What Do You Cook in Your Villa?

[cmusschoot]

a small suggestion for lunches might be to bring (and freeze) the pb & j uncrustables...pack a few in your purse and they will be thawed by lunchtime...if you don't want to have to leave the park...

Also I have cooked pasta w/sauce for a simple meal. I tend to ship dry goods to my resort, as I live in Chicago. Easy mac is a great idea...

For breakfasts we make waffles with peanut butter.

Have a great trip!!!
Carrie

 

[BEASLYBOO]

What!! Are you kidding? Sounds like you are either there for a really long stay, or you really spend alot of time cooking, and eating, being in the villa.

No, actually there is nothing much there that requires more than simple assembly! By the same token for a week stay, (GV at OKW) with 11 of us at our last family reunion Jun08 for seven days, the crock pot was a life/time/money saver.

All of us have been to Disney countless times, we don't do the commando thing anymore, we actually enjoy more time at the resorts and spending time all together and kitchen duty is just a fun part of it!

 

[LIFERBABE]

No, actually there is nothing much there that requires more than simple assembly! By the same token for a week stay, (GV at OKW) with 11 of us at our last family reunion Jun08 for seven days, the crock pot was a life/time/money saver.

All of us have been to Disney countless times, we don't do the commando thing anymore, we actually enjoy more time at the resorts and spending time all together and kitchen duty is just a fun part of it!

Thank you for the tip about the roast and taco seasoning!!! I keep making pot roast in my crock and dh and the kids will not eat. They dont like foods that are mixed up or touching!


I soooo agree! We use DVC to entertain our Family and Friends. It is like a vacation home to us not just a Disney Vacation. If I want a Disney vacation I would stay at Poly Concierge by myself.

My family reunion we cooked everyday. My sister from Calif. made homemade salsa and guacamole and enchilada's for dinner. We had sooo much fun in that Grand Villa cooking and talking and laughing. Being from Cali, Florida was entirely too hot for her and she refused to leave the villa until sunset. Many of my family was like that. I was so glad I did not plan a commando family reunion. We let the younger adults and families tour on their own and we all met back at the GV for meals. That was probably the best vacation we ever had.

One night we made spaghetti and meatballs, we had a outdoor BBQ, that vacation we did spend alot of time in the villa and kitchen, but it was wonderful. It allowed my family of 42 to visit WDW and not worry about a hotel bill or costly food bill.

Last trip we did the DDP and the kids choices were so pitiful, my DS9 stopped ordering food and just sat there at the table while we ate. I offered to buy him anything but he was just tired of the same ole thing. As a mother, I'd rather cook than to drag my kids to places where they won't eat.

I love my DVC for all the things it is not. It is not just a vacation, it is a home. When you go home as much as we do, it takes on a different feel. We love hanging out in our neat little villa, at the resort, participating in activities etc.

 

[HayGan]

I love my DVC for all the things it is not. It is not just a vacation, it is a home. When you go home as much as we do, it takes on a different feel. We love hanging out in our neat little villa, at the resort, participating in activities etc.

We are fairly new to DVC but this is one of the things that we LOVE as well. We look it as a home away from home. Part of the great thing about having a home is not having to eat every meal out. We are so done with the commando thing. We like having the down time. Part of that time is spent making easy meals. DH loves to cook breakfast so he cooks up eggs and home fries everyday (we make bacon in the oven) That saves us a ton. Breakfast supplies for the week cost us half of what one breakfast out would be.

As for our dinners, we plan on a couple easy meals such as:

frozen lasagna with salad and garlic breadsticks
rotisserie chicken with veggies and some starchy side (we are bringing instant mashed potatoes this time - Idahoan twice baked - yummy!)
chicken parm with veggies and breadsticks
hot sausage sandwiches (leftovers can be used in pasta the next day for lunch or dinner)

We will also order pizza a night or two and eat a couple meals off-site. We are really begining to be turned off by eating on site. It seems you are paying such a premium for less than stellar food and service anymore!

 

[LindaBabe]

Now that the GVC will be opening in late Sept, we are already planning to book a 2 bedroom for ourselves and culinary friends sometime near Thanksgiving, and have a huge turkey dinner cooked in our DVC. It will be a blast, each couple making favorite side dishes, and then walking out the door straight into the park.

That is the one meal I wouldn't do again, although it was the mOST fabulous thanksgiving. There's 3 ways to drain pasta, but some of the necessities for cooking and serving turkey are missing. Suggest that you very carefully read the list of what's in a villa, and plan to suplement from your own kitchen. It was 2003 ,so i've forgotten now exactly what it was we were missing.

For me, cooking in the villa kitchen is as much fun as camp cooking - and I use lots of the same simple meals - if we're in a 1 bedroom, hobo dinners in the oven, for example. We don't commando tour any more, we vacation. And even though we like to eat out on vacation, I couldn't stand it every night - the wait, the servers, the time spent, the expense!

I do the veggie tray, fruitbowl, sandwich stuff, eggs. If going to a studio, I put a small square cooler in the middle of my soft side suitcase and fill it with precooked bacon in a ziplock bag, frozen meatloaf, hard boiled eggs, leftover lunchmeat,cheese, fruit, cut veggies when I clean out my fridge for the trip. That will be enough to keep me going for a couple days until I get organized enough to go to the grocery.

 

[Melani]

Any studio suggestions?

I got a feeling I'm gonna be sick of bologne & cheese after 2 days.

I've been racking my brain for lunch/dinner ideas that are microwavable, but not frozen & all I came up with was soup.

I'd like to see an Iron Chef challenge with just a mini fridge, microwave, toaster & coffee maker. Now let's see what you can do with that Cat Cora.

 

[HayGan]

Any studio suggestions?

I got a feeling I'm gonna be sick of bologne & cheese after 2 days.

I've been racking my brain for lunch/dinner ideas that are microwavable, but not frozen & all I came up with was soup.

I'd like to see an Iron Chef challenge with just a mini fridge, microwave, toaster & coffee maker. Now let's see what you can do with that Cat Cora.

There are lots of things you can do in the kitchenettes. Especially if you have a car to make a run to the grocery store. Get grilled chicken strips/cubes and have a chicken (caesar) salad. Loaded nachos with similar grilled chicken or chili/sour cream/cheese. Rotisserie chicken with microwave veggies and instant mashed potatoes (we love the Idahoan ones.) Chicken or tuna salad sandwiches or salads. There are always lots of different sandwiches you could make - BLTs plus other lunch meats.

There is always pizza delivery! I have heard that Flippers and Giordanos are great.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I'm on vacation. We don't cook anything. I mean anything. Cooking would require cleaning up as well. And I don't clean on vacation either.

We eat every meal counter-service or table-service. We are BIG fans of the dining plan.

The only thing stocked in our fridge is DH's beer.

ITA! If I have to scrimp a little, my only concession is where we eat, but we still eat all meals out. I keep saying that one of these trips I may try cooking in the villa, but so far it hasn't happened.

 

[ohtarabell]

1.) Buy a Vacuum Sealer

2.) Cook at home before you go (or just seal up leftovers)

3.) Freeze the seal-a-meal bags

4.) Pack in soft sided cooler (as mentioned before)

5.) Can be re-heated in a microwave or boiled stovetop in the bag

6.) If it thaws, it won't spoil for quite some time since it is vacuum sealed

7.) Works on just about anything you can think of (I have done it with leftover smoked BBQ ribs. They tasted like I just took them off the smoker)

Note: If doing liquids, you put the liquid in the bag and seal it without the vacuum. Once it is frozen, you then open it back up, vacuum and seal.


This isn't cooking, it is reheating.

 

[Bekky2]

These are all great ideas. We are staying in a Studio in October and it will be our first DVC trip, so all of these trips will really help out! Keep sending them out!

 

[sallysue66]

Any studio suggestions?

I got a feeling I'm gonna be sick of bologne & cheese after 2 days.

I've been racking my brain for lunch/dinner ideas that are microwavable, but not frozen & all I came up with was soup.

I'd like to see an Iron Chef challenge with just a mini fridge, microwave, toaster & coffee maker. Now let's see what you can do with that Cat Cora.

Here's what we did on our trip earlier this month. We only did breakfast in the room this time, but I love egg salad anytime of day so maybe it could work for lunch for you.

Took boiled eggs, cooked bacon, sausage & cheese mixture (brown the sausage and melt in sharp cheddar), mayo & mustard packs, english muffins, bread.

DNephew ate the boiled eggs as it. A couple of mornings I made egg salad sandwiches for DH & I. Kids ate bacon sandwiches.

We drove so we were able to take the pre-cooked food with us from home but you could buy the pre-boiled eggs in the grocery store when you get there. We didn't do cereal this time but have before as well as lunch meats.

 

[Tara]

ITA! If I have to scrimp a little, my only concession is where we eat, but we still eat all meals out. I keep saying that one of these trips I may try cooking in the villa, but so far it hasn't happened.

I used to be like this, too, but man...getting to restaurants to make reservation times gets old! I used to be a confirmed "I don't even want to see a kitchen on vacation" person! I love eating out as much as the next person but I have to say, it felt downright luxurious to have spaghetti and garlic bread in our room! Last week was our first trip in a 1-br. Our 2nd night there while my DH and DS swam (longer than I wanted to - we swam together for a while then I left them at the pool), I went back and cooked spaghetti sauce (I "stole" my sister's chicken spaghetti recipe - canned tomato sauce & paste, 1 pkg spaghetti seasoning, 1 package chunk chicken breast meat), taco meat (ground beef and Old El Paso seasoning) and boiled spaghetti noodles.

The spaghetti was awesome and the taco meat could be used for tacos, burritos or taco salad.

In real life I hardly cook at all, but somehow on vacation in the villa it was fun.

(We do like to joke about how much DVC costs and what we enjoy because of it...as we were relaxing over a taco dinner, I said "Best $27,000 taco I ever had!" Later in the week I was soaking in the whirlpool tub and my husband called in "hey, how's that $27,000 bath?" )

 

[circhead]

I keep cereal, muffins and other breakfast items in the room.

I do a grocery run and get cold cuts and salads for lunch.

Dinner I keep pretty simple - a rotisserie chicken, Pizza hut.

I hate to cook but I'm also tired of eating out all meals so we've come up with a nice compromise.

Also, I buy cases of bottled water and freeze it and everyone brings one to the parks with them cost about $.50 per bottle (or less) versus $2.50 - $3.00 in the park. The cost savings on 1 or 2 bottles of water per day per person pays for takeout.

There's a really good Olive Garden on SR535 that I've been able to call for a pick up order. Good food and not buying water brought dinner.

 

[domiii]

I also bring seasonings and sugar from home. Sugar for coffee, I always forget to pick up the little packets! And I use my own 'house blend' to seaon food. I keep prescription bottles and put my spices and herbs in them. The lids stay nice and tight.

 

[TINKERIFIC]

I keep prescription bottles and put my spices and herbs in them. The lids stay nice and tight.

Awesome idea...I will keep that in mind!!!

 

[domiii]

I was going over what I need to pack for our upcoming trip. I always take my own knife and a cutting board. Just thought it would be helpful if you are planning to cook!

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

Count us in as loving to cook on vacation.
We grill steaks, burgers, sausages. Microwave or boil potatoes. Salad.
We have 'picnic'd' in the pavilions
Taco salad
Spaghetti and meatballs or meatsauce
frozen pizzas

Even....wieners and beans !

The kids think it is hilarious....we go to WDW to have wieners and beans ! We don't even eat them at home !!!

Breakfast - cereal, yogurt, fruit, toast
Lunch - sandwiches, salad, leftovers if we ate out previously

It is wonderful because we don't have to be on a schedule. We don't have to push the kids to get them out of the pool and dressed. We can have drinks and not worry about driving. So many plusses.

We are so busy at home that family meals often get pushed aside, but not on vacation !!

 

[rentayenta]

We made omelettes, bagels, popcorn......not a lot of full meals but it was great to have yogurt, fresh fruit, string cheese.........healthy things to offset a bit of the junk we ate in the park.

 

[daisyduck123]

OOPS!
Just saw that I posted on here a few days ago!

 

[Weluvdisny]

I just wanted to add that we cook bagel sandwiches for breakfast. Quick to make and very filling. Last vacation we made baked ziti, tacos, ordered Pizza Hut, and bought cold meat and cheese for sandwiches at lunchtime. Bananas, apples, grapes, chips/dip, microwave popcorn for snack. Oh, and we bought 2 packages of pillsbury ready-to-bake chocolate chunk with peanut butter cup cookies. I threw those in when the ziti was done. Just a little sumpin' sumpin' to finish off the meal.