Stroganoff - Backpacking

Here is a recipe for beef stroganoff that you can use on the trail that is tasty, lightweight and calorically dense.  

Ingredients
beef stroganoff mix*
1 lb ground beef
1/3 cup powdered milk
8 oz package of mushrooms (optional)

*Hamburger Helper brand works for this, but I used a similar product from Aldi.

Beef stroganoff kit with pasta, flavor packet and cheese sauce.

Before you hit the trail, you will need to dehydrate the ground beef and mushrooms.  Cook the ground beef in a skillet and break it into small pieces.  When thoroughly cooked, drain off the excess liquid and use paper towels to soak up any excess moisture.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the ground beef on top.  Spread it out as evenly as possible.  Place in an oven on the lowest setting, around 170 degrees.   It takes about 8-12 hours to dehydrate the beef.  When dry, place into a 1 qt resealable freezer bag.  You can dehydrate the mushrooms in similar fashion (without cooking them first), but a lower temperature in a food dehydrator is ideal.  

Dehydrated cooked ground beef.

Dehydrated mushrooms.

On the trail, you will want to add a cup of water to the dehydrated ground beef about an hour before you start cooking.  If you forgot to do this in advance, you can add 1 cup of boiling water and it should rehydrate in about 15-20 minutes.  You could skip this step altogether and just add an extra cup of water when you prepare the meal, but the meat might be a little crunchy.  You don't need to rehydrate the mushrooms, this will happen while it is cooking.  

Rehydrated cooked ground beef.

Put the noodles, flavor packet, powdered milk, mushrooms and rehydrated ground beef into a 2L pot.  Add 2-1/4 cups of water and bring to a boil while stirring well.  Place into a pot cozy for 20 minutes.  See my previous post on how to make a pot cozy.  Stir in cheese sauce and serve.  


You may need to modify your recipe based on what mix you choose.  

Serves 4 people at 537 calories each.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Frapping Mallet

Image
I was doing some research on pioneering for an upcoming Camporee with a pioneering theme.  I came across a blog called Ropes & Poles .  One of the articles was about a tool called a frapping mallet .  It is used to tighten up lashings on larger projects.  You wrap the rope around the handle, brace the head against your spar, and use the handle as a lever to tighten the lashing.  I could not find much else on frapping mallets on the internet.  I don't think these are available for purchase anywhere.  I did find an old sailors tool called a heaving mallet used on rigging in a similar manner. Nevertheless, I was intrigued and had to make one.  This is not your typical project that anybody can make in their kitchen, but if you have the required tools, and know how to weld, it's not that hard. Materials 1/2" x 18" iron pipe 1-1/4" x 6" iron pipe scraps of hardwood spray paint Tools Cut off saw drill press center punch hammer 1/4" an
Read more

Dining Fly Poles

Image
Here is how to make some inexpensive poles for a dining fly.  Make two of these, add an inexpensive poly tarp, some cordage and stakes and you have a very economical dining fly. Materials: 1/2" EMT pipe (10') 5/8" oak dowel 7 or 8" aluminum gutter nail (spike) EMT stands for electrical metallic tubing.  It is used as electrical conduit.  It is galvanized steel, but fairly lightweight.  You can buy a 10' foot length of 1/2" diameter pipe for $2 and change at your local home improvement store. If you want an 8' pole, cut your pipe into two 4' sections.  Cut a 2" piece of the 5/8" dowel.  Hammer into into one end of one pipe.  You may need to sand it a bit to make it fit.  You want a tight fit so it doesn't move later.  Now drill a hole through the dowel that is slightly smaller than the gutter nail diameter.  I used a 7/32" bit.  Hammer the nail in until about 2" is still protruding. Now make a piece to connect th
Read more

Commando Rope

Image
Remember the commando rope with a loop on one end and a toggle on the other that commandos would use in WWII to scale cliffs, etc.?   It does not seem to have warranted a mention in the latest edition of the Scout Handbook.  It was featured in my 1980 edition Scout Handbook.  There were also articles about it in the June 1947 and December 1978 issues of Boy's Life.  We have a pioneering themed campout coming up, and I thought it would be neat to make some wooden toggles so the Scouts could make commando ropes. I used 7/8" oak dowels, which are about $5 for a 36" length, enough to make 8 4" toggles.  I used a 3/8" core box router bit, set to a height of 1/8" to make the groove.  I made a groove 2" (on center) from each of of each dowel using a router table.  It will take multiple passes to make a circumferential groove.  It is better to make the groove when the dowel is long.  Don't cut them to 4" and then try to make the groove.  T
Read more