Lately I've been doing some FD meals but also having some instant mashed potatoes (single pouch/just add water) or chow mein noodles on the side.

It started because I wanted to just pack a jet boil stove. It fries fish great. But not so great for simmering meals I got at the grocery store. At least that's what I thought, it's OK, but nothing like a MSR Dragonfly. But the MSR stove (plus pans) was so bulky, and the JB was so convenient to use too.
Both prepackaged store and FD meals are high in sodium, so that wasn't any difference.

Some ideas;
Beef stroganoff w/instant potatoes
Beef stew w/instant potatoes
Chicken terayaki w/Chow mein noodles
Sweet & sour pork w/Chow mein noodles
Pasta primavera w/Ham or chicken packet

I don't get things too complicated. It works for me. Easy to put together and make. I don't want to spend a lot of time in camp or before my trip messing with meals. If you do, great. But for those that might lean to FD I hope these ideas help you. I know I'm not reinventing the wheel here. But sometimes it's the little sides dishes we enjoy most for added tastes and variety.

Each FD meal pouch and instant potato package count as a single serving each. So a combination of one each would serve 2 people.

Jeez, I meant cooking for four!

ugh

Thanks JJS -- I did some google searching for reviews.  Lots of reviews.  The best one was this:

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Based on my reading and your comments, I think I'm going to stay with my good old Coleman Excomponent multi-fuel stoves.  They're quiet, start easy, adjustable, and pretty fuel efficient.  They're just heavy and require the added chore of adding fuel. 

prouboy

I've used the Jetboil for group of 3 - used the larger 230 gram cannister, a pot support on top of the burner, and a 2 quart pot for boiling water - it worked well enough, but without the heat exchanger on the pot, it did go thru more fuel

the easiest addition to freeze dried meals is Lipton Cup-A-Soup.  fix your fz dr and while waiting ten minutes, you can hace your soup (which is nice if the weather is cold).  Herb-Ox beef broth in packets is another option.

I actually like freeze-dried food, and I like packing them.  But my canoe buddy is uber sensitive to salt and says the freeze-dried stuff is full of it.  So, when I'm tripping with him, I don't pack freeze-dried.

prouboy