Vacation rental meal planning

[Mrs. Ciz]

I don't always want to cook on vacation, but I also don't want to just eat my regular super quick go to weekday meals either. I like to splurge a little and make easy things that we don't eat often...treats for "on vacation". Tom Jones Shrimp is a perfect example. Serve it with a salad and plenty of crusty bread for dipping in the sauce. Just set the large casserole dish full of it in the middle of the table and go at it!

Tom Jones Shrimp: (serves 4)
1 lb shrimp (fresh unpeeled)
1 TBS ground pepper
1.5 tsp salt
lemon juice (1 lemon or 3 TBS)
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
several shakes of hot pepper sauce
1 clove minced garlic
3 TBS olive oil
3 TBS butter

- preheat oven to 350
- wash shrimp & place in casserole dish
- mix sauce & pour over shrimp
- dot with butter
- bake 20 minutes
- serve with bread for dipping

We've also done Low Country Shrimp Boils. Needed to bring along or borrow a huge steamer pot for it. We threw in:
shrimp, polish sausage, potatoes, corn on cob, old bay... (you can also add crabs, mussels or clams as well). Once it has steamed, we line the kitchen sink with newspaper and dump it in. It goes great with bloody marys. Yummy and fun!

One day for breakfast I always make a huge batch of biscuits and sausage gravy. I use the canned Pillsbury biscuits, a roll of Jimmy Dean sausage and a couple packets of Pioneer Brand Country Sausage Gravy mix. Everyone LOVES this treat!

And if you do bring a crockpot as other folks have suggested, below is a link to the recipe for the best ribs I’ve ever been able to make at home. You cook them in a crockpot.
https://tasty.co/recipe/honey-garlic-slow-cooker-ribs

I've also made ahead and frozen Chicken Tetrazzini casserole and my special spaghetti sauce, which I only make 1 or 2 times a year. All I have to do is heat them up and add a salad.

 

[barkley]

One day for breakfast I always make a huge batch of biscuits and sausage gravy. I use the canned Pillsbury biscuits, a roll of Jimmy Dean sausage and a couple packets of Pioneer Brand Country Sausage Gravy mix. Everyone LOVES this treat!

i LOVE biscuits and gravy-great idea!


have you ever made breakfast pizza with country gravy? it is so good! sam's club used to sell them occasionally and once we tried one we started doing them on our own-premade pizza crust topped with country gravy, pre-cooked sausage and scrambled eggs, topped with cheese

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

i LOVE biscuits and gravy-great idea!


have you ever made breakfast pizza with country gravy? it is so good! sam's club used to sell them occasionally and once we tried one we started doing them on our own-premade pizza crust topped with country gravy, pre-cooked sausage and scrambled eggs, topped with cheese

No, I’ve never heard of breakfast pizza with country gravy as the “sauce”. But it sounds delicious, and now I want to make it!

 

[nw6675]

i LOVE biscuits and gravy-great idea!


have you ever made breakfast pizza with country gravy? it is so good! sam's club used to sell them occasionally and once we tried one we started doing them on our own-premade pizza crust topped with country gravy, pre-cooked sausage and scrambled eggs, topped with cheese

Our Walmart still sells them in the deli area. Of course, they went up $3 with inflation, but still yummy! I will have to make one!

 

[sheilafri]

I usually take a few frozen meals like lasagna or shredded beef. They keep the cooler cold and eliminate the need to waste space on ice packs. Usually we do a lot of grilling which keeps the number of condiments and spices to a minimum. We usually do a shopping trip at the destination for drinks and fresh items, it is something to do and nine days is a pretty long time.

Tip: use ice packs to pre-cool your ice chest. Remove them and pack with frozen items to minimize loss of space to ice packs. A chest kept in a hot garage will need to cool down.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

We have traveled to a rental house at the beach several times with our two kids and their spouses and kids. We make a google doc and plan who is bringing what. Usually each family is responsible for two dinners.

I have made barbeque shredded chicken to make sandwiches, and sweet and sour meatballs for sandwiches. Both freeze well in ziplock bags so dinner is ready to heat when I arrive, Packed properly, I have gone from Maryland to Florida, spending two nights out, and the meatballs were still partially frozen.

 

[kymom99]

No, I’ve never heard of breakfast pizza with country gravy as the “sauce”. But it sounds delicious, and now I want to make it!

Omg speedway sometimes has breakfast pizza like this. It’s so good!

 

[Minnesota!]

We have a place up north that we abscond to as much as possible in the summer.
We do things that are crossfunctional - burgers and brats with sides. The sides can be made in bulk so they can be used for lunch the next day, or we grill up like 10 extra burgers to use for lunches the next few days.

Sub sandwiches, beans, raw veggies
Tacos
Shrimp boil
Pizzas on the grill with some caesar salad is quick, cheap, tasty

I like to bring as much from home as I can (cheaper), and then stop at the closest store for any odds and ends.

 

[nw6675]

Wow! Thanks for all of the great ideas and recipes!!

 

[clh2]

We make a lot of freezer meals, helps getting meals on the table during busy weeks.

What about making a Mexican-stayle lasagna? Many recipes on Pinterest. Freezes great! (Just put it in an aluminum pan!). Leftovers are great for lunch the next day!

As others have mentioned, shredded beef sandwiches are also a great idea! We make this in advance of holiday/family get together, we freeze the au jus separately from the beef. Heat the au jus up, and put the shredded beef in to heat it up quickly.

Something like Turkey Tetrazzini also is easy to make in advance, put in aluminum pans and freeze, after thawed, it also heats up great!

 

[tcufrog]

One thing we did when we rented a beach house was have a Hello Fresh order with 2 meals in it delivered to the beach. Everything was included, except oil, salt, and pepper. It made the whole experience much easier. We got the rest of the stuff, other than spices, at a local grocery store before we went to the house. We lived 6 hours from the beach house so I didn't want to deal with a huge ice chest for everything that needed to be refrigerated.

We kept the meals simple and made things like spaghetti, tacos, etc. We picked up yogurt and muffins for breakfast at the grocery store.

Before we left, we messaged the owners of the beach house to find out what cooking utensils and pots, and pans were there. I didn't want to pack a skillet or colander if I didn't need to.

 

[amcnj]

I mainly just brought things like uncooked hamburgers and chicken to grill, and any items that are unusual or might be hard to find. But I was never far from a grocery store, and also limited myself to one large cooler chest.

If I was going more remote, I would agree with making what I could ahead and bringing it. Especially items that require uncommon ingredients or equipment to make. Even if you don’t prepare the entire meal ahead of time, just the parts that would be more problematic to make away from home.

And assuming cooler space is finite, I also agree that shelf stable choices are also your friend, including things like milk.

Otherwise you of course best know the things your family prefers to eat.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Cook on vacation? NO WAY! I cook practically 365 days a year plus wash dishes by hand. I do not cook on vacation. Not cooking is almost my favorite thing about going on vacation. 40 years of cooking the same boring meals for my picky husband. I’m so over it! Have fun though!

 

[nw6675]

Cook on vacation? NO WAY! I cook practically 365 days a year plus wash dishes by hand. I do not cook on vacation. Not cooking is almost my favorite thing about going on vacation. 40 years of cooking the same boring meals for my picky husband. I’m so over it! Have fun though!

Oddly, not only do I not mind cooking...I LOVE to do laundry on vacation, too!

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Oddly, not only do I not mind cooking...I LOVE to do laundry on vacation, too!

Wow! Kudos to you!

 

[PollyannaMom]

...I LOVE to do laundry on vacation, too!

Mentally reaching out to feel your head for fever.

Seriously, though, thanks for the reminder to go switch my laundry.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I used to like to do laundry when we got back from vacation when my kids were little. We’d get home, I’d dump the dirty laundry piles on the family room floor. DH would look at the massive piles (which he wanted nothing to do with) and take the kids to the pool or movies or another daddy play date. I’d get to sit alone in my calm, quiet house for a few hours watching movies and folding laundry! It was some blissful down time after a busy family vacation!

 

[disykat]

I like to do laundry on vacation at hotels too. When the kids were little DH would take the kids swimming and I would putter around switching loads etc. and then back in the room all four of would have a folding party. It was a break for me and made coming home after vacation easier too. I have laundry stories from lots of vacations that are good memories. I often meet really interesting people in the laundry room or laundry mat!

One of my favorites is a trip to London in my 20's, where we chatted with an elderly woman who has done her laundry at that laundry mat every week for over 70 years and a truck driver from Edinburgh who was really determined that I should change my itinerary and come visit him. My travel buddy and I took an alternate route back to the hotel so he wouldn't know where we were staying. We got back and guess who was standing in the lobby staying at that little hotel? Fortunately we were traveling with a group and several of them were sitting in the lobby. I plopped myself on a friend's lap and whispered in his ear that I needed him to be my boyfriend for a few minutes and that was that. (I wasn't the "get hit on" type or one to spontaneously sit on someone's lap so it was very memorable.)

As for food, we keep it very simple but actually really enjoy checking out grocery stores in different parts of the country/world. Basically we buy what we might need for a simple breakfast and lunch and generally eat out for dinners.

 

[mrodgers]

For me a cabin in the mountains of TN, the cabin would be the vacation unlike a hotel at the beach where it's just sleeping accommodations. Like sitting on the porch enjoying the mountain air and views, sitting around camp fires. Not something where you're leaving in the morning and returning at night.

If that's what it is, I would be bringing my own food and most of it would be to cook on a camp fire. Cooking breakfast and dinner is incorporated as part of the vacation in trips like this. Lunch, that's just sandwiches or stuff like reheating the brisket I slow roasted on the fire for 14 hours the day before.

 

[nw6675]

For me a cabin in the mountains of TN, the cabin would be the vacation unlike a hotel at the beach where it's just sleeping accommodations. Like sitting on the porch enjoying the mountain air and views, sitting around camp fires. Not something where you're leaving in the morning and returning at night.

If that's what it is, I would be bringing my own food and most of it would be to cook on a camp fire. Cooking breakfast and dinner is incorporated as part of the vacation in trips like this. Lunch, that's just sandwiches or stuff like reheating the brisket I slow roasted on the fire for 14 hours the day before.

Exactly! We don't even want to venture out much. The cabin has so much to offer plus we are there for family time. We can't do campfires in this particular area, but we can at least grill out on the porch and watch the squirrels (and who knows what else!)