Bear Creek Creamy Chicken and Pasta- YUM!

Yesterday for dinner I prepared Bear Creek's Creamy Chicken Pasta Mix. This pasta mix is by far the best dry pasta mix I have ever had!  What is even more impressive about this mix is that all you add is water. There is no need for milk or butter. This is such a great prepper food. It tends to be cheaper than other dry mixes you find at outdoor supply stores but the quality is not compromised. It has a good shelf life, easy to prepare over a fire, and tastes great.
I have had other brands and have added lots of butter, milk, cream cheese or whatever else I could find to help improve the flavor and texture of the mix, but there is no need to do that with Beer Creek.
The mixes are approximately $3 per mix, and each one has four one-cup servings at 330 calories per cup. I prepared the Creamy Chicken and had a salad that that was our dinner. My picky daughters even ate it. I could have easily sneaked in some sweet peas or cooked carrots in the dish to get more vegetables in my daughters diet,, but I resisted my natural tendency to add additional ingredients and try the mix on its own. and I am very glad I did.

I am looking forward to trying more soups, especially the chili, but right now it is summertime in Ohio and 90 degree outside. The chili will just have to wait a bit longer.

My Favorite Cookware - Lodge Cast Iron!

      Lodge Cast Iron is my all-time favorite cookware. Cast iron is the most durable pans and dutch ovens. I can cook a meal in a dutch oven over the campfire and do not have to worry about damaging the pot.  It can go from the oven, to the stove top to outdoor cooking, to heating up food over the fireplace. I prefer Lodge brand cast iron because they are pre-seasoned. I have purchased cheap cast iron pans before and had to heat them in the oven first because they were coated in wax. This process stunk up the entire house. Afterward I followed directions to season the pan with vegetable shortening. It was messy and as soon as I used it it still did not perform right. I just couldn't get it seasoned right. It was way to much work. It is well worth paying more for Lodge Cast Iron. 

     Lodge has a wonderful selection of products.  I have a dutch oven that is a must whenever we go camping. Especially camping in the cool fall, nothing beats cooking a pot of chili over the fire with the crisp smell of autumn leaves all around. We also use the griddle for the morning breakfast. Our favorite breakfast is the simple bacon and eggs. But I must say, for some reason, they never taste better than while camping.  The bacon must be cooked first. After the bacon is ready, remove the bacon from the griddle but leave some of the bacon grease. Cook the eggs directly in the bacon grease. The secret to cooking the perfect bacon and eggs over a fire is controlling the temperature of the griddle. Heat the griddle slowly over hot coals not the fire itself. If you place the griddle over hot flames it has a tendency to get too hot and will burn the bacon edges while other parts of the bacon will remain raw. Get the pan hot enough that the bacon will cook but more slowly.  After the bacon is done. Cast iron retains heat more than any other cookware. The griddle can actually be removed from the heat source and still adequately cook the eggs. When the breakfast is prepared, sit around the fire and enjoy. The blended smell of bacon and a campfire will make this a breakfast you will never forget.

     Lodge had a great catalog of products. I must admit some of them are on my Christmas wish list!  I am excited to try other products and let you know how they perform.

Remember the Dish Soap!

Another prep item I stock pile is dish soap, particularly Dawn and Palmolive.  I remember watching a show on television approximately 10 years ago that stuck with me.  It was more of an educational type of reality TV.  It was in England.  There was a group of around 20-30 volunteers who lived in a Renaissance period camp.  The producers of this program only gave the participants the items that they would have had during the Renaissance Period. These items included the clothing, shelter, food, cooking equipment, tools, medicines, etc. The participants were finding food in the forest, hunting, and gathering water from a nearby spring.  What I remember most about this program is that the producers had to stop this experiment for a short period because many of the participants were getting horribly ill.  Some even had to leave the camp and go home and seek medical care. The reason they were getting ill:  no dish washing soap.
I found this very interesting. Maybe we, as a society, have a weaker immune system because we are accustomed to our cooking environments being sterile. In this experiment, I believe it was a combination of the wooded bowls and spoons that were being used and their innate characteristic to hold bacteria and molds within their cracks and pores, and the lack of soap to clean the bowls and spoons thoroughly.  The producers made a decisions to allow modern day soaps in the camp. They decided they had a choice of allowing the soap or stopping the program. Once soap was introduced, the participants were no longer ill.

I have since add dish washing soap to my stock pile.  Particularly Dawn and Palmolive. Since storage space is an issue with my home. I have found that these two brands seem more concentrated that other brands. I can use a lot less of these soaps and get the same results and using three times as much of cheaper brands. These soaps can also be used to clean much more if need to. You can clean you clothes, if you did not have electricity to use a washing machine, your clothes may need some softener to feel soft, but they would be clean, and smell mush better!

Bear Creek Soups

I have just developed a new fondness for Bear Creek Soups!  I purchased these dehydrated soups for three dollars each and each package provides between 4-8 one cup servings. They are dry mixes therefore they have a long shelf life. There is an expiration date, however, if stored properly it can last much longer. Bear Creek provides a great variety of soups and pastas that only require water to prepare. Even their cream based soups only need water. Personally, I have stocked up on the Vegetable Beef and the Minestrone more than the other ones.  I have found that these two provide a great  base for additional ingredients. You can add beef, pork,venison, or any other type of protein you find.  Vegetables may also be added. I liked to add tomatoes to the Minestrone, but whatever vegetable you find in the garden or in a can would work well. Pasta would also make a great addition for an even heartier meal.  These soups instantly provide such a great base to make a one pot meal for a large group.
I have also purchased the Creamy Chicken Pasta Mix with my picky children in mind. Not surprisingly, they both preferred this one over the more complex soups. One pack has only 4 servings, however, there are 330 calories per serving. This pasta could also be a base, however, you may need to be a little more selective on what you add.  Additional chicken and pasta of course would be great. Carrots, celery, peas, and green beans would also be a way to transform this dish into a larger one pot meal for a family.

I will be buying much more of these soups and pastas. I am looking forward to trying the Cheddar Broccoli, "Darn Good" Chili, and the Potato Soups. I will share what I find out about these as well.