Hope For The Best, Prepare For The Worst

Usually my life is chaotic but lately I've had a lot of down time and too much time to think and stew for me is a recipe for T-R-O-U-B-L-E, I usually end up getting in political debates with people on facebook but I channeled that brainpower into something constructive this time. I've been wanting to do an instructable blog about making your own MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) and since I had some down time last couple of weeks, this is what has come out of it.

I know everybody and their grandma is on the Emergency Food Supply bandwagon lately and I know how expensive it is.  I ordered a couple of buckets of MRE's from Mountain House and thought, how do people stockpile this stuff?? I paid around $67.00 a bucket for 12 packages and I know several people who have $$$$ invested in these MRE's!!!  I didn't like the food choices nor the variety, it just wasn't the foods my family would eat. I know in a SHTF scenario beggars can't be choosers but when we are without our basic comforts that we're used to like running water, electricity and convenient foods in the fridge, we will want something that will make us feel like it's not the end of civilization. That something is food.  Food comforts us, nourishes us and lifts our spirits and makes a difficult time more bearable.  I decided to figure out how to make my own MRE's using recipes that my family liked so when times are hard we will have that extra security knowing we are at least eating and eating well.  I found several websites and blogs by people who were already doing this (I was shocked that I wasn't the only person doing it! LOL) but most were vacuum sealing convenience foods like crackers, granola, jerky, etc and that's not what I wanted. I wanted FOOD. I found a website for Thrive Life Emergency Food http://www.thrivelife.com/shop and they had an awesome recipe database but the recipes are geared toward families who use dried foods at home as a way of cooking and most of the recipes required 30%-70% fresh ingredients with the remainder being the dried foods. Since I am wanting to create entire meals to be used in an emergency situation, I didn't find that too practical. I mean, when the grocery stores are empty or there's a natural disaster and you can't leave your house to go to town, what are the chances you're going to have breadcrumbs or tortillas or fresh fruit just laying around? Not likely, I'd say.  I wanted everything you'd need for a complete meal in one bag and all you'd have to do is add boiling water.  When the world is in chaos, you need something to be easy.  I had a like-minded friend tell me that www.walmart.com  had a large dried food supply - who'd have thought? - so I looked into it and they do and it's quite reasonably priced as well! The name of the products are Auguson Farms so, that's where and what I ordered my supply to experiment with.

I ordered (either in dried or freeze dried) and it totaled up to be $197 (free shipping):
Onions
Celery
Bell Peppers
Carrots
Potato Chunks
English Peas
Broccoli
Cheese Powder
Cream of Chicken Soup
Tomato Powder
TVP Beef Crumbles
TVP Chicken Crumbles

I used my own herbs, spices, garlic, bouillons and salt that I already had and just added those to the pouches. These are big cans of product so you can make lots of MRE's before you run out. I spent last week making recipes and spent the morning today making pouches.  The pouches I used are food grade Mylar bags I ordered from Amazon and they came with the oxygen absorbers and they figured out to be around 38 cents each.

First MRE I made was Chicken Noodle Soup. I packaged the noodles in a separate little bag because they have to be cooked separately and heat (don't vacuum seal them, they'll puncture the bag) sealed them with my Nesco sealer.

So easy, now just measure out your ingredients and dump them in the Mylar bag and add an oxygen absorber.

Now, you need to seal the bag. Most home kitchen sealers won't vacuum or seal Mylar bags because they're slick and the machine needs a rough surface (like the plastic bags that come with the sealers)
but you don't need to vacuum seal it because you have the oxygen absorbers.  I use the cheapest flat iron hair straightener I could find and it works beautifully.  I seal one side, then move to the middle and seal, then squeeze out excess air and seal the other side - easy peasy.

Label and date the bag with a Sharpie......

Keep going until you make however many you want.  When you get ready to eat them, just boil the water and pour it right into the bag and let it sit 20-30 minutes and you have a complete meal. If there's a pasta packet in your meal, just remove that, add the water to the Mylar pouch and then put the pasta on to cook while your seasoning pouch is getting ready.

I mentioned the cost of pre-packaged MRE's but I didn't really break that down for you so you could really appreciate the savings you'll get by making them yourself...it's a lot cheaper.  I figured up that Mountain House MRE's are around $2.34 per serving (not including any shipping) and the DIY ones are only $1.10 per serving (including all shipping) and you have food your family recognizes and will enjoy eating.  I only made 5 different main dishes today just so I could show you how but I plan on making some breakfast meals next.  This is great for kids to help with too and learn some math in the process.

Pack them in buckets (doesn't have to be airtight, just needs a tight seal), label the contents and date. This 5 gallon bucket from the paint section at Walmart held all 12 main dish pouches.

I will add that I used TVP (soy based Textured Vegetable Protein) because it's a fraction of the price of freeze dried beef or chicken and still has a high protein level.  If you think you might be hunting to supply protein to your pouch, you can omit the dried animal protein or TVP and use your fresh meat.  I'm just not brave enough to bank on a steady supply of game right off the bat, so I added my own protein. All vegetables in the recipes are either dehydrated or freeze dried as well.

Now, want some recipes?  Of course you do!

Beef Stew (4-6 servings)
2 T cornstarch
1 c beef, freeze dried or TVP
3 T beef bouillon
1/4 c carrots, dehydrated
1/4 c English peas, freeze dried
1/4 c celery, freeze dried
1 c potato dices, dehydrated
1/3 c onions, dehydrated
2 T tomato powder (or instant tomato soup mix)
1 T Worcestershire powder
1 t garlic, minced, dehydrated
2 t dried basil
1 t black pepper
1/2 t salt
When ready to use, add 6 cups boiling water and let sit 20-30 mins.  May also be cooked in pot for 10 mins and let stand 10 mins.

Chicken and Potato Curry (4-6 servings)
2 t salt
1 t garlic powder
1 T curry powder
2 T garam masala powder
2 t cumin
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t cayenne
1/2 c onion, dehydrated
1 1/4 c potato dices, dehydrated
3/4 c English peas, freeze dried
1/2 c broccoli, freeze dried
3/4 c carrots, dehydrated
3 T cream of chicken soup mix
1 1/2 c chicken, freeze dried or TVP
Add 5 1/2 c boiling water and let sit 20 mins to serve.May also be cooked in pot for 10 mins and let stand 10 mins.

Cheeseburger Soup (4-6 servings)
3/4 c beef crumbles, freeze dried or TVP
1/2 c onions, dehydrated
1/3 c celery, freeze dried
1/3 c carrots, dehydrated
3/4 t dried basil
3/4 t dried parsley
1/2 t dried dill weed
1 t chicken bouillon
2 1/4 c potato dices, dehydrated
1/2 c cream of chicken soup mix
1/3 c cheddar cheese powder
1 c powdered milk
1/2 t black pepper
3 T sour cream powder (may sub with 1/4 t citric acid)
Add 5 1/2 c boiling and let sit 20-30 mins to serve. May also be cooked in pot for 10 mins and let stand 10 mins.

Chicken Noodle Soup (4-6 servings)
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t butter flavored granules
3 T carrots, dehydrated
1/3 c onions, dehydrated
1/3 c celery, freeze dried
1 c chicken, freeze dried or TVP
1/2 t Italian seasoning
1 T chicken bouillon
2/3 c chicken gravy mix
1/4 t citric acid
2 c egg noodles (packaged separately within pouch)
Add 6 c boiling water to pouch. Meanwhile, cook egg noodles in boiling water in pot till done. May also be cooked in pot for 10 mins and let stand 10 mins.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (4-6 servings)
2 c broken thin spaghetti (packaged separately within pouch)
1 c beef crumbles, freeze dried or TVP
2 t Italian seasoning
1/2 c tomato powder
1 t garlic powder
1/2 c onions, dehydrated
1/2 c bell pepper, dehydrated
1/4 t fennel seeds
1 1/2 t salt
1 t black pepper
1 T beef bouillon granules
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, dried and packaged separately in the pouch
Add 6 c boiling water to pouch. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in boiling water in pot till done. May also be cooked in pot for 10 mins and let stand 10 mins.  Add Parmesan  as desired.

Whew! This is a long blog post, I know, but there's a lot of good info here!  Hope you enjoy experimenting with making your own MRE's.  I'll post new recipes and tips as I get them.  Enjoy!