Ramen noodles with beans, mushrooms and smoked chicken

An icy wind forced us in the tent, and the sleeping bags with the roar of the stove promising dinner had us warming in no time.

I'm a planner. There you have it. I'm one of those people who makes lists and then makes lists about the lists. You get the idea. So why this confession? No more than to let you know that with the Campers Pantry freeze-dried vegetables this work is already done. Yes, no pre-cutting at home required! Gen likes : ) So now, just to state the obvious, simply pour the beans and the mushrooms into the boiling water. 

The beauty of freeze-dried vegetables is that in less than two minutes they are ready to serve. They also do not require rehydrating prior to cooking, and their taste, colour and texture is about as close to fresh as can be. Not to mention they are lightweight and long life, making them perfect for hiking and adventure trips.

Removing the cooked vegetables from the water, we added a pack of Spiral Foods Shiitake Mushroom Instant Ramen Noodles. While the ramen is cooking, we sliced up some smoked chicken. We use Holy Smoke chicken. A single piece comes vacuum sealed, is a great protein and will last for a couple of days in cooler weather - worth the grams!

Everything is now ready. With the noodles in their place, the piping hot broth brings the patient vegetables back to temperature and warms the chicken. You can see why this dish is easily one of our favourite cold-weather dinners.

A good portion of vegetables infused with a beautiful ramen broth served with smoked chicken. There's certainly no nutritional pitfalls here! If anything, our tired bodies have been nourished and are ready for the day of hiking ahead.

To see the full range of freeze-dried Tasmanian vegetables head over to Campers Pantry.

Author Gen Collister from Adventure Curated

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