Care to share your menu?

vanguard

Adventurer
I'm going on a 4 day trip next weekend (in 9 days) and I just started thinking about my menu. I tend to do PB&J on the trail with some kind of snack or trail mix while eating something more hearty at camp. For those of you that are unfamiliar, on the east coast you're limited to driving around trails and camping at the same place each night. It's not an expedition but it's a good time with good people. Doing this kind of wheeling means that you don't have cooking equipment for lunch and it's worth noting that I'm not sure if I should trust my cooler to keep something like chicken safe for three days.

Do you have any improvements you can make?

I was thinking of something like this:

Day 1:
Dinner:
Boneless chicken
Green beans w/almonds

Day 2:
Breakfast:
eggs
maple sausage

Lunch:
PB & J
trail mix or potato chips or cookies

Dinner:
Boneless chicken
corn

Day 3:
Breakfast:
eggs maple sausage

Lunch:
PB&J
snack food

Dinner:
Looking for a good idea that doesn't require reliable refridgeration

Day 4:
Breakfast:
warm oatmeal (the sugary stuff)

Lunch:
PB&J
snack food
 

goodtimes

Expedition Poseur
I usually only take enough perishable food to last about 3 days. If I am going to be out longer than that, I either re-stock, bum space in someones fridge (some of these guys have a bigger fridge in their truck than I do in my kitchen! Usually a few beers will gain access to some of that space), or I move to canned food for the last day or three.

Some options for "lunch on the trail" are burrito's made in camp (or at home), wrapped in tin foil and placed under the hood before leaving camp (this also works well for sloppy joe's, etc), tuna or chicken salad, dry salami/cheese/crackers....or what I do when backpacking....a zip-loc bag full of dry roasted peanuts and M&M's, and a camelback full of water. Of course, that last one may not cut it if you are travelling with the wife and kids.

There is a thread around here somewhere where people give ideas to extend the usefullness of a typical cooler (the general consensus is to freeze 1 gallon jugs of water, and use those instead of crushed ice).
 

91xlt

Adventurer
pb&j is a solid choice

i sometimes carry my little propane bottle cooker(screws on top of 1lb bottle) and any can goods, easy to heat right in can, just remove paper label open can almost all the way, to the point where the top kind of raises

also oodle of noodles...you just add boiling water

i am the same as stated above..only take perishables to last a small period of time...alot of times if going totally solo will not take any perishables

hot dogs quick and easy, can be prepared in engine compartment in foil also

use your imagination

pasta is also easy at camp..use a foil tray type like a foil cake pan or so..add water let boil add pasta, you usaully do not have to heat jar sauce..just add to hot pasta(you find your way with this after once or twice...it is very easy):beer: :beer: :beer:
 

Scott Brady

Founder
I like cooking pasta and the sauce before hand and putting it in zip-lock bags, then just dump it in a pot to warm. I also use the garlic bread you buy from the store in the aluminized bags, as you can just set them near the fire to warm. Works great :)

PB&J sounds good. I havnt had that in so long
 

Willman

Active member
Here's what we have for a menu for this weekend at Lake Powell:

3rd Annual Fam Reunion
Menu for Powell:


Friday
Breakfast: Something quick at home before we leave.

Lunch: On the road

Dinner: Taco Salad

Saturday
Breakfast: Fruit Salad/Yogurt/Granola


Lunch: Chicken Croissant Sumbiches
With chips and grapes

Dinner: Chicken noodle soup and rolls


Sunday
Breakfast: Costco muffins and juice

Lunch: Pita bread Sumbiches and Watermelon

Dinner: Spaghetti and bread sticks

Monday
Breakfast: Cold Cereal and muffins/juice

Lunch: ????

Dinner: On the road

All our meals are precooked or made and ready to heatup or just eat!!! For all the perishables....all are stored in coolers....
The downside to the menu....Huge coolers....having to get ice every other day.....

Overall...we never go hungry at Lake Powell!!!

:camping:
 

DesertRose

Safari Chick & Supporting Sponsor
expeditionswest said:
PB&J sounds good. I havnt had that in so long

:Wow1: Scott! The horror! PB&J is the staff of life, it represents all things good, of mom and apple pie and SpiderMan lunch boxes! I just re-discovered freshly ground 100% peanut butter at Sunflower Market - you dump the organic peanuts in and this mondo-grinder poops out (literally, rather disgustingly truth be told) pure ground peanuts. And the piece de resistance for any PBJ in our household: my mother's lovingly made strawberry jam, which she makes every summer by the dozens of quarts and gives to Jonathan (I think she loves him more than me).

Obligatory accompaniments: potato chips (the greasier the better, forget the "baked" kind) and high-octane Coke.

This is a great thread and it's inspired me to dig up our old menu lists for our long road trips and kayak expeditions - between us and our favorite travelling companions, we used to have the BEST meals - but I got busy and lazy, a bad combination.

I'm going on an all-girls horse camp-and-ride trip this weekend, and I'll take some time to write up some of our meals. Already on the top of our supply lists, though: plenty of red wine, bourbon, and chocolate. Hmm, maybe I won't be writing coherently after all . . .
 
For sure the pre-made burritos, shrimp, cheese, beef, beans, eggs or tofu---I even make stew and seal-a-meal them, just put in boiling water and instant dinner. Note: being a non meat eater, I use "meat substitutes" for the stew and no one even knows the difference!!:)

Quesadillas work great---whole wheat tortillas, grated cheese, fire roasted Hatch peppers (or any others) --these make a killer meal. Pasquale has been known to throw in salami and everyone loved them!

Don't forget lots of pre-cut veges and hummus.

And maybe will trade fridge space for really good beer!! :shakin:
 

91xlt

Adventurer
well if speaking of meals, i think my all time fav on a fire is...steak(almost any cut), corn on cob, potato, and crabs....nothing like any of thes preped on/in a fire!!:campfire: :chowtime: :beer: ...and of coarse washed down with a beverage of choice..or two..or three..or....
 

elcoyote

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0004
We just got back from a week at Toroweep and this was our menu...I know I am not too creative at breakfast but egg beaters in the carton is soooo convenient. We pre-cook almost all of our meals and vacuum pack them. That way they don't spill like tupperware, there's no wasted space and they can be warmed up by boiling in the bag with the hot water being used for hot drinks and washing the dishes. Very often we eat right out of the bag! My favorite thing is to make guacamole in advance, vacuum pack it and serve it by clipping a corner of the bag and squeezing it right onto the chip like a tube of tooth paste!

Breakfasts: Eggs, Salmon, Potatoes, Coffee, Herb Tea, Juice
Lunches: Egg Salad Sandwiches, Quinoa salad, Tuna fish sandwiches, PBJ, Cream Cheese & Cucumber Sandwiches, Sweet potato burritos
Dinners: Grilled Portabella Mushrooms & pesto, Couscous with Grilled Halibut, Tortellini with marinara sauce & romano cheese, Basmati rice with grilled curried shrimp, Mac & Cheese with peas and smoked salmon, Vegetable Curry with Basmati rice
Snacks: Chips, Guacamole, Apples, Carrot sticks, Fig Newmans,
Happy Hour: Margueritas, guacamole & chips, beer, wine

Life is short...Live well & DINE well!
 

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60seriesguy

Adventurer
I too tend to prepare meals before the trip, freeze them, then thaw them out. I don't have a portable fridge/freezer so on long trips you'll see a degeneration of the quality of meals as my supply of ice diminishes.

I'm not a big breakfast eater so I tend to focus on dinner as the main meal of the day. I'll have a bowl of oatmeal or a "Texas PB&J" (large flour tortilla instead of bread, they last longer that bread. Spread PB&J over whole surface, roll it up, easy to eat and delicious) for breakfast. Lunch on my expeditions is usually on the go and tends to be finger-food (cut up celery and carrots with dip, sliced dried sausage or biltong, cut up cheese, sliced apples and oranges, pretzels). I like to be at camp every night with enough time to make a solid dinner.

I take pride in my "Sonoran Chili Negro" so I'll make that at least one night. I like salads that use picked vegetables, like cukes, tomatos, onions, beets.

Another family favorite that freezes well and makes for a hearty dinner is a Portuguese "Caldo Verde", a hearty chowder of sausage, chicken, spinach and potatoes that we usually serve on the first day with crusty bread and good wine.

I pre-marinade (dry rub) and freeze trimmed chicken thighs, then grille them and serve them with tortillas and salsa fresca, guac and sour cream, maybe some quick Spanish rice on the side. If I'm grilling I'll take Texas Sweet or Vidalia onions, cut an X into them almost to the bottom, then pour a dash of Worcestershire and a dash of bourbon into the cut, then sprinkle with salt and pepper and place them in an oiled piece of heavy duty foil, wrap them tightly, grill them (turning frequently) for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

One night of the trip I usually do loaded baked potatos, big ones. Poke them, rub with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover in foil, cook them in the coals, turning regularly. Sour cream, pre-cut chives, pre-cooked and chopped bacon that you can reheat by packing it in foil, thick-grated jack cheese, maybe some leftover chili.

I also make a lot of couscous when camping, it's easy and quick, is filling, and you can make it in a 1,000 ways.

I also like to make "Venezuelan Breakfast" for one of the dinners, since it's hearty. Sautee diced roma tomatoes, mild Anaheim peppers (although Poblanos work well, too) and white onions until soft, then pour your eggs and scramble like you normally would until done (add salt and coarse ground pepper to taste). Serve it with pre-cooked (thawed) seasoned black beans and thick ham steaks grilled and basted with a Coke and Worcestershire reduction and either crusty bread or tortillas, depending on the length of the trip.

Speaking of tortillas (can you tell I live close to Mexico?), A friend of my wife just recently introduced us to a great dessert: she takes the smaller tortillas, sautees them in butter until soft, then takes apple pie filling from the can and rolls it inside the tortilla, covering the whole surface of a cast iron skillet with the rolls. She then sprinkles them liberally with brown sugar, cinammon and a little nutmeg, then bakes it for 30 minutes on hot coals, until the whole thing is bubbling! Like I said, we don't have one, but if we had an Engel set to freeze and could have broken out some vanilla ice cream to go with it, it would have been close to heaven! :)

Anyway, these are just some ideas, I spent 6+ months of the year *every year* from 1990-1994 in the Venezuelan outback, camping in pretty primitive conditions, and learned a lot about cooking decent menus with a good imagination and good prep.
 

calamaridog

Expedition Leader
What kind of cooking devices are you going to have? Stove, bbq, etc.?

Anyways, sausages are good. The pre-cooked and sealed kind. Freeze them ahead of time and store them in your cooler.

Nothing wrong with some good hot dogs either. Nathans or maybe even Hebrew Nat.:eatchicke

Prepare chili the day ahead and freeze it. Another easy meal on the trail. Your tent mate might not like you though;)

All this talk of couscous and boneless skinless chicken is making me NOT hungry. Save that stuff for home and go for the fatty comfort food.
 

Super Doody

Explorer
I buy a lot canned stuff from trader joes because they taste better . A quick and easy dinner without refrigeration requirement is curry chicken simmer over rice. I use can of chicken and jar of curry simmer. You pretty much just heat it up. Pour over rice. If you like you can add veggies.

TJ's jar chilli is also pretty good. Better stagg or other canned brands.

For quick backpack style lunch from my boy scout days are fig newtons (gives you lots of gas), two strips of jerky and crackers.

I like little debbie Nutter Bars. Must have for any trip.
 

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