For those who stay offsite and cook their own meals....

[kerry34]

I am looking for some easy dinner ideas for our trip next week. I dont want to put too much time or effort into dinners (after all, this is my vacation too, but want something that will offer some nutritional value and appeal to the youngsters and also that won't be too expensive....is this even possible? I am planning on cheeseburgers and macaroni salad one night (dh loves cheeseburgers), but besides salad I am not really sure what else. Looking for some creative ideas. Thanks fellow Disers!!!

 

[stepdisney]

We stayed off site our first year. Mom, you deserve a vacation from cooking too. I don't know if you have a grill but most places that have kitches have a grill on site. I grilled hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken the first day we were there. Then I made potato salad, macaroni salad and kept bags of pre-washed salad and cut up veggies in the fridge. I made a large pan of baked bean. With the exception of boiling corn on the cob a couple of nights, we feasted Bar-B-Q style for several nights witih no fuss. The food was already prepared and after a hot day at the park, we just heated things in the microwave, tossed the salad and the kids loved it. A couple of nights, of course, we went out to eat.

Hope this works for you. Enjoy the money you will save.

 

[paper1225]

We went to the Publix and bought lunchmeat and frozen pizza. We also brought with us pancake mix which was easy and nice change from cereal or pop tarts in the morning. We also took a couple boxes of (I think kraft) boxed pasta salads........a couple times that week I made them and they keep for a day or so in the fridge-so they were ready for a quick meal when we came back, also we bought some pre cooked ckn breast and added them. Another great idea was fresh fruit. The condo we stayed in had tupperware type containers for us to use, so we would cut the fruit in the morning and it was ready when we returned. I do not recommend meals that take too much, that is the last thing you want on vacation!!

 

[isla bonita]

If you are cooking your own meals and there is a grill for your use at the villa purchase some tin foil and put veggies in there, any meat that is on sale when you shop, and a bag of pototoes and it will be healthy, and easy clean up.

I put all veggies in foil and grill. For burgers cut up muchrooms and onions throw them in with a little water and butter, evoo or plain oil , or water with siome salt and pepper and you put a little cheese on the burger or for specialty burgers some portabella mushrooms and cheese and burgers and your faimly will be having top shelf burgers with out the top shelf price.

I do all on the grill and it is little clean up and much cheaper then dining out.

 

[5mins2disney]

IF the home you're renting has a grill of course...many don't. (Ours don't, do to the hassle of trying to keep a grill clean and full of propane / etc).

Be sure to ask your homeowner / MC if yours has one! Our MC actually rents one to guests for $40/week, a pretty nice option!

 

[iwannago!!]

We went to the grocery store and got lunchmeat/pb&j/cheese/pringles etc to pack lunches for the parks.
For dinner, I picked up some hot dogs/buns, macncheese/frozen pizzas. And 1lb of gr chuck. I made taco meat and used it for nachos and tacos.
I made sure to stock up on fruits and veggies - lettuce, bananas, apples, cucumber, carrots etc - this way we had stuff for nacho toppings, healthy snacks, & salad.

 

[stepdisney]

IF the home you're renting has a grill of course...many don't. (Ours don't, do to the hassle of trying to keep a grill clean and full of propane / etc).

Be sure to ask your homeowner / MC if yours has one! Our MC actually rents one to guests for $40/week, a pretty nice option!

If you stay at a resort with villas or suites, they sometimes have grills on site and they supply the propane, also foil does wonders for grills and the clean-up is better than pots and pans!! I agree with pp and next time we vacation in villas, I'm going to try the grilled veggies!!

 

[dougsmom98]

I made a frozen lasagna and garlic bread. I also made hot dogs, beans and baked some tater tots in the oven. We always order an extra pizza when we get pizza take out and that takes care of another meal. Frozen fried chicken is easy to bake in the oven too. We have learned not to stock up too much on food because you may not feel up to cooking. Since we are on vacation, we often get take out for dinner and then the left overs from that meal serves as our lunch on another day. For breakfast we often do pancakes. We buy the mix that you can just add water to. It works out well.
Good luck. Have a nice trip.

 

[Tissa]

I'm thinking about spaghetti and meatballs for dinner one night. Easy to make and great for leftovers the next day.

 

[paper1225]

dougsmom-you did bring up a good point. During our last condo stay, we bought a 2 pack of frozen pizza's and ended up only eating one.......hopefully the cleaning crew took it and ate it-I know if I was just checking in and found food-I would not eat it!

Our condo did not have it's own grill, but in the pavillion area it did, we grilled one night since the pavillion area was right off our patio!!

 

[isla bonita]

Kerry34 Ask lots of questions of the home owner. Ask if there are pots, pans, blender great for those drinks, griddle, crock pot, grill, and so on. Once you know what is there you can have a better idea of what you can purchase and make.

Tissa before you make pasta and meatballs make sure you have large enough pans in the home also remember no spices are down there you might want to bring those in a bottle already mixes? I personally would love to see the baggage check on that one. LOL When we first got our home we did not cook I totally refused to. It was my vaca too.
Well my girlfriend made the pasta and meat balls and the whole stove was coverd with all these little pans. To funny but not at the time. We have since fixed that problem but just a heads up.

Stepdisney do not wait until disney to grill veggies they are the bomb all summer. My grill sees more mork then our oven and stove. I also am not fond of clean up so it works for both of us.

George no grill? My man/co keeps the tanks filled and I did purchase 2 so there is always and extra. I bought one of those grill pads for under our grill and all is ok so far and so worth it.

 

[kerry34]

The kitchen is fully stocked according to the rental agreement, however, there is no grill. The owner says that he can arrange for an inexpensive rental of one. I may contact him and inquire. Hopefully since it is last minute it wont be an issue. The more I think about it, the easier it will be to have a grill to cook meats without the mess. As others have said tin foil over the grill works wonders and eliminates messes. That may well be the way to go. The only thing I really need to worry about is dinners. We are eating lunch in the parks, and breakfast is always light since none of my kids are big morning eaters. They are all hungriest at dinnertime. I may make two big batches of mac salad and potato salad, serve that along with tossed salad and a grilled meat each night, also corn on the cob and grilled veggies. Well I dont know why I didnt think of the grill thing myself I guess I have so much going through my head trying to get ready for the trip. That is what is great about this board!!! Thanks everyone for your tips. I am going to go plan my menu now. Feel much better!!

 

[5mins2disney]

George no grill? My man/co keeps the tanks filled and I did purchase 2 so there is always and extra. I bought one of those grill pads for under our grill and all is ok so far and so worth it.

Nope...what about keeping it clean? Do the cleaners do this for you? We just rent one through the MC. Thing is, guests aren't going to clean up your grill for the most part, not in a home rental. And then we would have to pay the MC to get the propane for us when it runs out....it's just easier to do the rental and let them worry about it.

For Italian food, that sort of thing, we usually just order delivery from Giordano's, it's awesome pizza or italian anyhow!

 

[dawnball]

We're staying offsit and cooking meals primarily because of allergies. I really like good food, but I don't really want to cook a lot on my vacation, so we're rotating cooking duties and using a lot of convenience foods. We'll stop at Costco on our first full day while the kids take an afternoon break. The plan is:

We'll have a veggie/dip tray from costco to augment meals along with some salad in a bag and an assortment of fruit

Pad Thai (from a kit, just add shrimp, egg, chopped peanuts, sriracha, veggies)
Pizza
stuff in peanut sauce (steamed veggies, more shrimp or precooked chicken strips, peanut sauce over rice made in the rice cooker)
Mexican night (carnitas from costco, tortillas, salsa, can of refried beans, rice, cheese, salad - everyone assembles what they want)
Pasta with sauce (I'm watching for good looking pre-cooked sausages to brown up for those who eat meat, but we'll probably just add chopped carnitas or precooked chicken strips)
Indian and Thai food from packets (Trader Joe's makes great shelf-stable thai and indian food, I'll take enough packets down for a couple of dinners)

We'll rotate through that assortment twice and have a few dinners of whatever people want to scrounge up for themselves. I think that my sister and I are going to have sushi on property one night too. Not a lot of repetition, not a lot of ingredients, and none of it takes longer to cook than boiling some pasta. The most intensive one is pad thai - but pad thai is my favorite on the menu, so we're having it anyway. :>

Breakfasts will be an assortment of freezer waffles, muffins, bagels, donuts, cereal, fruit, eggs, yogurt, probably some pre-cooked breakfast meat (precooked ham, bacon or sausage).

Lunches for the kids will mostly be mac and cheese from frozen, hot dogs, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, veggie sticks, fruit. And for the adults probably sandwiches, fruit, veg, salad, leftovers from the night before, etc. We tend to eat small lunches with larger breakfasts and a hearty early dinner around 4pm before we go back to the parks.

 

[dreamscometrue47]

My kids love plain old baked chicken, so I usually get chicken pieces (easier than cutting up a whole chicken) and bake them late at night for dinner the NEXT night with corn on the cob, salad, or mac salad; easy stuff. They still ask for this twice during the week (and they are now 17 and 13!). It is so simple, not expensive and they eat it all. I've also made a quick meatloaf with frozen french fries and salad; another easy favorite. They also love having nachos for dinner; my favorite!

I don't cook more than 4 nights, even though these are easy dinners and everyone helps cleaning up, etc. Just not in the mood that much on vacation!

 

[domesticdiva]

I'm not sure what your family likes to eat but wraps are always a good choice. I barbecued steak and chicken one night and used the leftovers for wraps and fajitas. I am driving down this time (i think) and I think I'll bring my small crockpot, that way I can do meatballs, roastbeef or whatever I think of and don't have to worry about it. A few minutes in the mornings to throw it all in and voila after a hard day at WDW you have a hot meal.. Just food for thought! Ha, Ha; No pun intended!

 

[isla bonita]

George I clean the grill twice a year thats all. My man/co do the tanks as part of the job. I get charged for the propane but it is worth having it for our guests. I personally can not live with out it.

My guests have been fine with the grill. It does not look new any more but it is in great condition still. If renting a home It would now be on the short list. There are many things I can go with out but king bed, grill and covered lanai are my must haves. We all have our wants and those are mine.

 

[MYDISNEYHOUSES]

I second throwing something on the grill or throwing something in the crockpot. Both are easy!!

 

[englishteacha]

The condo where we're staying has charcoal grills in the gazebo area. I don't have the gumption to deal with charcoal on vacation! We won't cook much, but we probably will get one of the giant Walmart pizzas from the deli to bake in the oven-that will cover 2 meals. Pasta and sauce are easy with a side salad and frozen garlic bread, and a frozen or deli lasagna can go with the leftover salad and garlic bread. There are 4 easy meals. We stayed in the same condo last year, but I don't remember the pot/pan situation. I could also fry up some hot dogs with frozen fries or tater tots, if there isn't a pot large enough for pasta. I don't like cooking even when I'm home, so cooking on vacation is one of the things I like least! Aluminum foil is a great idea. I might bring some from home. It folds well and I can put it in my ziploc bags that always travel with me.

 

[stepdisney]

Ilsa Bonita, you are my kind of friend! I will try the veggie thing before Disney, you sound like Rachel Ray with the evoo . I can't live without a grill either. You can get your husband in on the cooking and if you light the grill once and cook up all the meat, you can heat it in the microwave and still have that grilled flavor.

Domesticdiva, I'm lovin that fajita/wrap idea. I'll take that and use it if you don't mind. Steak and chicken breast sauted really quick with cilantro and garlic just to heat it through would only take a minute and you can add the grilled veggies (right Ilsa) to the wrap and have a good quick meal from the left overs!!!

Kerry34, glad you feel better, now all you have to think about is how you will spend the extra money you will be saving. My children loved having a choice each night of hot dog, hamburger or chicken. Don't forget to bring any seasonings you may need because it would be a waste to buy them there. Have fun.