Who said back country food has to be boring or bland? This is anything but normal back country food.

Serves: 2 (large portions)

Ingredients at Home

227g ground meat (pre-dehydrated weight)
1/4 - 3/4 cup Breadcrumbs (depends on the type of meat chosen)
8 Tbsp sundried tomatoes
4 Tbsp dried onions
4 Tbsp milk powder
4 cloves dried roasted garlic (or 2 tsp garlic powder)
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups egg noodles (pre cooked amount)

Camp Ingredients

2 1/2 cups water (the water label on the ziplock has been fixed here on the blog)

Directions at Home

1. Combine the ground meat with breadcrumbs. Use less breadcrumbs for beef and more for chicken. Work the breadcrumbs into the raw meat with your fingers. Breadcrumbs allow more liquid to penetrate the dried meat when you rehydrate it, so it turns out tender every time. Break the meat into small pieces and cook in a frying pan over medium high heat until lightly browned and fully cooked, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and squeeze between paper towels to remove moisture. Spread the cooked meat on the dehydrator trays (the solid fruit leather trays are best for this or add parchment to your regular trays) and dry at 145°F (63°C) for approximately six hours. The meat will be hard when fully dry.
2. Dehydrate onions and tomatoes or purchase in the bulk food section at the grocery store.
3. Cook egg noodles as you would normally. Once the noodles are finished spread on the dehydrator trays (the solid fruit leather trays are best for this or add parchment to your regular trays) and dry at 145°F (63°C) for approximately 4 hours. About halfway through (2 hours in the dehydrator), pull any noodles that are stuck together apart, and redistribute on the trays. Dried pasta will be hard and snappy.
4. Combine all the dried items, spices, powders and other ingredients in a large freezer style ziplock bag.

Directions at Camp

1. Boil 2 1/2 cups of water, then turn off the heat and add the ziplock contents. Allow to soak for 10 minutes (we use this time to set up camp). Do not add the spinach yet.
2. Bring the pot back to a boil and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes.
3. Enjoy!

Note

The photo has shrimp but we no longer recommended for this recipe. We discovered that the shrimp would not fully rehydrate in camp. They remained rubbery and less than palatable no matter how long we soaked them.

Inspired by Backpacking Chef