Recipe: Beans-Rice with Fritos & Cheese

Beans + Rice with Fritos & Cheese
1	Servings
Amount	Unit	Ingredient
2.0	Oz	Beans
1.5	Oz	Rice
1.0	Oz	Fritos
1.0	Oz	Cheese, prefers extra sharp
0.2	Oz	Taco seasoning
		Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
Steps: At-home preparation For groups, I do the following: Each group member is given one 2.5-oz snack bag of beans and rice mixture Fritos and cheese are kept together, and divided proportionally in the field Meals are individually seasoned with the taco seasoning and group spice kit When solo, I do one of two things. If I plan to have this meal several times on the same trip (or the same leg of a thru-hike), I have a pre-spiced snack bag of beans and rice for each meal, and my supply of Fritos and cheese is kept together but preferably somehow delineated so that I don’t steal tomorrow’s calories for tonight’s dinner, e.g. divide the block of cheese equally but keep it all together. If I plan to have this meal just once, I will use up to three bags (beans/rice, cheese, Fritos) but I’ve also combined everything into one bag before. It works out okay since the ingredients are fairly easy to separate in the field. Cooking instructions For many reasons, I make all of my meals soupy. This simplifies some the cooking: Add at least 12 oz of water to my stove pot. Pour in beans, rice, taco seasoning, and any other spices at anytime. Cook, ideally to a simmer for about 60 seconds, stirring to avoid boil-over. Cut cheese into dice-sized pieces and add to meal. Add Fritos just before consumption. If added too early, they will soften. For perfect at-home consistency, use 10 oz (300 ml) of water. To prevent burning, do not add beans, rice, and taco seasoning until water is boiling.
Author's note: This meal is my favorite. It goes on every single backpacking trip. I never get tired of it. Clients love this recipe. Need more convincing to try it? Key Stats •Recommended meal weight: 5.7 oz •Total calories: 675 •Calories per ounce: 120 Few individuals have struggled to consume the entire meal, but if you have a small appetite you may, in which case I would recommend holding out on some of the beans or rice. If you want to increase calorie count or caloric density, add more cheese or Fritos. Rusty Sounds yummy! To reduce mold on the cheese, try not to get your fingerprints on it. Wrapping the cheese in plastic wrap helps reduce mold/air interaction. If you buy too much cheese, it can be frozen for future use. Andrew Skurka It does not need to be brought to a boil, but I find that a simmer up to about 60 seconds will reduce post-cooking wait time and ensure thoroughly cooked ric Andrew October 21, 2015 at 7:51 pm # Some general thoughts for other people trying this out Works awesome as a freezer bag meal. 12 oz of water gets it pretty thick, which is preferable for freezer bags to avoid tragic spillage. Takes about 5-8 minutes to rehydrate and doesn’t require boiling water. I’m a fan of adding a bit of extra garlic powder and cumin as well when I’m bagging them up. A roughly even mix of the Santa Fe refried and the Harmony House whole pinto is a nice textural contrast, and gets lots of good beaney goop along with whole beans. I’ve found little single serving extra sharp cheddar at a few places, most recently and easily available is at Sheetz gas stations. They have little flat 2oz packages of cheese (real cheese, not cheese food) that last a long time in the woods. This is easily my favorite backpacking meal ever, and it’s super simple and inexpensive. After I accidentally dumped 3 oz of olive oil onto myself, I’m all about the meals that don’t involve the oil calorie boost.
Per Serving (1 Serving): Calories 675
Source: Andrew Sukra's blog