Homemade Meals for the Room

[Cindy B Good]

We don't want to eat out 3 meals a day while at DL. Looking for budget stretching ideas of meals that can be made in the hotel room. We'll have the standard microwave & mini fridge combo. (I'm guessing bringing a crock pot or toaster oven from home would be frowned on by the hotel staff.) What's the wackiest thing you've made in your room? Include recipes or photos plz.

 

[SeattleGirl]

Well, I haven't done this in a hotel room, but when I was in college I used to have a hot water pot (you plug it in and water gets boiling hot in a couple minutes - they're like $10 at walmart) and I would heat up water then add soup mix from Bear Creek and let it simmer (at your local grocery store - I loved the creamy potato soup). Hot water goes a long ways. There's a lot of instant soup/noodles/potatoes that come in individual and larger sizes at the grocery store that are really pretty good. Bertolli also makes fabulous skillet meals that I believe can also be cooked in the microwave in tupperware - they have fresh veggies and meat/chicken/shrimp.

If you want off-the-wall, I know REI has a great selection of just add water freeze dried meals. I've always wondered what they taste like!

 

[PinkBudgie]

If the rooms have coffee makers you can just put water in with no coffee to get hot water to pour on noodles, oatmeal, and soups and you wouldn't have to bring an extra appliance.

 

[IASWAM]

If you want off-the-wall, I know REI has a great selection of just add water freeze dried meals. I've always wondered what they taste like!

Not a bad idea at all! This could really add variety to the basic cereal and cup-o-noodle menu I was cooking up.

 

[OnTheRoadAgain]

You could buy a single, electric burner ($10) or and bring one pot or pan, a utensil, and do a lot! It would be funny to smell stir fry coming out of your room though. Just don't set off the smoke alarm, plug up the sink with food, or leave it out while you are gone.

Anything like chili or soup will work in the microwave if you remember to bring a small covered container to cook it in (and a can opener!).

Hit the Target up the road on Harbor Blvd. Buy something for the microwave...but that's probably not the least expensive way to do things.

Stock up on fresh fruit from somewhere like Costco and keep it in a bowl in your room.

Make some delicious sub-style sandwiches with rolls and lunchmeat from the fridge. Read some good sandwich recipes from somewhere like Allrecipes.com so that they are different and fun.

 

[Plantlady]

We did wraps. Tortillas, cream cheese, cheese and deli meat. Side of chips and soda. DH had refried beans and cheese in his.

I'm so sick of wraps now though.

 

[kc10family]

Just got back and took and electric skillet, make pancakes.. grill cheese.. anything you can cook in a shillet...whatever you want and it is easy to clean (fyi great way to reheat pizza). The maids had no problem that we know of.

 

[DahliaRW]

I have heard of people using crock pots in various hotel rooms. As long as it's on a heat-proof surface I don't see a problem with it.

 

[ter-moo]

This isn't homemade, but it's good and CHEAP for a family:

Pizza Hut has those pans of pasta now for about $12. They come with breadsticks, too. On our recent vacation, we fed our whole family (2 adults and three teens) with one of these and it was a nice alternative to eating out.(much cheaper, too!)

 

[50sjayne]

We're bringing sandwich stuff, a skillet, our Foreman grill, soymilk, cereal, lots of fruit. I'm thinking some premade burgers like Albertsons carries- bacon & cheddar or Bleu cheese from Costco, chips, bagels, hummus. Going to freeze the bottled water and use that to keep coolers cold.(big cooler for the room, small sandwich cooler for the park.) I think the worst of my worries will be getting husband to not overpack food....

 

[Pamb]

Thanks for this thread. I thought I was weird for wanting to bring my electric skillet to make grilled cheese sandwiches instead of paying 5.00 for the same thing in the park! Now at least I know I am one of many! I also thought about getting some instant rice using the hot water from the coffee machine and making a bit of stir fry. I just buy a large bag from the freezer section that comes with it's own sauce. Warming up the pizza is a great idea which I will use too.


We have used the freeze dried food before and it's not too bad. The stuff we buy is made to use in emergency situations so it is supper high in calories so we don't eat it often but since I want my kids to eat it if we ever do have an emergency try eating it a couple times a year...I guess DL will be one of those times.

Keep the ideas coming.

 

[bumbershoot]

If you want off-the-wall, I know REI has a great selection of just add water freeze dried meals. I've always wondered what they taste like!

Leave it to a Seattle Girl to think of REI.

Am currently looking at their outlet site for GSI stuff for two upcoming camping trips, and waiting for a new cooking pot to get to the store (ordered online).



I don't really have much to contribute to this thread b/c we generally keep our "homemade" food to snacky-type things. But for those times when you don't want park food and don't feel like heating something in a microwave, I wanted to let you know that some of the off-sites have BIG meals. We had a nice dinner for the 3 of us, later in the evening so we were hungry, from Millie's. Got to-go, a salad, their mac and cheese, and garlic bread, for just a bit over 10 bucks (plus tip if you like to tip for take-out) if memory serves. It was SO good! And very filling.

And if you get hungry in the parks, know that sharing food is possible, to keep costs down (Blue Bayou, and Cafe Orleans at lunch/dinner, charge a small split-plate fee, but BB is NOT a budget place to begin with,LOL). Tomorrowland Terrace has big breakfasts that include a beverage. The penne pasta at Plaza Inn is HUGE, and hubby and I had to force ourselves to finish it, along with the garden salad we shared. I've ordered kid's meals for myself at Rancho del Zocalo and Plaza Inn, and those include a little beverage, along with apple slices and carrot sticks generally.

And so on and so forth, for those times when you just can't deal with cooking something in your room.

 

[wheelerkidz3]

This isn't homemade, but it's good and CHEAP for a family:

Pizza Hut has those pans of pasta now for about $12. They come with breadsticks, too. On our recent vacation, we fed our whole family (2 adults and three teens) with one of these and it was a nice alternative to eating out.(much cheaper, too!)

is there a pizza hut nearby? do they deliver?

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

I precooked a box of pasta at home, and put it in a big ziploc bag. I heated up a jar of prego in the room and we had spaghetti. I also brought one of those mircowave-in-the-bag frozen veggies and bread. That was one meal. Don't forget the paper plates, napkins, utensils.........or bring some to wash and reuse.

 

[ter-moo]

is there a pizza hut nearby? do they deliver?

I just looked it up, and there's one on Ball Rd. that offers online delivery. There's also one on Chapman Ave. It said no online delivery, but I don't know if that means no phone-in delivery.

Both are close to Disneyland.

 

[oklamomof4boys]

Before we left, I cooked some crumbled sausage and some bacon. I brought it in a baggie along with some cheese and chopped onion. I also brought some egg beaters. In the morning we would through it all in the microwave for scrambled eggs/omelettes. It is good for us to start the morning with some protein.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Hmmm, I've brought in some muffins, cereal and milk. That's pretty much it. LOL I'm on vacation, so I don't want to cook! I guess I'd go as far as sandwhich stuff. LOL

 

[1 goofy family]

We usually bring cereal and buy milk for breakfast and might make pbj's for lunch. I'll also buy fruit and chips and water. I'm not sure if I'd want to make a whole meal in the room. When we stayed at a Marriot in Fresno last year, there was a family cooking full on meals in their room. It stunk up the entire floor! I'm not sure what they were making but the smell was very strong.

 

[Gisele]

I figure it means no on line orders, Domino's for example takes orders on line, then will deliver, frankly I don't know, how pizza places, keep all of that straight, I mean, what if someone is creating some kind of scam or hoax? how do these business's keep from becoming either confused, or taken advantage of? and one word of advice for anyone delivering pizza, if you end up out on a dark unfamiliar road, looking for an address, do not go any further, it can be a set up, I am not joking either, for I have learned of such stories from the news. It is a sad sad world, when one cannot even deliver pizza, unscathed!

 

[avalon451]

We ordered groceries to be delivered to the hotel, and ate breakfast in the room (or grabbed it on the way out and ate standing in line at the turnstiles). Those cereal-to-go in cups are nice; no bowls needed, just a plastic spoon. We had milk, soymilk, juice, cereal, yogurt, pop tarts, apples, bananas and a rack of bottled water.