Using the Kitchen/Recipes

[katiekomo]

Who here uses their DVC kitchen?

Any tips/recipes for easy to make and easy to clean-up meals? We're trying not to eat out much on our next trip, but I'd like to still feel like I'm on vacation!!

TIA!

 

[disneynutz]

We eat in our room the same as we do at home.

Bill

 

[katiekomo]

We eat in our room the same as we do at home.

Bill

Thanks Bill! You make a good point-- there are meals at home that I can make in the room, too.

I'm hoping someone out there might have some easy to make/easy to clean up recipes they don't mind sharing.

Tonight, for example, we're making spaghetti squash, "spaghetti" and meatballs with homemade marinara. It's about 30 minutes of prep and an hour (or more, depending on the oven and size of squash) of cooking. At the end of it there are at least 3-4 large bowl/pans/dishes to clean out. If I used tonight as an example, 'eating the same as we do at home' wouldn't feel like I was on vacation.

Hopefully someone has some fun ideas or traditions they don't mind sharing?

 

[bianca]

One of our "go-to" recipes for vacation is Turkey Meatloaf dinner. This is a recipe that I cooked up that tastes like Thanksgiving and is easy to prepare and clean up. In addition, leftovers can be made into sandwiches at a later time.

For each 1.5 pounds of turkey burger, add 1 beaten egg and 1 box of PREPARED stove top stuffing mix. Mix it all together, form into a loaf and bake at 350 for an hour. We always have instant mashed, a veggie and turkey gravy with it. I usually just throw those turkey gravy packets in my luggage to keep it easy, but if you're using GG or WGShop, you could have them pick up the jar stuff.

 

[disneynutz]

We look at WDW as our home away from home with better landscaping and more things to do outside the house.

Tacos. burgers, meat loaf, steak, the Stouffers type entrees like lasagna, enchiladas, beef pot roast, stroganoff, and the skillet meals. We even cooked a turkey with all of the trimmings on Thanksgiving, that was our most involved meal.

The Disney restaurants don't do it much for us anymore due to the smaller portions and high prices. We still go out a few times just like at home. Our overall favorite is Wolfgang Puck Express at the Village Marketplace. I buy gift cards from Costco for an added bonus.

Bill

 

[quandrea]

Grilled cheese and fries

Chili

Sausage casserole (google for recipe)

Pasta with chicken and peppers

Turkey with the fixings. Just the breast to keep it simple

Looking to expand this due to new restaurant cancellation policy.

 

[MouseMomx2]

At the end of it there are at least 3-4 large bowl/pans/dishes to clean out. If I used tonight as an example, 'eating the same as we do at home' wouldn't feel like I was on vacation.

In our family, the one who does the cooking is exempt from clean up. This is true at home as well, but especially on vacation.

On vacation we usually make tacos, spaghetti with jarred sauce and Texas toast or our favorite chicken recipe (Google Cat Cora cinnamon stewed chicken...it's amazing!). On the day we go shopping we buy Publix rotisserie or fried chicken (both really good)and make a salad and a vegetable to go with it.

 

[katiekomo]

We look at WDW as our home away from home with better landscaping and more things to do outside the house.

Tacos. burgers, meat loaf, steak, the Stouffers type entrees like lasagna, enchiladas, beef pot roast, stroganoff, and the skillet meals. We even cooked a turkey with all of the trimmings on Thanksgiving, that was our most involved meal.

The Disney restaurants don't do it much for us anymore due to the smaller portions and high prices. We still go out a few times just like at home. Our overall favorite is Wolfgang Puck Express at the Village Marketplace. I buy gift cards from Costco for an added bonus.

Bill

Wow! I'm impressed with the full Thanksgiving meal! And I love that you see WDW as your second home! Perhaps that will be us after a few years of DVC ownership. Skillet meals is a great idea-- especially for breakfast-- throw the one pan in the sink to soak and wash up when we get back from the parks/pool!

In our family, the one who does the cooking is exempt from clean up. This is true at home as well, but especially on vacation.

Love this!! I'll need to implement this when DS is just a little older. Right now he "helps" with clean up... but that's just to get him used to the idea... it's actually MORE work with his "help"! DH is a super-sweetheart and will help with either task... but I'd love to have an arsenal of recipes where we can have a tasty meal, then quickly get to the balcony for our glass(es) of wine!

I have an idea to make a WDW cookbook that we always bring-- some will be meals we only make at WDW. (I remember we ALWAYS had oven pizza our first night at WDW when I was a kid. One time we stayed at a place with only a toaster oven. We had to make the pizza slice by slice! Fun family memories!)

Thanks to all who have given some great ideas-- please continue to post!!

 

[com_op_2000]

DW usually makes a one pot meal:
Stew
Soup
Lasagna
As we usually stay in studios, these work out great for heating in the micro-wave. We sometimes will eat breakfast out and then depending on what we are doing that day either lunch or dinner in the room every day.

 

[iluveeyore]

It's always easy clean up at our villa with the dishwasher - love the huge OKW kitchen - will be there very soon and am making my grocery list today. We do spaghetti, hamburgers, quesidillas, sub sandwiches, frozen mini pizzas, chicken breasts with fettucini alfredo, hot dogs, soup and grilled cheese, chicken nuggets and fries, sausage and perogies, and we've even done french toast and sausage for dinner too. We did a full turkey dinner for Christmas a few years ago, and although it was a lot of work, it was fun to look outside and see palm trees while we had Christmas dinner!
We ate out when we went in May and stayed at a studio, and for the cost of what we paid to eat out (on a tight budget I might add) I am able to buy all of our meals, plus snacks, alcohol, pop and water for cheaper than eating out, so I don't mind cooking at all. We us it as our 'unwinding' time in the late afternoon starting around 3pm, to enjoy the deck, decide what to eat, prepare it, enjoy eating it, then letting the dishwasher hum away while we decide what to do for the evening. It's great to use leftovers for lunch the next day as well.
Enjoy your trip!

 

[MichelleVW]

Here's a link to the one pot spaghetti I make. It's super easy and only uses one pot!

http://www.fantasticalsharing.com/2012/12/one-pot-spaghetti.html

 

[jillmc40]

My biggest dilemma with cooking in the room is finding multiple recipes that can share ingredients...Otherwise I am buying all kinds of stuff that is only for one recipe. We usually hit Publix the first night there. I will do a Stouffers Lasagna one night with salad, fish sticks (grown up and kids versions ) with Lipton pasta packets and veggies. We still love to eat out but on DHS days we make it a half day and come back to the room, swim and eat dinner. Breakfast is always in the room and if kids and DH don't get cheerios and bananas they don't know what to do with themselves...That makes my life easy

Our first night we HAVE to eat Pizza Hut. It is DH's "thing". I don't know why but it brings him back to his childhood...So, we all take the Pizza Hut request very serious It's his only request

I would love some other ideas!

 

[DonnaL]

Don't know if you fly or drive...but, either way you CAN prep some meals at home, freeze what you've prepped and finish it while on vacation....very quickly! I make my homemade meatballs or meatloaf and freeze in Rubbermaid container or brown and crumble ground meat for chili, sloppy joes, tacos and freeze it. I've also precooked boneless chicken to use in chicken tacos, chicken salad, chicken cacciatore and...you guessed it...freeze it. I have a Thermos freezer bag, dimensions about 10"high, 10"wide, 14" long, which I then use as my carryon......as long as you have nothing liquid in the bag.....TSA will not stop you. I then order stuff from Garden Grocer to finish off my dinners.......jarred sauces, etc. (which I usually doctor up a bit with spices I've packed in labeled Ziplocs for easy carrying) I can have a sit down meal for six people on the table in about 30 minutes when at WDW with very little clean-up involved. We have a two hour to airport, arrive at airport two hours before our flight and a two hour flight......my stuff is usually still partially frozen when we arrive......the bag I have is rated for keeping items cold for 24 to 36 hours....since it's frozen when packed......7 hours later it's still mostly frozen.

 

[jillmc40]

Don't know if you fly or drive...but, either way you CAN prep some meals at home, freeze what you've prepped and finish it while on vacation....very quickly! I make my homemade meatballs or meatloaf and freeze in Rubbermaid container or brown and crumble ground meat for chili, sloppy joes, tacos and freeze it. I've also precooked boneless chicken to use in chicken tacos, chicken salad, chicken cacciatore and...you guessed it...freeze it. I have a Thermos freezer bag, dimensions about 10"high, 10"wide, 14" long, which I then use as my carryon......as long as you have nothing liquid in the bag.....TSA will not stop you. I then order stuff from Garden Grocer to finish off my dinners.......jarred sauces, etc. (which I usually doctor up a bit with spices I've packed in labeled Ziplocs for easy carrying) I can have a sit down meal for six people on the table in about 30 minutes when at WDW with very little clean-up involved. We have a two hour to airport, arrive at airport two hours before our flight and a two hour flight......my stuff is usually still partially frozen when we arrive......the bag I have is rated for keeping items cold for 24 to 36 hours....since it's frozen when packed......7 hours later it's still mostly frozen.

I did fly down one time with the insides to a Concord grape pie frozen that I made before hand. Then made the pie once we got there. It worked great! It was a surprise for my brother