Good Old Mac N Cheese
There are lots of Mac n Cheese versions available now on the web. But I’ve tried to develop recipe that would be suitable for prolonged backpacking trips and thru-hikes. I wanted it is lightweight, tasty, quick and easy-to-cook, preferably in one pot, and with long shelf live. I wanted to use also as more natural, non-harmful ingredients as possible.
To minimize the cooking time on the trail, I cooked the pasta in advance and then dehydrated it. For sauce I used whole milk powder (Nido), ghee, flour and freeze dried Cheddar cheese that has been ground in a coffee grinder into a powder. As a result, I’ve got silky smooth Macaroni and Cheese.
nutrition info:
calories: 656, protein: 19.1 g, carbs: 82.4 g, fat: 26.3 g, sugars: 8.7 g, sodium: 996 mg
you'll need:
3 tablespoons Cheddar cheese powder
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
2/3 cup pre-cooked and dehydrated pasta
Salt, to taste
1 tablespoon ghee
at home:
Mix heavy cream powder, cheese powder and cornstarch in a small-sized zip lock bag.
Pack the remaining ingredients separately.
on the trail:
Pour pasta into a pot; add in 1/3 cup water.
Bring to a boil and season to taste.
Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, or until rehydrated.
Take the pot off the heat.
Stir in cheese sauce powder from the bag.
Add ghee and mix well until it melts.
Enjoy!
Note: You can make this recipe also with regular, non-dehydrated macaroni too. Just cook them in salted, boiling water according to package instructions. Drain the water off reserving about ¼ cup for sauce, then follow original recipe.
