This is a recipe that I have used time and time again and has proven trustworthy. It is very filling and is great after a long day because it really fills you up and keeps you full. It uses heavier ingredients and has a creamy, “stick to your ribs” kind of texture, that really hits the spot when you are extra hungry and need something heavy.
This recipe has a good amount of protein to help your body rebuild after a hard day. Also, it has cheese, and everyone loves cheese anytime. The onion is optional but caramelized onion adds a great flavor if you like onion.
As always you can make this recipe with fresh ingredients or dried and shelf stable ingredients depending on your current situation. I have tried to give examples of any dried options where available.
Remember, you can also make a lot of the dried ingredients yourself using a dehydrator, which can save a lot of money from buying the commercial versions, which tend to be pricey.
If you are new to freezer bag cooking (FBC), see the “What is Freezer Bag Cooking” section below the recipe.
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes with Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 ounces diced summer sausage
- ½ cup instant mashed potatoes
- 2 tablespoons cheese powder
- 1 tablespoon freeze dried onion optional
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Place sausage, potatoes, and onion into a freezer bag.
- Add ⅔ cup of boiling water, mix well.
- Place bag into coozie and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove bag from coozie and mix in cheese powder and allow to sit for an additional minute.
- Stir and serve. Salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
You can use any summer sausage or any other shelf stable sausage you like. Personally, I use Hickory Farms Signature Beef Summer Sausage and always have great results with it.
Cheese powder comes in many variations and all will work in this recipe. I like this Cheddar Cheese Powder by Hoosier Hill Farm. If you don’t have any cheese powder and need something quick you can buy the cups of instant macaroni & cheese and take the pack out of them.
What is Freezer Bag Cooking?
Freezer Bag Cooking is a method of cooking dehydrated foods using only heated water and a freezer bag. It’s a technique that has caught on well with hikers and campers, but has also been adopted by preppers as a means of convenient cooking with minimal cleanup. However, some people despise the idea of it, and claim it can be harmful to your health.
The method itself is pretty straightforward. You mix your dry ingredients in a freezer bag, add in heated water, insulate the bag in some way, and wait for the food to “cook” or rehydrate. For rehydrating food, you do not need boiling water but rather just heated.
Generally, most people will bring the water to a slow boil, and then allow it to cool off for a minute or two before adding to the bag. Some people can get very creative and can make full three-course meals using nothing but freezer bag cooking.
It is important to use “freezer bags” and not “storage bags” as the latter are not designed to hold hot liquids and can melt or leak.
Conclusion
If you enjoy this recipe you can customize and adapt it to suit your needs or to what you currently have on hand. You can switch out the sausage for another protein you have on hand.
I have done this with pepperoni, summer sausage, dried beef, leftover steak, and chopped up hotdogs. Other than the dried beef, all were pretty good.
You can also add in other vegetables to suit your liking, or that you have on hand. I have added sauteed peppers and sauteed mushrooms and both were very good. The most important thing is to try it out now and learn what you like and don’t like.
Born and raised in Kentucky, Steve grew up deep in the mountains on a family farm. After college, Steve spent over 15 years working in public service and has experience in Fire, EMS, and Law Enforcement. He has also worked with training and deploying search & rescue and service dogs for utilization in a variety of services.
Steve is also a Scout Leader with the Boy Scouts of America, and works to teach preparedness to the next generation. Steve has worked with and taught firearms and self-defense in multiple venues, from tactical applications to long range shooting, and also has extensive training in first aid and wilderness first aid.
An active prepper, Steve has devoted hundreds of hours to mastering and teaching skills and techniques for use in survival, homesteading, and general preparedness.