pasta meals

[jbrecon2]

So i am starting a thru hike this april. I love pasta, and was wondering about some recipes? I hiked the Virginia section of the trail but mostly just ate ramen/instant noodles. Also, how does one freezer bag cook? would this mean sorting out my meals for 5-6 days into indiviual freezer bags each one to be used and discarded after each use? I kind of like this whole idea but am wondering about a few things.....any problems with mess/leaking bags? is it weird eating out of a ziplock?

[RollingStone]

Pasta meals on the trail are easy if you are willing to cook or, willing to pre-cook and then use a dehydrator.

Doing it freezer bag style will require a dehydrator.

While you can do spaghetti, it's better to use elbows. They don't poke your bags and rehydrate rather quickly.

For sauces you have all kinds of options, You can buy a dry packaged Alfredo sauce mix and a pack of Tyson chicken for Chicken Alfredo. You can do any number of tomato sauces you can think of. There are some dry mixes available or you can buy/make your favorite sauce and dehydrate it.

With some dried veggies, mayo packets and tuna you could easily make a cold pasta salad - The dried pasta will rehydrate just fine in cold water.

The possibilities are endless and only prohibited based on the type you like and or lack of equipment (dehydrator).

Oh, store bought Barilla brand Tortellini will cook up or rehydrate just fine on the trail without any additional prep.

[cheeks]

Why all the work? Just go with Lipton Pasta sides. Pack out some powder milk and you are all set.

[Nean]

Why all the work? Just go with Lipton Pasta sides. Pack out some powder milk and you are all set.

Olive oil is a must in my pack!

[World-Wide]

So i am starting a thru hike this april. I love pasta, and was wondering about some recipes? I hiked the Virginia section of the trail but mostly just ate ramen/instant noodles. Also, how does one freezer bag cook? would this mean sorting out my meals for 5-6 days into indiviual freezer bags each one to be used and discarded after each use? I kind of like this whole idea but am wondering about a few things.....any problems with mess/leaking bags? is it weird eating out of a ziplock?

Try these, they rock.....and come in several varieties!! Only takes a couple minutes of cooking when added to boiling water. You can find them in your dry food/pasta section of the grocery store! W-W

[Chance09]

Try these, they rock.....and come in several varieties!! Only takes a couple minutes of cooking when added to boiling water. You can find them in your dry food/pasta section of the grocery store! W-W

I was just going to say the same thing. These were my favorite meal on the trail. 8 or 900 calories, absolutely delicious. I tried a few other brands and found that they were too salty. Add a little olive oil in and you have a 1000 to 1100 calorie meal. Average price on the trail was around $4 on the trail but well worth it. Sometimes i'd get the larger bag, it's cheaper and use it for two meals. I also carried some parm cheese in a little 3oz container you'll find in most grocery stores.

[Spirit Walker]

Take one Lipton or Noodle-Roni dinner, add one package of tuna, salmon or some Spam. Boil for a minute. Let sit for 10 minutes. Eat.

[ShelterLeopard]

So i am starting a thru hike this april. I love pasta, and was wondering about some recipes? I hiked the Virginia section of the trail but mostly just ate ramen/instant noodles. Also, how does one freezer bag cook? would this mean sorting out my meals for 5-6 days into indiviual freezer bags each one to be used and discarded after each use? I kind of like this whole idea but am wondering about a few things.....any problems with mess/leaking bags? is it weird eating out of a ziplock?

I am not a fan of freezer bag cooking. When I do, I use Backpacker's Pantry or Natural High or AlpineAire instead of making my own. I only use those once in a while, on a bad day when I really don't want to cook- I'll admit, it's nice to just throw in some hot water and let it sit. But I find that I enjoy fully cooked (I mean cooked right when I'm about to eat it) meals more. I don't like packing out a wad of bags, and I don't think there's really any point to cooking something at home, drying it out, then re-hydrating it. Way too much effort as far as I'm concerned. (I know many people may not agree, but that's my way) My favorite is the Korr Pasta Sides, or the rice side, sometimes with fried fish (from the packet, for protein and a different flavour- I'll be carrying some barbeque sauce with the fish- planned it out so I'm only doing two weeks of fish.)

[ShelterLeopard]

Try these, they rock.....and come in several varieties!! Only takes a couple minutes of cooking when added to boiling water. You can find them in your dry food/pasta section of the grocery store! W-W

I've been looking for this exact thing! Thank you, world wide. (Found some tortellini, but this looks better)

[sarbar]

You can soak the tortellini in hot water (even 180 to 190* works fine) in a cozy for 15 to 20 minutes. No boiling or cooking needed. Then toss with olive oil, Parmesan cheese and herbs/spices. Tasty!

On the concept of FBC meals: the point is making YOUR OWN meals and not buying commercial meals. You will save money (considering so many commercial meals are $7 to 13 each now), you will have a higher calorie content (many fd meals are very low in calories) and you can control what you put in the meal.

While the many recipes over the years that I have developed were FBC specific nothing prevents a user from cooking them in a pot That is why we include in many cases 3 sets of directions: one for FBC, one for an insulated mug and as well for one pot style.

Not every pasta dish must be from dehydrated pasta - but if you are willing to precook and dry pasta you will have many more choices. You don't need a dehydrator, you can use your oven. I undercook the pasta by a couple minutes - it finishes cooking later. Angel hair doesn't need precooking, neither does the tortellini in bags. Neither does baked ramen or regular ramen or Chuka Soba noodles (which are baked ramen) and many Asian noodles.

One thing to keep in mind, sharp ends on pasta can wreak havoc on bags so avoid long strands of dried spaghetti.

[Blissful]

Pasta is THE trail food. Easy to find everywhere. Not very nutritious though unless you add good stuff to it.

[Connie]

I like this Freezer Bag Cooking YouTube video because he shows the process.

His container is from the grocery store.

AntiGravity Gear and Trail Designs have suitable containers, as a part of the stove system. MiniBull Designs also has containers, as a part of his stove systems.

I like the solid sides of the container. I put the quart bag inside. I put the cozy around it.

The cozy is handy, if in cold weather.

There are UL people who even make their thin closed-cell-foam sit-pad into a cozy.

It isn't so much "odd" as not done just-like-at-home.

The more we tried to do things just-like-at-home the more stuff we had to carry in our backpacks.

There are occasions on-the-trail I need to have a hot meal right now.

I like freezer bag cooking for getting to have a complete-meal with minimum time and effort.

I carry my "freezer bag" meals for those occasions or if I am in a hurry to get to a destination.

. . .

[sarbar]

Pasta is THE trail food. Easy to find everywhere. Not very nutritious though unless you add good stuff to it.

It isn't too bad really - a good source of protein. 2 ounces of pasta can be 7 grams protein. And most people scarf down 4 to 8 ounces!

Sub in whole wheat or whole grain and it gets even better....and adds fiber galore.