camp meals

Camp Glop

Beef, noodles, corn, and cheese cooked down into one pot until a spoon stands up in it.

calories
620
weight
6 oz
cal / oz
103
protein
30 g
serves
3, scales
prep
5 min
cook
15 min
total time
20 min
water
600 ml boiled
cost
$

Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.

  • Dinner
  • Canister stove
  • Campfire coals
  • Liquid fuel
  • Car camping
  • Basecamp
  • Backpacking
  • One pot
  • Pre-mix at home
  • Shelf stable
  • Basic

Ingredients

Freeze-dried ground beef 3 oz or two foil pouches of roast beef
Beef-flavored instant noodles 2 packages seasoning packets included
Freeze-dried corn 1 cup
Dried minced onion 2 tbsp
Hard cheddar 3 oz waxed block, no shredded bag
Olive oil 1 tbsp

Method

  1. Put the freeze-dried beef, corn, and minced onion in the pot with 600 ml of water. Bring it to a boil.
  2. Let it sit at a low boil three or four minutes so the beef and corn take on water before the noodles go in.
  3. Break in the noodle blocks and cook until soft, about four minutes. Stir so nothing welds to the bottom.
  4. Pull it off the heat. Add both seasoning packets, the oil, and the cheese cut into small cubes.
  5. Stir until the cheese melts through and the loose water is gone. If it is still soupy, wait two minutes and it will thicken on its own.

The original was a skillet dish: fresh onion, a pound of ground beef, a drained can of corn. All three are water and weight, so all three got swapped. Freeze-dried beef and corn rehydrate in the same pot the noodles cook in, and dried onion gives you the savory backbone without carrying a vegetable that bruises.

Cook the beef and corn first, before the noodles. If they go in together the noodles are done while the beef is still leather. The cheese and oil go in off the heat, where they thicken the leftover starch water into sauce instead of splitting into grease.

Packing

Beef, corn, onion, and the seasoning packets go in one bag. Noodle blocks in another so they do not crush into dust. Cheese and oil ride separate.

Variations

  • A pouch of shelf-stable ground beef works if you are car camping and do not care about weight.
  • A spoonful of tomato powder and a pinch of chili flake pushes it toward chili mac.
  • Swap the corn for freeze-dried peas or mixed vegetables.

https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/camping-glop