100% Food Storage: Auguson Farms Lasagna from their Italian Pail

 

 

 

 

Tonight I used our 'daily bread' dough from the refrigerator (many, many previous posts about that one) to make pizza and cheesy garlic bread.  The pizza for Mr. Husband, and the garlic bread for me and he to eat with another food storage item from our long term level - the Auguson Farms Italian Pail bucket.

I bought this bucket kit at some point prior to a camping/hiking trip I was taking in 2017.  One of my daughters and I were doing a 2 week cross-country camping trip and were bringing everything we needed for 2 weeks (food, water, power, etc).  I bought two buckets - an Italian version and their Mexican version. 

We also had other freeze-dried food options so we only ended up using a few things from the Mexican bucket and making a pizza from this one.  We weren't impressed by either of them.  That's another reason we came home with most of the bucket items intact.

Today was the day to drag one of them out of storage again and see if we can use some of these up.

I opted for the lasagna package.  What I had in mind (wrongly, I found out) was the delicious cheesy lasagna sold by Mountain House.  This was... nothing like it.

 

 

One thing to mention is how great these are for long term in the fact they are good for at least 25 years.  For example, this packet of lasagna is 'best by" December 14, 2042.

 

The instructions are awesome because they are so easy (compared to a lot of the pouches in these buckets).  Simply add the contents to 5 cups boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes.

See the big blob in the photo?  That was the primary tomato powder and spices as they had solidified into a lump in the package.  No worries, as it broke apart and dissolved as the water simmered.

The meal however was, disappointing.
It tasted almost completely like chili powder and water with a little bit of pasta thrown in.

It needed help.
After simmering about 10 minutes (half the time) I removed 1 1/2 cups of the liquid and replaced it with a cup of bottled spaghetti sauce from the pantry and 3/4 cup water.  I added some salt to taste and then after more disappointing taste tests, added some cheese powder from the Mexican bucket and still needing help, added about 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese as well.

After simmering to complete the cooking cycle, served with the homemade garlic bread... and it was good.

On it's own however?  It would truly have to be an 'emergency' situation in order to eat it without being able to help it out with bottled sauces, salt and cheeses.  Not a winner... and we have 2 more packages in the bucket yet to use.