View Full Version : Meal in a bag ideas.
What kind of heat and eat in the baggie meals is everyone eating?
Buy frozen corn, peas, cook hamburger, dry all, bag, add any flavor cup-a-soup.
Rehydrate, heat, eat.
RagingHampster
12-20-2003, 18:04
I think this is an excellent thread idea.
Here is my contribution...
1. Idahoan instant potatoes, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili flakes, black pepper, and a dash of turkey gravy mix. Mix all in a heavy-duty ziplock.
2. An earthy-crunchy brand (I forget which) makes cup-o-noodle type soups that are much more rich and satisfying. They make a curried couscous and lentil soup that is killer. I just empty the paper cup into a ziplock, and add the always required chili flakes.
I'm currently working out an exact recipe for thai noodles using Ramen, peanut butter, and chili flakes. It's going to revolutionize trail food :D :banana
What kind of heat and eat in the baggie meals is everyone eating?
1.) I have done just about all of the Liptons dinners/side dishes at one time or another - for those that want some milk I just add powdered milk to the baggie along with the contents of the Liptons pouch. When its time to cook I put the baggie in my standup cozy, pour in some olive oil, pour in boiling water (typically slightly less than the package suggests), zip up the baggie, put the top on the cozy and shake up, wait 10-20 minutes depending on package, open and eat - if desired add instant potatoes to thicken up the meal.
2.) in a somewhat larger baggie a box of dressing, add oil and a pouch of meat - pour in the boiling water, close and let set for 5 minutes, if you have a fork fluff with it otherwise use your spoon.
3.)mac and cheese and potatoes - put macaroni in baggie, add olive oil, mix to coat the mac, add boiling water (I use 1.5 cups water for 4 oz dry of mac), wait about 20 minutes while mac cooks in the cozy, open bag, add cheese and enough instant potatoes to soak up the remaining water, mix, let stand a couple minutes (optional), and eat
4.) couscous - nothing special just add oil and boiling water - if its too much water just add a little instant potatoes
5.) grits and oatmeal - again nothing special just be sure to mix well after adding the water, olive oil is often added also
6.) ramen and potatoes - can get some interesting flavours by mix and match of Idahoan Instant Potatoes (at least 4 different flavors) and ramen (8 flavors or more) - done much the same way as mac and potatoes only the ramen cooks faster - 5 minutes after adding oil and boiling water.
tlbj6142
12-21-2003, 23:46
When its time to cook I put the baggie in my standup cozy, pour in some olive oil, pour in boiling water (typically slightly less than the package suggests), zip up the baggie, put the top on the cozy and shake upHow exactly do you get the baggie/cozy to stay still, open and upright, while you pour in the water? I had a bitch of a time doing this on my last trip.
Any pointers? Do you use "stand up" bags? If so, what brand? I can't find them anywhere.
How exactly do you get the baggie/cozy to stay still, open and upright, while you pour in the water? I had a bitch of a time doing this on my last trip.
Any pointers? Do you use "stand up" bags? If so, what brand? I can't find them anywhere.
Well roughly here is how I made the cozy (all measurements approximate) :
1.) I picked the bag I was going to use, in my case a reclosable sandwich bag, aka the cheapest store brand ziplock bag. This bag will just hold 2 cups of water plus a Lipton meal - thus the reason I usually use less than 2 cups of water - its tough to close the bag when its full. These bags are about 5 by 6 inches, flat and rather thin plastic.
2.) Based on how the bag looked when full of water I took a piece of an old military closed cell sleeping pad and cut a 12 inch by 7 inch rectangle - although I have not used one of the blue pads for this it is my opinion that they should work as well
3.) centered in each long side I put two cuts 3.5 inches apart (ie center line to cut was 1.75 inches) these cuts were 1.25 inches long
4.) I then folded up the foam at the cuts so that I had an approximate 3 by 7 inch base and two sides approximate 4 by 7 inch
5.) I bent the edges of the sides toward each other wrapped duck tape around them to hold them together - this results in a sort of lens shaped opening on top
6.) I pushed down the sides onto the bottom and then trimed the bottom to match the shape of the duct taped sides
7.) I put 3 strips of duct tape lengthwise across the bottom and then put a loop of duct tape around the cozy to hold the bottom duck tape ends
8.) if the top comes out a little uneven I just use a pair of scissors to cut both sides and the duct tape to make it even
9.) for the top I just use a separate piece of foam slightly larger than the opening - in use I use a rock or some other heavy object to hold the top on while the food is cooking
One key item in the design is the size of the bottom - big enough to be stable but not so big as to keep the sides of the filled bag from being supported by the sides of the cozy. Another key item is the size of the opening on top - it should be slighlty smaller than the chosen bag so that when the bag is in the cozy the ends of the ziplock opening are slightly pushed together thus keeping the bag open while pouring the water in.
tlbj6142
12-22-2003, 14:18
One key item in the design is the size of the bottom - big enough to be stable but not so big as to keep the sides of the filled bag from being supported by the sides of the cozy. Another key item is the size of the opening on top - it should be slighlty smaller than the chosen bag so that when the bag is in the cozy the ends of the ziplock opening are slightly pushed together thus keeping the bag open while pouring the water in.Got a picture? It reads like you built a rectangular "box" that just about holds a full sandwich bag, correct? I'm still not clear how you hold the bag open while you fill it? Maybe I need to build another cozy with a more square bottom.
I'm a bit confused by your statement about the size of the bottom (rectangular) of the cozy.
One key item in the design is the size of the bottom - big enough to be stable but not so big as to keep the sides of the filled bag from being supported by the sides of the cozyYou do, or do NOT, want the filled bag to touch the sides of the cozy?
I built a "large envelope" type cozy with a flip top lid. The pocket is a bit too deep to actually hold the bag while I'm filling it. So, I had to come up with some strange means (which didn't really work) to hold the bag open with one hand, while I poured the water in with another hand from a pot that has a bail handle. Ended up buring my hands and having water/food spill out both times I tried.
But a squared-bottomed cozy that actually "stands" on its own might work. I could then use a couple of my ever present binder clips to hold the bag open while I pour.
I'm a bit confused by your statement about the size of the bottom (rectangular) of the cozy.You do, or do NOT, want the filled bag to touch the sides of the cozy?
But a squared-bottomed cozy that actually "stands" on its own might work. I could then use a couple of my ever present binder clips to hold the bag open while I pour.
Yes you want the filled bag to contact the sides of the cozy - its the sides of the cozy that are supporting the bag. You don't need anything to hold the bag other than the cozy - the size of the top opening is set so as to be slightly shorter than the closed bag's ziplock - thus when the bag is opened the cozy pushes the ends of the ziplock toward each other causing the bag to naturally hold itself open. Note that when I am pouring the water my hands are completely away from the cozy and the bag. Also note the bag in the open position extends about 1 inch above the top of the cozy.
tlbj6142
12-22-2003, 21:22
Thanks for the details. I'll have to give this a try on my next trip.
Just a follow up to note that there are now pictures available of the cozy as well as the rest of my cook set : Link to cozy and cook set pictures (http://www.datasync.com/~wksmith/hoikit.html)
:D