Have you ever wanted to try freezer cooking but not been sure exactly how to do it. The first time freezer meal planning is attempted, use recipes from an established freezer plan. One box turkey dressing mix 3 cupsthe easy, onestep kind. Prices including delivery for freezer bag cooking trail food made simple volume 1 by sarah svien kirkconnell. Mealtime becomes fast, effortless and cleanup is as easy as licking your utensil and sealing the zip top bag.
There are also a lot of free recipes on the web that you can try out. Complete onepot meals we cook at home, then dehydrate and pack for the trail. Read the puffy packaging around frozen chicken discussion from the chowhound general discussion, chicken food community. Are pullnpak bags appropriate for storing raw vegetables in fridge. Made from ground sesame seeds, this thick, velvety paste adds a creamy texture and savory flavor to dressings. Before johns email prompted me, i had never looked deeply into the method, which ill attribute with reservations to sarah kirkconnell, author of several books including freezer bag cooking. If the freezer bag manufacturer doesnt provide specific instructions for defrosting food in their bags in the microwave, transfer the food to a microwavesafe container to thaw. Jan 16, 20 dedicated to the topic of creating and enjoying freezer bag cooking for backpacking. Advanced freezer bag cooking for nonfoodies section. You dont have to have 30 days of meals in your freezer. Our dryfood storage goods are sealed in special pouches and stackable buckets so that the food items can last for up to 25 years. Fill each gallonsize plastic bag about halfway with ice and add 12 cup coarse salt.
Place one sealed small bag into the large bag, squeeze out most of the air, and seal the large bag. Puffy packaging around frozen chicken general discussion. Do you carry a large supply of these, or can you assume they will be. Freezer bag cooking 101 i hiking food, trail food, backpacking food. Recently, ziploc redesigned our winning food storage bags, so we ran their new bags, the ziploc brand freezer bags with easy open tabs, through all our original tests. There are also readytoeat pouched meals such as chili. One easy method of freezing foods including liquid foods such as soups and stews is to freeze them in. Food freezing encyclopedia of life support systems. Freezer bags are thicker than storage bags and will keep the food fresh longer.
Get dinner on the table without all the fuss by creating fast and easy freezer meals. It happens when frozen food dehydrates and oxidizes when it is exposed to air. In freezer bag cooking your food is cooked, not in your pot, but in a plastic ziptop freezer bag. As we continued to hike and backpack over the years, we also got into developing recipes for one pot cooking, and even further gourmet camp recipes. How to organize your refrigerator for better food storage. Heres a sample 9 day menu for 100 mile wilderness which gives you an idea of the variety and weights savings that are possible. Trail food made simple whether you like to be fancy with your trail food or keep it simple, this guide is your ticket to better eating and more enjoyment on the trail. On the package, write the date, number of servings, recipe name, and these simple cooking directions. Beyond the recipes below, our freezer bag cooking trail cookbooks have many more recipes. Consider them to be similar to commercial freezedried meals, but without the cost, and you can customize.
Its low in saturated fat and sugar, rich in vitamin, niacin, thiamin, and selenium. John hiked over 10 thousand miles, tried over 100 hiking shoes and visited 56 countries so far. Trail food made simple, is the brainchild of sarah kirkconnell, an avid backpacker, cook, and ultralighter. Freezer cooking can be done on a small scale or large scale depending on your space and your familys needs. So whether you like to be fancy with your food or keep it simple, freezer bag cooking. Easy ground beef recipes from your freezer by alice henneman, ms, rd, extension educator makeahead crumbled beef 1 batch makes enough for 4 to 6 servings think of how often you could use alreadybrowned and readytogo ground beef crumbles in recipes such as soups and sauces. Advanced freezer bag cooking for nonfoodies section hikers. Table 1 gives typical materials used for packaging of various food. The ultralight handbook california state university.
There is not anything that is more of nuisance when hiking than lugging around heavy pots and pans. Instead of frequently making freezer meals in small batches, determine how many freezer meals you expect to consume per week, on average, and prepare enough to cover several weeks or months. Freezer bag cooking is a more affordable method of backcountry cooking with many of the same benefits as commercially produced backpacking meals. Easy ground beef recipes from your freezer unl food. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months. His record is over 65 miles in one day with backpacking gear. My kids love the fun of making freezer bag food and eating right out of the bag. Fbc freezer bag cooking is the simplest way to eat on the trail while backpacking. Ever since i was a little girl i used to sneak down to her food storage room and stare in amazement at the sheer volume of food there and sneak into the candy stash which she claims is the most.
Freezer bag cooking is a convenient way of preparing meals in the backcountry. Label your freezer bag with the name of the recipe, cooking instructions, and useby date. Label a gallonsized plastic freezer bag with the name of the recipe, cooking instructions, and useby date which would be 3 months from the prep date. Mustread tips from food52 for solo cooking done right.
Before you start any big freezer cooking day, make sure you have stocked up on all of these so you dont have to worry about it when youre in the cooking zone. I no longer have long cooking marathons but instead do minisessions every 34 weeks. Jan 09, 2007 mealtime becomes fast, effortless and cleanup is as easy as licking your utensil and sealing the zip top bag. If you have very little freezer space, make a double batch of lasagna one evening and freeze the second pan. If i want to cook pasta by soaking in the boiling water in a bag what kind of bag do i need to use. When ready to eat, the meal is prepared in and eaten out of the freezer bag. History and origin one of the earliest known attempts to invent the freezing process is attributed to sir francis bacon, a wellknown english philosopher. My freezer bag food was much cheaper and better tasting than the prepackaged camping food he brought along. Mar 18, 2016 25 fridge and freezer essentials for the home cook. Shes hoping to stock up her freezer to help get ready for a new baby. Well worth the investment to begin this method of trail cooking. Place one sealed small bag into the large bag, squeeze out most of the air. Granted, youll need to spend some time at home in your kitchen, but youll eliminate foodprep. I had heard of it, but was turned off immediately by its name why would i ever want to cook.
Jul 28, 2017 a simple dial thermometer like this cheap one from rubbermaid helps you monitor things to ensure that youre never caught in the dark. Dehydrating your food is an incredible way to add variety to your backpacking menu and improve the quality and quantity of food that you can bring along on strenuous hikes. A lot of what i read refers to their use for short hikes. Apr 24, 2015 i buy thicksliced bacon sold in stacks not in the fanned packages intended for cooking by the strip, wrap it tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap, then pop it in a freezer bag in the freezer, pulling it out and slicing off just as much as i need for a given recipe. Food is essential on long hiking trips, but most people get tired of the cliche protein bars and trail mix. Pack single portions of dehydrated meals into quartsize freezer bags. This can free up valuable time for you when cooking for family and friends over the holidays.
Thaw freezer bag overnight in refrigerator or in water in the morning. Find quick and easy meal recipes for your next trail. Most meals you prepare at homebeef stew, lasagna, even ham casserolecan be popped into a dehydrator and turned into quickandeasy camp fare. Who wouldnt love a nice hot meal half way through that tiring hike. So whether you like to be fancy with your food, or keep it simple, freezer bag cooking, and our many onepot recipes that make up trail cooking, can be your ticket to better eating and enjoyment. Freeze bananas for breads, cakes, smoothies and shakes. Thaw freezer bag overnight in refrigerator or in the morning in water. Both preformed pouches as well as pouches formed on ffs machines are used. I love cook in bag meals as it eliminates the washing up. Freezer bag cooking for backpacking using only supermarket ingredients. Pack foods into freezer bags use freezer bags, not storage bags for storing food in the freezer. Some types of packaging are best suited to certain types of food. Organizing your fridge for maximum efficiencyin terms of food shelf life, food safety, and easy access to the things you reach for mostshould be a top priority.
Most of the recipes are perfect for simple food storage to use in an emergency. See more ideas about dehydrated food, dehydrator recipes and backpacking food. When we started developing recipes for outdoor cooking and backpacking, nearly all our recipes the first couple years were for the method called freezer bag cooking, or also known as fbc when asked what is fbc. I tried freezer bag cooking, got tired of spending extra money, and went back to cooking in my pot or cup. The product packed in such laminates has a shelflife of one year. Wasabi mash with tuna freezer bag meals trail recipes. Trail food made simple can be your ticket to better eating and. Unlike heat, which actually kills many of the microbes, chilling food or freezing it may not kill all the microbes, but the cold will reduce the microbial population to some. A simple quickcooking technique is to make extra food at one meal and freeze for future meals. Freezer bags are amazingbut theyre not all you need. The development of freezer burn, indicated by the appearance of brownishwhite discoloration on the food and snowy ice crystals, is a visible sign of likely failure in this department. The oldest method of preserving food for longer periods of time without the convenience of refrigeration is the simple storage method. Are the 1 quart freezer bags strong enough to handle the heat of the water. In india, 3ply laminate consisting of petal foilpp is commonly used for packaging of ready to eat retort packed food.
Reheat in a covered saucepan until meat is heated throughout 165 degrees f. Introduction to freezer bag cooking the northeast hiker. Ground beef may be browned ahead of time and frozen for quick. You can easily save an hour a day or more when you know whats for dinner because you dont have to hum and haw and rummage around the kitchen, search for a last minute recipe only to find yourself driving to the store for missing ingredients. Place each sealed bag into a second pintsize bag, again squeezing out extra air. A 1week meal plan using ground beef and chicken is provided in this publication. Also, the thinness of a pullnpak bag makes it susceptible to tearing in the freezer. The other materials generally used in retort pouch structure includes nylon, silica coated nylon, ethylene vinyl alcohol evoh and polyvinyledene chloride. We spent part of the weekend utilizing our food saver to extend the life of our produce. There are a few items you will want to have on hand to store foods in the freezer.
If you toss loose goods directly in a plastic bag, the quality will greatly. The cooking gear needed is minimal, lightweight and can be bought, found or even made. Freezer bag cooking 101 section hikers backpacking blog. Suck out all the air, quickly remove the straw and seal the bag the rest of the way. A collection of hiking recipes and backpacking food ideas. Freezer bag cooking how is freezer bag cooking abbreviated. Carefully pour hot water into the bag with dried ingredients.
If you are one of our friends on facebook you may have seen some of the pictures i posted of my little project to help my grandma last weekend. For example, a joint of meat should be wrapped in heavyduty polythene and then placed in a heavyduty polythene bag and sealed, whereas a pasta sauce could be packaged in a number of ways, such as in an airtight plastic container, glass jar or a polythene bag. Better home cooking through science based on his serious eats column of the same name is a new york times best. Freezer bag cooking minimizes these tradeoffs by changing the concepts of traditional outdoor food. I suppose something deadly will leach out of my titanium stuff, but cleanup is really no big deal. Its a diy, make your own backpacking meal that only needs a longhandled spoon, hot water, and 15 minutes of time.
If you toss loose goods directly in a plastic bag, the quality will greatly diminish, and youll notice ice crystals on the food. Trail food made simple by sarah svien kirkconnell paperback online at lulu. Meal planning ideas tips and advice on how to easily prepare. Or, to prepare food ahead and freeze for a later time. Freezer guide how long will food keep in the freezer. Meal planning ideas tips and advice on how to easily. Canning recipes crockpot recipes food saver vacuum sealer a food food and drink co op food freezer cooking cooking tips dehydrated food i picked up my produce coop last week. I began cooking for myself regularly when i was a culinary. In march 1626, he bought a hen, dressed it, and stuffed it with snow.
Empty the contents into a saucepan, cover with water, bring to a boil, stir, and serve. Easy meal planning ideas can make deciding what to serve for dinner so much more simple. Come to a thrive life cooking show and learn how to get simple plate free. May 2009 fnfoodpreservation200901pr freezer meal planning. Freezer bag cooking questions appalachian trail information. Are pull n pak plastic bags appropriate for storing raw or. Good food made simple continues to revamp freezer with new. The new bags performed just as well as the old bags at protecting food from freezer burn. Puffy packaging around frozen chicken chowhound food community. The process starts at home where dried ingredients are assembled and preportioned into freezer bags, usually at home before you leave. Add all ingredients to freezer bag except broth, seal, and freeze up to three months.
Easy, safe and tasty, these freezer bag cooking recipes are a great way to enjoy your. It offers simplicity, convenience and variety and whirls them together with the philosophies of lightweight outdoor adventuring. The web site, and its companion cookbook, freezer bag cooking. Alison, an eat at home reader, sent me an email asking a few questions about how to store food in the freezer. Heres a sample 9 day menu for 100 mile wilderness which gives you an idea of. Freezer bag cooking recipes that allow you to prepare quick, easy and nocleanup meals on the trail.
Return to subscribe to receive a free download of my recipe book, which features 12 extensively trailtested breakfasts and dinners. I was there when we started using computers to design and i was there when the internet took off and have been designing websites ever since. Keeping food cold, sometimes very cold, preserves nutritional content and slows or suspends the activity of microbes bent on digesting your nutrients before you do. One easy method of freezing foods, including liquid foods such as soups and stews, is to freeze them in freezer bags. The simple storage process involves placing perishable food in a cool, dry place as complex as a household cellar or as simple as a hole in the ground.
Make your own outdoor meals, and customize them exactly to how you want. Drop in 1 bag zatarains add cayenne pepper or cajun seasoning, if desired a little hotter. Hubby is a trained chef and we do like to eat well, but we also are in our 50s and carrying heavy packs on. Then, use your own recipes and create your own shopping lists. With only 300 calories per serving, wasabi mash with tuna is an incredibly healthy and nutritious meal. Freezer cooking is still the best way i have found to feed my family great homecooked food without having to stress over the dinner chore. I just heat some water for coffee or hot chocolate after supper, scrape down what i couldnt scrape off beforehand into the water, pour it. The ultralight handbook california state university, stanislaus. Our dry food storage goods are sealed in special pouches and stackable buckets so that the food items can last for up to 25 years. Carolina food storage recipes and tips using freeze.
Freezer bag cooking for backpacking using only supermarket. Yes, for short term storage under 1 week in my book. A simple quick cooking technique is to make extra food at one meal and freeze for future meals. Deborah taylorhough is the author of the bestselling frozen assets. Freezer bag cozy shown here easy enough to make but an instructable to follow. The recipes are simple and easily adaptable to personal taste. Itll make all of your cooking projects go faster and more easily, and having more fun in the kitchen inevitably leads to more cooking. Wash and reuse freezer and storage bags except those that have been used to store meats. A practical guide for saving your time, money and sanity. Recipes range from the simple to the complex, but the process of cooking is the same. This allows heat to escape and protects the food from accidental contamination from other foods during cooling. I have been providing graphic design and web services for a diverse group of clients for over 30 years.
To make it simple start with a 1 month supply and work up from there to a three month and eventually a one year supply of food that can support your family during a world crisis, natural disaster or personal financial hiccup. The following is a simple list of the items you will do well to have to complete the athome canning process. The key to getting use out of your emergency food storage is to rotate it, preferably using it on a daily basis. How to store food in the freezer bon appetit bon appetit. For instance, if you consume an average of three freezer meals per week and want to work four weeks ahead, youll need 12 freezer meals. Or, to prepare food ahead and freeze for enjoying at a later time. The freezedried items are also easily prepared by simply adding water, and the meats and veggies can be quickly added to other dishes as well. I am considering this option for long distance hiking, relying on resupply from local stores along the trail. I keep a stack of pint and quart plastic deli containers available on amazon to store almost all food once its come out of the original packaging. Hikers add hot water to the food in the bag just like when preparing a traditional backpacking meal. When a couple of canoeing friends loaned me a copy of sarah svien kirkonnells freezer bag cooking. Prices for freezer bag cooking trail food made simple. Cook for a day, eat for a month and a simple choice.