When Angie Sheldon and her husband, Shane, hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2009, they had to find fresh ways to keep their meals from becoming drudgery. That involved lots of dehydrated food mailed to checkpoints along the route. For less intense excursions, Angie — an outdoor recreation coordinator at Five Rivers Metropark in Dayton — likes to work a little campfire cooking into morning meals, including this easy and delicious breakfast porridge. “It’s instant rice, a little bit of powdered milk, and you can add in your choice of dried fruit, or chopped walnuts or pecans, and a little bit of cinnamon and brown sugar, and it’s so good,” she says.  

Breakfast Porridge | Makes 2 servings
Recipe courtesy of Angie Sheldon

SUPPLIES
The freezer-bag version requires a heat insulation pouch, available at outdoor-gear stores and online.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup instant rice
1 cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup dried fruit of choice
1/2 cup chopped nuts(walnuts or pecans)

DIRECTIONS
Over Fire: Bring 1 3/4 cups of water to a boil in a pan, and then add rice and powdered milk. Stir in cinnamon and brown sugar. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until porridge reaches desired consistency. Remove from heat, top with dried fruit and nuts, and serve. 

In Freezer Bag: Assemble all ingredients in a 2-quart freezer bag at home. When you’re ready to eat, boil 1 3/4 cups of water over fire and add to the bag. Stir and put in a heat insulation pouch, which keeps food warm while it rehydrates, for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until porridge reaches desired consistency.