as desired before dehydrating
Mix in:
1 26 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
Divide into 4 portions, on 4 trays of your dehydrator. Leave on till fully dry. Measure each portion and note on the bag how much it was. Bag into 4 quart freezer bags.
Also take:
1 string cheese per serving
Parmesan cheese (to taste)
pepperoni (you can find shelf stable pepperoni slices in most grocery stores)
In a quart freezer bag, add the pepperoni and cover dehydrated meal with a 1:1 ratio of boiling water. (You can also do the ‘just covering with water’ method.) Stir well and put in a cozy. Let sit for 10 minutes.
When ready, stir well and top with the cheeses (shred the string cheese).
Note: Nic likes to usually add garlic and Italian seasoning to the sauce before dehydrating.
While this is rehydrating, prepare cheese cake.
Garlic Toast
Done ahead of the trip:
Buy a good loaf of bread (ie: Italian) Slice into 1/2 slices. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic. Place in 250 degree oven and slowly dry. Bread will be hard (sorta like a crouton) when done. Is pretty durable to pack. Can’t store for long periods of time (months) because of the butter but will hold up well for most trips.
Cheesecake
At home:
In a quart freezer bag, add correct amount of powdered milk plus dry mix. (For every cup of fluid milk called for add 1/3 cup dry instant milk + 1 cup water.)
In camp, add cold water to mix in bag. Close and squeeze mixture as till it starts to thicken. Set aside (it sill continue to thicken as it sits). When it is time to eat, sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Enjoy! (If you got an instant cheesecake mix with a fruit topping, top with it.) If you would like to do individual servings, prepare the mix in the bag and then cut a corner off the bag. Squeeze into muffin liners and proceed as noted.
A very easy meal, and one that will impress!
Serves up to 4.