Dinner AFTER vacation

goingtowdwwithkiddos

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Mar 10, 2013
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So we aregoing to be gone a little over a week of course we will be tired flying from MCO-LAX and land early so I am trying to think of lunch and dinner ideas for a day or 2 that are not going to go bad.

Thinking maybe spaghetti (I precook ground hamburger all the time)
DH like cream of mushroom soup with ground beef over rice

What do you plan or eat after getting back Lunch is seeming harder but we really do not do fast food and after vacation no one wants to eat out..
 
You're talking lunch and dinner when you get back home from vacation? I always have stuff in the freezer and pantry but I'm not opposed to getting takeout the night we arrive home. I always go to the grocery store the day after we get home. We just eat too much fresh food to be happy doing otherwise for long.
 
You're talking lunch and dinner when you get back home from vacation? I always have stuff in the freezer and pantry but I'm not opposed to getting takeout the night we arrive home. I always go to the grocery store the day after we get home. We just eat too much fresh food to be happy doing otherwise for long.

yes for after we get home I think the problem is we eat to much fresh food also , and I normally try to use up food before we leave so this time I am trying to be a little more prepared
 
yes for after we get home I think the problem is we eat to much fresh food also , and I normally try to use up food before we leave so this time I am trying to be a little more prepared

You could fix something like a lasagna before you go and freeze it. Serve it with a frozen vegetable. Eggs will last several weeks so you could do breakfast for lunch or dinner. Just have bread or English muffins in the freezer. Canned tuna can be turned into sandwiches. Cheese will also last quite a while so you could do grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch. I've gotten yogurt with a long expiration date. Apples and carrots will also last a good while in the fridge.
 

We have a list of items we will need when we get home...milk, bananas, etc. Things like bread we will have ready in the freezer to pull out when we get home, and the pantry is stocked before we leave. Anyway, the list of perishables is a standard list that we is the same after any long trip we take. We stop at Target (or Kroger or Walmart, depending on how late we get home) on the way home from the airport and whoever is not driving jumps out and gets everything on the list as quickly as possible.

We used to wait until the next day but we were always more tired the next day. The kids always fall asleep on the way home so the person not in the store can wait in the car with them. We know it is part of coming home, and that 15 minutes makes life a million times easier the next morning when the kids need milk or fruit with breakfast.
 
We have a list of items we will need when we get home...milk, bananas, etc. Things like bread we will have ready in the freezer to pull out when we get home, and the pantry is stocked before we leave. Anyway, the list of perishables is a standard list that we is the same after any long trip we take. We stop at Target (or Kroger or Walmart, depending on how late we get home) on the way home from the airport and whoever is not driving jumps out and gets everything on the list as quickly as possible.

We used to wait until the next day but we were always more tired the next day. The kids always fall asleep on the way home so the person not in the store can wait in the car with them. We know it is part of coming home, and that 15 minutes makes life a million times easier the next morning when the kids need milk or fruit with breakfast.

I love this idea I think it will be faster to stop and pick up stuff than to go buy food somewhere this is what I will do :)
 
sandwiches from Subway.

Chicken in cream of mushroom soup. Take any kind of chicken. mix up one can fat free cream of mushroom soup and one can of the garlic mushroom soup. Put chicken in a casserole dish and pour soup over and bake 30-40 minutes. Serve with green beans

Beef stroganoff in the crockpot.

one pound of stew meat - fresh or frozen.
one can of golden mushroom soup
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
medium onion cut up.

one package of fat free cream cheese.

put everything but the cream cheese in the crock pot for 8 hours on low or 5 hours on high.

The last hour of cooking add cream cheese and stir to melt. I cut mine into chucks to help it melt faster.
Serve over noodles.
 
We have a similar problem. We are DONE with any kind of restaurant food or take out when we get home. Secondly we always arrive home from our August trips the day before school starts, which is a holiday here, so the only thing open is the Walmart which is a half hour away.
I'll have meal items in the freezer but we're either going to stop on the way home from the airport for dairy/bread/produce and school snacks or I will leave a list and money for my sister. She is cat sitting for us so I can ask her to pick a few things up when she does her shopping.
I also make sure the first day of school outfits are laid out before we leave, and that there's a frozen lasagna in the freezer to take out for dinner that night.
I even pack the kids backpacks with all their new school supplies before we go.

It all takes some extra prep before we leave, but it's worth it to not come home to a bunch of things that need doing.
 
Meals that are prepared & frozen in ziploc that you just dump in crockpot. :thumbsup2

Grocery store hot meals. Ours has a huge fresh selection made daily. Everything from salads, fruits, pizza (call in order), meats, sides.
 
We usually just go out one more time because we are too tired to deal. Or I plan to have a couple frozen pizzas in the freezer ready to pop in the oven. Or sometimes if I am feeling ambitious, we'll pick up a rotisserie chicken.
 
Open freezer pull something out. Usually ill hit up the 7-11 on the way home for milk.
 
I'll be honest. I have never, ever given any thought to this. Depending on what time we are arriving home, we either stop somewhere in the neighborhood to grab a bite or order a pizza.
 
This year I bought some yummy turkey smoked sausage right before I left because I know they have a long shelf life. And I made sure we had some frozen pierogis and frozen veggies.

And I know it's cheating, but I also usually get one of those Bertoli frozen means that are in the bag. You just heat and go. Not fresh, I know, but they're pretty good!

We go to the market the next day, so I don't worry about lunch.
 
I make ahead and freeze all the time. Favorites are:
Taco Soup
Pulled Pork with brown rice
crockpot Beef Stew
 












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