Cooking Chunky soup with aluminum foil in pot?

[caseyc]

This may sound like a retarded question, but I'm interested in finding out if this is possible.

Is it "safe" to have a piece of aluminum foil (double layer or folded over) placed inside a small pot formed into the shape of a coffee filter, then pour the content of a Chunky soup (eg: beef & vege), then cook it over a Coleman propane stove? Only the actual pot will touch the flame on the stove.

The soup content will be inside the foil paper lined inside the small pot. I would put the flame on low to heat up the soup in maybe 10 minutes, and then eat directly out of the aluminum foil lined pot (using a plastic spoon). When done eating, I simply take out the aluminum foil and discard in plastic trash bag along with plastic spoon.

The reason I would want to do this is because I simply don't want to wash the darn pot (or utensils) after cooking. That's the only reason.

Anyone think this is feasible...or not??

Thanks, Casey

 

[LFM]

Put the can of soup in a pan with water and heat.

 

[caseyc]

That sounds like an idea. Do this with the top lid off or leave on??

Put the can of soup in a pan with water and heat.

 

[Lucky mike]

I would definitely open the can!!.....if you dont you will not like cleaning up after the explosion.....(seems I remember pork & Beans and a campfire for some reason!)....besides how would you stir it or open it when its hot......wait for it to cool again?

 

[caseyc]

Dang! Good point.Thanks!

I would definitely open the can!!.....if you dont you will not like cleaning up after the
explosion.....(seems I remember pork & Beans and a campfire for some reason!)....besides how would you stir it or open it when its hot......wait for it to cool again?

 

[Mac J]

Line your mouth with aluminum foil as well caseyc so you don't have to brush after eating. Watch the fillings tho......yikes!

 

[flying kurbmaster]

Ok Casey, can we talk, I read you were moving out of your apartment and I wanted to wish you good luck in your new lifestyle, but I got to tell you, you have to get over the cooking bit. From what I read, you have more gadgets in your van then anyone I know. How about researching a good set of camping pots and pans that fit into each other. A small plastic tub to do your dishes in and an area you know that has a water tap like at a local park or something, preferably with a picnic table so you can set up and do dishes on. A few plates and bowls so you don't have to do them everyday. If you could find a tub with a lid so you are able to pile your dirty dishes in, to eliminate any smells while they sit in your van for a few days or install an outdoor locker or box attached to your bumper or something. I personally find eating out very disappointing and very expensive, there are a lot of meals you don't have to cook. It would be a lot healthier as well. I know you are a grown man so I don't want to sound like I am preaching, cooking can be a lot of fun and very creative. I am sure you would enjoy it, once you got into it with the right set up. Best of luck

 

[akblack10]

CaseyC, buy a 5 gallon bucket with lid, place your kitchen items, like pots and pans, plates and utensils etc... in the bucket to travel. When you want to cook, all of your "kitchen" is in one place, the bucket also functions as your sink. You can wash your clothes in the bucket too! So many possibilities w a 5 gallon bucket!
-AK

 

[MK7]

Chunky soup with rice is really good. Plus the rice will make it less watery and less likely to leak out of the aluminum foil.

 

[Reducto]

Some of the chunky soup varieties taste just fine at any temperature. No need for cooking, just try a few to find what works. If it's sunny and you'll be eating during the day, put the can under your windshield for a while before eating.

For things that do require cooking, I've pretty much given up cleaning. I wipe my silverware clean with a rag (18 pack of hand towels for like $2 at Walmart) and just let the pot and bowl dry. The bowl is a plastic container I got at Ikea with a very slick surface, so once dry I can just use a dry rag to scrape off the remainder. The pot, well, whatever I put into it to cook next cleans it off. The chilli residue adds a little flavor to the rice I have the next night. As long as you allow it to cool and dry quickly no mold or spores will be able to grow.

It probably sounds gross, but it works for me and saves a lot of water and hassle.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

kurbmaster, believe it or not, Casey has what he needs for cooking, but hates to do it. As for another storage outside his van...don't go there, LOL. He has waaaaay too much storage and is pretty top heavy.

Casey, I ain't pickin' on ya, buddy.
Warming a soup can (opened) in a little water is an easy way to handle part of your cooking. A skillet used to fry sausage and eggs is easily wiped out with a paper towel. A good iron skillet never gets washed with soap anyway.
Tho we have sink and water onboard, we still wash dishes outdoors sometimes (to save on filling our gray tank as quickly). We have a 10"X14" plastic tote w/lid that can hold some dirty stuff for a day or 2 to save on wash water.

Of course, you could get a dog and never wash another dish, LOL.
(my piece of bad advice for the day)

Darn, now ya made me think of those great Grubstake burgers :s

 

[sl1966]

I simply don't want to wash the darn pot (or utensils) after cooking.

Jeebus Casey ... would you like me to chew that for you and feed it to you thru a straw too ... lol

---

Actually there is kind of a solution. They sell 2qt crock pots, and I think they make cooking liners for them too. But then you'd be adding more gear.

 

[caseyc]

Wow, I didn't know there would be many more replies to my thread here. I thought peeps would simply discard this as being retarded, haha!

Yes, it's true that I have more gadgets than I have cooking stuff. But given that, I can still say I have a fair amount of cooking equipment and supplies as well. I must have at least 5 different propane and butane stoves at my last count, so I certainly have the right stuff to cook. I would buy even more cooking equipment, but I have truly run out of space in my vehicle, and I'm at a point of having to remove stuff out of my van and storage containers. But as mentioned earlier, my primary thing is that I simply don't want to clean, haha! Heck, I don't even really like cooking either.

I didn't want to give anyone the possible wrong impression that I'll be eating Chunky can soups as my main diet either, haha! I've been eating Chunky soup since a kid, and I still like that stuff! I would only eat that as a simple snack that can be quickly made. "Quickly" also means I don't want to spend additional time having to clean, hence the foil paper.

If you guys think I'm about joking about using foil paper, check out my attached picture. When I was at the recent Quartzsite RTR event, I was cooking bacon, sausages, hashbrown on a 10" frying pan double lined with foil paper. I got all that pre-made food from The Dollar Store at Quartzsite, so I simply needed to heat it up for 20 minutes and it was ready to eat.

When I was done cooking and eating, I simply tossed the foil paper, and quickly wiped the pan with a wet wipe. I also used paper plates and plastic forks which were also tossed. By the way, that large industrial grade metal spoon belongs to Adrian which I borrowed. I believe he let Homer (Bob's dog) lick away all the food stuck to the spoon. It was actually hard to wash that spoon, I tried, but it took a bit of effort.

As an aside, I like to think my laziness for washing is helping to ease the California water drought. The governor here has told us we should all use 20% less water. I realize plastic forks and paper plates are contributing to the landfill dilemma, but heck, at least I'm not using water for cleaning.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

The skillet/foil is a good idea for lots of things.
I have a 12" no-stick skillet with cover that I can put a trivet inside and heat a thawed freezer dinner like Healthy Choice, etc. A low flame and heat slowly to prevent burning, kinda like a dutch oven. Also heat buritos and stuff.

Out in the desert ya work that big spoon over in the sand to make it shiny clean.

(just so everyone here knows...Having met the man, I have the greatest respect for Casey. Very cool guy.)

Casey, this doesn't mean I'm not gonna tease ya sometimes

Oh yeah, all this reminds me of a long time ago in a pick-up/camper I'd wire a can of Dinty Moore stew under the hood and have a warm meal at the end of the day of driving. Hey, it worked

Keep on truckin

 

[caseyc]

Jay, thanks bud, much appreciated! Let the teasing begin, haha!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

We thought about you the other day when we had lunch at Chez Ronald's. (first time there since coming here in Nov).
The spicy chic samwich was pretty good for the cheap price.

 

[highdesertranger]

hell casey if you are just worried about cleaning the pot you need a dog. sometimes my dog will clean the dishes so well I don't even need to wash them. and if the dog won't eat what's on the dishes I know that either he needs to go to the vet or I need to go to the doctor. of course this whole reply is bs, I always wash the dishes after he precleans. highdesertranger

 

[mockturtle]

One problem with heating things in the can [lid off, for sure!] is that heat expands stuff and it will probably overflow the can. All canned soups should be heating to boiling before eating [just in case] according to their own instructions. I think I like your foil idea better.

 

[Zil]

I worked in a cannery making soup. I worked in product recovery. Don't ask. The machine that roll seals the lid has a device that displaces a small volume of liquid to provide "head space" in the can. The cans are then heated in a steam retort to about 300F. The air gap helps to mix the soup to insure sterilization. I don't think you could split a can using a water bath. Opening the can could be hot. But I have done this on the road and also with field rations while in the army. The field mess would have a 30 gallon can of boiling water with canned meals in the hot water. We would scoop a can for a pot luck type choice of diet. a hot can and a p38 was fun.

 

[caseyc]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000E2PO7/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Norpro KRONA 8 Cup Multi Pot with Straining Lid

You guys might think I've gone OCD on this topic, but I ordered the above pot just for the purpose of "cooking" a can of Chunky soup. I was looking for a pot that's not too wide in diameter (less wide the better), but is at least 5" in height to accommodate a can of Chunky soup. The way I'm going to cook the Chunky soup is to first take off the lid, fill the pot to quarter (or half) full with water with can inside, attach the pot lid, then turn on stove to low heat til the soup starts to bubble with heat. Eat right out of the can with a plastic spoon, when done, toss the whole thing into the trash. No mess, no cleaning, hah!

Does the above sound like a work-able plan?