Ideas for dinner in rental?

[ChisJo]

Just wondering if anyone can give me some ideas about what I can cook for 3-4 weeks while in a rental condo in Orlando. We are trying to eat in the condo as much as possible to help curb some of the costs of food as we would rather have more money for other things. I cook all the time, however, I have a kitchen full of spices, and flavours and ingredients, and the ability to work with a majority of kitchen tools. I have no idea what will be there, except a "fully stocked kitchen" - excluding food obviously. I hate processed foods (think KD, hot dogs, pre-packaged frozen foods, etc) - won't eat them, so I cook everything from scratch. However, for this trip, I will buy some items such as pasta sauce, and canned soup. The condo that we will be staying in will have a BBQ, so that opens up some ideas for suppers. I'm looking for low cost, simple dinner ideas for 2 adults and an older teen boy. My budget for the month total on food is $350 - including eating out and groceries.

Any suggestions? Thank you in advance!

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

We get a lot of "ready to bake" type meals from Costco when we go. Other ideas:

Tacos - ground beef, a packet of taco seasoning, shells, package of shredded cheese.

Spaghetti - pasta, jarred sauce and ground beef if you so desire. Bagged salad and it's a meal.

Hot dogs and buns... only need to buy a small thing of ketchup and/or mustard.

Cereal and milk.

Bagels and cream cheese.

Eggs and bacon or sausage, flour tortillas - make breakfast burritos.

Really, the only "spices" we usually have to buy are salt and pepper. We just get a small thing of each.

 

[chris31997]

Another would be a cheese sauce with noodles and hamburger, hamburger helper.

"Subway" night

BBQ chicken, pork.

 

[cornflake]

I'd stop at a dollar store or wherever and pick up some cheap condiments and spices (no, they're not the best, but it's for three weeks and to toss so...). Just make sure you've got salt, pepper, mustard, ketchup, olive oil, whatever basic stuff you use.

Then I'd do either things that work for a bunch of things or one-dish things that will make leftovers that can be eaten off and on. Stock stuff that'll work for multitudes of things too - basics like rice, tortillas, big bag of potatoes, cheeses, couscous or quinoa, plain yogurt, a bunch of different noodles, tinned beans, get a bunch of bread or some frozen unbaked rolls or some italian rolls and stick them in the freezer, etc.

Get a bunch of fruit too and cut it up the same time you're grilling stuff or making a lasagna or whatever, and put it all in tupperware in the fridge. If you spend a couple hours one day doing prep like that, you'll have days of options that won't take you but any time.

That night you... grill up a bunch of portabellos and sliced summer squash and peppers or chicken breasts or make meatballs or what have you and maybe throw together a lasagna to either bake then or stick in the freezer for the next week.

Then you can assemble from that stuff, in like 15 minutes... quesadillas, fajitas, stacked tortilla casserole, big sandwiches of grilled veg and cheese or meatballs and cheese or whatever, wrapped up in foil and stuck in the oven for 5 minutes to get hot n melty, pasta primavera or pasta with chicken and veg in olive oil and garlic, or pasta in marinara w/meatballs, oven baked potatoes with whatever toppings and cheese melted on top, or grilled veg or chicken couscous salad, served room temp tossed with an olive oil and lemon dressing, etc.

The fruit can be snacks, dessert, lunch, you can just dump a lot in a big bowl and serve with plain yogurt with some honey on and have fruit salad for dinner...

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

How are you getting there? We have always driven on all of our vacations. I have a small box that I keep for all of our vacations that has my "must have" spices and tools (can only use my own potatoe peeler). I also bring my own broiler pan and marinade container. Then I usually cook the stuff that my family usually likes. One problem that I have found is that I always need to ask for extra equipment in all the villas/timeshares that we have stayed in. Thankfully, none of them have ever given us a hard time. For example, there is usually only one large pot in the villa and one rectangular baking pan. There are some meals that I need at least 2 large pots (spaghetti and meatballs, for example). We have pre-cooked our first nights meal, frozen it and then used it in the cooler that we bring (along with ice) for snacks and drinks on the road. By the time we get to Orlando, it is defrosted and ready to just heat up.

I usually do my food shopping between Winn-Dixie and the SuperWalmart when down there. You can sign up for a Winn-Dixie card before you head down there. A lot of stuff is much cheaper at the SuperWalmart, but we have found the shelves cleared many times on the weekend because of people arriving and stocking up for their vacation week.

If I couldn't cook as much as I do while ON vacation, then our family of 5 would not be able to GO on vacation or at least not as much as we go.

 

[slusher]

Crockpot.

If the condo doesn't have one, go out and buy one, it's the USA they've got to be super cheap there! Even a small one will make great chili, spagetti sauce, chicken in sauce. I'm driving so am bringing ours (we use it on the trip) and plan to cook just like I do at home: Walk in the door and dinner is ready. I think it's even more important to have food ready at home when touring parks.

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

Condos normally don't have them. I sometimes bring one. I will also be bring my roasting pan for our upcoming Easter trip. Hey, if I gotta cook, I'd rather be doing it at Disney.

 

[HeatherC]

We always stay in a villa. Here are some of the things we usually do...

Rotisserie Chicken with a bag of cesaer salad.
Steak or ribs on the grill
Banquet Fried Chicken....kids love this cold for lunch.
Spinach Lasagna....I use no boil noodles with a box of thawed frozen chopped spinach. Layer it with some cheeses and jar of sauce and bake. Hardly any work at all.
Crockpot fajitas....throw a bunch of chicken, peppers and onions in with an envelope of fajita seasoning. Heat up tortillas in microwave and you are good to go.
Quiche...great for breakfast or dinner
Spiral Ham....great for several meals.
Tacos
Chinese Takeout

Hope this helps!

 

[Darcy03231]

I get the foil pans and do some casseroles the first day there and freeze them. Its then really easy to take one out of the freezer in the morning for dinner that night. Clean up is easy too - just throw the pan away!

I second the crock pot idea. I bought one for $20 at Walmart. I used it for spaghetti and meatballs (made a double batch of meatballs and then we had meatball subs one night), pulled pork, mexican chicken, beef stew, etc.

 

[scrapquitler]

Just wondering if anyone can give me some ideas about what I can cook for 3-4 weeks while in a rental condo in Orlando. We are trying to eat in the condo as much as possible to help curb some of the costs of food as we would rather have more money for other things. I cook all the time, however, I have a kitchen full of spices, and flavours and ingredients, and the ability to work with a majority of kitchen tools. I have no idea what will be there, except a "fully stocked kitchen" - excluding food obviously. I hate processed foods (think KD, hot dogs, pre-packaged frozen foods, etc) - won't eat them, so I cook everything from scratch. However, for this trip, I will buy some items such as pasta sauce, and canned soup. The condo that we will be staying in will have a BBQ, so that opens up some ideas for suppers. I'm looking for low cost, simple dinner ideas for 2 adults and an older teen boy. My budget for the month total on food is $350 - including eating out and groceries.

Any suggestions? Thank you in advance!

If I were staying that long, I'd buy a crockpot and use it at least 2-3 times a week to make a meal like a pot roast, a big thing of sauce, or soups, and I'd use that meal to make a large enough quantity to provide my family with more than one meal (for example, I'd make the roast and we'd eat that the first night, then I'd shred the leftovers with bbq sauce and have that as sandwiches another night, and if there were still leftovers, I'd make soup or something like that).

I'd use the grill to my advantage as well. I'd grill lots of chicken one night and then use the leftovers another night to make sandwiches or chicken salad, then I'd use the leftovers to make chicken/gravy over noodles another night.

I might even take one afternoon when the family is relaxing and having down time at the pool to prep a bunch of meals for the following few days (like chopping stuff for salads, cooking hamburger meat for tacos, and even sticking a meal or two in the freezer for later).

In other words, I'd do pretty much what I do at home.

I'd suggest planning out a number of simple easy to make meals ahead of time and make yourself a little kit of the essentials you will need to prepare those meals. Spices for example will really blow the budget if you need to buy them on this trip, so I would plan the meal and then measure out the spices needed for each of those meals and put them in labeled ziploc bags and then put the bags in a tupperware container of some sort so you'll have it all ready to go ahead of time.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We bring an electric skillet with us. Handy for pancakes, eggs, or any kind of grilled sandwiches.

 

[ccgirl]

Just wondering if anyone can give me some ideas about what I can cook for 3-4 weeks while in a rental condo in Orlando. We are trying to eat in the condo as much as possible to help curb some of the costs of food as we would rather have more money for other things. I cook all the time, however, I have a kitchen full of spices, and flavours and ingredients, and the ability to work with a majority of kitchen tools. I have no idea what will be there, except a "fully stocked kitchen" - excluding food obviously. I hate processed foods (think KD, hot dogs, pre-packaged frozen foods, etc) - won't eat them, so I cook everything from scratch. However, for this trip, I will buy some items such as pasta sauce, and canned soup. The condo that we will be staying in will have a BBQ, so that opens up some ideas for suppers. I'm looking for low cost, simple dinner ideas for 2 adults and an older teen boy. My budget for the month total on food is $350 - including eating out and groceries.

Any suggestions? Thank you in advance!

I really like doing "double duty" meals on vacation.

For example, grill some chicken and you can use the leftover for chicken tacos, chicken fajitas, enchiladas, or chicken salad roll ups.

We will usually do a Baked Ziti with salad and garlic bread.

YOu can also buy a precooked rotisserie chicken and use that for multiple things.

We will have beef tacos one night and taco salad the next.

Hope this helps.

 

[englishteacha]

I would either pack some of your most-used spices or buy cheap versions of them when you get to Florida. When I was a kid we traveled with our pop up camper or rented a condo/hotel with a kitchenette. Mom always had a small plastic box with her spices in it-garlic, cinnamon, seasoned salt, Mrs. Dash...the stuff she used often. Like a previous poster, if mom didn't cook on vacation, we never would have gone on vacation. Travel frugally or don't travel at all was how my parents looked at the world. They'd rather travel than stay home!

I also recommend a cheap crock pot-I use mine all the time at home. You can even toss in a whole chicken to cook for the day! Other easy things I make are American chop suey, breakfast for supper, spaghetti, and DH is the griller and makes steak tips, chicken, burgers, etc.

 

[pixiewings71]

Definitely use a crock pot, I've never stayed in a timeshare that had one (you said condo but I'm not sure if it's a timeshare or not) but you can get one for about $20-30 at WM, they are worth their weight! lol Seriously, fill it, set it, leave, come home to a fully cooked meal. Get crock pot liners for easier clean up as well.

As for spices, can't you simply take some of your own favorites? That's what I do, use the small Ziploc snack size baggies or use small Ziploc containers and just take what you think you might need. It's easy enough to pack them, they travel well and you've got what you like.

For meals, tacos, pasta, salad, sandwiches, wraps.....there are lots of easy ideas.

 

[ccgirl]

We always stay in a villa. Here are some of the things we usually do...

Rotisserie Chicken with a bag of cesaer salad.
Steak or ribs on the grill
Banquet Fried Chicken....kids love this cold for lunch.
Spinach Lasagna....I use no boil noodles with a box of thawed frozen chopped spinach. Layer it with some cheeses and jar of sauce and bake. Hardly any work at all.
Crockpot fajitas....throw a bunch of chicken, peppers and onions in with an envelope of fajita seasoning. Heat up tortillas in microwave and you are good to go.Quiche...great for breakfast or dinner
Spiral Ham....great for several meals.
Tacos
Chinese Takeout

Hope this helps!

BOlded mine. That sounds fabulous! Do you cut up the chicken first or put the chicken breasts in whole?

Sounds yummy and so easy. THinking I may even add this on my rotation at home.

 

[HeatherC]

CCGIRL..I do it both ways. But I like to shred the chciken and put it it back in for about thirty minutes before we eat. Makes the chicken jucier for some reason.

 

[pixiewings71]

BOlded mine. That sounds fabulous! Do you cut up the chicken first or put the chicken breasts in whole?

Sounds yummy and so easy. THinking I may even add this on my rotation at home.

I make the same type of thing, I just put whole chicken breasts in and then shred them after.