What foods you carry that are easy to keep and convenient to use

[Tom Hoffman]

Sorry about the description. :-[ :-[ :-[

 

[Back2PA]

No worries, it didn?t get that name for nothin - my dad wasn?t too impressed with it in the military either. I think the ?civilian version? is probably better

 

[Tom Hoffman]

They have restaurant competitions in the Seattle to see who has the best.  It is very popular there.

 

[Back2PA]

They have restaurant competitions in the Seattle to see who has the best.  It is very popular there.

Do they call it ?SOS??

 

[Tom Hoffman]

YES, it's listed on the menus as SOS.

 

[Back2PA]

YES, it's listed on the menus as SOS.

Too funny. Do you make the original with chipped beef or ?civilian? with hamburger?

 

[Chameleonxanth]

Chocolate Premiere Protein drinks. Always have envelopes of cooked  chicken to add to canned soups to for extra protein. I really like that you can buy milk, whole, fat free even almond milk in small individual non refrigerated cartons.

I try to keep a supply of these in the fridge; they are wonderful for days when I'm not making my protein/calorie ratio.  30g of protein for 160 calories is excellent.  Walmart makes a version with exactly the same ingredients, vitamins, etc. for a few dollars less per four pack.

 

[Tom Hoffman]

Too funny. Do you make the original with chipped beef or ?civilian? with hamburger?

I make the Military Version Hamburger, white sauce, Onions and garlic

 

[FenderP]

I make the Military Version Hamburger, white sauce, Onions and garlic

If your making the military version you left out the roaches.  8)

 

[sightseers]

You're talking old west and military bivouac type stuff.  Haha  Seriously, though, if you can find MREs on sale they are not nearly as bad these days as they were back when I had to eat them in the Gulf War -I always keep some on hand.  Also, the old staples like rice, beans, and canned meat have a long shelf life.  I also keep that stuff around.  I love Ramen and add canned meat to it to help it along, but I'm pretty sure that stuff isn't healthy to keep you stealthy.

I was wondering about MREs.  I heard from the newer GIs that they weren't that bad. 

We had the MCI meals, and they were not that good. lose your P51 tool and you go hungry..
However the MCI meal box did come with a John Wayne cracker that could be used as a tactical weapon and the rumor was the chocolate bar contained Saltpeter.. :

They say that actual Government issued MRE's  are illegal to sell.  but aftermarket MRE's are very common.

 

[darsben]

If your making the military version you left out the roaches.  8)

This is the modern Army they smoke the roaches

 

[sightseers]

We got hooked on spam during a 4 year tour (military) in Hawaii. One can feeds us both a meal. Breakfast samiches are Spam, fried egg and thin sliced spam. (my small mandolin slicer will slice extra thin) Traveling Lunch can be Fried spam strips, in a tortilla with leftover rice and beans, warmed up on he dashboard, yum.  A quick, light dinner can be Spam strips in ramin noodles, nuked.

I haven't found a "new" flavor I don't like yet and it's a nice change from our crock pot, fry baby and oven baked casserole, normal fare.

Years ago I cooked Spam for my family,  and it was the first time my wife or any kid ever ate it...It was a big hit,    later,  developed the most famous dinner night ever..."HoneyBaked Spam" night.

lots of maple syrup and brown sugar...slice it thin throw it in the oven till it's glazed 

 

[FenderP]

I was wondering about MREs.  I heard from the newer GIs that they weren't that bad. 

We had the MCI meals, and they were not that good. lose your P51 tool and you go hungry..
However the MCI meal box did come with a John Wayne cracker that could be used as a tactical weapon and the rumor was the chocolate bar contained Saltpeter.. :

They say that actual Government issued MRE's  are illegal to sell.  but aftermarket MRE's are very common.

They aren?t bad but I?m not a picky eater.

I always wondered why guys always gave me their chocolate from c rats. Never slowed me down!  ;D

 

[FenderP]

This is the modern Army they smoke the roaches

Hahahahaha

 

[opentheroad]

Sorry for bumping but I didn't want to make a new thread, and this seemed the most relevant place t post.

My feeling is that protein powder is a really good thing to have. It's high density, it doesn't really spoil, and nutritionally speaking, dietary protein can be the thing that's hard to get.

I have some favorites (I'm mostly concerned about contaminants from the manufacturing and so I like to only use protein powder that's lab tested to be pure) but what brands do you guys like? Someone mentioned one widely available brand here, but I'd worry that one isn't really proven to be safe if I'm consuming a whole lot of it. I'd like to hear some more options if anyone else is interested!

 

[Ex-Calif]

I don't use protein powder but I always have a can of chocolate and vanilla slim fast powder in stock.

Bananas in either flavor and/or strawberries in the vanilla makes a great breakfast or a light lunch.

Throw the fruit in frozen and use whole milk and it's a really decent and refreshing milk shake.

 

[opentheroad]

I don't use protein powder but I always have a can of chocolate and vanilla slim fast powder in stock.

Bananas in either flavor and/or strawberries in the vanilla makes a great breakfast or a light lunch.

Throw the fruit in frozen and use whole milk and it's a really decent and refreshing milk shake.

That sounds tasty! I like the idea.

 

[LMHS]

SHELF STABLE food stuffs?

I make a lot of things up as a "mix". I replace half of the sugar with granulated sucralose. Brown sugar is a mix of sugar, sucralose and molasses. I replace half of the flour with fine almond flour in a lot of recipes. That is what I like about making my own mixes. I can adjust the ingredients to suit my needs. I also prefer to make desserts in smaller sizes.

Just combine all the dry ingredients. Leave the baking powder out to add with the liquids (oils, eggs, water, extracts). Baking powder goes flat fairly quickly. I like to test my baking powder by sprinkling a tiny bit over water (usually the bottom of the wet sink) BEFORE I use it in a recipe. If it fizzes, it's good. If it doesn't fizz, then I'm only out the baking soda and not a whole batch of mix. Freeze the mix for 24 hours to kill any bugs that may be in the pasta/rice/flour. Date & label. Don't forget the directions. I keep my directions in an Open Office file called "Mix Directions" on my laptop as well as a copy on a hard drive (that I put OpenOffice Portable on) that I can access with a tablet or phone.

I have dry milk powder, dry butter powder, dry heavy cream powder, dry buttermilk powder, dry powder cheddar cheese, dry mushroom powder (just dried sliced shitaki mushrooms that I process to a powder in a food processor) and instant mashed potatoes (the "Idahoan Real Instant Mashed Potatoes" food service package of mashed potatoes tastes like "real" mashed potatoes unlike the same consumer version that you normally buy in grocery stores) to help me make my homemade mixes in "convenience" sizes. I find it's more convenient than making 13+ cups of a mix and having to portion it out from a big jar.

I make my own small ("Jiffy" size) buttermilk cornbread mix (with no sugar) to store in a jar. I do not add the baking powder (not to be confused with baking soda) because I don't want a short shelf life due to the baking powder dying. The baking powder is added with the liquid ingredients.

I also do the same for single layer ("Jiffy size") vanilla cake mixes and vanilla buttermilk cake mixes. The baking powder is added with the liquid ingredients.

I make various Cockeyed/Depression Era/Crazy cake mixes and stored in jars. The baking powder is added with the liquid ingredients.

I make a "Soup Or Sauce" dry mix that will replace a single 10 oz can of condensed cream of soup. Works just like canned cream of soup without all the additional salt and weird stuff. I make a basic recipe and choose the flavour when I make it up. I usually need Cream of Chicken (prepare mix with chicken broth) or Cream of Mushroom (prepare mix with beef broth and add the little zip seal bag of dried mushroom powder that is added to the jar of mix when I make it up). Only down side is the mix has to be cooked up before adding it to the recipe. Not a biggie but it is an extra step.

I even make my bread machine recipes in "mixes".

I have little snack sized zipseal bages that I use to hold mix additives like yeast, chocolate chips, dried fruit, toppings, seasonings, etc.

The all the stuff that I put into mason jars are frozen (in the jars) for 24 hours (to kill any bugs) then labeled and dated, before storing in the cabinets. I prefer using a wide mouth mason jar but I will use what ever mason jar I have. I have even used small 4 oz jars to hold spice mixtures or additives. they will drop right into a wide mouth quart jar.

CANNING JARS (liquid capacity when filled to the raised glass ring)
JELLY 4 OZ (2.5 OZ)
HALF PINT 8 OZ (5 OZ)
PINT 16 OZ (14 OZ)
QUART 32 OZ (32 OZ)
Classico Pasta Sauce ATLAS MASON jar (24 OZ)

I make my own "Rice-a-Roni" mix that I also store in mason jars. I don't add the dry bouillon when I make the mix. I make up the desired flavoured broth (beef or chicken) when I make the mix.

I put the commercially made dry boxed Mac & cheese dinners (wide mouth pint) or Pasta Roni boxed dinners (wide mouth quart) in mason jars. The cheese packet stays sealed but gets stuffed into the jar, the pasta is poured into the jar so it settles around the cheese packet. Store them still in the jars on the shelf. The cheese packet stays sealed but gets stuffed into the jar.

I also store dry pasta and rice in mason jars to (also frozen for 24hrs before putting on the shelf).

I recently found a good shelf stable soup.
Bear Creek Country Kitchens Cheddar Broccoli Microwavable Soup Mix Singles (6 packets per box) $4.99 at our local Big Lots

 

[Vanbrat]

We usually eat fast food for lunch while driving, my fav is Wendy's apple salad, but I like something simple and 'me' cooked for dinner. We usually have a few packages of frozen precooked meats in single meal/serving sizes and even a few homemade soups, casseroles, or ? and each of us picks 1 frozen TV type thing for those days when we are really tired. Also shredded cheese and other nacho stuff. Sandwich fixin's and salad bags. My rule is always have 1 serving of veggies and 1 of fresh fruit. I like almond butter and jam. Hubby likes tuna so a couple cans go with us. And LOTS and LOTS of baked goodies. Both homemade and store bought. My boxed milk and always my tea and hubby's coke and instant coffee. I usually have one or 2 'special' meals planned so there may be some REALLY fancy something stashed back in the kitchen. Anything from Salmon and crab cake fixin's. To shrimp Alfredo or steak and eggs. Last time out we had apple cobbler mugs and chicken potpies. We went out with our son and his wife made very yummy, corned beef hashbrowns and I had, believe it or not, never had those with scrambled eggs and toast they are now on my new list of good eats to take with us.
I will shop when needed. Hubby has to go to the store at least once or twice a week, so we never need or lack too much for too long.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Sorry for bumping but I didn't want to make a new thread, and this seemed the most relevant place t post.

This is one thread that I will not complain about being bumped. I have learned something from it and it never goes out of date (thats a pun of sorts).

The couple I travel with alot make a homemade hamburger helper that is good. They use the deluxe Mac and cheese that has liquid/paste cheese in it rather than the powder type. Then they brown ground beef and flavor it with Mrs Dash and blend it all together.

I plan on trying this at home but going to spice it up some with a can (or part there of) of Mild Rotel. Other than the ground beef the rest is very shelf stable.

I was using the milk in a Tetra Pak that does not require refrigeration, but no matter the brand, and even the good Parmalat brand just tasted so funky that I gave up on it. I just buy a half gallon to use on trips for the individual packs of cereal.

Really liked the Honey Baked Spam. Most Spam has chicken in it now, so you have to be careful which one you get.

Charles