Winter camping meals?

Bertolli!!! Just like the commercial says, try those bertolli meals in the freezer section of your local food store, HEB or Wally World down here for me. Since it will stay frozen with the temperatures you are talking about, you just have to pull it out and heat it up and it cooks itself. These consist (your choice of course :)) of different kinds of pastas. Lasagna, chicken alfredo, a type of stir fry, you name it and they have it. One pack can feed about two people, or one really hungry person. Here is a link, just click around and it will show you all of the goodies they have:

http://www.villabertolli.com/classicdinners.aspx

The size of the bag isn't all that big either, you could easily load up on these and not take up too much space.

I know you are probably trying to feed your guests some real outdoors type food, but I just thought I'd throw these out there due to the size and taste of them. You can't beat a good potato stuffed with meat and veggies all wrapped in foil. Or with that dutch oven, you can make a mean (mean to the heart) cobbler. Besides these, a good old fashioned bar-b-q always hits the spot.
 
Look for simplicity, make meals that do not require much preparation or clean up, hands get cold real fast when having to do alot of preparation, or clean up, washing pots in the cold is a pain.

Packages of soup or stews that are added to boiling water. Avoid canned soups and stuff that freezes, as they take a long time to defrost and heat up.

Lots of carbs, chocolate bars, cookies and the like.

Smokies and hot dogs that can be cooked on a stick. These are easy to cook, even with gloves on, and do not require the need to clean up pots which can be a problem in the cold.

Breakfast can be easy with packages of instant poridge, and load on the brown sugar. Instant coffee and tea.

I would avoid beer in really cold weather, not only does the beer freeze up, but it will chill out the body. If you must bring beer, burry it in snow when its as cold as it is now --20's to keep them from bursting, and warm them up in some water to prevent freezing- better yet bring the whiskey and wine. But again becareful too much cheer will dehydrate your body, or risk hypothermia.

Dehydration is a problem with the cold dry air in winter. The body can lose alot of water through breathing, and working in heavy snow, so be sure to drink plenty of fluids - soups, tang etc.
 
Thanks all. some really good recipes and tips. theres a few ill be trying for sure.

i read a few times about bringing Dehydrated foods, such as soup. thats one of the big things i was thinking of bring, especially since we are back packing into our camp site.

im also glad to hear that the nights are cold and theres a good amount of snow up there, since most of us plan on staying in quinzee's, or some type of shelter.

just hope theres some ice on the properties lake, like to get some fish! and cant forget rabbit is still open :D

thanks again, and more recipes please.
 
matthew krissak said:
Thanks all. some really good recipes and tips. theres a few ill be trying for sure.......
just hope theres some ice on the properties lake, like to get some fish! and cant forget rabbit is still open :D....

thanks again, and more recipes please.
Click to expand...

You can always make "wabbit stew." :D. Test out some of those figure four traps and get a couple of rabbits and make a broth with rabbit meat and potatoes. Toss in some salt and seasoning and it's pretty much a free meal...If you can catch the rabbits! Have fun on the trip, wish I was going on a trip that long, J.
 
matthew krissak said:
.

i read a few times about bringing Dehydrated foods, such as soup. thats one of the big things i was thinking of bring, especially since we are back packing into our camp site.

.
Click to expand...

If there is snow sled your stuff in. If only bring lightweight calorie nasty backpacker food you will be hungry. Add a lot of fat. Insulate the snow shelter floor very well or you will freeze.

Skam
 
wayne37 said:
I was their last week, lots of snow and cold be prepared for that , night time lows hitting
-15 to -20. I would bring lots of carbs, good news you won't need a cooler !
Click to expand...

In this kind of weather you can use the cooler to keep things from freezing.

Bruceter
 
Man-O-Manitoulin!! I don't know if you can catch rainbow trout up there this time of year? Back in the late 60's I used to camp at Michaels Bay in late May or June, there was an old loggers cabin with holes in the roof that those without a tent would use. "Sven the Swede 1941" was scratched in the cement chinking on the left(west)side of the cabin. It wasn't far from the Manitoulin River, they had a weir across it to keep out the lamprey eels.We'd either drive up from Toronto up through Sudbury and Chibigamou and down through Little Current, Manitowanig and Tehkumaha or take the ferry across at Tobemoray. I see that it only takes about 1 3/4 hours now to get across. We used to get berths to make the trip.
We caught the biggest rainbow trout might have been steelheads ever, trolling spoons. We would wrap them in tin foil with lemon and butter. One fish could feed 6-10 people, that's the truth.

Learnt about Black Flies & Mosiquitos the size of 50 cent pieces.The roads were bad, then got worse and then very bad, then we drove off road to the clearing. It was an adventure. The drive down was beautiful country. We made the trip for 3-4 years.

It was the best.

Sorry for the rambling.
 
My #1 staple on the winter outings (besides Shopsy's all-beef weiners and Ritter Sport chocolate) would be Uncle Ben's Boil-in-the-Bag Rice, easy to prepare and clean-up and lots of calories, flavour it up with a couple packs of Garden Vegetable Lipton Cup-o-Soup packets per bag of rice.

If a big group and taking things in to the camp on a toboggan/snowmobile (weight not an issue) I will usually prepare a big pot of chili at home and let it freeze in the pot outside. Throw the frozen pot on the fire when you arrive and tell all your buddies what you just whipped up while they were out collecting firewood! The pot could crack so don't use the good ones, and only fill it half-way (use a big pot), also good with rice.

Mix up some Bannock in a ziplock before you go, just add water, easy to cook on a stick over the fire.

Quaker Instant Oatmeal another fav...

Harvest Foodworks (a Canadian company) make some great freeze dried meals and deserts, always good to have a few extras in the pack when the other stuff runs out. I really like their powdered vegetable oil (no mess) which I always carry (frying pancakes, fish, eggs, etc). And don't forget the bacon!



 
When thawing frozen chili containing beans, go slow and stir frequently. Otherwise, you get to "enjoy" that special something only burned beans can provide -- and miles from replacement if I understand your plans. :barf:

Also, when thawing snow in an aluminum pot to get water, go slow or you can burn the bottom out of the pot as the snow passes from solid to gas without any liquid being created. A cotton sack full of snow near the fire and suspended over a pot acts as a good "water machine."

An old grill with four of five lengths of light chain attached to anchors stakes can give you a platform for a fire suspended over the snowpack. The chain can be lengthened by rope. Such a setup can help keep your fire from being drowned out if snow is really deep. Or you build a platform of wood topped by dirt/rocks, but that's more work.

Sorry if this is obvious to you.
 
Some people have a hard time eating a big breakfast,
even if they are going to need the calories. A big rich-
in-fat breakfast is even harder to get down.

Working on a real full stomach makes some people
puke.

Have some normal fat-level foods available.
A high-fat topping could be optional.

Have a way to pack an uneaten breakfast, for later
consumption. Roll a pancake around a sausage and
brown sugar, and put it in a baggy for later.

Watch how your people are eating and make adjustments.

My favorite is hot chocolate. If made with real milk, even better.
 
I like this company's stuff. Tasty, lightweight, available in bulk.

Other brands of dehydrated or freeze dried food are usually loaded with sodium. Loaded.
 
Likley too late for this trip , but I've heard many good things about this guys stuff. http://hawkvittles.com/
Just a one man operation and he will work with you to customise meals.
He's been doing this for quite a while , and , due to popular demand , started the buisness.
Quality , trail tested , boil in one pot meals. Great addition with little extra weight.

Phil
 
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