US MRE 2014 Menu# 24 Southwest Beef & Black Beans

[BTemple]

Ended up not getting a call for work today (I'm a Substitute Teacher and live and die by the phone call for work) so I decided to run 5 miles and then crack open another US MRE. Consensus among many seems to say that Menu # 24 is perhaps the best MRE out there. We shall see.

First off, with respect to the whole contents of the ration, we have not one but TWO separate quality-control issues with this ration. Neither is actually a negative thing... but issues that slipped through nonetheless. First we have the inclusion of two MRE spoons for some reason and second, we have the omission of the Turkey Nuggets and instead have 2 of the chocolate chip toaster pastries. That's a WIN in my book. Haha

Tore open the Chipotle Tortillas to find a lovely smokey scent and pleasantly surprised to see that neither tortilla had split down the middle. The cheese spread should make a nice accompaniment to the wrapa we'll make shortly.

Next we have the entree itself.... and I simply cannot say enough good things about it. I was amazed by the quality of the beef in this entree, especially since it was real beef pieces and not some sort of minced beef or reformed beef. The accompanying corn and peppers and beans gave this a nice flavour and texture akin to the kind of chili we make around here. Absolute 10/10 for this entree.
Packing some into a tortilla with some cheese spread only made it better, if that's even possible.

Lastly we have the desserts and drinks. The two toaster pastries were fantastic. The edges were a little crumbly but that is to be expected, and the chocolate flavour was great and the filling had a nice texture that wasn't too dry. I would go so far as to say that these are better than any PopTart I have ever had.
The spiced apples were a delight. The thick sauce brought out the great texture of the apples and there was ample cinnamon flavouring, and i also picked up nutmeg and either clove or allspice.

The raspberry drink is something I always enjoy, and this time it was no different. I didn't mix up the mocha cappuccino drink because I'm not a fan of coffee or anything like that... I'm sure I'll find one of my friends who'll take it and try it.

All in all this might have been the best MRE I have had thus far.... going to break open my first Menu A case now and see if anything in there can supplant this one!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a good one!

[Westview]

As a fellow Canadian living on the east coast, I must say you're pretty brave to be running 5 miles in this cold. Especially when you consider that very little of the Newfoundland terrain is completely flat, so you're either going uphill or downhill most of the time lol

That looks like a really good menu, I like how fresh the cheese spread looks. I never had fresh mre cheese spread before, but I'm guessing it should taste like Cheese Whiz. I've been buying mostly 2010 and 2012 US menus, so the cheese spread in mine are always bit darker and tangy tasting like a piece of aged cheddar.

My favorite menu is #19 Roast Beef with Vegetables. The meat is very tender and stringy, it's a real piece of roast beef and not a slab of processed meat. I also love the chocolate peanut butter spread and dairy shake that comes with it!

[Conrad]

I ate one of these just the other day, it was a wornick packed one though. So far menu 24 is in the running to be one of my favourites, if not THE favourite outright. I'll need to have it a few more times to decide though. But I like it. Mine had cake instead of toaster pastries though. It also had a grape drink instead of raspberry.

[BTemple]

As a fellow Canadian living on the east coast, I must say you're pretty brave to be running 5 miles in this cold. Especially when you consider that very little of the Newfoundland terrain is completely flat, so you're either going uphill or downhill most of the time lol

That looks like a really good menu, I like how fresh the cheese spread looks. I never had fresh mre cheese spread before, but I'm guessing it should taste like Cheese Whiz. I've been buying mostly 2010 and 2012 US menus, so the cheese spread in mine are always bit darker and tangy tasting like a piece of aged cheddar.

My favorite menu is #19 Roast Beef with Vegetables. The meat is very tender and stringy, it's a real piece of roast beef and not a slab of processed meat. I also love the chocolate peanut butter spread and dairy shake that comes with it!

We had 5 or 10cm of snow this morning so I decided to do the run on the treadmill in the basement. Haha
Running in St. John's certainly helps you train for hills... because most of it is hills. Haha

The whole case had perfect cheese spread, no colour change and just the right consistency and taste.

I've yet to try the Pot Roast MRE... I'll certainly try to track it down sometime.

[RockyRaab]

I agree completely. If you were to eat your way through all 24 menus in order, you'd end up with the First Place Blue Ribbon Winner.

[BTemple]

I ate one of these just the other day, it was a wornick packed one though. So far menu 24 is in the running to be one of my favourites, if not THE favourite outright. I'll need to have it a few more times to decide though. But I like it. Mine had cake instead of toaster pastries though. It also had a grape drink instead of raspberry.

What type of cake did you get?
I'd be interested to see what the Ameriqual version of this one has.

[Conrad]

I ate one of these just the other day, it was a wornick packed one though. So far menu 24 is in the running to be one of my favourites, if not THE favourite outright. I'll need to have it a few more times to decide though. But I like it. Mine had cake instead of toaster pastries though. It also had a grape drink instead of raspberry.

What type of cake did you get?
I'd be interested to see what the Ameriqual version of this one has.

Apple and cinammon type, can't quite remember the official title and I also had lovely cinnamon apple pieces

[parafireboy]

Great pics and review! This is one of my favorite menus as well. The entree is incredible, and I've always liked the spiced apples, so getting both in the same meal is all the better!

[BTemple]

I ate one of these just the other day, it was a wornick packed one though. So far menu 24 is in the running to be one of my favourites, if not THE favourite outright. I'll need to have it a few more times to decide though. But I like it. Mine had cake instead of toaster pastries though. It also had a grape drink instead of raspberry.

What type of cake did you get?
I'd be interested to see what the Ameriqual version of this one has.

Apple and cinammon type, can't quite remember the official title and I also had lovely cinnamon apple pieces

That's a great combination!

[BTemple]

Great pics and review! This is one of my favorite menus as well. The entree is incredible, and I've always liked the spiced apples, so getting both in the same meal is all the better!

Put some cheese spread with jalapeño in with it and a grape beverage mix and some M&M's and that would be the perfect MRE