zatarans
red beans and rice/black beans and rice etc. work very well over the campfire or stove. they taste great and if I’m not mistaken, combining beans and rice creates a complete protein (can anyone verify this) I don’t remember which issue, but Backpacker magazine had an article about the packability of various cheezes and how long they would last unrefridgerated. Many of the medium hard types like cheddar will last quite a few days. You can probably get more info on their website. bon-apitite
time consuming…but
Buying a dehydrator was the best decision I ever made with respect to wilderness dining.
I spent $39.99 on it and I will never buy a pre-dehydrated meal again for a wilderness trip.
You can dry just about anything, keep ingredients seperated and then cook in the bush like you would back at home…within reason.
My favorite recipes have come from The Hungry Hikerse Book of Good Cooking
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0394707745/
There are tons of books out there though. The greatest thing about kayak-camping is that you have more room than a backpacker…but all the same gear works. So when I’m paddling I plan meals like a backpacker and bring extra treats that I would leave home if I was hiking.
good suggestions
For the first night or two, you don’t need to eat “camp food.” Just freeze what you’ve prepared and wrap it in a few layers of newspaper, stowed out of the sun.
I love camp cooking. There are lots of kid-friendly recipes, so you can share the fun. You can break a few eggs into a jar. They can be poured back out, one at a time. You might try pouring a couple into a ziplock baggie, seasoning it to taste, and letting the kids massage it a bit. Drop it into a pot of boiling water and wait a few minutes for scrambled eggs. The water is already hot for cleanup and the pot needs no washing.
Bagels or tortillas beat bread for durability. And yes, peanut butter and jelly are a basic food group in the bush.
Dorcas Millers book is great
More Backcountry Cooking. Recipes based on dehydrating everyday foods that you can buy in your supermarket.
Also reading the boxes in the rice and noodle section of your grocery store for menu ideas and going to the tuna fish aisle for foil wrapped chicken breast(its good) will give you lots of options.
Dehydrated ground beef, ground turkey and ground pork is very easy to make.
Camp food
I always scavenge the cubbard first. Wandering the supermarket is great when you want to come up with new things to try…tons of stuff to take without resorting to freeze dried or MRE’s.
First night out I always cook up a smoked kielbasa ring and sauerkraut chased with a good rye bread. I like taking a big bag of snicker bars, the small ones. Raisins, oranges, Beef Jerky, Hard salami (not sliced)all last a long time.
Lot’s of great ideas in this thread.
Andy
Biscuits
I got me a luminum dutch oven now that I ain’t packin’ mules, an’ there ain’t nuthin’ better than a dutch oven cooked biscuit. I’m also fond of mexican rice and chicken dishes cooked in there. Without mules, I’m leavin’ the cooler at home and tryin’ some of those soft-can meats. We outta spend more time talkin’ food. Some of you guys are clearly losin’ weight in the boonies. I used to suffer from that affliction, but me an’ the ol’ lady learnt good outdoor cookin’ skills and I look forward to my camp meals.
STEAK ON A STICK
Our first night special is Steak on a Stick. Freeze the day before they will be ready to cook by the time you make camp and a good cooking fire. Can’t wait until tomorrow night steak on the Enoree River 
Greg
a new product
I found in the supermarket was Zatarains precooked white rice. It cooks nice and fluffy in 5 minutes instead of 25. Great fuel and time saver.
Another favorite is instant couscous. Far East makes some great flavors, and it takes 5 minutes after the water boils.
Also, health food stores have instant hummus, dried black and pink beans.
A new line of asian products made from rice noodles “cooks up” in 4 minutes and is very tasty, but may be spicy for children.
Lyn
french toast
A little trick I learned in BWCA. Buy a loaf of the freshest bread you can find and squish it as thin as you can. Sit on it or whatever. When the a.m. comes around, gently, with much patience, peel off a slice one layer at a time to make traditional french toast. It crisps pretty quickly over a hot fire because of the thickness, but I’ve seen non-cook teenagers master the technique. For syrup, a 50/50 mixture of brown sugar and water tastes like it’s right out of the bottle, but obviously a bit thin. Try it.
Packing
– Last Updated: Jun-25-04 7:24 PM EST –
If you do bring a perishible food, try to always pack it below the waterline. That will usually equate to a 10-20 temp differential with stuff on top insulating from the sun on the deck. Is it going to be "ice cold?" Nope, but in July, less than eighty degrees is a GOOD thing.
ptb
Chicken and Pepperoni Rice Dish
Instant Brown Rice (5 cups – each ½ cup of uncooked rice is one serving)[Could use one of several flavored instant rice products on the market if it appeals to you – I like the spicy beans and rice combinations sometimes]
Olive Oil (3 T)
Garlic (3 cloves)
1 small onion (or 1/4 cup dried onion)
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 T tomato paste (can get in a tube)
Foil pack chicken (1 package)
Pepperoni (1 package)
Dried Basil (1 tsp)
Chicken Bouillon (2 cubes)
Dried thyme (1 tsp)
Cayenne pepper (½ tsp)
Water (5 cups)
Tabasco (optional)
Cheese (optional)
Heat oil in pot and add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion and garlic begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken, pepperoni, spices, water, and bring to a boil. Stir in instant rice and return to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes or until water is absorbed. Fluff with fork and serve. If desired, season with Tabasco and top with cheese. Hearty meal for 5-6 people.
For my meals, I like to package the ingredients for a particular meal together in a big zip-lock bag and I stick in a note with the recipe on it unless it is something obvious. That way, it is easy to hand off the package to the kids or someone else and let them do the coooking from time-to-time!
Bagels and Tortillas
Breads can be a issue on extended day trips… both bagels and tortillas won’t crush, and tend to last for quite a while. Bagels can be toasted over an open fire on sticks and eaten with cheese as snacks (Wisc Cheddar works well :)… Tortillas can be made into Quesadilas(sp) quite easily over a camp stove. Fill em up with whatever you like. Tortillas can also be sub’d for hot dog buns and work with Peanut butter and Jelly too 
One thing you might consider is trying the “new stuff” at home with the kids first… have them “help” You can make sure it all works first and it makes it easier than listening to the “I don’t like that” three days into your trip
Have fun and enjoy the kids!!!
Halfapaddle… Good suggestions, but…
I don’t agree with the whole “hear the kids say, I don’t like that”.
I was born and raised in a generation where if I didn’t like what was made for me, I simply didn’t eat. If I was hungry enough, I would eat it.
Kids today, are too gddamn spoiled. If they don’t like the carrots, peas & corn the parent gives them Kit-Kats, Reeses & ice cream!!! And then wonder why the kid is fat, lazy & won’t listen!!!
Paddle easy,
Coffee
Grub
Can goods are an option. The water vegies are packed in can be used to make rice or instant spuds. Pineapple in a can makes a good snack. The cans crush and won’t add much weight just a couple of pounds at most and they’re easy to load.
Trio instant spuds are restaurant quality and a staple in my travel food stash.
Pepperoni will last for 5 days without much problem. You can slowly heat them to a crisp and use the oil to fry tortillas in.
Eggs will stay fresh for 5 days. Pack them in a soft cooler for protection. At night leave the cooler open so it can cool.
Limes and lemons are good. Sprinkle a little suger on a lime and then bite in.
Nuts of any kind are always good. Stop at Costco and get a bag of their trail mix. It should last.
I suggest you have a quick snack to eat as soon as you quit for the day. That will mentally prepare you for unloading the boat and setting up camp before settling down for dinner.
eggs
I’ve always cracked my eggs ahead of time and carried them in a small Mason jar. They keep just as well and never break in your cooler or food pack. You can pour them out all at once or a yolk at a time…the whites just tag along.
Couldn’t Agree More!!! LOL…
Coffee…you’re absolutely correct!!! So let me clarify my point
If you’ve never tried cooking something “strange” before… say using a Bakepacker or cooking noodles in a baggie… try it at home first. Screwing up at home vs in the field is much easier to laugh off My point about the kids was more to the idea of get them involved in the process… it’ll keep up thier interests and maybe even get them excited about the “helping”
It’s a lot more fun (for me) to have them excited about being part of things as opposed to forcing brocolli and brussle sprouts down thier throats and telling them they should stop whining and like it
“Dad and the boys” started backpacking when they were 3 years old. My Youngest son is now 21 and his brother is 24 …I never did deal well with whining and didn’t believe in spoiling them… but they still backpack and laugh about some of the concoctions that “they” came up with on various trips One of their favs was when the little store at the trail head had no hot dog buns or hot dogs (it was a last minute start for a quick over nighter)… that’s when we learned about wrapping German sausage in tortillas and making what they still referred to as “Mexican hot dogs”
Canoeing, backpacking, and camping, as we all know are “lifetime” activities. I never tolerated whining, fighting, yelling or screaming from my kids… and preffered to spend my time with them, guiding them through the many wonders that are out their for us all to enjoy. They’ve chosen to continue those things in thier adult life… I have confidence that camping as children was a positive experience for them
btw…one last non-coocking thought for when your camping wityh young kids. Take a couple small ziplocks filled with plaster-of-paris (double bag them just in case :)… along stream beds there are always animal tracks. Add a little water to the baggie… mix and pour right into the track… they set up in about 15 min. (or go back and check after dinner :)… even when backpacking…the finished product is lightweight and takes up no more space than a one of the “pretty rocks” they wanted to keep they make great show and tell stuff when school starts up again
Have fun and enjoy them while they’re young!
this isnt a good idea
its way too easy to get salmonella when you transport eggs without the shells.
Dessert
– Last Updated: Jul-07-04 8:39 PM EST –
One of our favorite desserts is cinnamon tortillas.
Mix sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon together and put in a nalgene bottle. Spread butter on one side of tortilla, lay in a heated pan for a few seconds, flip over, and sprinkle with the sugar mix, heat for another 10-15 seconds and roll up. Walla, a great desert, the kids will love them!
When you pre-package all your food in zip-lock bags you will find that it can be hard to get all the air out of the bags so they can be compressed without bursting. Trick... take a drinking straw stick it in the bag, zip it shut as far as it will with the straw in, then suck the air out. It will look like a shrink wrapped bag.
Enjoy the day, Mike
butter
What do you use for butter? Normal butter needs refrigeration, does it not?
Mataharihiker suggests making “ghee”. Another poster - sorry, now I can’t remember who - suggested crisco and butter buds.
I’m curious what else people use…
And, BTW, thanks for the tons of great suggestions! We’ll be eating well on this trip!
Margarine
I use the squeeze bottle margarine. It has lasted over a week for me without refrigeration. It gets a little more “liquidy” than usual but is still good.