Making a Cooking Pouch

Following up on my last post about Making a Pot Cozy, I wanted to share directions for making a cooking pouch.  This pouch has the same purpose as the pot cozy in that it conserves fuel and frees up time that would otherwise be spent tending a stove.  This pouch is perfect for many popular trail meals that can be cooked right in their own packaging.  It’s perfect for Knorr sides, Idahoan Mashed Potatoes, and other similar foods.  Simply heat your water, pour it into the package, seal it in a ziplock bag, and cook it in the pouch for 15 minutes – food time!

Materials you’ll need:

• One auto sunshade – this is the main material and is essentially bubble wrap pancaked between mylar-ish foil.   I used this one: http://amzn.to/2E5z4vG
• Roll of your favorite duct tape – I used Gorilla Tape: http://amzn.to/2Bd16CM
• Permanent marker for markings
• Scissors
• 2 x Velcro pieces
• A Knorr rice side or similar size food of your choice

To begin, lay the Knorr rice side down on the sunshade and make markings approximately 1.5″ wider than the packaging.  Also measure about 3x the length of the package.  This will give you the length and height of a rectangle – cut that out.

Next you’ll need to begin to fold up the pouch.  Start by folding it around the base of the Knorr package so that one side reaches the top of the packaging and all the excess (approximately one package length) is hanging off the other side.  Next you’ll put and accordion type fold in the base to allow the pouch to stand upright.  You can see this pictured below.  Once you have that completed, tape up the walls of the pouch.

It’s good to test along the way by slipping the Knorr side in and making sure it fits the way you’d like.  I didn’t take specific measurements and did this more on feel.  Next, trim what will be the lid closure of the pouch to the desired length.  This should be 3-4″ down the pouch to ensure good closure.  Tape the edges of the lid to prevent fraying over time.

Next, add a couple velcro pieces to close the lid up (I got mine at Walmart).  And finally, I tapes up any exposed cut edges of the sun shade material.  I did this simply for durability.  And then I tested with some Idahoan Applewood Smoked Bacon Potatoes which are tasty!