What do you Cook in the DVC Kitchen?

[MarieA]

When I'm on vacation at DVC - I cook nothing. If I have to cook, I don't consider it a vacation.

 

[akline]

Love that people fire up the grill .. but here is my question ...

How much of a pain is it? You have to buy charcoal, lighter fluid, etc to get it going. Is it worth it? And what do you do with the leftover charcoal, etc? You can't throw the lighter fluid in the trash. Obviously my husband does the grilling at home, and I'm just curious if it's worth the hassle? We'll be at Saratoga this coming November.

 

[susieh]

I've not seen curry much in the States but that's quick and easy to do too.

I don't take food to the US (import laws etc prevent me doing so) but for holidays in the UK (we have an RV) I often take frozen things and reheat them.

Cottage Pie (or shepherds pie) and baked beans, curries and rice, chilli (as someone already said) are all good options. Also jacket (baked) potatoes with grated cheese are easy to do and filling.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

I feel a little lacking, we do Pop Tarts and Bagels.
But it could happen any time of day.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Love that people fire up the grill .. but here is my question ...

How much of a pain is it? You have to buy charcoal, lighter fluid, etc to get it going. Is it worth it? And what do you do with the leftover charcoal, etc? You can't throw the lighter fluid in the trash. Obviously my husband does the grilling at home, and I'm just curious if it's worth the hassle? We'll be at Saratoga this coming November.

Do they still sell the "all in one" type bags that you don't need seperate lighter fluid for and that are for one use? We have had gas grills for so long now that I don't know anymore.

 

[mouseclick1]

We were just there over Easter and the only thing I made in the room was pancakes. I packed a box of "just add water" pancake mix and syrup. I thought it would be a nice break from cereal every morning. It was pretty easy and I would probably do it again.

 

[DIZBOUND]

A question to those of you who said you bring down frozen lumps of food. Do you drive and if not then how would one bring these frozen lumps down?

So far for our 2 trips as owners, we only do breakfast (poptarts, toast, yogurt, cheese sticks, kudos bars, and fruit) and then some lunchmeat and snacks for later in the day. Oh DOn't forget those wonderful adult beverages!

 

[DisFlan]

I don't cook in the villa, but my DH has to have this noxious "breakfast burrito" that he makes EVERY morning. It's refried beans, salsa, a LOT of shredded cheese and scrambled EGG SUBSTITUTE (go figure) wrapped in a tortilla and waved. This man just retired after a 35 year career as a Board Certified Internist. He's eaten this thing every morning for as long as I can remember. It's also why we stay in for breakfast, hence my Cheerios.

I don't even like the smell of his BB in the AM, but he's healthy as a horse and he has to have it. Even on vacation. And lord knows (gasp), he can't play golf later without it. So we have to make a trip to Walmart for a big bag of his breakfast burrito stuff. I just quietly sip my coffee and munch my Cheerios - on the balcony.

I have to admit that on our trip last fall at BWV, I broke down and ordered breakfast from room service. It was great.

DisFlan

 

[2disneydads]

I do not serve my family processed food, whether on vacation or otherwise. We do most of our shopping, whether on vacation or otherwise, around the perimeter of the supermarket. For breakfasts, we have homemade waffles and pancakes, whole grain cereals and breads and fresh eggs, usually scrambled. I travel with a Mickey Mouse waffler and a mini electric griddle. Lunches we usually eat out, but when we are in the unit for lunch it usually is grilled cheese for the kids and salad for the adults. Dinners include grilled meats and fresh vegetables, salads with leftover grilled meat, pasta with fresh tomato sauce (takes about 30 minutes to cook) and seafood. Broiled or grilled fish takes next to no time at all. The Publix markets in the WDW vicinity have a decent supply of organic foods, and I have learned that there is a Whole Foods Market not too far from WDW, too. I enjoy having the opportunity to cook without the pressure of getting the meal done quickly after coming come from work, so we do enjoy eating dinner in, whether at a DVC resort or any other timeshare.

 

[Longhairbear]

My favorite dinner I do once every trip is Eggs Benedict with home fries. It's easy when you can get all the fresh ingredients from Garden Grocer or wherever. That is the only elaborate and fattening meal I make usually. Usually I make broiled, or baked chicken. I always make a batch of meatballs and store bought sauce.
I do wish the various grocers would stock the small herbs in little pouches that I have seen recently at our home grocery. We don't drive when at WDW, and depend on the grocery deliveries.

 

[Uncleromulus]

DVCconvert: Well--they are hot anyway.
And it's only on days where we need to be somewhere early (like the Backstage Safari Tour) and the restaurants aren't open early enough for a real breakfast.
MRs U wanted me to add that a few years back, her mom stayed with us and one night we went out while her mom stayed behind and had a frozen TV dinner in the micro.
After we leave, kitchen cleaning for Mousekeeping is a snap!!

 

[susieh]

I have learned that there is a Whole Foods Market not too far from WDW,

Can someone tell me where this is please? We find that food in WDW is pretty samy - lots of meals with fries - and yearn for some more healthy options.

The one thing most hot American meals seem short of is vegetables. In the UK we usually have at least 2 of carrots, peas, sweetcorn, brocolli, mange tout, green beans, cauliflower, broad beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, brussel sprouts, cabbage, squash, sweet potato and onion with most meals so to go 2 weeks with hardly any veg makes me feel like i have eaten really unhealthily.

DH isnt a salad lover - but even if he were we only seem to be offered lettuce and tomato - what happened to cucumber, beetroot, radishes, etc?

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Love that people fire up the grill .. but here is my question ...

How much of a pain is it? You have to buy charcoal, lighter fluid, etc to get it going. Is it worth it? And what do you do with the leftover charcoal, etc? You can't throw the lighter fluid in the trash. Obviously my husband does the grilling at home, and I'm just curious if it's worth the hassle? We'll be at Saratoga this coming November.

Typically, the grocery stores near the resorts carry these nifty little bags of charcoal that have the fluid already soaked in. You don't even have open the bag. Just place the bag in the grill and light'r up.

 

[BlakeNJ]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Since we won't be anywhere near a park, my dining out options all include getting in the car, and since we'll be tired of driving, I figured that cooking in the room is a good trade off for more driving!

I'll be heading over to costco today, they have a lot of pre-made frozen stuff. Our plan is to drive down with the cooler full of frozen things, and drive back with the cooler full of fish/sand dollars/sand/creepy crawlies for our marine aquarium.

I think I'm going to try making that stromboli for dinner tonight-it it meets with approval we'll make that down there, too.

Good idea about grilling a bunch of stuff at once-I have bratwurst frozen in the freezer as we speak-I'll throw that in too...

Any more ideas? What's your favorite thing from Costco that you like to bring???

It's not frozen but my favorite item at Costco is their roast chicken! It's the best $6 meal around! Oprah once featured it on her show. Ok, now I'll just sit back and wait for all the Oprah comments.....

A frozen chicken might be an idea and pack a package of stuffing and frozen veggies. Sounds like a good meal to me!

 

[OlderMan]

The only Whole Foods I'm aware of is in Winter Park--FAR from WDW.

Perhaps their website can provide information on any closer stores?

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Can someone tell me where this is please? We find that food in WDW is pretty samy - lots of meals with fries - and yearn for some more healthy options.

The one thing most hot American meals seem short of is vegetables. In the UK we usually have at least 2 of carrots, peas, sweetcorn, brocolli, mange tout, green beans, cauliflower, broad beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, brussel sprouts, cabbage, squash, sweet potato and onion with most meals so to go 2 weeks with hardly any veg makes me feel like i have eaten really unhealthily.

DH isnt a salad lover - but even if he were we only seem to be offered lettuce and tomato - what happened to cucumber, beetroot, radishes, etc?

I think american restaurants (in general) do typically offer a choice of two vegetables. Maybe not the variety you present, but the U.S. is so big that you will find that veggie availability in southern California is going to be vastly different from that in northen Maine. I personally enjoy the regional differences in food culture that is driven much by what ingredients are abundant in a particular region.

Even in WDW where it is too easy to eat poorly there are healthy options available if people look for them. I think it really comes down to choosing to eat right. IMHO

Glad you left green peppers & celery off your list... I don't like them.

 

[AlwaysEeyore]

We are planning to do mainly breakfast this trip. Cereal, pop-tarts, Omlets. Maybe bake some cookies, pop some pop corn and get a frozen pizza for when we get back late and realize we forgot to eat beacuse we were having so much fun.
We are going to super wal-mart after check in so we'll see if anything else jumps into the cart while we're there.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Can someone tell me where this is please? We find that food in WDW is pretty samy - lots of meals with fries - and yearn for some more healthy options.

The one thing most hot American meals seem short of is vegetables. In the UK we usually have at least 2 of carrots, peas, sweetcorn, brocolli, mange tout, green beans, cauliflower, broad beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, brussel sprouts, cabbage, squash, sweet potato and onion with most meals so to go 2 weeks with hardly any veg makes me feel like i have eaten really unhealthily.

DH isnt a salad lover - but even if he were we only seem to be offered lettuce and tomato - what happened to cucumber, beetroot, radishes, etc?

I agree with you, it's quite hard unless you find yourself at a salad bar or buffet to get any other vegetable other than corn!. My family and I prefer a wide variety of vegetables and it's harder to find those places that offer them. Boma at Ak has a beautiful spread with lots of vegies. The parks themselves, even with salads, I find are limited in their selections which is why I do cook a lot on vacation. I prepare big salads with plenty of vegies and steamed fozen vegetables, that accompany steaks on the grill or Costco/Winn Dixie rotisserie chickens. I don't spend a lot of time cooking but I do cook a lot. You get tired pretty quickly of the burger/fries etc.

 

[iloveokw]

We also always buy those ready to bake cookies in the refrigerated section and of course, ICE CREAM to go with them.

 

[DisneyBride'03]

will be coming back to take notes!
With our group in June....most of our meals will be in the villa!
Oh Marge.........