52 Method Perfected...Updated 8 Top Meals in a Mylar Pouch Recipes and Bag Labels

I've had a lot of requests for my favorite meals that work better in a mylar bag. Yes. I've got a lot of friends in earthquake territory.   I have a lot of friends who backpack and camp who don't want to carry mason jars of food.  By and far, these are my favorite flavorful awesome-possum mylar meal recipe favorites.  I've changed up the recipes a bit to accomodate maximum flavor and space usage. These are not meals that taste like salty goo.  These are meals with pasta or grain that do not cause holes in the bags easily and that are able to be made quickly.  I have a few that I use on a regular basis and they are what I call my core menu. These are life lines on busy weeknights or in an emergency situation these are ones that will cook quickly (usually 15 minutes or less).  They all work perfectly in a solar oven or heat retention cooker as well.

More often than not, I print the labels and just affix them to the mylar bags using clear packing tape. This ensures I not only know what is in the bag, but also lets me know how much liquid I need to hydrate dinner.  You can also just write it on the bag, but sometimes, even with permanant ink, it comes off.

Things to know

Note that the instant parboiled white rice like Success Rice (boil-in-bag). Yes. I cut open the bags and put that dry rice right in my jars instead of regular rice.  I use this one because it is one that will cook in 10 minutes and is slightly different than regular instant rice that cooks in 5 minutes. Texture-wise it is closer to regular rice and the longer cook time makes it better when paired with beans or the freeze-dried meat for not getty a mushy texture.

 Pasta
The round small shells and elbow noodles are also optimum for non-piercing of the mylar bags. One that I've found to be excellent for those with carbohydrate issues is from Dreamfield's Pasta. The net carbs are 5 per serving, but it tastes just like regular pasta. Love that!

What are mylar bags and why do I use them? Check out the information from my favorite supplier: Sorbent Systems Mylar Bags I use the quart size for these meals. 

Where do I get the Ingredients?

People always ask where I get my specialty stuff for the meals. In fact, a lot of comments and questions on where to buy ingredients are answered here. 

Flavored Powders and Misc. Ingredients, Soy Sauce Powder , Lime Juice Powder,Vinegar Powder,  and so on...) firehousepantrystore.com  Vegetables in bulk bags dehydrated and freeze dried (especially the organics) I get at my freeze-dried food website.  They have over 50 varieties of air dried vegetables including 8 steam sterilized air dried vegetables. Plus 20 varieties of freeze dried vegetables. The only place on-line I can find the Quick cook Navy beans is: harmonyhousefoods.com Freeze-Dried Meats I also get from my freeze-dried food website, because it blesses my family when I purchase them from myself. It sounds weird, but it's true.   NOT OPTIONAL: Please be sure that you always follow the instructions for safety in the tutorial from my blog:   How To Make Homemade Mylar-Packed 52 Method Convenience Meals for Camping and Beyond! Recipes

• Here are the mylar bag recipes that also double as labels. 
•  These are for a family of 5 (about  1 and 1/2 cups of prepared food per person).  
• The cost is usually right around 10$ per meal for the full sized meals that contain the freeze-dried meat.  Meatless meals will always cost less.
• You control the ingredients. If you want less salt, more spices, gluten-free, or different vegetables, these are base recipes that will help you figure out what works for you. The natural bullion powders I use are not available to the general public for purchase. You'll need to find a bullion powder you like. 

If I were to package these meals and sell them in stores, these would be the recipes I would use. They are that good!  Yes, they did take me a few years to perfect.  Please be sure to always include my contact information when sharing them. It's just the nice thing to do.  

 I don't have them in PDF format and my life is a little crazy right now (as you can imagine). Hopefully that doesn't make anyone too crazy.  I think you'll love them my darlings! 

Chef Tess' Cheesy Chicken Pizza Noodle Skillet 2 cup elbow macaroni 1/2 cup freeze dried veggie mix 1 cup freeze dried chicken 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese powder 1/4 cup blue cheese powder 1/4 cup ultra gel 1 tsp granulated garlic 2Tbsp granulated onion 1 1/2 tsp Romantic Italian Seasoning 2 tsp natural roasted chicken flavor 1T Granulated red bell pepper Add 5 cups water, simmer 15 minutes.	Chef Tess Vege-Bean and Rice Fajita Casserole 2 cup quick cook red beans 1 cup instant parboiled white rice 1T Dehydrated jalapeno 1/4 cup minced dry onion 2T Chef Tess Southwestern Seasoning 1T granulated garlic 1/2 cup natural sharp white cheddar powder 1/4 cup tomato powder 1/4 cup granulated red bell pepper 1/2 tsp natural smoke flavor Add 5 cups water. Bring to a boil. simmer low 10-15 minutes.
Chef Tess Saucy Sausage Shell Skillet Meal 1 cup freeze dried sausage 2 cup shell noodles 1/2 cup freeze dried mushrooms 2/3 cup tomato powder 1/4 cup dehydrated onion 1T Chef Tess Romantic Italian Seasoning 1/4 cup ultra gel 1/4 cup dehydrated bell pepper dices, red Add 5 cups water, simmer 15 minutes.	Chef Tess Sausage Spanish Rice 1 cup freeze dried sausage 1 1/2 cup instant white parboiled rice 1/2 cup red bell pepper, dehydrated and diced 1/4 cup minced onion 1T Southwest fajita seasoning 2 tsp granulated garlic 1 1/2 tsp pacilla pepper 1/2 cup tomato powder Add 3 1/2 cup boiling water. Cover and simmer low 10-12 minutes.
Chef Tess Sweet-n-Sour Chicken Baked Beans 2 cups quick cook navy beans  1 cup freeze dried chicken 1/4 cup dehydrated minced onion 1/2 cup red bell pepper, dehydrated, diced 1/2 cup carrot, dehydrated shoestring or diced 1/4 cup soy sauce powder 1T dehydrated vinegar 3T granulated honey 2T granulated garlic 2 tsp natural pineapple flavor 1/2 tsp ground celery 1 tsp ground ginger 2 tsp natural roasted chicken flavor Add 6 cups water and simmer uncovered 15-20 minutes.	Chef Tess Country French Vegetable Beef Soup 1 cup freeze dried mix vegetables 1 cup freeze dried diced beef 1 cup diced dehydrated potato 3T granulated onion 1/4 cup tomato powder 1T Chef Tess French Provencal Seasoning 1/4 cup ultra gel 2tsp natural beef flavor 1tsp fresh cracked black pepper Add 4 1/2  cups boiling water and simmer 15 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to thicken 5 minutes more.
Chef Tess Granny's Potato Cheese Casserole 1 cup freeze dried sausage 2 cup diced dehydrated potato ¼ cup dehydrated onion ½ cup natural cheese powder 2/3 cup nonfat dry milk ¼ cup ultra-gel 2 tsp Chef Tess All Purpose seasoning 1 tsp granulated garlic ½ tsp celery seed powder 2T natural butter powder ¼ cup sour cream powder Add 5 ½ cup hot water very hot water and stir well. Cover 10 minutes and allow to hydrate. Simmer low 15 minutes. Leave covered off heat 5 minutes more.	Chef Tess Beef Carnitas Soup 2 cup quick cook black beans 1 cup freeze dried diced beef 1 cup freeze dried corn 3T granulated onion 2 tsp dehydrated jalapeno 1 ½ tsp pacilla pepper, granulated ½ cup tomato powder 3T red bell pepper, granulated 2 tsp natural beef flavor 1 tsp celery seed, ground ½ tsp natural smoke flavor ½ tsp salt Add 7 cups water and simmer 10-15 minutes

Thank you all for your love and patience with me as I'm adjusting to this full-time working situation. It has been an adventure for me...but in good ways.  God bless!

Always My Very Best,

Your Friend Chef Tess

My family is greatly blessed by the extra money brought in by sales tracked back to my freeze-dried food website.  You also have the option of joining as a consultant/member and getting commission on anyone who buys from you! I'd love to have you on my team! Thank you so very much for your support. Xoxo!