Please help. Need specific meal ideas for larger group.

[eeyoresmom]

Our next trip will be this August. There will be 7 of us ranging in age from 13-60 ( most are teens). I need specific ideas on what to cook in the villa. We will be in the parks for opening, then returning around noon. We usually have lunch in the parks, and have an early dinner (usually at the resort foodcourt, but I am really trying to use the villa kitchen more! ) The easier the better. In fact, I am thinking of having each person responsble for one meal, since everyone is old enough to cook. I would love to have lunch in the room, but it would have to be super quick. For dinner all I have come up with is Roasted chicken will red potatoes ( I won't have to peel the red ones) and then a cook out night with burgers and dogs. I can't think of dinners that don't require a lot of spices and stuff I don't want to purchase for just one meal....can anyone share??? TIA

 

[Chuck S]

How about quick n easy meals?

Canned/frozen veggies and some mac & cheese.

When we were in a studio, we bought some pre-packaged mashed potatoes and roast beef, and heated it in the microwave. It was pretty good.

Heck, my 84 yo Mom even likes a none spicy variation on Frito Pie. Brown some ground beef and chopped onion (kidney beans optional). Then in a bowl layer fritos, beef/onion/bean mixture. some shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, and shredded lettuce. If you like it more spicy, you can substitute canned chili for the meat/onion mixture. It is sort of like a taco in a bowl, or a taco salad.

 

[ZekeKelso]

Frozen lasagna

 

[Deb & Bill]

Do you have a crock pot? I like to put in a bunch of beef stew meat and add a bottle of barbeque sauce. When it's done, just chop up the meat with a spatula or big fork and you have very good barbeque beef sandwiches. For the three of us I usually use about a little over a pound of meat with maybe a half bottle of cheaper honey barbeque sauce. That makes about six to eight sandwiches depending on how thick you make them.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

With the grills at the resorts, here are some quick options:

* Ditto on the frozen lasagna.
* Breakfast for dinner - Eggs, sausage and/or bacon and some biscuits or cin roles (believe it or not, my kids and DH love this after a day at the parks)
* Spaghetti - we buy prego with meat sauce, a pound of lean ground beef, polka kielbasa, spaghetti, garlic bread, a head of lettuce and dressing - quick and really good!
* Tacos, refried beans
* Steaks or ribs w/ KC Masterpiece, corn on the cob and salad
* Grilled cheese and soup

And my personal favorite......buy your own favorite frozen dinner or frozen pizza! It's amazing to me how my family breaks these out at 10:00 at night when they're still STARVING!!!

 

[buzz5985]

We use the kitchen the most at HHI. We bring a frozen sauce with meatballs, chicken, pork etc, cook up some pasta, buy a bagged salad, some bread - enough to feed an army the first night. With enought leftover for meatball subs, chicken parm subs for lunches. We will also fire up the grill and cook steaks, chicken, hamburgers, hotdogs, sausages. Cook enough in one night for several nights. We also serve tacos during the week.

Janis

 

[Sabor]

Tacos
Sausage and Peppers
Shake and Bake (chops or Chicken)
Kielbasa
Chicken Cutlets

These are all staples that we cook in the villa all the time , Tacos doesn't really need a side dish but the others we do Mac and Cheese , or fancier pasta side - with a frozen veggie.

 

[limace]

It would be easier to put a little bottle of italian seasoning, for instance, in your luggage, too (I was going to say a baggie, but then I thought a baggie of oregano might look suspicious to homeland security!!!!).

I think the idea of each adult, or couple, being responsible for a meal for the group is a great one-that's what we always do when we camp with groups. I'd personally try and throw in as many healthy ingredients as possible as I know it's really easy to eat badly on vacation and I think that starts to affect our energy levels after a few days, esp if you have kids in the group.

Pasta sauce is great and easy. Buy a jar, add some sauteed veggies (always garlic and onion!) and beef, chicken, or sausage and some of your spices, if you'd like. Toss in part of the bottle of wine you've opened. Salad on the side...baby spinach, maybe. A frozen box of shredded spinach is good in the sauce. We have really like the Bertolli pasta plus noodles lately-they are part whole grain but taste like regular pasta, but have extra protein and fiber (one of my kids has to get a good dose of protein at every meal or she's a mess).

Frittata for dinner-saute a lot of veggies, like onions, garlic, bell peppers, mushrooms. Add sausage or ham. Grate some cheese (cheddar is always great) into a bowl with six or more eggs, add a little milk, salt and pepper, mix em all up. add the eggs, and stir until it's cooked through (lift the edges to let the raw egg come to the outside and cook). If you've cooked in an oven-proof pan, put under the broiler for a minute or two at the end so it's golden and bubbly on top. Serve with bread.

Spaghetti carbonara-google for a recipe, but basically egg, bacon/pancetta, cheese tossed with hot noodles so the egg cooks and forms a really yummy sauce.

Quesadillas, with a bar of fillings that people can put in theirs'-grated cheese, drained black beans, cooked ground beef or shredded chicken, black olives, salsa, green onions, cilantro, sour cream, avocado.

Ditto the above, only with baked potatoes, bacon, chili.

Frito chili! Fritos, canned chili, sour cream, avocado, shredded cheese.

My 11 year old loves to cook "buttery noodles" and kids really do like them. Cook a pot of noodles, we use elbow macaroni. Add cream cheese with chives, a chunk of butter, and stir to melt. Add a little milk, and a bunch of shredded parmesan. Salt and pepper.

Fondue would be easy and lots of fun. You can buy the packaged swiss stuff at most grocery stores and melt it in the microwave. Cubed bread, veggies, and cooked pieces of sausage, apples. Choc fondue for dessert.

 

[mouseclick1]

One breakfast idea that worked for us was to bring a box of "just add water" pancake mix. It was a nice change of pace from cereal, and was a cheap and easy way to feed 8 teenage boys. If you felt like going the "breakfast for dinner" route, this could work well.

 

[eeyoresmom]

Thanks everyone. Loved the idea of grilling double amounts!

 

[shortypots]

We tend to do a lot of bagels and english muffins for breakfast because they are quick and easy and can be taken to the bus stop while you wait.

For dinners if you have a crock pot that you plan on bringing:

Chicken parmesan- packaged chicken breasts with a jar of premade tomato sauce, spaghetti
Spaghetti and Meatballs- same as above minus the chicken add meatballs
Homemade mac and Cheese- get a large disposable pan, cheddar, milk, breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper
BBQ pork- you can buy a premade mix (I think it is Mccormick) in the spices aisle, and let it cook all day- it is really good.
Beef Stew- same type of premade mix, just buy veggies and meat and good to go
Beef Stroganoff- another premade mix, add beef, veggies, mushrooms, and at the end add sour cream. I like to add a little extra sherry, but might be tough if you can't get to a liquor store.
Kielbasa with orange juice and pineapple slices (add the juice too) really yummy. Would need to find a side item for this one, but is really good.
Chicken Alfredo- canned alfredo mix from Ragu and chicken breasts. Really easy. Serve over pasta.

Just some thoughts if you want to bring a crock pot. You can obviously change some of these to non crock pot meals, but would be great to come home from a hard day in the parks to dinner pretty much ready for you!

 

[DonnaL]

Just had to reply to your statement about buying spices for one meal. Easy.........just premeasure the spices for your favorite quick recipes and Ziploc them.....send a box of the staples you need for those recipes addressed to yourself along with your check-in date at whatever resort you're staying.
I do it all the time. Both FedEx and UPS have online time calculators to estimate how long you need to allow for the package to get there......usually costs me about $15/$17 to send a 25 lb pkg. I put coffee, spices, a few sheets of foil and plastic wrap, staples like rice, dry pasta, etc, for any recipes I plan.
Then, I just buy any fresh ingredients I need when I get there......sure makes our grocery run a lot quicker. I also have a wheeled insulated picnic bag (about 12 x 18) that I use as my carryon for some trips. I will precook and freeze any poultry or meat I need for specific recipes .........that really helps timewise getting a quick meal on the table. Just make sure you don't have anything frozen that the TSA could consider liquid if thawed. Some examples frozen precooked, deboned chicken for use in chicken cacciatore, or garlic chicken with broccoli and rice; precooked frozen ground meat for tacos, sloppy joes, or made into meatballs to add to jarred spaghetti sauce (doctored up a little of course). By doing this, it really cuts down on your precious vacation time spent in the grocery store when you get there and prep time at your villa. I've found most things are still frozen when we get there. If not, they are only partially thawed and I just prepare those items in the first day or so and we have a 2 hr drive to airport...arriving 2 hrs before our flight, and a 2 hr flight, so, timeframe is approx 7 hours or a little more, depending on when we can check-in. We have found this to be a tremendous help when we have the whole family (six of us) on a trip and want to eat at least a few meals in.

 

[FormrCastMbr]

I am not sure I saw subs listed here. You can get loaves of italian bread and make several different types: Italian, turkey and cheese and ham and cheese...lettuce, tomato, onion and a little italian dressing. Cut them up and serve with a side of chips...

You can even do hot subs...roast beef or turkey and gravy.

 

[shortypots]

Now that he mentioned subs, I forgot one of my favorites! French Dips!

Buy a couple of packages of aus jus at the supermarket and deli roast beef, some rolls, and cheese (if you like that on your sandwich) and get some frozen fries to go with it. Might need some horseradish and ketchup to go with it, but yummy. Nice and easy. You cook the roast beef in the cooking aus jus and then serve the aus jus on the side with the sandwich.

 

[Sheribo]

Double ditto on the lasagna.
We buy a couple of large bags of Caesar salad and grill some chicken breast to top it off with for a chicken Caesar salad. The pre-packaged salads include the dressings too.
Another favorite is build your own submarine sandwiches. Cold meat, cheese, lettuce tomato etc. on some fresh buns goes over well. We never have left overs.