What type of meals do you do in the room?

[DCLbrideSept2009]

Since we're now going on our first DVC trip in March (Kidani), and we'll have the full kitchen, I'm starting to think of what kind of EASY/QUICK meals we can do in the kitchen. What type of meals have you done? Breakfast is easy... we'll do something quick... cereal/milk, etc., before heading out to the parks... we like to get an early start. But I'm thinking we'll do a late breakfast or lunch "out" each day, then come back to the resort for rest/swim, and have an early dinner in the room before heading back out. But I'm not sure what sort of things we should make, so I'm looking for suggestions... TIA!

[BEASLYBOO]

Many, many threads in this subject. I love to cook and actually enjoy cooking on vacation and a 1br or 2br villas is well suited for this.

Here's a thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2273977

Publix/Winn Dixie sell rotiserrie chickens that pair very well with salad and frozen stuffed baked potatoes. It can also be as easy as frozen chicken nuggets & tater tots to pasta and shrimp scampi! I can do wonders w/ few ingredients, however I do pack a few seasoning rather than have to buy a whole bunch, as well as zip lock bags and foil. Most of the resorts have bbq grills so we also grill steak at OKW.

Have fun!

[i*heart*minniemouse]

Originally Posted by DCLbrideSept2009

Since we're now going on our first DVC trip in March (Kidani), and we'll have the full kitchen, I'm starting to think of what kind of EASY/QUICK meals we can do in the kitchen. What type of meals have you done? Breakfast is easy... we'll do something quick... cereal/milk, etc., before heading out to the parks... we like to get an early start. But I'm thinking we'll do a late breakfast or lunch "out" each day, then come back to the resort for rest/swim, and have an early dinner in the room before heading back out. But I'm not sure what sort of things we should make, so I'm looking for suggestions... TIA!

We tend to do a larger breakfast that includes eggs. We find that cereal, toast or bagels just doesn't get us throught the morning. If we do a larger breakfast we are good with a late lunch/early dinner in a restaurant. This way we are only eating 1 meal at a park. That also gives us and excuse in the evening to stop by the main street bakery or have another treat late in the day!

Barb

[MouseMomx2]

For breakfast we usually have waffles (made with our Mickey waffle iron!), a quick bagel or cereal and fruit. We also have eggs & bacon one morning.

Lunches usually consist of BLTs and other types of sandwiches. Publix makes decent sushi so we sometimes pick that up for a lunch as well.

For dinner we have made spaghetti/salad/garlic bread, tacos, the occasional box of Hamburger/Tuna/Chicken Helper with veggies or baked chicken. We also have been known to get fried chicken pieces from Publix which we have along with a salad and sides.

[wrighter]

Two of our favorite "easy" meals are pasta with pesto (we're cheaters - we use the already prepared kind!) with garlic bread. The frozen Texas Toast is actually pretty decent. :-) If we're not totally wiped out we'll include a salad, but after a long day at the parks we're usually lazy . . .

Another fav is jumbalaya. Zataran's has a wonderful box mix. We just add some sausage to it and it's fabulous.

[BlakeNJ]

This year I am making tacos (easy--just cook ground beef!), bag of lettuce, chop some onion & grate some cheese! In the past I have made fajitas and used the Purdue pre-cooked chicken strips and cooked up peppers and onions.

Spaghetti and texas toast is on my list this trip.

Breakfast on off days will be the pancakes "just add water" type, precooked bacon that can be heated in the microwave.

I know I am in the minority, but I LOVE to cook in the villa. It really makes it feel like a home

[Muushka]

We will only be at OKW for 4 full days and I just made out my list of what to bring:

Cereal
Butter
Cream
Bacon
Chicken (pre-cooked)
burgers (pre-cooked)
Mozz and cheddar cheese
Salad dressing and croutons
Coffee, sweetener

and in addition we will buy Romain lettuce, tomatoes, some ice cream and some eggs and biscuits. That will get us a dinner or 2 of salad with grilled chicken, hamburgers, several breakfasts and a lunch or 2.

Between the cost of dining at Disney and the time that it takes, eating in the villa for most of our meals is a no-brainer.

[dianeschlicht]

We do much the same thing we do at home. For convenience, we buy frozen veggies though on vacation. We'll usually do one big meal that affords many leftovers, like a ham or a roast. Then once that's prepared and we've had that one big meal, we use the leftovers in quick ways by adding potatos, veggies, salad etc. We can even do sandwiches if we choose.

One of our favorites is to do baked potato bar. We have all the fixings available and everyone makes their own potato with whatever fixings they choose, and a quick shot in the microwave with a little chees over it, and it's a great meal. We also have done lasagne and pastas. Just add a salad, and it's a quick easy meal.

[rsimon]

Among several other meals, we go to publix and get their fresh pizza dough and make pizza. They have the dough already made and you just put your toppings on and cook it at 525 (well preheated) and they come out great!

To make it better, if you have an owners locker, get yourself a pizza pan with holes in the bottom so you can crisp up the crust even more. Otherwise you are stuck using the cookie sheet in the room which works, but not quite as nice.

[dairyqueenmom]

Our most recent trip this past summer we did quite a few meal in the room. We always cook breakfast, eggs, bacon, sausage, frozen pancakes, waffles and cereal. Dinners were tacos, hamburgers, spaggetti, grilled cheese sandwhiches. It saved us a lot of money and not much work. We usually eat in the parks during the day, counter service and one sit down every other day.

[ilovediznee]

Sorry, but I save up my money to get the meal plan and I don't cook. I use the kitchen to make coffee and I bring my Food Saver for leftovers, freeze them and bring them home, but I no longer make meals in the room. I have enough to plan and pack without having to deal with meals and I'm on vacation. I know that is not an option for some but I'd rather eat peanut butter sandwiches for a month before I leave for WDW if I know I'll be eating Filet Migon when I'm there and still possibly have really good leftovers to take home.

Just my .02 with.

Diane

[DCLbrideSept2009]

Thanks for the ideas, everyone! I figure this isn't going to just save us money but also save us TIME. And I will only do EASY meals, nothing that feels like too much work on my part... Heck, probably even do some frozen pizzas one night!

[dvcdisney]

The only appliance that gets used during our vacation is the refrigerator for milk, juice and water. The only meal we prepare in the room is cereal for breakfast.

[DenLo]

How about those frozen skillet dinners that Stouffers or Bertollini make? Add a salad and bread and you got a meal.

[DCLbrideSept2009]

Originally Posted by DenLo

How about those frozen skillet dinners that Stouffers or Bertollini make? Add a salad and bread and you got a meal.

Great idea! I think the plan is going to be... get there, check in, one of us goes to the store while the other takes kids around resort and/or to pool. (We're driving there.)