# Homemade mre ideas?



## Deathdealer (Oct 26, 2013)

I'm looking for some ideas of food items to throw in to a homemade mre it has to include a main entrée a side or two and three little snacks two drink mixes I already put matches and a Spoon and fork in each one to heat and cook the meal! They have to last at least 1 or more years in a food saver bag. The one I made before came out great and I just ate it and I made it two years ago to this date I have a dried beans and chili soup mix pouch almond butter in a food saver bag and some big as crackers for the side my second side was a 4 cheese rice pouch just add water and heat like the main meal two protein bars and a pack of sour ass skittles (those things get more sour with age) and a Gatorade Powder mix and a coffee mix! So what are your ideas?


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

I like a half or 1 cup of small grain cous cous in mine with a spice packet and powdered chk stock. You dont have to simmer just add boiling water and let sit. Also its a 1 to 1 cup ration of grain to water which is half of rice requirement. Multivitamins are good too. There was a pretty in depth thread on this a while ago that might give you some good ideas.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

CrackbottomLouis said:


> I like a half or 1 cup of small grain cous cous in mine with a spice packet and powdered chk stock. You dont have to simmer just add boiling water and let sit. Also its a 1 to 1 cup ration of grain to water which is half of rice requirement. Multivitamins are good too. There was a pretty in depth thread on this a while ago that might give you some good ideas.


Couscous is a traditional Berber dish of semolina (granules of durum wheat) which is cooked by steaming.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

There are several threads here on P/S that deal with your question. Search "meals ready to eat" and "readiness meals" for ideas, but the selection is nearly endless, however adding nutrient dense foods with a good amount of Protein and fat is common sense in a survival situation. You might also want to add a small amount of Pemmican to your MRE, here's the recipe: Ingredients 
•	5-10 lbs. lean beef or bison round
•	beef tallow rendered
•	1 lb. dried blueberries
•	1 lb. crushed walnuts
•	red pepper seeds to flavor
•	coarse salt, 1/4 cup/lb. final mix
Directions 
Slice lean meat into thin strips, up to 1/4" thick, put on rack in oven to dry, with door open, or into bring sun on a warm day, check hourly to turn over, check dryness, if not dry it will bend if dry enough it will almost snap, this is very much like jerky, 

prior to the drying I rub the strips liberally with coarse salt and crushed red pepper seeds. 

When dry, put in a food processor to make powder or fine pcs. 

Measure the dry meat by volume, render enough beef fat into clear fat by barely simmering over a low flame, strain out bits and pcs, your dog will love them. 

When the fat is done you want about 1/4 to 1/3 of the meat by volume of fat. This is the great preserver. And what gives the mix sustaining ability for long efforts. 

Process the dry berries, any kind can be used, add in more salt if needed. Then mix the dry meat with berries, walnuts, etc. until thoroughly mixed. 

In a large bowl put the meat mix in, make a depression as with bread dough and add the fat, mixing with a fork, it needs to be well mixed so all the meat mix is coated. Pemmican is a high fat high protein travelers meal, not a gourmet dish, The berries and nuts will help the taste a bit but remember that the lean beef and the tallow will not spoil easily if not overly mixed with spoilable ingredients. Think of the mix as similar to a mix of peperoni minus all the other spices/seasonings. 

I have also added honey to the mix, up to a half lb. per five lbs. of meat. It sweetens it and is also a natural preservative. Along with the salt. 

This can be stored in small amounts in the fridge, I prefer to put it into casings, either artificial or natural lamb ordered through your butcher shops or on line, 

stuffers are available that look like wide mouthed funnels you put the mouth of the casing over the bottom of the funnel and pack in the mix best as you can, I use my thumb and a spoon. 

When you get a full link hang it above a low heat fire, a lodge fire is near perfect, but you can hang them over a bar b que too with charcoal briquettes. This makes the links both smaller and tastier but also adds to the preservation. 

Pieces can be taken as trail food, or broken up and added to beans or chilli or home fried spuds or field turnips.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

For couscous I just add a cup of boiling water to 1 cup grain and let it sit. High in calories and just like rice it tastes like whatever spices you put in. For a calorie boost I add a teaspoon of lard and a packet of protein of choice. A spoonful or 2 of dehydrated veggies and you have a good calorie healthy trail meal thats light weight and requires a minimum of water and cooking time/fuel.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Go to the very bottom of this page and you will find links to 3 other threads on this topic. This seems to work better for me than the search option.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Here be one fer ya:

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f36/readiness-meals-19812/


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## Deathdealer (Oct 26, 2013)

Thanks guys I love this network because if your not sure you can just ask and a lot of people are willing to help I'm very appreciative of all of you!


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

Deathdealer said:


> Thanks guys I love this network because if your not sure you can just ask and a lot of people are willing to help I'm very appreciative of all of you!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum


Ill second that sentiment.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Just wandering up and down the grocery store isles will provide many items that are already prepared that can be eaten cold though they would be better warmed. For example, Tasty Bite puts out a product called Madras Lentils that they advertise as a heat and eat product. In a pinch eating it cold would work. Add that to your couscous or instant rice for some great flavor. I get mine at Costco but I'm sure it is available elsewhere. It comes in a soft package that is suitable for your vacuum bag. there are many such items on the store shelves. The wife has informed me that she will be serving poached salmon on a bed of these Madras Lentils. 

Good food makes all the difference. If you are making your own MRE's make them to suit your own taste. Set up what you think you want in a package, sit down and have it for dinner, if you look forward to eating it again then buy more and put it in your vacuum bag. If you reach into your BOB and you want to eat each of your selections then you have done a good job. The single most important factor in survival is attitude and food can build your spirits or deplete them. Properly done, food is a lot more than calories and vitamins.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Hormel makes shelf stable meals that are ready to eat & they make sandwich toppers too (like BBQ pork & Manwich). You can find printable coupons for them frequently & end up paying $1 each for them with the coupons. They're not like momma fixes it but they're not horrible either.


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## Cud579 (Apr 26, 2010)

I just very recently got the "Meals in a jar" cookbook/handbook by stephanie peterson. Yesterday we ate our first meal using only water to cook it. It was delicious. These are all recipes put together using freeze dried and dehydrated food only so you just add water only later on. We are making 1 of each to try out before investing in making lots in case we don't like them. 

Hubby was very pleased with this "emergency food".


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## CulexPipiens (Nov 17, 2010)

Cud579 said:


> I just very recently got the "Meals in a jar" cookbook/handbook by stephanie peterson.


I got a number of these books. Definitely worth reading and trying!

As to the OP, got a food saver?


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Cud579 said:


> I just very recently got the "Meals in a jar" cookbook/handbook by stephanie peterson. Yesterday we ate our first meal using only water to cook it. It was delicious. These are all recipes put together using freeze dried and dehydrated food only so you just add water only later on. We are making 1 of each to try out before investing in making lots in case we don't like them.
> 
> Hubby was very pleased with this "emergency food".


There's a free downloadable meal in a jar book over on my free or seriously cheap thread.


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