Meal-Ready-to-Eat: How to Make Vegetarian Taco Pasta

You might agree with me that going home to a ready-cooked meal is the homecoming we all want. However, because of our busy lives and working late hours, getting time to make meals when we arrive home is a hurried affair. Have you ever thought about preparing Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) at such times? We associate MRE with military campaigns and or camping trails. However, you can use MRE easily for home-cooked meals you can store when you do not have the energy to cook. For instance, you can make your own Vegetarian Taco Pasta and dehydrate it, or get the store-bought Vegetarian Taco Pasta MRE. 

Vegetarian Taco Pasta Recipe

Ingredients

Macaroni

Water

1 drained and rinsed Can of Black beans

½ cup diced red peppers

1 large onion diced

Vegetarian broth

½ cup Salsa – the heat depends on your taste (mild or hot salsa)

1-tablespoon vegetable oil for cooking

Dehydrated tortillas

Cheddar cheese

Taco seasoning. You can get store-bought or make your seasoning as shown below.

 

Taco Seasoning Spices

2 teaspoons cumin seeds or powder

2 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 tablespoons of mild or hot chili powder–adjust to your taste

1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves of crushed garlic

½-teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon onion powder

1–2 teaspoon salt to taste

 

Instructions

Taco Seasoning

Mix all the above spices and store in an airtight container

Pasta sauce

1. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan and saute the onions for approximately 3 minutes or until soft.
2. Add in the diced peppers and black beans and stir for about 2 minutes.
3. Pour in the salsa and taco seasoning, stir for another one or two minutes, then pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add in salt to taste and cook until the sauce is thick and ready.
4. Allow the sauce to cool for approximately 15 minutes. 
5. Spread the pasta sauce on the parchment paper-covered dehydrator-drying trays. Try to maintain a uniform thin layer when spreading the sauce.
6. Let the sauce dehydrate for approximately 7 hours at 1350 F.
7. When dry, place in a blender until the sauce becomes like powder.
8. Store the powder in vacuum sealing packs. Seal enough powder potions for one person or one meal in different bags.

Pasta

1. Pour water into a saucepan, add the salt and bring to a boil. Put in the macaroni and cook as per the instructions on the package.
2. Once ready, drain the water and rinse the macaroni into cold water.
3. Spread the cooked macaroni in a single layer on the dehydrator drying trays.
4. Turn the dehydrator’s temperature to about 135F and dry the macaroni for 2-4 hours.
5. Seal the dried macaroni in vacuum bags.

Preparation for camping, hiking, or emergencies

In separate sealed packages (one serving per person), seal in the vacuum-sealed powder pasta sauce, a portion of the dehydrated macaroni, single wrapped cheddar cheese, 1 or 2 dehydrated tortillas, a small packet of salt, and a spoon for eating.

On the trail

Boil a little water in a pot and add the dehydrated macaroni and powdered pasta sauce. Reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for less than 5 minutes to rehydrate. Add in the cheddar cheese and stir for about a minute. Serve the mixture on a tortilla. Your meal is ready to eat. 

Conclusion

Your MRE does not have to be plain and tasteless to fill you with the needed nutrients. Cooking your MRE at home allows you to add in tasty flavors. If you wish to purchase store-bought MRE, visit websites such as bugoutbill.com for more MRE recipes.

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