favorite recipes

[Stick]

tmountainnut,

That is the cool thing about Hawk Vittles...it does not have all of the additives that the typical commercially available meals have. From the site:

HawK VittleS are made with the freshest ingredients whenever possible. There are no artificial flavorings or preservatives used in their preparation. Nor do they contain a lot of sodium to enhance their flavor.

The guy that owns and operates HV (I cannot remember his name right off the top of my head...) is a retired professional chef. He cooks up this stuff with fresh ingredients (just like I would at home) and then puts it straight into the food dehydrator. Then when it is done he seals them up and ships them to you. So, this is homemade food, just not by me...

Of course though it would be cheaper for me to buy my own bulk, but for now I am not interested. Although I do keep tellin myself that I need to throw in some left over spaghetti or something into the dehydrator to see what happens... heck, that may be all that I need to do to get me going... (I do like me some homemade dehydrated apples though, if that counts... )

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

While I've seen Hawk Vittles in the past I've never had a chance to try them out - Sounds like they're worth a shot! We did receive our Mountain House order today and made up a pasta dish with the ground beef out of the #10 can for dinner tonight. I have to say that it was very good. The meat (Being freeze dried) rehydrated almost instantly in hot water and while I can't say it was just as good as fresh, it was close. I think we'll give FBC a shot using these ingredients moving forward...

[tmountainnut]

Aaron, thats good to hear about the beef. the more i read about it, i think that adding some freeze dried meat to my meals instead of foil packets will cut a good chunk of food weight for longer trips.

if you can't get a cozy from trailcooking.com (it doesn't look like they are selling them right now), you can make yourself one, or there are a few other places that sell them. this guy on backpackinglight is selliing the cozies his son makes, and look pretty nice for the price.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=61524

[rainman]

I like the freezer bag cooking myself and have found some very good recipes at http://www.trailcooking.com. I am particularly found of instant mashed potatoes (baby reds) and a seasoned mixture of bacon bits, garlic salt, cayenne pepper, and minced onions. Very good on a cold day!

Jason

[watertones]

I know this is an old post, but Packit Gourmet is pretty good too if you are not one to make your own trail food.

Currently my favorite is pesto couscous- Lipton or McCormick pesto packet, couscous and some olive oil for more calories.

[Bobo Uzala]

watertones - great thread to revisit! Sites like sportsmansguide.com sell MRE entrees only (not the whopping full meals) which make a very decent non-perishable dinner. I can't eat freeze-dryed foods (like Backcountry Panties and the like) because they gives me reflux and a nasty lingering metallic aftertaste, so I prefer dehydrated meals. I really liked Enertia Trail Meals but I think they were bought out by Coleman. I put in a big order through Coleman and they were awesome and threw in some freebies.

As long as it's not too radical a trip, I'm carrying more perishable foods. Lately, I've been eating hard-boiled eggs or a hunk of ring bologna with cheese or one of my favs - smoked salmon and cucumber with cranberry goat's cheese and crackers! At the end of a long day, I just want to sit around the fire and have something really tasty, one of the best parts of the outdoors is breaking bread with fellow hikers - strangers will always leave as friends!

[HikerJen]

Mountainnut, you can find some really good freezerbag recipes at Trailcooking.com. I made the Tuna and Veggie Rice Pilaf a couple of weeks ago and it was awesome! Most of the recipes call for dehydrated ingredients and the recipes are generally low in sodium, so it's a healthier alternative than some of the commercially packaged meals. Also, check out Packitgourmet.com to buy your own dehydrated ingredients, or to purchase some high end type freezer bag meals.

[dalling]

Trail cooking has some of the best recipes out there, but I love some of the ones you said- got to try thanksgiving supper one! My favorite is tuna, rice and lemon pepper. I usually get a box of brown rice and premeasure out in ziplock, yes its a little more messy on the pot but I am usually licking the pot in the end anyways!!