Million Dollar Chicken and Cornflakes
Freeze-dried chicken, powdered creamy base, bacon, and a crushed cornflake lid. The casserole reduced to one pot.
- calories
- 790
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 144
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 400 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
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried chicken | 1.5 oz | diced, not shredded; it rehydrates faster |
|---|---|---|
| Instant cream of chicken soup mix | 3 tbsp | or a chicken bouillon cube plus 2 tbsp of a roux-style gravy mix |
| Powdered whole milk | 2 tbsp | |
| Sour cream powder | 2 tbsp | |
| Freeze-dried cheddar or shelf-stable cheese powder | 1/3 cup | |
| Cooked bacon crumbles | 1 oz | the fully rendered shelf-stable kind, not the refrigerated tub |
| Dried chives or freeze-dried scallion | 1 tbsp | |
| Hot sauce | 1 tsp | dropper bottle, or a pinch of cayenne instead |
| Cornflake crumbs | 1/3 cup | |
| Ghee or butter powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Put the chicken in your pot with 400 ml of water and bring it to a boil. Hold the boil two minutes, then cut the heat and cover it for five. The chicken needs that time or it stays chalky in the middle.
- Stir in the soup mix, milk powder, sour cream powder, cheese, bacon, chives, and hot sauce. Stir hard against the side of the pot so the powders do not clump.
- If it is thin, leave it covered another two minutes. It thickens as it cools.
- Melt the ghee into the cornflake crumbs in your cup or lid, then scatter them over the top right before eating. Salt and pepper last.
The original is a slow cooker casserole finished under a broiler, which is two heat sources you do not have. What survives the translation is the structure: a creamy chicken base, salt from bacon and cheese, and a crunchy lid. Freeze-dried chicken replaces raw breast, powdered milk and sour cream powder replace the dairy, and the soup mix does the job of the can.
The topping is the part people skip and should not. Everything under it is one soft texture, and a spoonful of buttered cornflakes is the only contrast in the pot. Add it at the very end — stirred in early, it just dissolves into thickener.
Packing
Everything except the cornflake crumbs and the ghee goes in one bag. The crumbs get their own bag or they turn to dust and stop being a topping.
Variations
- Skip the bacon and swap the chicken for a cup of instant mashed potato flakes if you want it lighter and cheaper.
- A handful of instant rice added with the powders turns one dinner into two.
https://mealswithmaria.site/slow-cooker-neiman-marcus-chicken-casserole