D.I.Y. Meals For The Trail
My eighth meal trial comes from one of Monica's 6 great recipes.
Monica's Recipe #3
Key Stats
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (per 3/4 cup serving). 291 calories, 17.5g fat, 456g sodium, 227mg potassium, 21.8g carbs, 1.3g fiber, 2g sugars, 14.7g protein. Notable nutrients: vitamins A & C, calcium, iron.
Total weigh of dry ingredients in bag: 6.1 oz.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pasta broken in 2”pieces (use pasta that normally cooks on stovetop in 4 min. or less—thin egg noodles, angel hair pasta, or quick-cooking artisan pastas)*
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds or ground flaxseed (optional)
- ¼ cup freeze dried chopped chicken
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- ¼ cup freeze dried chopped mushrooms
- 1-1/2 teaspoons powdered chicken flavor base (or boullion granules)
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (the dried, unrefrigerated kind in a can)
- 2 tablespoons instant dried buttermilk powder (or regular powdered milk)
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 teaspoons freeze dried Italian herb blend (or 3/4 teaspoon dried Italian herb blend)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
- 1-1/4 cups water
**NOTE: If you're taking these instant meals on a hike, angel hair pasta isn't the best choice. It is so fine and "spiky" that the sharp pasta pieces may poke through the bag and make holes. Look for flat, fast-cooking artisan pastas instead.
At-home preparation
TO ASSEMBLE: Add all ingredients except the water to a quart freezer Ziploc bag. Seal bag and store until ready to use.
Cooking instructions
TO COOK IN BAG: Bring water to a boil. With opened bag resting on plate or bowl, pour in boiling water. Seal bag and let soak for 9 minutes, turning bag upside down after 3-4 minutes to redistribute & mix ingredients. Open bag and eat directly from bag, if desired. Or, transfer to a bowl or mug for eating.
TO COOK IN MUG OR BOWL: Transfer dry ingredients to a microwave-safe mug or bowl; add water and microwave until water boils. Cover and let rest until ingredients have softened (4-5 minutes). Or, boil the water separately and pour it into the mug or bowl with the instant dry ingredients; stir, cover, and let rest for 9 or 10 minutes.
Gathered Ingredients
Combined Ingredients
Ready for the Cozy
Cooking
Dinner's Ready
My Rating
- 2 out of 5
What I liked:
- Flavour was OK.
- Filling.
What I disliked:
- While the flavour was OK, it's not the Alfredo I'm familiar with.
- Pasta never fully rehydrated, over 20 minutes and it was still too el dante.
- Mushrooms were still quite chewy.
- Pine nuts really didn't add much and two of my sons are allergic.
- The sauce was too thin, it needed to be thicker.
What my fellow tasters thought:
- Definitely not a hit, however the biggest complaint was the noodle, perhaps with a different type of noodle (Ramen?) things would be different.
My thoughts and recommendations:
- With this meal I would change up the noodle, something that I know will hydrate faster.
- I didn't toast the pine nuts, perhaps then they would add something, otherwise they're out so my son's can eat it.
- Definitely wouldn't rehydrating this in a ziplock bag, a pot will work better for this soupy mixture.
- I think I will try to figure out how to thicken the sauce, and figure out how to adjust the flavour, more to my liking.
Key Stats
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (per 3/4 cup serving). 291 calories, 17.5g fat, 456g sodium, 227mg potassium, 21.8g carbs, 1.3g fiber, 2g sugars, 14.7g protein. Notable nutrients: vitamins A & C, calcium, iron.
Total weigh of dry ingredients in bag: 6.1 oz.
Total weigh of dry ingredients in bag: 6.1 oz.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pasta broken in 2”pieces (use pasta that normally cooks on stovetop in 4 min. or less—thin egg noodles, angel hair pasta, or quick-cooking artisan pastas)*
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds or ground flaxseed (optional)
- ¼ cup freeze dried chopped chicken
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- ¼ cup freeze dried chopped mushrooms
- 1-1/2 teaspoons powdered chicken flavor base (or boullion granules)
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (the dried, unrefrigerated kind in a can)
- 2 tablespoons instant dried buttermilk powder (or regular powdered milk)
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 teaspoons freeze dried Italian herb blend (or 3/4 teaspoon dried Italian herb blend)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
- 1-1/4 cups water
At-home preparation
TO ASSEMBLE: Add all ingredients except the water to a quart freezer Ziploc bag. Seal bag and store until ready to use.
Cooking instructions
TO COOK IN BAG: Bring water to a boil. With opened bag resting on plate or bowl, pour in boiling water. Seal bag and let soak for 9 minutes, turning bag upside down after 3-4 minutes to redistribute & mix ingredients. Open bag and eat directly from bag, if desired. Or, transfer to a bowl or mug for eating.
TO COOK IN MUG OR BOWL: Transfer dry ingredients to a microwave-safe mug or bowl; add water and microwave until water boils. Cover and let rest until ingredients have softened (4-5 minutes). Or, boil the water separately and pour it into the mug or bowl with the instant dry ingredients; stir, cover, and let rest for 9 or 10 minutes.
TO COOK IN MUG OR BOWL: Transfer dry ingredients to a microwave-safe mug or bowl; add water and microwave until water boils. Cover and let rest until ingredients have softened (4-5 minutes). Or, boil the water separately and pour it into the mug or bowl with the instant dry ingredients; stir, cover, and let rest for 9 or 10 minutes.
|
| Gathered Ingredients |
|
| Combined Ingredients |
|
| Ready for the Cozy |
|
| Cooking |
|
| Dinner's Ready |
- 2 out of 5
- Flavour was OK.
- Filling.
- While the flavour was OK, it's not the Alfredo I'm familiar with.
- Pasta never fully rehydrated, over 20 minutes and it was still too el dante.
- Mushrooms were still quite chewy.
- Pine nuts really didn't add much and two of my sons are allergic.
- The sauce was too thin, it needed to be thicker.
- Definitely not a hit, however the biggest complaint was the noodle, perhaps with a different type of noodle (Ramen?) things would be different.
My thoughts and recommendations:
- With this meal I would change up the noodle, something that I know will hydrate faster.
- I didn't toast the pine nuts, perhaps then they would add something, otherwise they're out so my son's can eat it.
- Definitely wouldn't rehydrating this in a ziplock bag, a pot will work better for this soupy mixture.
- I think I will try to figure out how to thicken the sauce, and figure out how to adjust the flavour, more to my liking.
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