I have always liked the idea of Meals in Mason Jars, plus the visual aesthetics are so nice....but jars allow exposure to sunlight and are prone to breaking if dropped.

Growing up in sunny southern California, storing in mason jars was not an ideal option so instead I started making “Meals in a Mylar”.

Preferably, I would rather have a variety of freeze-dried veggies, beans, herbs and so forth which I am able to create multiple different tasty Meals in a Mylar. Just beans and rice will not cut it for me. The variety of different ingredients allows many meals to be prepped in advance and adjusted to meet any dietary needs and likes. If you like summer squash in soups, then have lots of freeze-dried summer squash that can be added to the Meals in a Mylar to create wonderful soups or stew. I have had customers who don’t like textures such as mushrooms so, they like the flavor, but powdering the mushrooms once freeze-dried allows the flavor without the texture.

I enjoy making these easy meals and sharing them with friends and family. My mom, who is my food tester and biggest critique, absolutely loves them.

We can create ready-to-eat meals that you simply add water to reconstitute and it’s ready to serve. These meals can be adapted to make single meals or family size meals. These are basic recipes that you can add lots of other yummy foods to make meals where you can not only “survive but thrive!”

Before we can make these Meals in Mylar, here are some freeze drying tips that I have found very useful. These guides will help you as you prepare vegetables and fruit for your freeze-drier. You can find the printable option and place it in a handy place or add it to your 3-ring Prepping Book. 

Vegetables Freeze-drying Guide
Printable version: HERE

Fruit Freeze-drying Guide
Printable version: HERE

Ingredients:

• 3 c. Potato (shredded & powdered) or just powdered potatoes (not instant mashed)
• 3 c. Veggies (a variety of your favorite) see list below on Freeze-Dried Vegetables Guide
• 3 tsp. Chives (freeze dried)
• 1 tsp. Garlic (freeze-dried) (you can also use powdered garlic)
• ¼ - 3/4 cup Onions (freeze-dried)
• ½ Tables Chicken bouillon or veggie bouillon
• Salt & Pepper to taste (when you make)

Instructions:

Combine the ingredients in a Gallon Mylar Gusset, add 500cc oxygen absorber and heat seal the top of the Mylar. I like using the PackFreshUSA® Mini Bag Sealer, but you can also use a hair-straightener. Click HERE to watch a video on how to seal Mylar bags.

To use:
Add 6 cups of hot water, stir to combine. Stir a few times. Add more water as needed to your desired consistency. Enjoy. You can add freeze dried ham or chicken for a meat variation. 

Veggie Soup

(makes 4-6 servings)

Watch video: HERE

Ingredients:

• 3 cups freeze-dried white northern beans.
• 3 cups squash or zucchini cut into cubes (freeze-dried)
• 1.5 cups corn (freeze-dried)
• 1.5 cups green beans (freeze-dried)
• 1 cup cornered tomatoes (freeze-dried)
• ½ cup leaks with the greens (freeze-dried)
• 81 ½ Tablespoons onion diced (freeze-dried)
• 1 tsp. garlic powder or 2 tsp. dehydrated garlic
• 5 tsp. bouillon (chicken, beef, or veggie)
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Variations:

• Adding cabbage and mushrooms for another level of rich vitamins and crunchy earthy flavor.
• Do cauliflower or broccoli.

• You can use any bean you would like and change it up with other vegetables or greens like kale.
• Adding pasta (cook pasta al dente and freeze-dry).
• Add beef (FD ground beef or chunked or shredded beef).

To Use:

To reconstitute, add the Garden Stew Mix to a pot. Add 5 cups of hot water. Add more water as needed. 

Goulash (freeze-dried version)

Goulash is one of my comfort foods, my grandpa Ralph would make this when we went camping. I often made this on nights when my boys were playing baseball. We would use 1 can of beans (kidney or pinto) as a meat substitute. My grandpa would dump cans of stuff in the pot and add seasonings. This was a quick dump of cans in a pot and go, but here I am freeze-drying all the individual ingredients and then putting these in Mylar bags to make Meals in Mylar. This is a yummy eastern European recipe adaptation.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Lean ground beef &/or 2 c Beans if wanting a vegetarian recipe.
• 2 c green beans (divided)
• 4 cups Pasta – FD elbow macaroni (divided)
• 2 c Tomatoes stewed or diced FD. (divided)
• 1 C Tomato sauce FD (divided into ½ c)
• 2 c Corn FD (divided)
• 1.5 to 2 cups Onion FD (divided)
• 2 tsp Garlic powder (divided)
• 1 c Bell pepper FD (divided into ½ c)
• 2 tsp paprika (divided)
• 1 tsp oregano (divided into ½ tsp)
• 1 Table Worcestershire sauce (use as you cook the ground beef) (divided)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sprinkle with cheese (FD)

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING THE GROUND BEEF :

1. Cook ground lean ground beef and drain off as much fat as possible. Add the Worcestershire Sauce before pulling the beef out. Put several layers of paper towels on a plate, add the ground beef. Pat the ground beef and remove as much oil as possible.
2. If not lean, I would cook 60% of the way and put in strainer and rinse ground beef in very hot water, not too long, but try and get the water to run clear. Meanwhile, clean the pan and remove as much extra oil as you can. Put rinsed beef back on hot pan and add the Worcestershire Sauce and finish cooking. When placing it on the freeze-drier place extra paper towels down on the pans.

Additional Information:

 Adding pasta (cook pasta al dente and freeze-dry).

You can use this for the meat substitute or also add them to this recipe. Taking canned beans and freeze-drying them is a quick way to be able to reconstitute and use in a variety of recipes.

Corn, green beans, crushed or stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce.

Place in (2) Gallon Gusset 7 Mil Mylar bags and add 500cc oxygen absorbers to each bag. Zip and then heat-seal.

To use:

Add 4 c water and add more as needed to get the consistency you want. This recipe should be divided into two batches. This can feed up to 8 – 10 people or 4-5 each bag. This is a very savory recipe with a tomato base and is delicious. So, enjoy. 

Chicken White Green Chili (freeze-dried)

(makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 4- 6 cups great northern beans FD
• 1/2 cup green chili from a can FD (or more depending on your heat preference)
• 4 cups shredded or cubed cooked FD chicken.
• 1 cup onion FD
• 2 cup corn FD
• 1 packages of Mild Chili Seasonings
• 3 cups chicken broth (FD) can use bouillon (1.5 tablespoons)
• 1 cup sour cream (FD) reconstitute separately and or mix it in
• 1 cup Cheese FD
• 1 cup Salsa Verde FD (but lesson chicken broth) by equal amount)
• Black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Separate the sour cream and place in a small bag.

Place all the ingredients in the Gallon 7 Mil Mylar Gusset bag and tap down to settle the food into the Mylar. Add the oxygen absorber (500cc) and seal up with a mini-sealer or hair straightener.

To Use:

Add 5-6 cups of water to reconstitute. Start with 5 cups and add more until you get the density of the chili you want.

Save and Print all these recipes: HERE

I have created lots of prepping recipes on previous blogs that are tried and true in my food line-up, go check those out. 

I hope these recipes and tips help you in your freeze-drying adventure. I would love you guys to share with us some of your recipes that you find work well. Stay tuned for more Meals in Mylar, I’ll be covering breakfast, snacks, lunches, and of course desserts!

Happy prepping,

Ola Griffin

Long-Term Food Storage Expert

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