One of the first recipes that was put on the Freezer Bag Cooking website, (which predated TrailCooking) was this pasta dish. This was a long time ago, in the early years of developing and writing recipes. It was submitted by a reader, and to be honest, I never got it made – the recipe is probably around 17 to 18 years old. It got transferred every time the website was rebuilt over the years.
It was a simple, stripped down version of Beef Stroganoff, and used ramen noodles (which were precooked). Over the years I have made more gourmet versions of this dish. I wanted to play with this recipe, especially as how easy it is now to access freeze-dried ingredients. And instead of ramen, which I really don’t like that much, I used freeze-dried egg noodles (dehydrated works just fine as well). I included a link to the post on how to do both of these options.
But here’s the thing….making the recipe I realized a few things: First, there was just too much water called for. Second, this was the blandest meal I had tried in a long time. I know that my taste is far different than many – and I like deep flavors. Pile them up! So I got to it and made a second version with more flavor and less water. It’s how my mind works when I am working on recipes. What can I change, what can I add? But I kept to the main recipe.
Quick Beef Stroganoff
- 1 1/3 cup freeze-dried or dehydrated egg noodles
- 1/3 cup freeze-dried ground beef
- 1/3 cup crumbled freeze-dried mushrooms
- 1 Tbsp dried onion
In a snack bag:
- 3 Tbsp freeze-dried sour cream
Place a freezer bag in an FBC Cozy. Pour 2 cups of boiling water into the bag. Stir well, seal tightly, and put in the cozy for 10 minutes (15 if using dehydrated pasta).
Drain off the broth carefully, leaving a bit behind. Add sour cream powder to the bag and mix well.
One Pot Method:
Add 2 cups water to a pot (HAA or non-stick works best). Bring to a boil.
Add in the dried ingredients and stir well. Cover tightly, and turn off the stove. In cool temperatures or at higher altitudes, use a pot cozy to keep warm. Let sit for 10 minutes (15 if dehydrated pasta)
Drain off most of the broth, and add the sour cream powder, stirring well.
Serves 1-2.
We posted a video on our Facebook Page of us making it the recipe.
Now, the second version has beef broth powder and tomato powder added.
Quick Beef Stroganoff Version 2
- 1 1/3 cup freeze-dried or dehydrated egg noodles
- 1/3 cup freeze-dried ground beef
- 1/3 cup crumbled freeze-dried mushrooms
- 1 Tbsp dried onion
- 1 Tbsp tomato powder
- 2 tsp beef bouillon (lower sodium)
- Pinch fine sea salt, if desired
In a snack bag:
- 3 Tbsp freeze-dried sour cream
Place the freezer bag in an FBC Cozy. Pour 1½ cups of boiled water into the bag. Stir well, seal tightly, and put in a cozy for 10 minutes (15 if dehydrated pasta).
Drain off the broth carefully, leaving a bit behind (there won’t be much to drain; if you like it saucy, leave all water in). Add sour cream powder to the bag and mix well.
One Pot Method:
Add 1½ cups water to a pot (HAA or non-stick works best). Bring to a boil.
Add in the dried ingredients and stir well. Cover tightly, and turn off the stove. In cool temperatures or at higher altitude use a pot cozy to keep warm. Let sit for 10 minutes (15 if dehydrated pasta)
Add the sour cream powder and stir well.
Serves 1-2.
The original version has a thin, white sauce. This has color from the tomato powder and a deeper flavor due to adding low-sodium beef broth.
~Sarah