Ham and Rice with Green Beans
Bouillon rice, freeze-dried ham, and a handful of dried vegetables. Built from a bare pantry, packed for a bare pack.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 30 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 600 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
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant brown rice | 3/4 cup | parboiled, not regular brown rice |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried diced ham | 1.5 oz | or a shelf-stable ham pouch |
| Beef bouillon cube | 1 | |
| Dried green beans | 1/3 cup | |
| Dried carrot slices | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried edamame | 1/4 cup | roasted works, it just stays firm |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Crumble in the bouillon cube and stir until it dissolves.
- Add the green beans, carrots, edamame, and ham. Boil two minutes to start the vegetables rehydrating.
- Add the rice, stir once, and boil one more minute.
- Cut the heat, cover the pot, and let it sit ten minutes. Insulate it in a jacket or sit bag if it is cold out.
- Stir in the oil and pepper. If it is still crunchy, add a splash of hot water and wait another five minutes.
This started as a budget grocery list, not a trail meal: ham, brown rice, canned green beans, carrots, edamame, bouillon. The bones are good — cheap protein, cheap starch, cheap vegetables — but cans and refrigerated ham do not go in a pack. Dried vegetables and freeze-dried ham carry the same meal at a fifth of the weight, and instant rice replaces the forty-minute simmer regular brown rice demands.
The bouillon cube is doing most of the flavor work, so it goes in the water first rather than getting sprinkled on at the end. The off-heat soak is what makes this a one-fuel-burst meal: the vegetables and rice finish in the residual heat instead of on the stove. Skip the oil and the calorie count drops by about a hundred and twenty, which matters more than the taste does.
Packing
Rice, dried vegetables, ham, and the crushed bouillon cube go in one freezer bag. Oil rides in a dropper bottle.
Variations
- Swap the ham for a foil tuna packet added after the soak.
- A spoonful of tomato paste from a tube turns the broth into something closer to a stew.
- Drop the ham and use vegetable bouillon for a meatless version.
https://mealswithmaria.site/extreme-budget-meal-plan