As stated, here is my recipe using dehydrated instant refried beans.

1/4 cup dehydrated instant refried beans
1/4 cup instant white rice
1 tsp Southwest Chipotle Seasoning mix
1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 cup boiling water

Yield: one big, filling serving worth about 300 calories

The two brands I use most often are Rose's Mexicali and Santa Fe. They each have different types (pinto, black, fat-free etc) so feel free to try whatever you like. Instant rice is whatever is on sale. Southwest Chipotle seasoning mix is like a Chili powder made by Tones that I find frequently at Costco and Sams Club. I suppose any chili powder would do just fine. Grated parmesan is usually Kraft brand, though really any shelf stable grated parm would do. I put all the dry ingredients in a vacuum sealed bag packet and label it. I mix it with the boiling water in a bowl and let sit for about 3 minutes or until the rice is tender. It starts out pretty soupy, but as the water is absorbed it thickens up quite nicely. It works well on its own, and would make a nice addition to any meal on the go, like those Mountain House skillet breakfasts, or with warmed tortillas or crackers or chips, or what not. Just one of a handful of "just add boiling water" scratch recipes I've developed (you can make your own dehydrated instant refrieds if you have a dehydrator with a mesh screen, and you can make instant rice from cooked regular rice, and you can make your own Southwest seasoning blend from dried peppers, garlic, onions and salt, but pre-packaged are inexpensive and I think decent value for money if you shop around a bit).

These are fairly compact and light. I can throw a dozen of these packets in a day pack and still have plenty of room for other essentials. Questions?

This looks good to me. I'm on the road for a while but I'll try this when I'm back home. Any other recipes like this would be very welcome.

Thank you for this simple but extremely useful recipe idea, Benjammin. Bet you could really get creative with flavorings.

Using your idea would be an inexpensive way to sidestep ingredients (in MRE's e.g.,) that are not well tolerated by everyone.

...returning to appreciative lurking posture.

I feel privileged to have your response, truly.

I'll post some more. Cheers

Protein is always the hard part. I didn't know dehydrated instant refried beans were available. Good to know for my barbaric just-boil-water hiking menu.

FYI, the dehydrated refried beans available from LDS canneries are FANTASTIC!!! Their taste, texture, and storage ability are all top notch.
-Blast, now hungry.

Here in Finland we have a brand named GoGreen. They have many kinds on ready-to-eat beans in soft cardboard cans. Very tasty and handy to use. Add to stews and such or with rice.

Plain beans: http://gogreen.fi/tuotteet/pavut/

Beans in salsa sauce: http://gogreen.fi/tuotteet/salsakastikkeet/

Lentils: http://gogreen.fi/tuotteet/linssit/

mmmMM!! We tried this for dinner the other night, using canned beans instead of instant and I served it in wraps. BIG thumbs up from the entire clan - even our visiting picky eater!

Thanks Benjammin!

Ben, E-book/E-doc when you get enough to "publish"? I am not sure I would remember to copy/paste/organize.