Meal Ideas

[tootsiemolly]

I need help with easy Meals for our week condo stay. Did any of you save your menu ideas or grocery lists?

Thanks
Angee

 

[tootsiemolly]

Bump Help???

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Anything that can be fixed in a crockpot is always a good idea. You just set it up before you leave for the parks in the morning and when you get back, dinner is ready!

You can do spaghetti one night (jarred sauce, frozen meatballs, garlic bread and a bag of salad).

A rotisserie chicken, Lipton noodles and sauce and a frozen vegetable heated in the microwave can also be good. Buy some of those Pillsbury frozen dinner rolls to heat up if you're crowd needs a little more to add to the meal.

Soup and sandwiches can really hit the spot if you're hungry. Just heat canned soup and break out the coldcuts.

Campbell's makes Supper Bakes kits that aren't too bad and they cook up in a ½ hour. We had the lemon chicken with rice last night and it was pretty tasty. You need to add your own meat but everything else is pretty much included in the kit. I added asparagus and rolls to round out the meal. They also make a pork chops with stuffing kit that my DS likes a lot.

As you can see, I'm not very enthusiastic about cooking when I'm on vacation. The simpler the recipe, the better for me. This does add a little to the cost of the meal but hey, it's my vacation too.

 

[boucheresq]

I'm a big advocate of tuna helper or hamburger helper.

 

[disneysteve]

We don't cook much in our condo, but when we do we stick with stuff that we generally avoid at home. TV dinners, heat and serve type of things, or package mixes that don't need many ingredients added (like mac and cheese). Not the healthiest fare, but its simple and we don't usually eat that stuff so its not a big deal. And its far cheaper than going out. Actually, we don't even do it to save money. We do it because after a few days of eating all meals out, we like the feel of sitting and relaxing in our condo and having a quiet meal together.

 

[amwhitaker]

Microwaveable pizza and frozen burritos/chimichangas which I found at Wal Mart. Healthy food, right?

 

[sconstantz]

Actually, I think throwing a couple of steaks on the grill (or in the broiler), a good fresh veggie, maybe a baked pot is a really easy meal. And with leftover steak - sandwiches. If you do a couple of extra pot's, you can heat them in the microwave with butter, cheese, and sour cream and a veggie and you have another meal (a meatless one).

shelly

 

[goofyforlife]

we did chicken helper one night.... (brought the box with us just had to buy a chicken breast at the store...bet the precooked kind would be faster.)

Spaghetti was a good idea...

One of those stauffers casseroles w/bag of salad might work.

 

[Ishy]

I waited for a special with omaha steaks. If your super savvy - you can manage to get free shipping too. For about 70$ I got 4 filet mignon, 6 hamburgers, 6 franks, 4 pork chops, 6 chicken parms, side of linguini, 10 portions of potatoe au gratin, and 2 stuff filet of soles -- they thru in steak knives too. Had them delivered to our condo. For the cost of a night out - we ate several nights. Granted I still needed to run to the store and get bread, rolls, cookies, crackers, eggs, bacon, salad greens and stuff but it was PERFECT for a BIG Family of 4 - well not fat big - just all adult size. I did stash small condiments and such for months and all free samples of soaps and detergents and other stuff.

 

[canwegosoon]

I love BLT's ....great for dinner too. I microwave the bacon, or you can buy it already done.

 

[gdulaney]

bag of salad topped with louis rich grilled chicken (pre-cooked & already in strips)...add whatever else you like (cheese, tomato, etc) and you have a grilled chicken salad at a fraction of the cost

roast beef (pre-cooked hormel), instant mashed potatoes, and some bread = hot roast beef sandwiches

Ginny

 

[momm2four]

Have chili for dinner one day, but make enough for leftovers. That way, the next day, you can open a bag of Tostitos, a bag of shredded cheese, shred some lettuce, cut up a tomato and use the leftover chili to make ultimate nachos. You could also bake potatoes and use the chili as a topping along with some cheese.

Lori P.

 

[leebee]

I bought a pre-cut whole chicken (not cooked), dumped a jar of spaghetti sauce on top, and baked it in the oven. Cooked up some farfalle, bought a loaf of italian bread and a bag of salad. Voila, instant Italian! We were 3 adults and one veggie child, by cooking the whole pound of pasta we had enough leftovers for lunch one day in addition to dinner!

REMINDER: Bring salt and pepper from home, maybe a favorite spice or two...garlic powder and oregano if you're thinking italian, maybe cumin or taco seasoning if you might do tex-mex. It's WAY cheaper to bring some spices in little snack-sized ziploc bags than it is to buy new stuff in Florida! No, the luggage inspectors won't think you're smuggling drugs...they have noses!