Recipe#3401

Title: Backpacking Mixes

From: msmith@oavax.csuchico.edu (Marg Smith) 
 Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking 
 Subject: Assorted Backpacking Mixes 
 Date: 12 Mar 1997 16:29:17 GMT 
 Message-ID: msmith-120397083925@mlib190c-mac.csuchico.edu 

4 cups dry milk
 1 cup unsweetened cocoa
 2 cups sugar
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon instant decaffeinated coffee (optional)
 Mix the ingredients and put them into a plastic container or double plastic
 bags.  Use 1/4 cup per cup of boiling water."  Makes 20 cups.
 H HOT CHOCOLATE MIX
 8 cups dry milk
 1 pound instant chocolate drink, like Swiss Miss or Nestle's Quick
 1 cup Cremora, Coffeemate, or Pream
 4 heaping tablespoons powdered sugar
 Mix the ingredients and put them into a plastic container or double plastic
 bag.  Add 1/2 cup mix per cup of boiling water."  Makes 24 cups.
 INSTANT SPICED TEA
 2 cups powdered orange breakfast drink
 1-1/2 cups sugar
 3/4 cup instant tea
 2 packages unsweetened lemonade mix
 1 teaspoon ground cloves
 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 Mix the ingredients and put them into a plastic container or double plastic
 bag.  Add 2 heaping teaspoons to 1 cup boiling water."
 BASIC TOMATO SAUCE
 1/3 onion, chopped very fine
 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon margarine, or 2 tablespoons of either
 Two 6-ounce cans tomato paste
 1 teaspoon salt
 Pinch of sugar
 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
 Ground black pepper
 Small pinch of basil
 Small pinch of oregano
 Saute the onion and garlic together in the oil and/or margarine until they
 are soft and golden; stop before they begin to brown.  Add the rest of the
 ingredients and cook slowly for about 10 minutes.
 Spray a cookie sheet or other flat pan with a nonstick spray.  Spread the
 mixture out in as thin a layer as possible -- use 2 pans if necessary.  Dry
 the sauce in the oven at 140 degrees F. for about 6 hours with the door
 propped open a crack [or use your food dehydrator].  Do not overdry or the
 reconstituted sauce will taste burned.  Roll it up like a fruit leather. 
 To reconstitute, add triple the amount of water to the dried sauce, bring
 to a boil, simmer 5 minutes.
 BASIC GROUND BEEF MIX
 1 pound lean ground beef
 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
 Ground pepper to taste
 1/4 teaspoon rosemary leaves, optional
 1-1/2 packets instant beef boullion, or 1-1/2 beef boullion cubes, or 1-1/2
 teaspoons Bovril
 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
 2 tablespoons flour
 1 teaspoon salt
 Brown the beef with the garlic and onion.  Setting the pan slightly on a
 slant and pushing the meat to the higher side, let the fat collect and
 spoon it out.  Add the rest of the ingredients, and cook over medium heat,
 scraping the flour off the bottom of the pan to brown it evenly.
 Note:  After browing ground meat, pour off whatever grease has collected. 
 Although some fat ordinarily adds flavor to dishes made with ground meat,
 it will get rancid in dried foods if they are left for long at room
 temperature.  It's best to store dried meals that might contain a little
 fat in the refrigerator or the freezer if you make them ahead of time.
 Spread the mixture in a thin layer on a greased flat pan and dry it in a
 140 degree F. oven with the door propped open, until it is crumbly, about 6
 hours [or use your food dehydrator].  After drying, spread it on paper
 towels to absorb any extra grease.
 Store the dried sauce, labeled, in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.  To
 reconstitute, add 1-3/4 cups water, bring to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes.
 WHITE SAUCE MIX
 The classic method is to make a roux first by meling butter and adding
 flour.  Cook this a moment, then stir in hot liquid (milk, usually), and
 cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens.
 If you want to make a quicker white sauce in camp, add water to a mix that
 you prepared at home out of Butter Buds, flour, and dry milk.  Don't forget
 salt and pepper -- saltless white sauce rivals pablum for insipidness.  And
 freely add cheese, when you can spare a little from the lunch supply, to
 create 'sauce Mornay.'"
 3 servings: 1 tablespoon Butter Buds; 1-1/2 tablespoons flour; 2
 tablespoons dry milk; pinch of salt; 1 cup water
 6-8 servings: 1 packet (8 teaspoons) Butter Buds; 3 tablespoons flour; 1/2
 cup dry milk; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 2 cups water
 10-12 servings: 2 packets (1/3 cup) Butter Buds; 6 tablespoons flour; 1 cup
 dry milk; 1/3 teaspoon salt; 4 cups water
 Big batch: 4 packets (2/3 cup) Butter Buds; 3/4 cup flour; 2 cups dry milk;
 1/2 teaspoon salt; 8 cups water
 Mix the ingredients together. 
 Add 1 cup water to 1/4 or 1/3 cup mix for 3 servings." 
 The proportions of 1/3 cup mix to 1 cup water makes a medium-thick sauce. 
 The entire mix ["big batch"] will make enough white sauce to feed three
 people about 10 times.