In part one of this post, I covered how we came to doing more of our own dinners on the trail. I shared some my favorite ingredients and resources for making gourmet food on the trail. Now I will share some of what we enjoy.
We took a few favorite dishes from our dinner menu and tried to make them with freeze-dried and dried ingredients. I cook some pretty gourmet food, and have been thrilled with how the dinners have turned out.
So without further ado:
Trail Zuppa (Based on the Olive Garden soup)
2 servings
1 ½ ounce Sausage crumbles
1 ½ ounce Potato Dices
0.2 ounce Sauteed White Onion
5 Tbsp Dry whole milk powder
1 Tbsp Sour Cream Powder (or 3 pkts Butter Buds)
.35 ounce (~1 cup) Dried Kale
1/8 tsp Red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp Fennel Seed
1/4 tsp Garlic powder
½ tsp Italian seasoning
1 packet Chicken Flavor Enhancer
3 slices Cooked Bacon (cut into small pieces)
I combined the first 10 ingredients in a Cook-In Bag. I put the bacon in a small pouch for my vacuum sealer and sealed it. I then added the package of bacon, the packet of flavor enhancer, and an oxygen absorber to the bag. I also put in a small card with the name of the meal and how much water to add in the bag. I pressed out as much air as I could and sealed it with my sealer. I was unable to use the vacuum feature due to the zipper seal on the bag. I store it in the freezer because of the bacon.
In the field, remove the bacon, the flavor enhancer, the oxygen absorber, and the instruction card. Open the bacon and flavor enhancer and put them in the Cook-In Bag with the other ingredients. Add 4 cups boiling water and stir well. It takes 15-20 minutes to be ready to eat. I use a cozy to keep my meals hot while rehydrating.
Nutrition information: Per serving: Calories 360; Fat 16 grams; Carbohydrates 40 grams; Protein 17 grams; Sodium 900 mg
Sources
• Packit Gourmet – Sausage crumbles, potato dices. sauteed white onion, sour cream powder. Cook-In Bags and oxygen absorbers.
• Minimus.biz – Butter Buds
• The kale I dried on my home dehydrator. It takes about 3 cups fresh to make one cup dried. Chop it finely for best results. You can also purchase it.
• I use Nido Fortificado whole dry milk.
• The flavor enhancer packets are available in a variety of flavors and from a number of sources. I buy them at the grocery store.
Total cost, including the bag: Approximately $9
Weight 6.9 ounces
Sherrey
Sounds good