faster to to cook foods

[nature lover]

anyone know more about the truckers lunch box 12 volt cooker? I knew of a man who used to cook things rapped in foil laying on the manifold of his truck while driving- never tried it my self but fill a Stanley thermos with hot water and put a couple of kielbasi in and eat them after driving several hours. goooood

 

[Dingfelder]

Speatzle  mix egg, flour, water, salt, baking soda and a pinch of nutmeg if you are going traditional in a zip lock baggie.  Knead the mixture until it is a very wet dough.  Snip a corner of the bag and squeeze out little noodles into boiling salted water.  They sink to bottom but float to the top when done in just a minute or two.  Serve with margarine or gravy leftovers for a cheap quick meal.  My dad loved to make this for us.

My German mother made spaetzle frequently, in logs like smallish chicken tenders.  It wasn't very good and nobody ever asked for them, but it was cheap.  And with a decent gravy, not so bad.  I've made them just to fool around with food and experiment.  Used thed scrape a line off the cutting board method to produce thin segments method.  Also used an odd contraption that pushes a bit of dough through a grater horizontally to make a succession of small spaetzle's fall through into boiling water.  I never knew growing up that you could make them small.  But they are MUCH better and less of a gummy mouthful that way.  They don't take long to cook at all, and once you have the water boiling, you can make a lot of them if you like, so I guess the cost goes down the more you make.  And flour and water etc costs very very little.  Adding some herbs in there makes a big difference in flavor, IMO.  Aside from the fuel costs, it's certainly one of the cheapest hot foods you can make, and relatively easy if you don't get into gadgets overmuch.

 

[WanderingRose]

And with the egg in spaetzle, they add a nourishing bit of substance to a soup or otherwise nutritionally light meal.

I am not into packaged ramen noodles, but have in the past taught others to beat a couple of eggs and add them to the broth with the noodles, stirring to break them up and cook the eggs.

Nutritious, quick, filling and dirt cheap.

 

[nature lover]

In my culture (PA German / Amish) we made something similar called rivels. The dough is not as wet and you form them by pinching dough between thumb and 4 fingers. We love them in our traditional soups - chicken corn and brown potato. The broth gives them a good flavor. When I was young I wasn't thrilled by them, but now if I dont include them it just dose not seem right. TRADITION We also make an egg noodle that we cook in water and cover in brown butter - butter that has been caramelized - we love this brown butter on mashed potatoes and almost any veggie. Not very healthy but our work ethic used up those calories. I am an exception to that work ethic and I look like it. (shaped like a canned ham).

 

[Rainier70]

I do a lot of hiking so I am familiar with hiker meals that are relatively quick and use little fuel. The basic premise is to use a quick or no cook starch with dehydrated vegetables and meats. Most meals are that you heat a cup or two of water and pour it into your food. You then put your pot/cup into a "cosy" or wrap in a towel to keep it warm for 10 minutes or so.

If you look up "freezer bag meals" you can see some recipes and get some ideas to use. I know that dehydrating your own stuff is probably out, but fresh works too if you aren't backpacking it. Also many dehydrated vegs and sauces are available on the internet. https://www.backpackingchef.com/ is also a good site.

The reason I mention this, is that you can make a lot of meal variations around minute rice, cous cous, instant potatoes, bulger, dehydrated refried beans, and quick pastas like angel hair or asian pastas (rice noodles etc). Add some seasonings and maybe some sauce or gravy, throw in some vegies and meat. Just about anything you want, and your meal can be done in just a few minutes. Also Fresh pasta cooks quicker than dry, but it does have to be actively boiled for a few minutes.

Near East has some nice cous cous flavors that are fun to experiment with. Also bulger dishes like tambouleh. They have quinoa too, but I don't remember if it is parboiled to be quick cooking.

Knorr Sides are also a quick cooking alternative that can be used as a meal base.

Another way to a quick meal is to slice your meats and vegetables thin for a quick stir fry.

You might also consider frozen convenience foods. Some can be thawed and quickly, cooked, heated, or toasted in a skillet.

I have even "cooked" frozen burritos and heated canned soup on the dash of my car. I just put what I am heating between the windshield and my reflector. Be careful not to over heat the canned soup!

You could also get a small stove top pressure cooker. You can do just about anything in it, in just few minutes of burn time.

I'll probably think of more later. Good luck and have fun exploring the grocery aisles.

 

[maki2]

anyone know more about the truckers lunch box 12 volt cooker?  I knew of a man who used to cook things rapped in foil laying on the manifold of his truck while driving- never tried it my self but fill a Stanley thermos with hot water and put a couple of kielbasi in and eat them after driving several hours.  goooood

there are already a few threads on the small sized 12 volt cookers. I put one of those threads up although the version I found in the thrift store had a 120 plug, same appliance different power source. It worked fine but that is slow cooking. Best done for the days when you are on a long drive or days when you have plenty of solar power.

 

[eDJ_]

As I've read thru this thread a few times now,  I've began to start looking for options when I'm at the grocery store. 

It occurs to me that a time frame for cooking any of these meals may be helpful to better define this idea.  Also the storage
for food (if boondocking)

That which wouldn't require refrigeration.  Canned chicken breast,  Canned roast beef & gravy,i Canned Corn Beef (or Roast Beef) Hash,  Canned Tamales,  Canned Soups, Canned Beef Stew,  Canned Beanie Weenie's,  Canned Tomatoes, Okra, & corn. (to be used with precooked rice in pouches, and smoked sausage or hot dogs) Spam (fried) Canned Ham,
Summer Sausage (fried with eggs) , etc.

In boxes, fast Mac & Cheese (boil mac, drain, squeeze in pouch of cheese), mashed potatoes & gravy (from envelope or can) instant oatmeal (add hot water),  onion soup mix, dried hash brown potatoes, (add hot water and allow to rehydrate
while heating skillet and fry) precooked bacon, etc. 

Requiring refrigeration,  smoked sausage, hot dogs, (can be cut in half down the middle for heat quicker) Potato Patty's,
etc.  

A lot of this stuff is processed food or even precooked.  Just need heating up.

The up side is that if you are traveling, you will go by numerous grocery stores so the need to carry a large store of these foods may not be necessary.  Just stop before meal time and purchase what you need for each day.  If boondocking you may need to purchase a store of foods to last for your intended stay.

 

[Firebuild]

I use a microwave often and I actually think it's a great option. Mine is 700 watts theoretically but because it's AC it uses closer to 850 from my solar. But I'm using it for a total of no more than about 8 minutes (and that's something that takes a long time) so that's only 107 watts, much less than the crock pot even on low because of the cooking time. I buy shelf-ready microwave meals sometimes, they have some really good ones out there that are not all processed and all that, and most are designed to cook for only a minute or two in the microwave. If you have an inverter that can handle it I'm all about the microwave for some things, but there is nothing like slow cooking for other things.

 

[nature lover]

I don't have enough power for a microwave but if I did that instapot sounds great. I dont have good refrigeration but use canned goods a lot most of these are fully cooked and only need warmed. Oh yes I have been known to eat that awful spam too. I never understood the people who poo poo spam and turn around and eat bacon - which has more fat and salt spam lite or bacon? Spam sliced thin and fried hard makes a bacon substitute. Spam now comes in a single serving foil pack and that one piece when added to scrambled eggs or a can of beans can make two meals and it is fully cooked and requires no refrigeration. canned white meat of chicken is a healthier alternative, but his fat man likes the taste of spam once a month or so.

 

[maki2]

Making kebobs is a terrific way to cook fast meals in a very short amount of time as the sizes of the individual pieces is not overly large so the cooking time required is pretty short and it does not take a lot of fuel. There are a lot of great foods made that way from quite a large array of cultures around the globe. It can be done on a small propane grill out of doors. Propane makes it fast cooking versus waiting for coals to get to the right stage for cooking over them. But either way the food itself cooks pretty quickly.

 

[Tony's Dream]

I have seen sites selling solar cookers. This would require no fuel other than the sun. Have any of you tried using one?

GoSun Sport - Portable Solar Cooker for Easy, Delicious, and Versatile Meals, Solar Oven Perfect for Camping - Cooks Food in as Little as 20 Minutes

 

[maki2]

Looks like a viable solar product for solo travel for making single serving meals. They say it will cook a small fish or food cut into small cubes. It can also boil water.  I have not tried one.

 

[maki2]

speaking of fast cooking foods, fish is quite fast to cook. Have eaten many a fish when on summer camping/fishing trips in Alaska. In fact my son's first word after mama and dada was "shish".

Speaking of catching fish I just saw that most states have one or more free fishing days every year where you can fish without needing a state fishing license. Just do a web search with "free fishing" + the state you will be visiting

 

[Tony's Dream]

Be careful when you read the limitations.  Some states do have free days of fishing, but possession limits are very limited in some states.

 

[maki2]

I like the free fishing days in Hawaii, for ocean caught fish every day is a free day!

 

[TMooney]

Am I missing something here? A 20lb cylendar will last20hrs on barbecue grill according to google . Simmering beans would at least double that. Dont they trade bottled at around 20 dollars?

 

[highdesertranger]

if you trade you cylinder in for 20 bucks you are getting ripped off and 20 bucks is the going price. swapping cylinders is a bad choice unless your cylinder's date is up. highdesertranger

 

[maki2]

How about lets get back to good tasting food that is quick to cook rather than how long propane cylinders will last for slow cooking.

If you want to discuss the cost of bulk propane tanks please start a new thread for that. It is certainly a viable subject but hijacking threads and running off into the weeds with them is not considered good manners in forums.

 

[desert_sailing]

I use pre cooked canned meats so you really just have to warm them not cook,  you can get chicken breast meat or beef cubes.  I found that Dintymore beef stew is pretty good (not as good as slow cooked homemade but good enough)  I often take a can of stew and add several cans of veggies like string beans, corn, or my favorite limas.  The mixture makes 4 healthy(size) servings at a cost about $1.25 each.  One serving and a piece of bread is a filling meal for me.  and very little fuel used because you aren't cooking just warming.  Speaking of warming those limas can warm you under the covers later in the night.  My recipe for happy camping is Burn wood - Cook beans - Laugh loudly - Fart proudly (might want to amend that if other camps are close.)

Be careful.. you don't want to give yourself the corona..
https://nypost.com/2020/04/20/can-the-co...ugh-farts/