Cooking on vacation

[travelitis]

We got a 2 bedroom at Bonnet Creek for June 29-July 6, so we will be eating in quite a bit. Also, we will not go into the parks before 6 pm. (AP holders avoiding the heat of the day) I have some ideas for food but am looking for suggestions. My oldest can't eat tomato products or fried foods. I don't want to be a slave to the kitchen, but I can't precook, as I'm going down on Tuesday ahead of them.

Here are some of my plans:

50's Prime Time meatloaf, Steam n Mash potatoes, Dad's Super Sundae (remember that dessert before the DDP killed it?) Obviously I'm doing a 50's PT menu. (use a foil pan I can toss)

Mexican - Tempe taco filling (maybe), beef taco filling, lettuce, cheese (shredded and sauce), salsa, tortillas, refried beans, nachos (We always do a Mexican night on vacation, but I'm not wild about all the frying of Tempe and meat, so I'd happily replace this one. If we keep it, I may do Tempe only.

July 4th - strawberry and blueberry skewers, All American Dreams, (need some actual food)

chicken Caesar salads using rotisserie chicken

I'm considering taking my rice cooker for couscous and quinoa for my son who is having difficulty eating.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

For the 4th of July why not do hotdogs and get a box of suddenly salad and cook it.

On Friday nights we do bar food night. I bake chicken tenders, onion rings, and any other appetizer type food and make a salad. I line a baking sheet with foil so that clean up is a breeze

 

[cndij]

Are you flying down or driving down? We are driving down, so doing a fair amount of cook ahead and freeze, like a crock pot pork roast, shredded for sandwiches and frozen in quart size bags, precooked hamburger frozen for taco bar etc. If you are flying and can't bring much with you, then some of the Voila frozen meals are good, like the alfredo chicken (no tomatoes in that one)

 

[My5Mouseketeers]

[QUOTEMexican - Tempe taco filling (maybe), beef taco filling, lettuce, cheese (shredded and sauce), salsa, tortillas, refried beans, nachos (We always do a Mexican night on vacation, but I'm not wild about all the frying of Tempe and meat, so I'd happily replace this one. If we keep it, I may do Tempe only..[/QUOTE]

For easier Mexican I often do a bag of Soy crumbles or Quorn with a package of taco mix (or make my own). I also cook lentils and add taco mix. All good (easy) sides of mexican night.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

Can you take a crockpot? You can do chicken tacos in the crockpot (2-6 chicken breasts with jar of salsa on top - 6-8 hrs on low, 2-3 hrs on high - use fruit salsa instead of tomato based).

If you are going down with a cooler, you can pre-brown and season the ground beef, then freeze it and take it down with you. I buy ground beef in bulk, fry it up, and freeze it in 1/2# and 1# portions. It thaws easily in the microwave or fridge for quick fix dinners.

We usually do burgers and dogs one night when we cook at a vacation condo. We do spaghetti as well, but that wouldn't work with your son's tomato issues. You could sub chicken alfredo or chicken pesto over bow ties. Just marinate chicken in a Lowery's italian or herb 30 minute marinade (pre-chop the chicken), and add to a jarred alfredo or pesto sauce while boiling your noodles.

 

[MSSANDRA]

You may want to look at doing a really big late lunch rather than dinner. If you want to be in the parks around 6, maybe a big breakfast when you get up, and then eat around 3 or 4 to be ready to enter the parks by 6:00.

Something we have done in our beach condo:

Pasta Bowls: Cook a pound or so of pasta and let everyone add what they want to create their own bowls....tomato sauce for anyone but your DD, cheese, peperoni, jar Alfredo sauce etc.

Taco Whatever: Brown up some hamburger with seasoning, have some chips and whatever topping they want....create.
Same concept with baked potato.

Roast in a crock pot and a bag of the steam in the bag mashed potato

Subs

Deli whatever....still much cheaper than eating out.


Fun dessert ideas:
cookie dough to stick in the oven
GOOD ice cream and frozen treats
Just add water brownie mix to eat hot with that ice cream on it..... All still much cheaper than park treats!

 

[bookgirl]

We've only done a few condo vacations (though we camped most of the time as I was growing up).

We always did a pasta night spagetti and/or ravioli then a some browned meat, a warm pan of sauce and cheesey/garlic bread and a salad.

Cookout type food hamburgers hotdogs or grilled chicken.

If you are going in the warm months I'd plan at least one lighter meal like sandwiches/soup, cold chicken or pasta salad.

We always had a crock pot if driving. Great for chicken or roast. Also an easy beef stew can be served over rice, noodles or potatoes for a quick harty meal.

We also did a full fry up breakfast every morning (we had people going skiing so lots of calorie burning). Eggs (scrambled and boiled, pancaked, sausage/bacon, biscuits and fruit/yogurt/cereal as well.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Don't forget folks the OP said her Son can't eat tomatoes so make sure to mention receipes that don't have salsa or spagehetti sauce in them.


What about chicken breast or pork chops that have been marinated in italian dressing and bake them.

 

[bookgirl]

Don't forget folks the OP said her Son can't eat tomatoes so make sure to mention receipes that don't have salsa or spagehetti sauce in them.


What about chicken breast or pork chops that have been marinated in italian dressing and bake them.

That's why we always have the meat apart from the sauce for spaghetti. I don't like red sauce. Usually we have pesto/ranch dressing/Alfredo along with red and all separate on the side, for me and one of my nephews who also does not eat red sauce.

 

[scrapquitler]

We got a 2 bedroom at Bonnet Creek for June 29-July 6, so we will be eating in quite a bit. Also, we will not go into the parks before 6 pm. (AP holders avoiding the heat of the day) I have some ideas for food but am looking for suggestions. My oldest can't eat tomato products or fried foods. I don't want to be a slave to the kitchen, but I can't precook, as I'm going down on Tuesday ahead of them.

Here are some of my plans:

50's Prime Time meatloaf, Steam n Mash potatoes, Dad's Super Sundae (remember that dessert before the DDP killed it?) Obviously I'm doing a 50's PT menu. (use a foil pan I can toss)

Mexican - Tempe taco filling (maybe), beef taco filling, lettuce, cheese (shredded and sauce), salsa, tortillas, refried beans, nachos (We always do a Mexican night on vacation, but I'm not wild about all the frying of Tempe and meat, so I'd happily replace this one. If we keep it, I may do Tempe only.

July 4th - strawberry and blueberry skewers, All American Dreams, (need some actual food)

chicken Caesar salads using rotisserie chicken

I'm considering taking my rice cooker for couscous and quinoa for my son who is having difficulty eating.

I know he can't eat tomato products, does that mean BBQ sauce is out? If he can have bbq sauce, I'd do something like a pulled pork BBQ in the crockpot and make sandwiches, maybe with coleslaw and baked beans for 4th of July, add some corn on the cob. If he can't have BBQ sauce, I'd go for hamburgers or hotdogs or both for th 4th.

I'd make grilled chicken and pasta salad one of the nights (I like to marinate the chicken in italian dressing).

I might make a stir fry another night, chicken or beef cut in small pieces, cook with snow peas, sliced peppers and onions, carrot slices and broccoli florets with rice.

Another night I would probably do cold cuts. Use leftovers of the pasta salad, and baked beans from the 4th if you have them, add some veggies and dip and chips.

All these ideas are simple and fast, leaving you more time to enjoy your vacation.

 

[Disneyforus]

Definately take advantage of the grills at Bonnett Creek!

 

[trinchick]

We just did a condo vacation in the Berkshires last April. The kids loved the pool and didn't want to spend evenings in a restaurant so we ate in the condo far more than I had expected.

I didn't want to be a slave to the kitchen either, so I took advantage of prepared foods at the local grocery store. The biggest time saver for me was to use the grocery store salad bar for a large salad that we shared. It wasn't much more expensive than buying all the ingredients, and it saved me from all the washing, peeling, and chopping. I even just sliced the lid off the clamshell box to spare myself from washing a serving bowl.

Some things we had:

Rotisserie chicken (I know you said you were having this with salad, but it's great on its own, too!)

Fried chicken from the prepared food section with potato salad, corn on the cob, and steamed broccoli (in the microwave)

Pasta with Italian sausage and salad

Steaks on the grill with salad and Betty Crocker instant mashed potatoes (I was a potato skeptic, but they were surprisingly decent)

 

[Badamon]

This is the exact thread I was looking for. Yeah! Love getting different ideas on what to make that's easy and descent.
We've rented a condo for our 8 day trip (our second year doing this) and do most of our meals in. We fly so I don't have the ability to bring any premade, frozen food or a slow cooker (unless someone can tell me how to successfully bring food on a 3 hour flight!). None of us are thrilled with fast food and heading out to a sit down restaurant at the end of a long, busy, super fun day is not appealing to us. I'm an early riser (very early these days! ) so making a hot breakfast is easy for me. My DH and I don't typically have lunch if we have a good breakfast. I'll take every shortcut I can think of to put dinner together quickly when we get in from the parks. Here's what I'm planning as of now for our February trip:

Breakfasts
Pancakes/sausage/fruit - I'll use an easy pancake mix

Potato, Bacon and egg scramble with toast

Bagels/cream cheese/fruit

Cold cereal/oatmeal/fruit

Pack snacks for the park (and maybe a sandwich if we didn't eat a big breakfast)

Dinners

Fresh ravioli/sauce (red or white)/salad/garlic bread - Buitoni brand are good!

Burger night

Tacos & Spanish Rice

Shepard's Pie & salad - I'll use the pre-made mashed potatoes like Simply Potatoes or Bob Evans, then it's just browned meat and corn. Will most likely assemble it before leaving for the day.

Chicken quesadillas (using rotisserie chicken) - might loose this one since we are already having tacos, but both are kid's favorites.

I welcome and thoughts or suggestions!

 

[Gigi22]

Fettuccine Alfredo can be made from scratch in two pots. Easier than commercial mac and cheese mixes. And you can enhance with veggies, chicken, etc.

 

[DawnM]

I don't go to any great lengths to cook while on vacation at Disney. I come home too beat to deal with anything much and don't want to have to go ahead of time to prep an entire week of food.

We eat:

Breakfast:

cereal
bagels
toast
eggs/sausage

Lunch:

Sandwiches
trail mix
Pringles
finger veggies
crackers
cheese

Dinner:

(all of the below are served with a fresh salad)

Frozen pizzas
Frozen lasagna
quick burgers and frozen fries
Steak and baked potatoes
Spaghetti
Frozen P.F.Changs and rice