T-day food suggestions while at the Ft.

[SunshineCamper]

We'll be at the ft. the week of Thanksgiving. We'll be cooking our dinner at the site. No buying the entire dinner from Publix or Wal-Mart, etc.
To speed up the cooking and cleaning...I've got paper plates, napkins and plasticware-that's all I've got so far. Last year I spent the whole day cleaning or cooking with my sister and Mom. This will be our second year at the ft. for t-day. Can't afford the special t-day meal at Backyard BBQ or TE Anyone have any tips to make cooking easier and clean up easier?
I appreciate any help so I can watch the Cowboys and the Lions game too.

 

[clkelley]

Not sure how you are cooking. Oven, grill, etc.??

They make disposable roasting pans in many sizes. Cake pans, casserole pans. They also have inexpensive plastic serving spoons, etc.

There are crockpot liners that keep the crockpot clean, etc., etc.

Lining things with aluminum foil also helps.

No matter what you use, there will still be some cleanup to transfer leftovers to ziplocs.

 

[Figment Chick]

Not sure how you are cooking. Oven, grill, etc.??
There are crockpot liners that keep the crockpot clean, etc., etc.

Oh how I love these! If you will be using a crockpot for anything on turkey day, make sure that you pick some of these up. They work wonderfully!!

 

[BarbO1999]

What time is dinner I'll even help clean up!!!!

 

[disney4dan]

.. Anyone have any tips to make cooking easier and clean up easier?
...

Best advice I ever got in that department was to marry a good cook who likes to clean!

Sorry, just had to "stir the pot" a little - but spoken by a lucky guy who knows how good he really has it with a fantastic wife who tolerates way too much from me.

I will give you credit for taking on a Thanksgiving dinner while camping. Those RV ovens are so small, and to try and get everything prepared will take the timing of a drill Sargent. Are you cooking a whole turkey? Or just parts? Same for all the side dishes; are you going to precook as much as you can and try to just reheat?

My mother did a half of a turkey (and a small one at that) on one of our trips to Florida when I was a kid, using the trailer oven and warmed up several side dishes that had been placed in foil pack bowls in advance. Those were reheated on the range top on low heat. The pie went in the oven after removing the turkey (again, the pie had been made in advance in a tin pie plate).

Good luck!

 

[bama_ed]

Sunshine,

I'm planning to do Thanksgiving at the Fort too. I have a big table top roaster oven I'm bringing for the turkey but everything else will be disposable (plates, knife/fork/spoon, cups), instant (mashed spuds, gravy), or from the Winn Dixie deli (pies, etc). And of course, rolls and cranberry sauce (with the whole berries, thank you very much). Still undecided about what kind of stuffing to attempt if any (the old bread stuffiing crowd like Pepperidge Farms is running into opposition from the cornbread stuff crowd) and the veg (sweet potato or green bean casserole).

I hope it works out for you and I agree, the less time spent on clean-up, the better!

Bama ED

 

[retired and happy]

We're also big on disposable. I know, not environmentally friendly, but for one day....

We cook a turkey breast in the oven. Some dishes are precooked and warmed in the mocrowave. Some side dishes are bought at a large grocery store and can be oven heated or nuked. I agree with cornbread dressing and I like a good fruit salad with coconut and sourcream in addition to all the fruit, mini marshmallows, mandarin oranges, marachino cherries, etc.

Whatever you choose, it will taste great at the Fort.

 

[SunshineCamper]

Thanks everyone-great ideas!
We have the coleman road trip grill, a table roaster, crock pot, oven and 3 burners. We should be able to cook everything -just have to remember to make sure all items are packed-
Thanks for all the advice. All we need now is cooler weather here.

 

[NO2Diver]

A few years ago we went camping for Thanksgiving weekend - I bought turkey breasts for the grill, Stove top stuffing (and Doctored it), green beans, mushroom soup and crunchy onions (made on the camp stove) some rolls and a pie. Violia! Thanksgiving Dinner.. We had everything my family back home had except the smells in the house - but we had the smells from nature - they sat round the dining room table as it snowed - we sat outside at the picnic table in the sunshine..

 

[RocklandRVers]

We have never been at the Fort on Turkey Day, but the last two Thanksgivings we DEEP FRIED our turkey. It cooked in about an hour and was really easy. We did see people doing it with propane at the Fort last Christmas. I guess its OK for outdoors but always seemed dangerous so I had bought an electric turkey fryer from QVC a couple of years ago and once we tried it we will never cook turkey in the oven again. Comes out nice and moist and tender. I'm sure Walmart or some other store has either. As long as you filter the oil and don't burn it by overheating, you can reuse it.

 

[camperhappy]

Glad to hear about the crock pot bags, I will definitely be trying those. We check-in Thanksgiving day, but hope to still have a nice meal that night. Our friends are flying in so figured everyone will be hungry!

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

What about buying a smoked turkey? I saw some at Sam's club today, and you can always fork out more and get one from Honey Baked Hams. That way you just have to re-heat and serve.

 

[BradyBz12]

We did Thanksgiving in the camper one year. I bought turkey parts (much easier/quicker to cook in a little camp oven) and premade the stuffing and as many of the veggies as I could so I just needed to warm them up.

Easy peasy - especially since we ended up eating our T-day dinner in a WalMart parking lot en route to WDW!

Oh and for dessert... a quick cobbler in a foil packet that you can toss on the grill or in the oven (to cook while you're eating dinner) is easy and delish!

 

[Judy in Texas]

Wish I were going to be there... anyone thought of having a pot luck at Meadows pool picnic area?

 

[m1tchells]

I usually make a few casseroles in advance and freeze them in disposable cookware. Then it is Stove Top for the stuffing, cranberry in the can and a turkey in the fryer! This makes for a very non messy, non stressful and therefore relaxing Thanksgiving Day. Much easier than being at home!

 

[Nikfour]

We'll be at the ft. the week of Thanksgiving. We'll be cooking our dinner at the site. No buying the entire dinner from Publix or Wal-Mart, etc.
To speed up the cooking and cleaning...I've got paper plates, napkins and plasticware-that's all I've got so far. Last year I spent the whole day cleaning or cooking with my sister and Mom. This will be our second year at the ft. for t-day. Can't afford the special t-day meal at Backyard BBQ or TE Anyone have any tips to make cooking easier and clean up easier?
I appreciate any help so I can watch the Cowboys and the Lions game too.

We use the crockpot to cook turkey breast!

 

[team bradfield]

pot pies, pot pies, POT PIES, I'm not afraid to say it...