"Bug In" Meals

[Daisygirl]

I wondered if anyone else wanted to join me in putting together some "Bug In" meals.

What's a "Bug In" meal?

Stuff that you can put together from your stockpile in a grid down situation to make a healthy tasty meal for your family.

My situation, at this point, is limited to stuff I can boil in a pot on a campstove by the kitchen window.

Today, I used my dried foods to make dinner and it was delish!

"Power's Out Potato Casserole"

1 box of dried Au Gratin potatoes
1.5 cups of milk, made with NF dry milk
1/2 cups of dehydrated zucchini from my garden
1/2 cup mixed dehydrated onion, red pepper and mushroom
paprika to taste

Cook according to the directions on the box, but add in the other dried foods. The box called for butter, which I omitted because it might not be available in a grid down situation.

This turned out pretty yummy. I would serve it on a regular day made from fresh ingredients, which means that in a bad situation this would be a soothing comfort food.

I plan to make a "Bug In" meal once a week, just so I'm comfortable doing so. Then there won't be a learning curve in a truly dire situation.

I hope some of the rest of you join in and share your creations~

[Spirit Deer]

I'm trying to think of something I couldn't cook without power, but haven't come up with anything so far. Even limiting selections to stovetop foods, there's still a wide selection without searching out special recipes.

When we first started camping again, I used to think I needed 'special' foods for camp cooking. I came to the conclusion pretty quickly it wasn't necessary. The same meals we prep at home are perfectly tasty while camping, and so would they be in an emergency situation.

It's good to practice though. Then you know you're prepared in case of an emergency.

[Contrary Housewife]

I like the 'instant rice' and quick cooking noodle dishes for camp stove cooking. They only need hot water and they don't use a lot of fuel. Look for ones that are ready in 10 mins or less. Couscous is great for this, as it only needs hot water then can come off the burner.

Instant soup or noodles with added dried vegetables is a no-brainer.

In stovetop cooking you can often substitute vegetable oil for butter in dishes like the one you mention above.

[sunshine]

We practice making pizza on the grill or open fire, because we love pizza and would love to be able to make it , in a "grid down" situation.

We also do open fire/solar oven/grill cooking at times to keep up our skills - each way takes some practice to make food taste good/familiar.

[Dancing Lotus]

I have a book called VEGAN UNPLUGGED. It's all meat and dairy free dry goods cooking. In the beginning of the book it supplies a list of all the things you would need for a family of four for four days to make a survival box. All recipes need NO or little cooking. A single gas burner or fire is all you would need.
I think it's a great book for everyone because even if you do eat meat and dairy you should have a few recipes on hand that do not use either because those will the first of your food supplies to go.

[i.m.cheap]

We stock plenty of canned and freeze-dried meat. We have 100 cans of tuna in the stockpile right now. We also have lots of canned chili, corned beef hash, chicken breast, and canned ham. Freeze-dried chicken, turkey, sausage crumbles, ham, roast beef, and ground beef. None of this requires refrigeration. We have plenty of beans, rice, oats, and canned fruit and vegetables. Dried milk, freeze-dried cheese, powdered eggs and butter...we have given this a lot of thought. We also store quite a bit of water for the freeze-dried foods and drinking.

[HappyMama]

I'm trying to think of something I couldn't cook without power, but haven't come up with anything so far. Even limiting selections to stovetop foods, there's still a wide selection without searching out special recipes.

When we first started camping again, I used to think I needed 'special' foods for camp cooking. I came to the conclusion pretty quickly it wasn't necessary. The same meals we prep at home are perfectly tasty while camping, and so would they be in an emergency situation.

It's good to practice though. Then you know you're prepared in case of an emergency.

I do the same. I cook with a solar oven for fun in the winter sometimes, it is cool. Love that little baby. I also have a wood burning I can cook on in the winter, and a wood pizza oven outside so I am set.

[Spirit Deer]

I've looked at solar ovens but wondered if we're too far north. In a normal summer up here, if it gets to eighty, that's a hot day.

I was going to mention that a small portable gas grill with a high lid might actually be more helpful in an emergency situation than a camp stove, because you can bake in it as well as cook on it, either on its grate or in a frying pan or saucepan. The burner is big so it takes more propane, but it'll also heat things quicker so maybe it's a trade-off. And there are advantages to having a lid to hold the heat in, especially in cold weather.

I do Dutch oven cooking with charcoal. I've made entire holiday meals using Dutch ovens while camping. This one was a pork loin roast with carrots, potatoes, and gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and apple crisp. We had that one Easter at the local state park, where we saw no one all weekend, not even the rangers. It was great.

Most anything that can be made in or on the home stove can be made in a DO, making it an ideal method for emergencies. I like to make stuff like Bisquick Impossibly Easy Pies or lasagna. I use the same recipes I use when cooking at home, therefore would not need special recipes or ingredients in case of an extended power failure or other such emergency.

I think many campers are automatically stocked and educated in many ways for emergencies at home, as we have camping gear to fall back on if need be, and the skills to cook without our usual amenities. Plus, when there's no emergency, we get to use our stuff for actual camping!

[thefrug]

Any flavored noodle or rice in a box or bag , you can add canned meat and frozen,canned or rehydrated veggies to them.

Like those Lipton flavored noodles or the Knorrs rice or noodles

Example:
Spam cut into chunks
Mac and Cheese
Peas
Once the mac and cheese is boiling add the peas if frozen or rehydrated,when they're finished cooking drain, add the cheese and the spam. If you want you can "brown" the spam real quick before you add it to give it more color and flavor.

You can do the same with rice-a-roni. I do it all the time so it's not a "new" thing for when something happpens

[madhen]

Do a Google for "bannock bread". It is a campfire staple. I made some while I was going through a multi-day blackout at my house (snowed in), and it was delicious! Kind of like between bread and a pancake taste.

http://eartheasy.com/play_campfire_cooking.htm

Bannock bread recipe that I used is in this link. Also, the potatoes were delicious, but I had trouble heating them correctly in the live wood coals.

[Brat]

I am an old camper...Had a many meal cooked over an open fire and many thanksgiving spent at the camp ground...It is fun..to see what all you can fix with little ways to cook...It keeps me active in it so that if we are off the grid for a while it is still just as easy to feed everyone...Winter I have the wood stove and in summer I can cook outside with ease..

[annymoll]

I have a woodstove in the garage so I can put on beans or stew right on top of it. If I am outside I have a grill and a firepit with a grate. I love foil pockets- I put veggies in in and a piece of meat for DH, wrap it up and cook it. I like bake potatoes over the fire also. In the summer I like garden salads and will grill fish in foil for the hubs.

[known2him5]

This time of year, pretty much all of our meals are from the pantry/freezer/root cellar. . .

I cook on our propane cookstove, but we have a woodstove with a flat top that can/has been used to cook on, we also have charcoal and grills for cooking outdoors on a protected (but not enclosed) porch, and we have firepits, solar ovens to use if needed.

[monkeywrangler71]

We would be cooking up whatever's in the fridge/freezer before it goes bad, instead of using up the non-perishables. We have a propane stove so our ability to cook isn't impacted by a power outage.

[sabrelvssammy]

When we backpack we (obviously) carry the lightest high calorie meals we can. Sometimes we feel like dragging out our cooking stoves or starting a fire - other nights we are just too darn pooped to bother. So therein lies what to eat on those nights that are filling and good tasting...TVP

A good thing to have in your stockpiles is TVP (textured vegetable protein flakes) it looks a little like uncooked raw oatmeal. You reconstitute it in water and it quadruples in size. The thing is you don't have to use hot water, just water. We then would add spices to it (you can be quick & easy and just use things like Lipton Soup or other quick mixes) or you can mix up individual packets of your own to add. You can then heat it or eat it as is.

Go to the jewelry depart of your local craft store and get the little zip-top baggies that are designed for jewelry. You buy them by the box in hundreds are they are fairly inexpensive. You can then make up your own little spice packets. They take up little space and can be stored/frozen easily.

Or you can just reuse a spice can or other item you already have at home and make up your spice combos in bulk to sprinkle on.

If you buy TVP in bulk from the bulk bins of health food stores you can get it for about $1.50lb (at least that's what we pay for it)...a pound goes an extremely long way....

Other uses are to use it anywhere (reconstituted already) you would use ground beef. I (being a Vegan) use it to make spaghetti, sloppy joes, tacos, burgers, chili... you name it. One lb of this stuff is like getting 20lbs of ground beef.