Need cooking in room meal ideas. Please share.

[DeDixie]

After reading the recent post about getting bored with visiting the same Disney restaurants, I wanted to start a thread with some good ideas for eating/cooking IN the room. We went to WDW/DVC three times last year, and I need some new ideas on what to have for dinner. Please share your meal ideas!

[Richyams]

This is my favorite thing to make, and one of my favorite meals.

Get 14 or so split pigs feet, put them in a big soup pot filled with water. Add about 20 cloves of garlic, a large uncut onion and some paprika. You bring this to a boil and let it simmer for about three hours. Then you place two pigs feet in each of seven or so large soup bowls. You strain the liquid that they were boiled in and divide it between the soup bowls with the pigs feet already placed in them. You put these in the refridgerator, after about three or four hours, the liquid will congeal into a gelatin.

And its all done. This is good because they can sit in the fridge for a couple days and the prep is all done. All you do now is take the bowls out of the fridge and serve them. This is best served with rye bread, I also use a good deal of salt.

[shelbyjosh]

Rich...tell me you're kidding? At least to me that does not sound too appealing!! De, we are like you. Disney food does get really old after a few days. We like to cook a good breakfast every day. We are usually gone for lunch. If we are back for dinner, we usually will make chicken parm, spaghetti, soup/sandwich. Another quick,easy fix are those Meal Sensations. They have beef or chix with noodles and sauce. All in one bag and I think you can either bake or nuke it. We like the food at Good's. One time we got a carry-out from Olivia's and it was ok. Just ok. Or how about a ham steak, mashed potatoes, and vegs. That is simple and wholesome enough.

[gmboy95]

WOW!!!!.....pig feet jello....Now that is meal for the whole family....But it could only be made better by stir frying some goat eyeballs as an appetizer............You must have alot of friends who pray daily NOT to be invited to your house for dinner:D :D

[scootert]

One of our favorite things to do at home is pick up a rotisserie chicken -- just reheat, add a side dish and a salad and -- it's dinner!!

[KirstenB]

okay, I have to fess up that I never cook on vacation...but if I did:

Tacos

grill shishkebabs (buy them pre-skewered at the grocery store) on their poolside grills

Prego baked ziti (it's the new sauce where you don't have to cook the noodles first)

wrap sandwiches (buy the Perdue shortcuts, and add provolone, lettuce tomato and salsa, or ranch dressing)

Dedixie, please ignore Rich, he's definitely an original
:rolleyes:

[MikeBW]

Rich,

If you served that meal to 6-7 people, I don't think they would be able to leave and you would be over the 4 person limit in a 1 BR.:smooth:

[patsal]

Goodness I hope you're only kiddg Rich!;)
Quick things i have taken on vacations beofre include

Kraft Easy Mac
Ragu Express
the Prego Pasta bake mentioned above is fast, easy, tastes good and doesn't cost much at all:D

PB and J with fruit and chips works well for lunch

There are some frozen meals that are complete you just have to put them in the skillet and stir a bit
(they are a little pricey, but still cheaper that eating out)

Baked ravioli works well too. Just empty the bag of frozen rav's in the baking dish add a full jar of pasta sauce, and a half jar of water. Cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes on 350.

[eva]

I'm not one that likes to cook too much on vacation but I have a couple suggests. We like to buy prepackaged salads and some Louis Rich chicken strips. This makes a great chicken salad. The Ceasar salad is especailly good. If you buy the salad with the dressing included it makes for a very easy meal. Just throw in some french bread and a fruit salad and you have a great light meal. Very good for the summer and you can make it in a studio. We've also made steaks on the grills provided at OKW. You can buy an individual use bag of Match Light charcoal to grill the steaks. Very easy and you don't have to store opened charcoal anywhere.

[dianeschlicht]

We usually plan a few good meals at the villa just to get out of the Disney rut. Lasagne and salad is one we like as well as marinated pork chops on one of the grills. We usually do potatos and a veggie with that one. Only takes a few minutes and tastes like you slaved all day!;) Quick enchiladas is another favorite that takes very little time and is very filling. We usually only do breakfasts ( pancakes, oatmeal etc.), but sometimes do a quick lunch of baked potatoes with whatever toppings people like. You put the potatos in the oven with the timer so they are done when you get back. I have veggies, bacon cheese etc. available and everyone makes theirs the way they want.

[sgtpet]

That was a reverse Qualyle, potatoes is correct.

I love the pig feet gelatin. I am going to make it at home

[beachbuzzard]

Yummy... :tongue:... gelled pigs feet. Sounds great... NOT!!!

A favorite place to look (if you're feeding more than four, which we are) is a Costco, BJ's Wholesale or Sam's Club. They have larger frozen meals that are pretty good... lasagna, eggplant parm, chicken dishes, etc. Into the oven, enjoy a cool drink on the balcony, and viola!! Dinner! Maybe a little italian bread or garlic bread and a salad from a bag in the produce section! BAM! No muss, no fuss! No Emeril (and fully prepared meals) happening in our villa on vacation!!! LOL

Have fun.... BUZZ

[Ken the Retired Cop]

*Note to those complaining about dog in room* -- he is only DINNER plans for later ..... LOL Now that's sick!!! And with the pigs feet post I couldn't resist the irony !!! :)

[BuzzandWoody]

When we cook in the room it's usually to save money not cause we're bored with restaurants.
That pigs feet recipe sure sounds cheap. And oh so yummy, NOT

Uggh!

Our 2 dd's love mac & cheese and hot dogs. A staple for us.
We go for the pop in the oven dinners. Our meals are mainly breakfast and lunch/early dinner then snack at night. Cheese & crackers and a glass of wine on the balcony.

[Richyams]

Believe it or not, pig's feet has been one of my favorite meals since I was a little kid. Its a Hungarian dish, my maternal grandparents were born there. I can remember being so thrilled when Grandma would make them. It was just the best. My mother could never get them right, not enough garlic and she never let them boil long enough so the gel was always loose.

I have since mastered the preperation.....unfortunately, I can't really get my daughter as excited about them as I used to be.

[Granny]

Originally posted by Richyams
Believe it or not, pig's feet has been one of my favorite meals since I was a little kid. Its a Hungarian dish, my maternal grandparents were born there. I can remember being so thrilled when Grandma would make them. It was just the best. My mother could never get them right, not enough garlic and she never let them boil long enough so the gel was always loose.

I have since mastered the preperation.....unfortunately, I can't really get my daughter as excited about them as I used to be. Go figure. ;)

[Richyams]

I bet I am not only person here whose grandparents were immigrants. I am sure there are others who can remember their grandmother cooking something from their homeland that isn't very common.

Every supermarket I have ever been in sells pig's feet, someone else must be buying them.

[jcodespoti]

what this has to do with dvc I don't know but my Grandparents came over on the boat in about 1914 ish. Anyway going along w/rich's comments we used to get squirrel stew sounds gross buts its was good. ( I say was good because I don't eat it any more, I dont think my fellow condo neighbors would like to see me run around with a .22 in my hand). I also got to make wine w/ my grandpa now that was fun!


Joe in CT

[Richyams]

There we go....we should do a poll. Squirrel stew or pig's feet.

I actually do make the pig's in the GV at OKW. I like that you can make a bunch of bowls one night and then the preperation is done. They can sit in the fridge for a few days and are ready to eat at any time.

[tripletvan]

Pasta & sauce with a bag of salad & if we want to go all out a loaf of garlic bread & a good glass of wine. We have also done a ham at HH that lasted for sandwiches, Dinner and breakfast with omlets. The pancake stuff you just add water to has been a hit too!:smooth:

[Richyams]

All this pig's feet talk got me yearning for some. I am boiling them right now, should be ready to put in bowls in another hour. I will get a late night pig's feet snack tonight, yipeee!!

[jcodespoti]

oh Mr. Squirrell!!!!

Joe in CT

[juju]

My family grew up eating pig's feet, or the other term we used - trotters. But I also love spam too and cook a lot of that in our room in the microwave.

[Regina]

Oh No!! Could it be that I'm related to Richyams???:confused: My paternal grandparents were from Hungary. I remember that nasty pig jello. My grandma would put it out on the fire escape to cool. I never could touch it.:(

Fortunately, my maternal grandparents were from Italy and the food was much better.;)

I've never cooked anything other than breakfast in the unit. Since you need to get everything (including every spice known to mankind) to cook a meal, I've never bothered.

[Snowgod]

Up north in the great woods of Shrewsbury, VT. It was said that you could catch a fish. Once done, you could take that fish and nail it to a board and put it in the oven. Bake it for an hour with a full load of wood and then take it out to cool. Once cooled you should take out the nails and throw away the fish (save the nails). The wood was now ready to eat. At first I thought like you that this was silly. I now know that this was far from silly compared to some of the other things they told me. Who knew that Grape jelly, Ketchup and Ground Meat were good together. :smooth:

[mrsdon]

We usually take a crochpot and pop in a roast on porkchops and when we come back dinner is all redy done.
If you are flying you can buy one at WalMart tof about $10.

[DVCajun]

I'm thinking about trying something different next time. We have a collapseable cooler that I am going to fill with tupperwares full of frozen entrees that I make ahead of time. We'll be staying in a studio, so we won't have the stove and oven. I think this will work, and we can even check the cooler since everything in it will be frozen, and you can't break a collapseable cooler!

I'm also thinking of trying out the grills for the first time. I guess they're not gas grills? Wishful thinking.... I don't know if I know HOW to light charcoal!

Rich, most broths will gel up like that when they're cold. Have you tried cold chicken broth? It might be better than the pig's feet! BTW, I buy pigs feet to use as flavoring when I make soup that's going to simmer all day. But then I throw the pig's feet away and eat my soup HOT.

[CRobin]

Since this thread has morphed to somewhat "uncommon" cuisine, I heard about this but have never tried it. Has anyone?

Wrap a trout in aluminum foil. Stuff some lemon slices, herbs, etc, in him.

Put him on the top rack of the dishwasher.

Run a full cycle, hot water wash, no detergent (the fish is already "cleaned":D )

Supposedly the fish comes out perfectly poached, steamed, whatever.

DW will not let me try this experiment in her washer, but, maybe at OKW next time........?

[sumessefui]

Rich, thanks for the memory. My Grandmom made the pigs feet just as you desrcibed. Have not had them in many years. The garlic is the key. Grandpop also made his own headcheese, hard to find that anymore except at the local farmer's market.

[Bennet]

I don't ever want to get the room after Rich has just been in there cooking.

Just another reason to like BWV. Too small for Rich to cook.

(Just kidding Rich, I'm sure it tastes great)

[Bennet]

OK this isn't quite pig's feet.

We get a big bad of spuds and bake'm all at once and keep'm in the 'fridge. Then I cut a bunch up and make home fries with onion, garlic and sausage. Progably stinks the place up almost as well as pigs feet.

We get a big bag of frozen burger pucks, dogs pizzas to feed the kids. Lucky Charms are popular with the kids too.

Eggos make for an easy quick breakfast (or lunch or dinner), so do the Lucky Charms

[Richyams]

LOL

I am alone in my home eating pig's feet. I made seven bowls, the garlic was permeating the walls, it was beautiful, I ate two bowls a day, they are all gone. They are just the most wonderful meal that ever could have been imagined......

[robinb]

We've done steaks on the grill at OKW. The men-folk drank beer and grilled and we women-folk stayed in the air conditioned 2 BR resort, drank wine, tossed salad and steamed green beans. The kids watched videos. A good time was had by all.

We now have a "kitchen pack" that we bring with us on our DVC stays. It includes salt, pepper, montreal steak spice, a small (5 oz) bottle of olive oil and a dial-a-matic spice shaker with oregno, thyme, parsely, garlic, basil & rosemary.

[DeDixie]

Thanks for all your great ideas !!

I don't get tired of eating disney food, I just want to save some money and take advantage of the kitchen.

Once I brought a pizza shell, pepperoni and pizza sauce in my suitcase, then brought frozen mozarella in a small cooler - the pizza was great.

I also like being able to eat the leftovers after eating at the restaurants.

My kids like those lemonade slushies - Oh, and I made brownies once also.

[msdis]

ROF, LOL, in TEARS!!!! You guys are just too funny. Think of the poor maid who finds a squirrel tail, or pigs hoofs in the trash, or fish remnants in the dishwasher. :eek: LOL!!! Thanks for making my day!

[msmouse]

One thing we always bring with us is the slow cooker. We put a roast on in the morning and when we get back to the room after a long day at the parks, dinner awaits! You can also do chicken in the slow cooker too!

[shrpgrl]

We usually do the cooking thing when we go in a group. We each take a day and we do a supper, (there are usually 14 or so of us).
We do things like Spaghetti and meatsauce with garlic bread, Mac and Cheese and sloppy joes. We do not get fancy. Mostly we do it because my sister and her 5 kids don't have a lot of money. This way we eat breakfast in the rooms and supper and then they only have to buy lunch or eat snacks.

[MaryAnnDVC]

Lots of great ideas, and really fun reading. :)

Rich...my dad (Italian) loved pigs feet, but only had the kind you could buy in the jar in the supermarket, which I'm sure doesn't compare with homemade. When I was little, I used to buy him a jar for Christmas, but never tried them myself.

[disneymagicmom]

One meal that is super easy and good is the new Pasta Bake sauces. Just add uncooked pasta, water, sauce and add cheese. Top that off with a salad (ala bag), garlic toast.... and away you go!

Yummy!

18 days to go! WDW and 1st Disney Cruise!

Sharon