First Experience With Freezer Bag Cooking This Weekend

[AO2134]

I had my first experience with freezer bag cooking this weekend. I almost always used Mountain House Meals but it started to get a bit expensive. I had Idahoan mashed potatoes this Saturday for lunch and I loved it. Great pick-me-up. What can I add to Idahoan mashed potatoes to make it better?

Next weekend I will try to FBC a pasta side.

[perrymk]

http://beprepared.com has a nice variety of dehydrated foods including cheese, meat, fruits, and vegetables.

[RangerZ]

I had my first experience with freezer bag cooking this weekend. I almost always used Mountain House Meals but it started to get a bit expensive. I had Idahoan mashed potatoes this Saturday for lunch and I loved it. Great pick-me-up. What can I add to Idahoan mashed potatoes to make it better?

Next weekend I will try to FBC a pasta side.

I cut up SPAM and mix it in but almost anything will do, the shelf stable bacon is good also. I also add dried onions or cheese to flavor the potatoes. I've been doing pasta or rice sides plus tuna or chicken.

A cozy really does help to cook the pasta. 10 minutes, squish it around and 10 more minutes. It seems to me that the flat noodles tend to clump more than shapes. It happened some Saturday with the Knorr's beef stroganoff. (Sunday I cheated and bought a hamburger at a convienent ball field snack bar, called it trail magic.)

[flemdawg1]

If the instructions call for butter and milk, use EVOO and dry milk (Nido preferably). I also add a a Spam pack (single serving) and Lite Salt (lots of potassium, I get leg cramps easily).

[Don H]

Freezerbag cooking:

For protein I use foil pack of chicken, tuna, Spam, salmon, and beef jerky.
For sides I pack Tortollini, Stove Top stuffing, Knorrs rice or pasta, mac and (powdered) cheese, and Idahoan potatoes.

Mix and match, I usually eat the heaviest stuff first

[MockingJay]

Freezer bag cooking = only way to go for me! May not necessarily be lighter than the dehydrated backpacker meals (Mountain House, etc) but freezer bag cooking is so much cheaper. The best part is your can season or add anythnig you like before you leave for your trip. I usually buy a Knorrs side or Rice a roni and split it into two meals. I'll add some seasoning and dehydrated beans or peas and then bring along a foil pack or small can of chicken for protein. One dinner meal usually works out to less than $2. I made my own cozy from a cut up sun shade and duct tape I got at the dollar store. Add boiled water, pop it in the cozy, let it sit for 20 minutes and it's done. And no mess in my cook pot. Have never tried potatoes but I'd expect it to be pretty close to the same prep.

[RangerZ]

Freezer bag cooking = only way to go for me! May not necessarily be lighter than the dehydrated backpacker meals (Mountain House, etc) but freezer bag cooking is so much cheaper. The best part is your can season or add anythnig you like before you leave for your trip. I usually buy a Knorrs side or Rice a roni and split it into two meals. I'll add some seasoning and dehydrated beans or peas and then bring along a foil pack or small can of chicken for protein. One dinner meal usually works out to less than $2. I made my own cozy from a cut up sun shade and duct tape I got at the dollar store. Add boiled water, pop it in the cozy, let it sit for 20 minutes and it's done. And no mess in my cook pot. Have never tried potatoes but I'd expect it to be pretty close to the same prep.

I've been doing 3 meals out of 2 packages

[AO2134]

Have never tried potatoes but I'd expect it to be pretty close to the same prep.

It was very easy and much quicker than pasta sides I imagine. Add boiled water to bag. Stired. Waited 2 minutes. Ready to eat. I had garlic mashed potatoes. It was great. I need to get more protein/meat in my hiking diet though.

[rocketsocks]

Ramps when you can find em...and cheese, lots and lots a cheese.

[Rocket Jones]

Add spam, summer sausage, pre-packaged crumbled hamburger (look near the taco fixin's in the store), pepperoni, bacon bits... And yep, cheese is good.

[OnlyJohn]

Put garlic powder or garlic salt in the mashed potatoes. It is delicious.

OnlyJohn
Cumming, GA

I had my first experience with freezer bag cooking this weekend. I almost always used Mountain House Meals but it started to get a bit expensive. I had Idahoan mashed potatoes this Saturday for lunch and I loved it. Great pick-me-up. What can I add to Idahoan mashed potatoes to make it better?

Next weekend I will try to FBC a pasta side.

[booney_1]

salami, summer sausage, foil packs of chicken, cheese

[JumpMaster Blaster]

Summer sausage is great. I dehydrate chicken and green beans prior to the trip, and divide an Idihoan Potatoes bag in half. I mix & season it all up, and then split it up- half goes in the original bag (which I cook right in) the other goes in a smaller vacuum sealed bag then cooked in the freezer bag.

My bag coozy is an old padded foil mailer i picked up from the UPS store, cut and taped to size.

[greentick]

.... What can I add to Idahoan mashed potatoes to make it better?

....

Bag 1 with the potatos
Bag 2 with freeze dried ground beef, reconstitute and drain off extra water
McCormick Brown Gravy mix. Add a little water at a time and stir stir stir. Add to bag 2.

Optionally, put some corn, peas, carrots etc in bag 2 and you got an almost shepard's pie.

[July]

Got on a kick for instant noodles with a bullion cube in bag. Before adding hot water, chop some onion ginger and garlic and add in, cozy for bout 15 min and dang good at the end of the day. Also before leaving town, find someone to share with and boil up a dozen hardboiled eggs and carry out with you. Tasty trailside snack