If you are ready to trade in the piles of dirty dishes and family chaos for a panoramic holiday in the backcountry then make sure to read on for some helpful hints for recreating Thanksgiving dinner while on the trail thanks to TrailCooking.com.

Cranberry Pan Biscuits

Ingredients

• 1 c baking mix
• 2 T dry milk
• 1 T sugar
• 1⁄4 c dried cranberries
• 2 T vegetable oil (2 packets)
• 2 T honey
• 1⁄2 c water

At Home: Put all the dry ingredients in a sandwich bag and seal tightly. Pack the oil and honey with it.

In camp: Add in the water (cool temperature) in the bag, push out the air, seal tightly and knead the bag for 30 seconds or until the water is mixed in. Heat a non-stick frypan or non-stick wide/shallow pot over a medium flame. Drizzle in half of the oil and heat up. Dump the batter in and spread out carefully. (You can use the bag to do this.) Lower the flame a bit and cook for 5 minutes. Drizzle the other half of oil over the top and carefully flip over. Cook for another 5 minutes. When golden brown and smelling awesome, take off the stove. Drizzle the honey over and let soak in.

Cranberry Chicken Rice

Ingredients

• 1 c instant rice
• 3 T dried cranberries
• 2 T dried vegetable blend or freezedried vegetables
• 1 t dried parsley
• 1 t diced dried onion
• 1⁄2 t dried garlic
• 1 cn 3 to 5 ounces chicken
• 1 1⁄4 c water

At Home: Pack the dry ingredients into a quart freezer or sandwich bag. Place the can of chicken with it.

At Camp: Add the chicken with broth and 1 1/4 cups near boiling water. Stir well, seal tightly and put into a cozy for 15 minutes. Fluff up and salt to taste if desired.

Notes: To make powdered cranberries, put the dried berries in the freezer. When hard, run through your blender till powdered, then measure. Freezing removes the stickiness.

Hybrid Thanksgiving Dinner on the Trail

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 c instant mashed potatoes
• 1⁄2 c dry milk
• 2 T butter powder
• 1 pn salt
• 2 T dried cranberries
• 1 T diced dried shallots or onion
• 1 T crumbled dried mushrooms
• 1 pkt mushroom sauce or gravy mix
• 1 t burgundy wine powder
• 1⁄2 t worcestershire sauce powder
• 1⁄4 t dried garlic
• 1 pk 7-ounce chicken
• 1⁄4 c shelf stable parmesan cheese
• 1 T olive oil (1 packet)
• 5 1⁄2 c water
• 6 oz lower sodium chicken stuffing mix
• 1⁄4 c freeze dried vegetable blend

At home: In a quart freezer bag pack the stuffing mix. In a second freezer bag pack the potatoes, milk, butter powder and salt. In a small bag pack the dried vegetables and fruit. In another small bag put the gravy, wine and Worcestershire sauce powder and garlic. Pack the cheese in a small bag and tuck the chicken and oil with the bags.

At Camp: Add 1/2 cup cold water to the vegetables. Seal bag and let sit for 5-10 minutes to rehydrate.
Bring 4 cups water to a boil in your pot. Add 1 3/4 cups to the stuffing mix, 2 1/4 cups to the mashed potato bag. Stir well on both, seal the bags tightly and put into a cozy till your gravy is ready.
Add 1 cup water, the oil, chicken with any juices, vegetables, 1 packet cheese and gravy mix to your pot. Bring to a boil stirring a couple times. Lower the heat to low, cover and cook for a minute or till the gravy thickens up.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check out these other articles by the National Backpacking Examiner or stay current by following her on Twitter.

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