Firehouse Chicken Noodle Skillet
A firehouse casserole flattened into one pan: noodles, chicken, gravy, and a crushed corn flake lid.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 111
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- 900 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Spaghetti | 12 oz | snapped into thirds so it fits the pot |
|---|---|---|
| Canned or pouched chicken | three 10 oz cans, drained | about 5 cups |
| Cream of mushroom soup mix | 2 packets | dry condensed-style, not canned |
| Cream of chicken soup mix | 2 packets | |
| Powdered whole milk | 1/2 cup | |
| Sour cream powder | 1/2 cup | |
| Grated parmesan | 1 cup | the shelf-stable shaker kind |
| Freeze-dried onion | 1/4 cup | |
| Freeze-dried celery | 1/4 cup | |
| Dried parsley | 2 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/4 tsp | |
| Corn flakes | 1.5 cups, crushed | |
| Butter or ghee | 1/4 cup |
Method
- Boil 900 ml of water with a pinch of salt. Add the pasta and the freeze-dried onion and celery together, and cook until the pasta is just soft.
- Do not drain. Pull the pot off the heat and let it sit one minute so the boil stops.
- Stir in the sauce bag — soup mixes, milk powder, sour cream powder, parmesan, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper — a third at a time. It will look thin, then thicken as it cools.
- Fold in the drained chicken. Put the pot back on the lowest flame for two or three minutes, stirring, until it is hot through.
- Melt the butter in a mug or a lid, toss the crushed corn flakes in it, and scatter them over the top off the heat. Serve before they soften.
The original is an oven casserole held together by cans: two condensed soups, sour cream, milk, and shredded mozzarella. None of that travels. Powders do. Dry soup mix, milk powder, sour cream powder, and shaker parmesan rehydrate into the same gravy using the pasta water you were going to pour out anyway, which is why there is no draining step and no second pot.
Cooking the pasta and the dried onion and celery together saves fuel and gives the vegetables the full boil they need to come back. The corn flakes are the one thing worth carrying separately. Their whole job is texture against a soft, heavy bowl, and they lose it about ninety seconds after they hit the butter.
Packing
All the powders and dried vegetables go in one bag at home — that bag is the sauce. Corn flakes ride in a separate bag or they turn to dust; crush them on purpose right before dinner.
Variations
- Swap the corn flakes for crushed fried onions if you want the topping to carry its own fat.
- Cheddar or gouda cut in at the end instead of parmesan makes it heavier and stringier.
- A pouch of salmon in place of the chicken works, but cut the parmesan in half.
https://mealswithmaria.site/firefighter-chicken-spaghetti-casserole-recipe