Greetings,

1st-The standard disclaimer,,I don't have any affiliation with any of the food producers that are going to be mentioned in this post.

2nd-The ladies are going to be thinking, "Foolish Man" and they are right. Please remember Ladies, we've come along way from "dragging our knuckles and building a fire in a cave", so go easy on me, please!

3rd-The reason for this post: My Mother has turned me onto a product that I've never taken notice of before. It is a Betty Crocker product: "Complete Meals". I tried the Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and found it was delicious! The box cost about $3 and is complete with: 1 can-Progresso Creamy Sauce with Chicken; 2 seasoning packets, and 1 package of egg noodles. I was required to add 2 cups of water and to cover the pan with foil or with a lid. This can be cooked on top of the stove, microwave, or oven. This means that a Dutch Oven will love this stuff when I finally get to go camping again. It feeds 4-5 people.

4th-I counted 5 different kinds of Betty Crocker Complete Meals AND about 2 other food producers/processors had their versions of these same type of meals but in some different dishes.

5th-Based on the price, I've already added 1 box to my emergency food supplies and I'm going to build up some inventory of Betty Crocker and some of the other manufacturer's versions of this product.

I have been using these for a few years, there are a couple of companies making complete meals like this. They work great for camping. While others are making bologna sandwiches my son and I eat things like these meals.
They seem to be shy on meat, but for the ones with chicken I just add a package (in foil packs like tuna) of pre-cooked chicken to it to give it more meat.

Sounds very similar to the Lipton side dishes, which I have been using for years. Great tasting, easy prep, pretty inexpensive...

Any idea about the shelf life of the Betty Crocker Complete meals?

I've been looking for a few new items to switch up what I've been stocking. Sometimes looking at the "same 'ol' same" gets a little old and eating it can be worse. LOL

Looking at the can/packages in it, I would "guess-timate" a shelf life of at least 3 years on the highly conservative side of a cool dark storage location.

The kicker on this would be the shelf life of the canned sauce/meat. The rest of the stuff would be in the 20-30 year range, IMO.

The products (different meals sold on different pages) get mixed reviews on Amazon. I'll see if they're available at my local supermarket and give them a try.

In a similar vein, I tried Hormel Compleats last week, and I was shocked at how good the Chicken Alfredo was. The product is similar to an MRE: packed in a sealed plastic container, no refrigeration necessary. Microwave for 90 seconds or boil the container for 8 to 9 minutes. Compleats is 10 ounces, so it may not be a full meal for some, and it wouldn't be a full meal if I were active (like camping), but when I'm spending the day at the desk, it's a meal with bread or crackers.

I bought another couple of boxes today, and the expiry is November 2009.

http://www.hormelfoods.com/brands/hormel/HormelCompleats.aspx

That sounds like a good idea to me. I have many cans of chicken, turkey, roast beef, ham, & spam on hand in my emergency rations. Those additions will boost the calorie counts and the Belly Stuffer effect!

I tried one of these, I believe it was the chicken and biscuits. It was good, but there's no way it can feed 4-5 people. Two if they aren't really hungry, or one if he's hiked 20 miles today.

Hmm. Good info. I've used some of the Lipton stuff before, but nice to know of these other alternatives. "Betty Crocker, suvival food supplier," who knew?