Tinned Food..... Tried and Proven?

[Barrabart]

G'day all,

Besides a few cans of spag, baked beans, tuna and vegiesc, we don't normally take alot of tinned food..... So i'm wondering if anyone has any tried and proven favourites so we can cut down perhaps on fresh food being carted, things like canned stews, etc.
Also any other pre packaged "just add water" type meals....

So who's got a favourite.........

Catch ya's later

[SteveandViv]

We use the canned stews but for toasties. Don't think I would serve it with mash eg. I like canned spuds in a casserole and the peas are also OK. We use fruit in cans as well

[Barry G]

Remarkable how long fresh vegies will actually last, e.g. lettuce wrapped in kitchen paper. Many vegies don't even need to be in the beer cooler!  I only carry cans as a 'back-up' - e.g. for extra days if delayed by floods, or for jaffles / toasties.

[coffs camping]

Hi,

I find the tinned spag meat is OK when added to pasta as an emergency. I agree with the potatoes in a stew or masman curry. My kids love rice cream - always a winner after dinner (has to be cold). The pad thai noodle (packet food) are easy to reconstitute and cooled down and mixed with some salad stuff makes a good thai noodle salad. The continental pasta mixes are good but I dont think the servings are for people who have been camping and outdoors all day. I also throw a spud in the fire and then fill it with something like the pasta of spag bol mince.
If your going canned fruit buy it in juice (not syrup) - much healthier.
The other thing is looking for alternative uses for common stuff. Salsa warmed up makes a good tomato sauce for steak or with breakfast.
I hope this helps and I'll be interested to hear what others do too, especially if there are any vegetarians out there (like Ms 13).
J

[D4D]

Tinned food that's why I take the wife camping She can make a gourmet meal from not much and is always up for a food challenge. The current favourite is no-bake mars bar fudge, just uses the Waeco to set  

[Snow]

When I am out on my own swaggin it I just have 'fully loaded' cans. 2 mins in a pot and eat straight out of the pot. No imagination or skills required and easy as to clean up. 

[Teabag]

We vacumme pack our own stews, curry's and spag bol etc which are kept in the fridge and just add the whole bag and all to boiling water and hey presto, great meal and no dishes......I know not tinned but good pre=prepared meals to your flavour......Works a treat......Single bag, Just double seal the bags.....

[GU Rich]

mmm I cant go past Braised steak and onion in a tin mmm I have can of it under the seat for times when I get hungry out in the bush 

Rich

[Trackaprado]

Dehydrated Peas, great with webber roast

[D4D]

mmm I cant go past Braised steak and onion in a tin mmm I have can of it under the seat for times when I get hungry out in the bush 

That stuff will strip paint if you get it on your duco 

[SteveandViv]

We vacumme pack our own stews, curry's and spag bol etc which are kept in the fridge and just add the whole bag and all to boiling water and hey presto, great meal and no dishes......I know not tinned but good pre=prepared meals to your flavour......Works a treat......Single bag, Just double seal the bags.....

I'm with you. Potato Bake is also great vac-packed but we use that theory like you. Even take the vac camping if away for a while so we can cook up when we feel like a roast and then keep it in gravy for another day

[GGV8Cruza]

Tinned food that's why I take the wife camping She can make a gourmet meal from not much and is always up for a food challenge. The current favourite is no-bake mars bar fudge, just uses the Waeco to set  

And where's the recipe and samples??

[Old Codger]

SPAM!

Corned beef (NOT the cheap stuff)

Tinned potatoes, peas. beans,

BBs and spag.

assorted M & V.

Rice and pasta.

Bread, or the ingredients.

BEER!

[fugwurgin]

Hi
To some this might sound a little strange, but we love it.

We get the harvest brand canned meals, usually irish stew and the braised steak + onion. Serve that with deb (instant) potato. An Aldi has the best canned mince!!!

We also sometimes toss a can of soup such as mushroom or chicken through some boiled rice, kinda like a makeshift rissotto.

We also make tuna cakes with canned tuna, instant mash and canned veges, strait on the bbq.

just an idea anyway!

[Malcur]

I love Stagg Chilli, but SWMBO won't let me eat it at home, so I always pack a tin for camping. I have the Stag, she has baked beans

Mal

[9775Andrew]

Soft wrap type breads. Great alternative when no fresh bread for a few days.

Packs flat & keeps forever.

Make cold salad rolls / heat up some left over whatever and wrap it up with lettuce, cheese and sweet chili sauce ... yum yum

[Blunt]

I love Stagg Chilli, but SWMBO won't let me eat it at home, so I always pack a tin for camping. I have the Stag, she has baked beans

Mal

yes!! stagg chilli, cheese, sour cream and corn chips...the best nachos 

[Kit_e_kat9]

Tinned:  We keep some "fully loaded"'s in the pantry, I like Oops and Spaghetti, I always take canned corn - kernels, creamed and baby for chinese, beetroot, coconut milk/cream, soups - chicken, mushroom, tomato.  You can also get tinned milk, condensed milk with or without coffee.  You can buy those Meat Pies in tins as well and they are fantastic .. I prefer the mushroom one.  It's endless what comes in a can.

Packets:  soups, mac & cheese (I prefer home-made but The Kid loves these), uncooked - rice, noodles, spag, pasta, Aldi pasta mixes, Rice-A-Riso (add meat and veg), various 2 minute noodles.  Dried vegies are always a winner when fresh stuff runs out.  The peas are my favourite, I dislike Deb potato with a passion ...

I also have an extensive spice selection.  I use "money" bags from the local Newsagent 100 - $5 at most, and fill those with my favourites and basics.  I always have flour and yeast in the pantry.  You can freeze small portions of garlic or ginger in an ice tray for vac sealing, if you don't want to risk taking bottles.  A lacky band or two (or some pvc pipe at the right size) around tins and bottles stops them from rubbing together as well as marking your fridge or pantry.

I find bread, eggs, meat and veg are the only thing that we take fresh, but there are egg alternatives out there for extended trips, Mountain Bread and lavish are great bread alternatives that last well too.

Kit_e

[Marie_R]

We always carry a few cans as "emergency rations" in case we can't get to a shop and run low.  Also canned stew are a good quick meal if you have to travel late and don't want to or can't spend time cooking properly.

Because I can't eat anything with tomato in it (gives me migraine), the only tinned stew I've found to suit me is Harvest brand Irish Stew, almost everything else has some form of tomato (paste etc) in it.  Another good standby are the pasta and sauce packets - Continental and San Remo brand.

None of them taste as good as 'proper food' but they're better than going hungry.

I also use the little sachets of Maggi and Continental casserole base, curried sausage base etc to add to meat and vegies, saves carrying all the herbs, spices etc that you have at home; again, not quite as nice as the home made versions but quite okay.

Instant mash, dried beans, peas or peas & corn are a good standby too - lighter and less bulky than tins.

My favourite easy camping vegies is to make up a big batch of vegetable soup at home, freeze meal size portions and vacuum pack.  Then you can boil it up and thicken with instant mash to make a kind of "bubble & squeak" (wouldn't want it every night, but once or twice a week is okay).

[Barrabart]

Lots of good ideas here once again......... and yep it goes without saying that none of the tinned, packaged foods are as good as fresh ingredients and home style cooking. But i think by sharing these tried and proven ideas it will save us all from the reeeeeally horrible tinned options out there.

Keep the ideas coming...

[Barrabart]

I love Stagg Chilli, but SWMBO won't let me eat it at home, so I always pack a tin for camping. I have the Stag, she has baked beans

Mal

Geeez Stagg Chilli, this brings back some horrible memories........ years ago at one of the mines i worked, our shift sparkie would eat this stuff on nightshift. The first we'd know about it was when he'd pop in to the control room, say a quick hello then leave immediatley after....... just as we were looking at each other wondering what the hell that was all about .......... the stench would hit, the filthy little bastard......... and i tell ya the smell lingered a lonnnnnng time.

[Mandrake]

Just as an add on here - I noticed a packet of dried egg powder in the Stupid market the other day ..
Has anyone used it ? Does it make an omelette or is it really only for baking with ?

Our favourite tin meal at the moment is Beef Stroganoff - Can't remeber the brand off hand .

Cheers

Steve

[What_the?]

You can always add extra noodles to the packet pasta, just make sure you add a bit of extra liquid as well. I cut up left over sausages and chuck them into the curried pasta pot and make an easy sausage curry.

For another simple meal, chuck tinned prawns (or other seafood stuff) into two minute noodles to make them more filling and a bit more palatable.

[HerGU]

I always keep permanent stocks of lots of tinny tatters, tin corn & peas & carrots (do not buy the home brand peas - i found them to be yuk and mush), tin pineapple, coconut cream, tin cream. you can make anything with this. For dessert we keep selfsaucing pudding dry packet mix (in the camp oven is sooooooooo yummy!). Tortillas are great for wraps for lunch or pizza bases. Dried peas are good in stew. We tried to find a powdered potatoe for mash but we decided we didn't like any of them. You can also pick up tomatoe paste in small tins and sachets now. Packet pasta is a must when your lovely roast dinner doesn't turn out so lovely or the fresh potatoes have gone bad. 2 minute noodles is a good stew filler.

[Kit_e_kat9]

Exerpt from CheapSkates:

"Save your fresh eggs for breakfast and those times they are needed, and take advantage of a powdered egg substitute which is available in supermarkets and can be used very successfully when baking. It works particularly well in cakes, biscuits, pikelets and such, especially when the recipe calls for only one or two eggs. You only need a small amount of the substitute, which can be stored in the pantry and has quite a long use by date. This is of great benefit when you run out of fresh eggs, and for children with egg allergies as it means they no longer have to watch others enjoy the 'goodies' they have been unable to share.

Other Substitutes for 1 Egg:
2 tablespoons cornflour
2 tablespoons arrowroot flour
1 tablespoon heaped soy flour + 2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon soy milk powder + 1 tablespoon cornflour + 2 tablespoons water
1 banana when required in cakes"

Kit_e