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Category: Food

Canned-Style Comfort Food in MRE Menu 18: Beef Ravioli in Meat Sauce
Last week, I brought MRE Menu 18: Beef Ravioli in Meat Sauce (from a 3/25 inspection date Case B) to work so that I could have dinner quickly between my first class followed by office hours and then my evening class. I was so hungry that I didn’t take pictures of the contents. Suffice to say that it was tasty and filling, and I saved some of the sweets for later.

Menu 18 included these items:
- Cardboard sleeve
- Beef Ravioli in Meat Sauce entree pack
- Italian Bread Sticks
- Cheese Spread
- M&M’s
- Water-activated heater
- Accessory Pack (gum, matches, coffee, sugar, sweetener, creamer, and TP)
- Carbohydrate Electrolyte Beverage Powder: Fruit Punch
- Spoon
- Recovery Bar, Salted Caramel Marshmallow Crisp
- Tabasco Sauce in Glass Bottle
The Tabasco Pepper Sauce was the real prize in this MRE. I haven’t received a Tabasco Sauce bottle in years from the many cases that I’ve purchased. Apparently, they had been removed for about a decade before being re-implemented shortly before the MRE case this menu pouch came from was produced. So, I should have some more Tabasco to look forward to as I work my way through this case!

For my dinner that night, I ate the Italian Break with Cheese Spread and the Ravioli in Meat Sauce. The ravioli remind me of miniaturized Chef Boyardee in a pouch instead of a can. I saved the Recovery Bar for another day–maybe a long hike. I’ve already enjoyed the M&M’s mixed with some peanuts and raisins for trail mix.

While MREs’ main function is ready nutrition, its morale function via its nostalgic, tasty, and sweet contents can’t be understated.
February 4, 2025
Two Desserts for the Price of One: MRE Menu 24, Southwest Style Beef and Black Beans
A few nights ago, I dug into another of my MRE favorites–Menu 24: Southwest Style Beef and Black Beans from the B Case (packed 3/22 with 3/25 inspection date) that I opened recently. The entree has a mild spicy flavor and the beef, beans, corn, and sauce work well together. As I’ve noticed in some recent cases, the tortillas are stuck together. The trick to loosen them up is to heat them with the supplied water-activated heater or microwave them (removed from the pouch, of course) for 10 seconds or so. The reason that I titled this post two desserts for the price of one is that this MRE includes Cherry Blueberry Cobbler and Applesauce Pound Cake. All around, this is a very tasty meal!

Menu 24 includes clockwise from the upper left:
- Southwest Style Beef and Black Beans entree pouch
- Cardboard sleeve
- Cherry Blueberry Cobbler pouch
- Applesauce Pound Cake
- Hot Beverage Bag
- Water-activated Heater
- Beverage Base Lemonade
- Spoon
- Accessory Pack
- Cheese Spread
- Beef Stick
- Tortilla, Chipotle
The Accessory Pack included clockwise from the upper left:
- Bill’s Brew Freeze Dried Coffee
- Creamer, Nno-Dairy, Dry
- Sugar
- Zero Calorie Sweetener
- Iodized Salt
- Chewing Gum
- Moist Towelette
- TP
To make my meal, I emptied the Southwest Style Beef and Black Beans into a bowl and microwaved it for 60 seconds.

Then, I spooned it out onto the chipotle-flavored tortillas and added cheese on top of the beef.

For dessert, I microwaved the cherry blueberry cobbler for 30 seconds in a bowl.

I enjoyed the applesauce pound cake as is out of the pouch!
January 9, 2025
Mixing Spaghetti Noodles with MRE Menu 20, Italian Sausage with Pepper and Onions in Marinara Sauce
In the waning days of December, I wanted to have spaghetti, but I didn’t have any sauce on-hand to a make it. So, I thought to open one of the Italian-themed MREs in the B Case (packed 3/22 with 3/25 inspection date) that I opened recently to mix with some noodles that I had in the cabinet. Here’s Menu 20: Italian Sausage with Pepper and Onions in Marinara Sauce.

After opening the outer protective bag, all of the contents are tightly wrapped in a thinner plastic bag.

The contents of the MRE included the following going clockwise from the upper left:
- Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions in Marinara Sauce
- Cardboard entree info card/sleeve
- Trail Mix, Recovery with Beef Jerky
- Spoon
- Accessory Pack
- Beverage Base Orange Type III
- Water-activated heater
- Hot beverage drink pouch
- Cheese Spread
- Crackers
- Dry Roasted Peanuts
- Cranberries (Osmotic)
The accessory pack included these items clockwise from the upper left:
- Bill’s Brew Freeze Dried Coffee
- Zero Calorie Sweetner
- TP
- Sugar
- Iodized Salt
- Chewing Gum
- Moist Towelette
- Creamer, Non-Dairy
For dinner that night, I cooked a small pot of Barilla Whole Grain Spaghetti noodles for 7 minutes.

Then, I poured out the Italian sausage entree into a large bowl and microwaved it for 60 seconds.

And added the cooked noodles and some crushed red pepper to make it spicier (after tasting the sauce first).

To supplement my meal, I ate the trail mix before thinking to take a picture of it. It was my first time having this particular kind of “recovery” trail mix in an MRE. It contained almonds, beef jerky chunks, and cranberries. It tasted good, but also a little interesting, perhaps due to the mixing of salty and sweet flavors.

In the field, you can crush up your crackers and add them to the Italian sausage. For that matter, you can add the cheese spread, too. Since I had noodles and I wanted spaghetti, I went that direction instead of using only what was in the MRE. That’s the thing about enjoying MREs–you can mix-and-match them with what you have on-hand and what you find in between different menu pouches.
January 2, 2025
Christmas Breakfast with MRE Menu 17: Pork Sausage Patty, Maple Flavored
Yesterday, I wanted to enjoy an MRE meal for breakfast, so I dug into Menu 17: Pork Sausage Patty, Maple Flavored. It comes from a B case (menus 13-24) with an inspection date of 3/25 and a good Time and Temperature Indicator (TTI) sticker.

Each case has twelve meals tightly packed in its dense cardboard box. A case weighs about 20 pounds.

This case included these menu options:
- Menu 13: Cheese Tortellini in Tomato Sauce
- Menu 14: Mexican Style Rice and Bean Bowl
- Menu 15: Mexican Chicken
- Menu 16: Chicken Burrito Bowl
- Menu 17: Pork Sausage Patty, Maple Flavor
- Menu 18: Beef Ravioli in Mat Sauce
- Menu 19: Beef Patty, Jalapeno Pepper Jack
- Menu 20: Italian Sausage with Pepper and Onions in Marinara Sauce
- Menu 21: Tuna, Chunk, Light Water Packed, Lemon Pepper
- Menu 22: Beef Goulash
- Menu 23: Pizza Slice, Pepperoni
- Menu 24: Southwest Style Beef and Black Beans
Opening the outer heavy-duty bag, reveals a more tightly packed thin plastic bag containing the MRE’s contents.

From the upper left to right, this MRE includes:
- Water-activated heater bag
- Mountain House Dehydrated Granola with Milk and Blueberries
- Pork sausage patty
- Hash brown potatoes with bacon, peppers, and onions
- Table syrup
- Entree and side nutrition info card (can be used as insulating sleeve, paper for writing, sending as a postcard–I have done this before, or kindling for fire)
- Grape flavored carbohydrate electrolyte beverage powder in drinking pouch
- Hot beverage bag (for coffee)
- Dry roasted Peanuts
- Maple muffin top
- Accessory pack
- Spoon
The accessory pack included clockwise from the bottom left: chewing gum, instant coffee, TP, salt, zero calorie sweetener (dextrose and sucralose), sugar, non-dairy creamer, and moist towelette.

For breakfast, I prepared the patty, hash browns, and muffin top using the microwave. I warmed the patty and hash browns for 45 seconds, then added the muffin top, and microwaved for 15 more seconds. In general, I find MREs taste better by combining the individual elements in it. In this case, I would have a spoonful of patty, hash browns, and muffin together, which I thought was quite flavorful and enjoyable. For some folks, adding the syrup would improve the meal, but I don’t need the extra calories. Regardless, I recommend it.

I saved the granola for breakfast on another day, and I had the peanuts for dessert with cookies at dinner later that night. I’ll save the other parts for consuming or using another day.
December 26, 2024
MRE Peanut Butter Dessert Bar

One thing that I haven’t shared on my blog before is my love for USGI Meal, Ready to Eat, or MREs (though, I have mentioned them in passing). While I keep some on-hand for emergencies, I genuinely enjoy eating them. I recently purchased some pulled items and two cases of A and B menus, so I thought that I would share some photos and thoughts while I work my way through them.

This post shows my second favorite dessert option: the Peanut Butter Dessert Bar (my favorite dessert is the Cherry Blueberry Cobbler). This dessert easily won me over, because I love peanut butter. I have it nearly every day with my breakfast–a spoonful added to a 1/4 cup of oatmeal.

I bought 12 of these peanut butter bars as stand-alone items. This one was produced by Sterling Foods out of San Antonio, Texas with a date code of 1301, which translates to Oct. 21, 2021. The bar has a compact size–about the same as a flattened Snickers bar, and it packs in 240 calories! It is firm but a little pliable. It has a smooth texture with some crunchy nut bits mixed into it. It hit the spot after a Chinese takeout dinner of spicy beef and onion.

See the pictures below for its original condition and packaging.

November 13, 2024