One of my goals is to move away from freeze dried food. There are great threads on the forum and I love Sara’s site and books (www.trailcooking.com). I’ve begun gathering a few things to test meals for lunch at work. I think this looks like a good start. Soon I will receive some freeze dried veggies (Just Veggies – http://bit.ly/1gP0Pb8). But, I am no chef and clearly many of y’all are much more talented than I. So, what would you do if this were you pantry?
Full size image here: https://flic.kr/p/y4epAw – shelf stable bacon – dried bell pepper, onion, celery and garlic (Creole Trinity) – cous cous – instant rice – instant potatoes – tuna pouch – ramen noodles – dehydrated shrimp – instant cheese sauce
Topic
What would you make with this pantry?
Become a member to post in the forums.
- This topic is empty.
Looks like what I keep at the office I would go with brown rice. Tuna packed in oil. Holy trinity! And bacon. And shrimp. Creole time The rest I would just eat.
Let me think..but I can tell you this: add in a shaker of Kraft Parmesan too! :-D
Have you seen tuna pouches in olive oil? That's a great way to add calories and flavors to any base, like cous cous, grits, rice, etc. I buy this one at Safeway: http://www.bumblebee.com/products/tuna/bumble-bee-prime-fillet-albacore-tuna-with-sundried-tomatoes-pouch/ Edit: I realize that's an addition to your stuff, but I assume you'll have replenish your supplies!
The Parm! Duh! :) Yea, yesterday I had the cous cous with tuna. Yum! I bought the water tuna out of habit, though I'll be sure to get the tuna in oil when I hit the trail in a couple weeks. It tastes better too. And Creole Time for sure! The shrimp has a pretty strong flavor so it's got to be complimented with something to balance out. There's a bunch of gumbo and jambalaya powder bases around here so I'll start experimenting with that. Thanks for your thoughts, y'all!
Another thing you might consider is toasted pine nuts. They're pretty expensive, but is you toast them in a frying pan they make a great high calorie addition to lots of meals. Great nutty flavor. Great with rice or tomato sauce based dishes. I use them as a garnish on lots of dishes – 0.5 oz is usually plenty for on a meal for one person.
Reservations….. Someone had to say it! Might as well be me… :-)
Instant mashed potatoes with bacon and cheese sauce is a really tasty and easy meal. Just heat the required amount of water and dump in all the ingredients. I usually like to use the powdered cheese packet from a box of mac & cheese, but I suppose your cheese sauce would work just fine. If the bacon is moist (i.e., it is not the soy imitation type of bacon bits) then package them separate from the cheese and dehydrated potatoes because the moisture will cause clumping.
I've never tried this as I don't care much for shrimp, but it looks like you would have most of what you need for a shrimp alfredo pasta dish. You might substitute the ramen for some angel hair pasta for a better taste and texture (that is, if you can find some way to cook pasta at work). A slightly modified version of this recipe might be doable with what you have: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/23968/shrimp-alfredo-pasta/
You have a classic shrimp and grits going there. Just substitute the potatoes for grits. Rehydrate shrimp, bacon,cheese, and a little of that seasoning. If you could find a little wild onion around camp, even better.
Become a member to post in the forums.

