July 2015 – BackCountry Cuisine

Meal: Rice and Beef Enchiladas

I came up with this recipe a few months back when I had some left over tortilla chips. It tastes surprisingly like enchiladas even though you don’t bake it. It is not a hard recipe to make and there are endless combinations. Here is the recipe I used (all measures are per person):

1/2 cup rice

1/4 cup dried mixed vegetables

1/4 cup beefish bits (from Harmony House Foods)

1/4 cup dried enchilada sauce(recipe)

1/2 cup tortilla chips (broken is fine, but you want chip pieces, not the powder at the bottom of the bag) Package these separately.

1 – 1.5 cups water

Add water and all ingredients except chips to your pot and heat to a boil. Turn off stove and add the tortillas and mix. Put the pot in the cozy and let sit for another 10 minutes. Enjoy! The more water you add the more saucy it will be. 1 cup water will make it pretty thick. I prefer it more saucy myself.

Variations: Use dried or foil pouch chicken in place of the beefish bits. Use dried beans instead of the vegetables. Doritos add even more flavor then regular corn chips. Use less rice and more beefish bits. Want a Kick? Put in a teaspoon of dried jalapeños.

Eat well!

Dustin

Meal: Tuna Casserole

After a long day of hiking nothing is better then jumping into a cool alpine lake. My wife and I swam for almost an hour before we decided that it was time to make some dinner. As we rummaged through the bear canister, we found our packet of tuna casserole. Perfect, for such a great long day. Filling and tastes amazing. Very creamy in texture thanks to the cream of mushroom soup mix that I put in. I use rice, but you could also use egg noodles. The egg noodles are more bulky and we only had so much room in our bear canister. Add some peas and some dried tuna and you are ready to go! Here is the recipe(all measures are per person):

1/2 cup dried or instant rice
1/4 cup dried tuna
1/4 cup dried peas
1/4 cup powdered cream of mushroom soup mix
1/4 cup cheddar cheese powder(optional)

You can use more soup mix to make it more creamy. By the way, the soup mix is great as a winter lunch too! It was an amazing meal, if you don’t have a dehydrator, then you can use foil pouch tuna, but it adds weight.

Tips and Tricks

The peas can take a longer time to rehydrate then other vegetables. I have been using a simmer ring on my alcohol stove lately to increase the heated time, but you could just as easy keep your meal in the cozy for longer too, if you are patient enough.

Gear Corner

We needed a bear canister for our trip into the Olympic National Park and instead of renting one, I decided to look for light weight options. The Lighter1 cam out on top for us. Not only was it the lightest bear canister I could find that was certified for use in Yosemite, but it also uses a metal lid that can double as a cooking pot. It is a great system and it worked perfectly for us. If you are in the market, check it out!

Enchiladas on the trail? Bring it!

Tuna Casserole at Hart Lake

Archives for July 2015