Any good ideas for meals in the studios?

[roserae]

Just thinking ahead and trying to figure out how much we will be eating in the studio vs. elsewhere. Knowing what I can "cook" in the studio will help me in this. Anyone have any great meal ideas using only a microwave?

I imagine most breakfasts will be in the studio, and I can buy lunch meat and chips and some frozen dinners. Speaking of frozen dinners...how big are the freezers in the studios? Maybe I won't be able to do that.

Anyway, any ideas welcomed! Thanks!

Stacy

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by roserae
Just thinking ahead and trying to figure out how much we will be eating in the studio vs. elsewhere. Knowing what I can "cook" in the studio will help me in this. Anyone have any great meal ideas using only a microwave?

I imagine most breakfasts will be in the studio, and I can buy lunch meat and chips and some frozen dinners. Speaking of frozen dinners...how big are the freezers in the studios? Maybe I won't be able to do that.

Anyway, any ideas welcomed! Thanks!

Stacy
This is a little fridge with a little freezer. The thing I made best the 2 times I stayed in a studio were reservations.

[CaptainMidnight]

How about stopping and picking up some subway sandwiches, or other deli sandwiches, and keeping them in the fridge, until meal time. You could also pick up some take out chinese and heat it up, wonton soup goes well with a sub. Or get some Bob Evans take out and microwave it. Great food, eating well and fairly healthy, but still convenient for the studio and economical. You won't have to freeze it, freezer is pretty small. Some wraps could be nice. We like to have some meals we can take with us to eat pool side that don't take much work, subs and potatoe salad, etc., picnic type foods.

[aero99]

During my stay at OKW, I brought my Mickey Waffle Maker and used that for breakfast. Those are the only meals we ate in the room. I love eating out :D

Melissa

[bub]

We have eaten many meals in the studios, as we are not big fans of Disney food. We also appreciate the quiet of the room and use meals as a break (since we usually go in summer).

The freezer is small, but I have stuffed several of the small-size Stouffer boxes in there (mac and cheese, for example). I have also purchased Stouffer lasagne and let it stay in the fridge for a day or two before cooking. We often purchase a precooked chicken at Publix for the first day, combining that with some frozen side dishes. It's easy to keep lunch meat for sandwiches, also salad stuff and fruit keep well in the fridge.

Other ideas: hot dogs, Purdue chicken nuggets (the refrigerated kind), frozen burritos (nice if you buy several bottles of Corona at the hotel shop - they usually sell this by the bottle there). As you can see we don't eat gourmet meals but if we do one of these meals in addition to breakfast each day, it helps the budget.

People have also reported success with using George Foreman grills in the studios to cook chicken or hamburgers.

[Margie J]

I've cooked things like pasta side dishes (boxed variety) in the microwave. Just use a Tupperware or other microwave safe container as your cookware. Then I add some precooked chicken or a package of tuna to it. Served with a salad it makes a great hot meal.

You could also try the "Pasta Anytime" prepacked meals. Serve a few side items and there is another good meal.

For breakfast I've expanded beyond the usual danish and cereal. You can also cook breakfast sausages and "poached" eggs in the microwave. For the eggs I have a special cooker dish that holds 3 eggs.

[beccasmom]

On several occasions when we were checking in late (after 9:00 p.m.) and staying in the studio for one night, I've brought frozen hot dogs and rolls (very carefully packed!) to eat in the room once we arrived. Hot dogs are not my favorite food, but any port in a storm! They certainly fit the bill for fast and relatively easy when you are absolutely starving (no airline food = munchie fever for my group!). I bring little packages of ketchup, mustard and relish that I’ve accumulated over the year and buy a bag of chips and some drinks at the general store. That usually works very well and saves us a trip to Olivia’s (which we overwise love) when we are tired and just want to crash in the room.

I also either bring or buy a package of bagels or English muffins and we have them with jelly (again…..those little sealed packages!) or melted cheese for breakfast. Then we will have a really good sit-down lunch to make up for our “deprivation”! I also make sure to ask for doggy bags as most dinner platters are too large for us to finish in one sitting and I bring them back to the room for leftover noshing.....even when we moved over to the larger one/two bedroom space.

You’ll come up with many ideas…..I spent one week in a studio w/ my mom (a frugal gal if there ever was one! ;) )a few years back and we ate well and spent comparatively little. Microwaves offer unlimited possibilities.

[Lori in CNY]

We've made toasted ham and cheese sandwiches before as well as burritos/tacos.

Put your bread in the toaster and toast. Then put the ham and cheese between the slices of bread and microwave until melted. The bread stays crunchy and the cheese is perfectly melted.

We also keep tortillas as a staple. Using cheese, salsa, refried beans, and some sour cream you can whip up some pretty tasty Mexican treats!!!

My husband also likes to wrap hot dogs in tortillas with cheese tucked inside too for his own version of "pigs in the blanket".

Have a great trip!!

[littlestar]

When we stay in a studio, we like to heat up Campbells soups in the microwave. We dip half the soup out into two bowls and then half a can of water in each bowl and heat in the microwave. A nice light snack or lunch. Um, Um, good (sorry, I couldn't resist).

We usually have a car or if we use a towncar we do a grocery stop so we buy deli lunch meat, chips, pop, bagels, milk, cereal, paper plates, etc. We also have a small George Foreman grill I sometimes pack in our suit case. The Foreman grill is great for hamburgers or grill cheese sandwiches.

[lsutiggeratwk]

If you'll be driving, and I'm sure there is a way to make this work if you're flying, bring some homemade goodies from home. We've brought spaghetti, chili, etc that has been frozen. It stays nicely in the refrigerator until time to heat and eat and then we have a home-cooked meal without the cooking. I usually make large batches of these things before we go, knowing we'll be going, and freeze some WDW meals. Almost as good as packing!! We pick up fixings at the grocery once we're in Florida.

[disneycrazed139]

Not a meal but...microwave popcorn sounds like a great anytime snack. The packages are also good and compact for packing.

[kaf7878]

We eat many, many meals in the studios. We have two little kids (under4) so dining out is not worth the aggravation (or $$). Plus we are normally only going for a couple days at a time and try to keep our budget small (we're just in Tampa so going to WDW is not a once a year/lifetime spending spree for us). That being said, here are some ideas:

1-Pick up a pizza or two and put the rest in the fridge for the next days lunch or dinner (serve with a salad if you want)

2-Hotdogs are great. I bring my Foreman grill and they taste good. We buy prepackaged mac salad/coleslaw and chips to complete the meal.

3-Soups and a loaf of french bread

4-Boxed rices and mix with precooked chix, bread, salad

5-Some people do crock pots but not sure if those are allowed. Plus you'd have to buy a bunch of stuff to put inside?

6-Breakfast for dinner...eggs, pancakes, cereal, bagels

Freezers are small but you can fit a few smaller packaged meals in them. Good luck!

[lilkitty819]

Don't forget the easymac's there quick and if you take them out of the box's they pack easy....if you do food shopping down there you can buy ham slices and heat them up tyson precooked chicken...micro mashed potato's....dog's and beans....bacon and french toast sticks....pancakes....Dinty Moore beef stew...
:Pinkbounc

[roserae]

Thanks guys! Lots of good ideas. I never would have thought to bring my foreman grill. That opens up a lot more options.

Stacy

[kpgclark]

You can get one of those yummy cooked chickens (rotisserie), a package of mashed potatoes (at the deli or in the refrigerated section) or baked beans, and frozen green beans. All can be easily made in the microwave and it's a healthy meal.

[Asuneda]

Here are some suggestions:

Baked potatoes - Just wash, pierce skins, place on paper towel in microwave for 15-20 minutes depending on size. Loaded with different toppings and it can be a meal in itself.

Nacho's - we make chile con queso, and refried beans and layer over tortilla chips with bagged salad mix on top. (Sour cream and/or hot sauce also go good for the baked potatoes)

Chicken Fajita's - buy the marinated chicken breast strips and put in freezer (or fridge for a day or two). Cooks easily in the microwave...or Foreman grill if you're taking it. Tortilla's keep nicely on the counter for awhile. (Cheese, sour cream, hot sauce already covered for multiple dishes!)

I like to come up with several dishes that use the same types of ingredients...maybe not always in the same style (I obviously like Mexican food :p ). It makes it easier to store in the fridge, and quicker in and out of the store leaving me more time for the Mouse!

[Dancind]

We like a good breakfast when at WDW, even in the studios. I take a microwave omelette maker or egg poacher, and make eggs. Sometimes I cook up a batch of microwave bacon, and keep some in a baggie in the refrigerator, it reheats just fine. A little grated cheese is nice with the eggs. Also bagels in the toaster with cream cheese. We bring fresh roasted coffee from home too. We're spoiled on our coffee. This all sounds a little extreme, but we don't get hungry again until later in the afternoon. Then we usually have snacks in the parks, and later have an early dinner. That's usually at a restaurant or counter service. Diana

[rwoolery]

You could plan PS at a restaurant at the end of your day that serves large/huge portions (such as Restaurant Marakesh). Get leftovers to go and have them for a snack later or to enhance something else you had in the fridge.

Also, there's a deli type place in DD Marketplace near Wolfgang Puck's Express. They have sandwiches, salads and stuff that you can keep in the fridge.

I personally find just eating breakfast in the studios like bagels, cream cheese & such, which keep well in the fridge. Then use your DVC discount and have a very late lunch. Keep sodas and snacks in the room/fridge to fill-in, not fill-up.

If you live in Florida, get DDE, it's the only way to go.

http://wdwig.com/dde.htm

[DeeP]

I don't cook while at WDW but I use a microwave and a George Foreman all the time at work and home so these ideas could also be used in a DVC studio.
Eggs benedict come out very good in the microwave, make the hollendaise sauce in mircowave, poach the eggs in microwave, heat the candain bacon on george foreman grill (or in micorwave) and toast the english muffin in toaster. Put it all together and viola--great eggs benedict!
I use my George Foreman grill to grill everthing from burgers to fish, chicken filets, steaks, pork chops, sausage patties, even grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. While the meat grills heat up microwave mashed potatoes and veggie or buy the pre cut packaged potatoes and doctor them up with some oil or butter and spices then cook in microwave, stir frequently.
Make BLTs with microwave bacon and pair up with a bagged salad for a nice lunch. Use the microwave bacon with deli turkey and ham and have club sandwiches with a side salad.
Use pre cooked ground beef or buy several hamburgers at a park, crumble and reheat the hamburgers in microwave then mix with boxed macaroni and cheese (that was cooked in microwave) for a good mac & cheese with beef add a loaf of french bread and butter and a bagged salad for another easy dinner.
Many boxed rice, noodle and even stovetop stuffing comes out very good in microwave, pair with something grilled on george and a veggie or salad.
Enjoy!

[DeeP]

I just thought of another idea and this one does not even require cooking! If you have left over steak from dinner, slice the steak thin and mix with a bagged salad or take out side salad from counter service. Pick up fried noodles at take out stand in Epcot/China and pick up either french bread or croissants, cheese (strong cheese i.e blue cheese), french desserts and a bottle of nice red wine in Epcot/France. Top the salad/beef dish w/crumbled fried noodles, crumbled blue cheese and a vingarette dressing, serve with bread & butter and wine. Follow with coffee and desserts. Great lunch or light dinner!

[Tinkerbelloncapecod]

Hi besides all of the above, we have two favorites:

1. Make your own egg mcmuffins for dinner.

2.) My husbands all time favorite is bring a 1 lb canned ham in your suitcase, a can of pineapple, a measured bag of instant rice, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar in a plastic bag. Buy two throwaway big plastic containers at the store. Cut up the ham in one ince cubes. Place all of the above ingredients, except the instant rice, in a bowl and microwave, stirring occasionally. Make the instant rice in the other bowl. Put ham and pineapple on the cooked rice and whallah! Best darn meal in town! And you will have plenty of leftovers! it's a great quick dish!

Have fun!