Big Bear Beef Stew
(Makes 3 quarts = 6 servings)

Moo!

Ingredients: 

At Home: Cube the stewing beef into dehydrator-sized pieces (no larger than 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch).  Mix the flour, salt & pepper together in a bowl and dredge beef cubes in this mixture, coating them.  Heat the shortening in a skillet and brown the beef.   Cut celery into 1/2 inch pieces, cut carrots into 1/4 inch thick 'rounds' and then combine all ingredients into a stewing pot or crock pot.  Add water to the skillet, scraping the brown bits from the bottom into the mixture.  Add this browning to the stew.  Simmer for several hours.  After stew is cooked through completely (driving you nuts because it smells so good), set aside to cool.  After it has cooled, spread onto dehydration trays (1/2 quart of stew, or one serving, per dehydration fruit leather tray).  Dehydrate thouroughly (about 24 hours on "high").  

Packing:  Label a small (18cm x 13cm) Ziploc freezer bag with the date and meal name.  Fill bag with 2 trays (2 servings) of crumbled, dehydrated stew (use a smaller bag if you are making single servings).  We also recommend packaging (separately) 2 servings of instant potato flakes (or Minute rice).

In Camp: Rehydrate meal by adding water, stirring and heating.  Bring meal to boil and set aside.  (Do not add too much water to start off.  Add a bit, see how the food absorbs it,then add a bit more.  It is impossible to recommend a set amount, as each meal is differenct.  You'll soon get a feel for how much to add.  The goal is to not make the meal "runny".   Generally, you add a bunch of water to start off, then gradually add more as the meal rehydrates.  Note: 1qt of pre-dehydrated meal makes less than a quart of reconstituted meal.  You may be tempted to add enough water to make a quart.   Don't!  The meal will be very runny if you do.)  Cook the instant potato flakes (or minute rice) in a separate pot.  Reheat the main meal again, adding water to get the consistency you desire.  Mix potatos (or rice) and stew, or eat separately.  You'll make all your camp-mates very jealous because this meals smells as good in camp as it did at home.  Yummy!  And with a full belly, it's time to kick-back and watch the sun set over the nearby peaks.  Listen to the wind whistle through the pine needles.  Ahhh.  What could be better?