How often do you use your kitchen in your Villa?

[franandaj]

1) Never! I’m on vacation, that’s what ADRs are for!

2) I have before but won’t do it again

3) The most my kitchen gets used is for toast

4) I do it sometimes, but only because we’re trying to save money

5) I love cooking, and there’s nothing better than a home cooked meal every so often

6) We use the kitchen for most all our meals

7) Other - Please give details in your response

Anyone who does cook in the Villa, please share your favorite recipies and what you like to make in the Villa

 

[mecllap]

Well, I guess I'm a 7 (my favorite number) - A LOT, but maybe not most. I use it some to save money, some for convenience, some to eat "reliable" food that I will like, some to use up Park leftovers or to eat picked-up meals, some for food items that we can't get elsewhere (DGS just has to have turkey franks and frozen (not cooked) peas sometimes, late night snacks, etc. Lots of reasons. Maybe saving money is the first reason -- but having the kitchen is probably the main reason we got into timesharing. It's also a great time-saver (I don't like to waste fun/Park time getting to a restaurant, waiting to be seated, waiting to order, waiting to be served, waiting for check, waiting for the receipt, etc. (and often being disappointed in the food that usually costs too much)).

 

[erionm]

In a word, COFFEE!

 

[drusba]

I am from one of those families where if you ask what the boss is making for dinner, the answer is "reservations." Never use the stove but we do keep the refrigerator stocked with things to drink, the microwave gets used for warming some things and Pop Tarts hit the toaster in the morning.

 

[zmanandshan]

Great poll.

Personally, I always think I will utilize the kitchen more than I actually do. Most of the time, I use it to heat up leftovers the next morning for a post hang-over bfast. I'll be doing that at the F&W.

 

[Chuck S]

We usually have toast and cereal for breakfast, but I have made bacon and eggs, and do occasionally fix a nice full meal for lunch or dinner. We like dining out, but with food allergies, sometimes we'd rather eat in instead of dealing with what we can and can not eat at a restaurant.

 

[lodgelady]

We love eating out as much as anyone, but after several days of running around the parks and eating restaurant food, it is lovely to have a day of simple home cooked meals. We hang around the pool, stroll the grounds and relax. Then we are ready to run around again the next day!

 

[docusmc1]

Reheat leftovers from the parks. Maybe popcorn.

 

[Lildalejrfan]

We use it every day to make breakfast. Plus, when we are relaxing we'll make popcorn or frozen pizza's to snack on.

 

[billsfan]

We only took our first trip home this past October but we used the kitchen every morning for breakfast. Two mornings it was only for Oatmeal and Toast, two mornings we made pre-made refrigerated cinnamon rolls but three out of the seven mornings we made pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, etc.

We also baked cookies twice while we were there. These were also the pre-made refrigerated ones.

 

[JimC]

Breakfasts and evening snacks.

 

[princessvacg]

..there's a kitchen in my villa??

 

[Granny]

I voted "other" because like many others we primarily use it for breakfast and snacks. It does save money but the primary reason is convenience and it saves a lot of time in the morning. Snacks are usually cheese, milk and sodas.

 

[kikiq]

I answered Other. It's really somewhere between loving to cook, saving money and having to cook for special diets. I have been on a low/no sodium diet for most of my life with a family history of high blood pressure and strokes. Most meals have too much salt for me, even if I tell the chef of my low sodium requirements. My youngest has to have gluten free foods and most of the family is lactose intolerant. Sometimes it's just easier to cook what is familiar and get on with our vacation.

 

[franandaj]

I'm a serious home cook and love to do it! I even take the DCA Cooking School at the F&W Festival every year for the past three so I was curious how "out of place" I was, and why I asked this question. However, I also love the restaurants at WDW so it's hard to balance nights at home in the Villa vs wanting to eat at every restaurant that we can! One of the draws to DVC was the villas with kitchens, we can eat in a few nights and eat out others.

We usually always have some sort of breakfast in the villa, usually yogurt, toast or bagels, but I like to make bacon and eggs or French Toast at least two times (if nothing else to use up the 1/2 dozen eggs we buy when it's just the two of us). I like my own cooking and it's nice to mix up the park meals with home cooked ones like some of you have said, because you know what you're eating.

I like to cook a couple meals in the villa for dinner, just so because DP is disabled and gets very tired, so we go back to the room a lot. If I book too many ADRs, we end up skipping some just for the tired factor. This isn't kitchen cooking, but it was one of my best villa meals, at the THV we had our own BBQ grill I made Balsamic Chicken and Zucchini when we were staying with my parents in January.

Look forward to hearing more of your responses.

 

[franandaj]

I have been on a low/no sodium diet for most of my life with a family history of high blood pressure and strokes. Most meals have too much salt for me, even if I tell the chef of my low sodium requirements.

I know what you mean, I too try to limit my sodium for high blood pressure reasons. I remember the first year when I did the Napa Rose cooking school and they kept trying to get me to add more salt to my dishes, telling me it wouldn't taste right if I didn't. Everything tasted just fine without the copious amounts of salt

 

[princessbride6205]

I chose the "toast" option, but maybe should have selected other.
Anyway, we do snacks and breakfast (except for 1-2 character meals) for convenience, food preference, time and cost savings. We've only stayed in studios so far, and I made tea, cereal, microwave scrambled eggs, plus stored some fruit, veg & juice. I don't want to cook when I'm on vacation but with a toddler and without unlimited money, we can't do table service all the time. I don't love counter service so I can see us doing a few more lunches in the future.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We always make breakfast in the villa. It's anything from oatmeal to pancakes and bacon. We also sometimes plan a regular meal as well, but only when we have guests staying with us. We usually cook one large meal like we do at home just to have the leftovers. When it's just the 2 of us though, we only do breakfast and an occational salad. We usually only eat two meals a day at Disney, so breakfast and one table service usually suffices for us. If we need more, we make ourselves a salad later in the day.

 

[Tiggeye]

We mostly use it for breakfast. We have cooked dinner when it was too cold to be in the parks.

It is also great when you have a family reunion vacation, you can all meet in someones room and have drinks before venturing out for dinner.

 

[jodifla]

We use the kitchen every day!

Have most breakfasts there, ranging from bagels to full out eggs, pancakes and bacon. A few lunches a week, a few dinners, and snacks.

I buy a big veggie tray for the week and use it for crudites and veggies for salads or to saute or stir fry. We normally buy steak and chicken to grill (bringing spice rubs at home). We also do a pasta night, and we just found a great jambalaya mix we are going to add to the repertoire.

We get the TIW card for special dinners out at WDW. The dining there is no longer original enough and too expensive to eat at every meal.