I de-hydrate store bought pasta sauce and spice it up to my tastes.
I use fruit roll-up trays and make the pasta " leather" as thin as I can.
I tear the dried leather into small pieces before storing in zip-lock.

Marlin 55 makes a good point. Drying the sauce does intensify/concentrate the flavor.
I find that means I can stretch the amount I use per meal.

I do something a little different than most, but it works well for me and keeps the meal to 1 pot.
I cook the pasta to just before " détente". I drain all the water out except about a 1/2 cup or so, depending on how thick you like your sauce?

If I add meat, it's usually in the way of foil packed chicken/tuna or I cut up venison sticks or whatever fish I might have handy and halfway thru pasta cooking, add that to pot.

After draining all but the 1/2 cup or so, I add the small pieces of sauce "leather", stir for a minute or so and then cover and keep warm for 5 minutes or so. Remove lid, stir and add more water if needed.
If you keep the leather pieces small, they re-hydrate faster and this method is quick and easy.

I've found that small elbows carry well and that whatever you use, thinner is better as well as using smaller pieces.

I also prefer whole wheat pasta over white, more energy punch for the same weight.
It also has more protein than white pasta which aids in maintaining muscle function and allows you to feel satisfied faster.

It also has way more fiber, which considering the effects of some freeze dried commercial products and daily fried fish meals might prove to be a blessing in the "end", pun intended.

I usually do a pasta sauce with either spaghetti or spinach/cheese tortellini; however, this year I think I'm replacing this meal with Hungarian Goulash.  The sauce should dehydrate pretty much like pasta sauce and then the elbow macaroni will be as easy to package as tortellini.  (Unfortunately, it looks like I'll have to make this sauce from scratch rather than out of a bottle.)

dd

DentonDoc wrote on Feb 6^th, 2012 at 10:51pm:


Hey DD, my son married a woman from Budapest.  Need a goulash recipe!!?

prouboy

I ate my daughter-in-law's mother's goulash in a small condo in Budapest.... Our first visit and a very ceremonial affair....like our Thanksgiving....  The temp in the room was probably 85 degrees.  The goulash was incredibly spicy.  Then we washed it down with slivovitz, or something nasty and potent like that.  Not sure I was going to survive.  Her parents knew no English and we knew no Hungarian (except a drinking toast!)  So when the d-i-l was out of the room we became proficient at pointing, nodding, and smiling.  It was a memorable experience!

In better supermarkets you can get sauce and even pesto on a tube that you just add a little water.  I can't remember the brand, but it comes from Europe. Tastes great too.