What meals to make offsite

[Mystic]

I have cooked on vacation and the clean up was not so much fun. They now sell crock pot liners! I also love to use the baking bags if you are going to bake or roast anything. McCormick sells seasoning packets that come with a baking bag, this makes prep and cleanup a snap! Our favorite is the baked chicken spice pack, we throw in a bag of frozen stew vegetables and the whole meal is taken care of and clean up is as easy as throwing the bag away.

I like making sandwiches for lunches and serve cold salads with them. You can get really creative with sandwiches, using pesto as a spread instead of mayo to switch things up and make them special.

Glad you get to take your family on a trip! I know you will have a magical time.

 

[Melknor]

I had the same dilema when we were at WDW off-site a few weeks ago. I didn't want to have a bunch of ingredients, nor left overs. Once night I made ham bbq sandwiches (ham from the deli and a bottle of bbq sauce) and chips. Another night I bought a frozen Stouffers meal (chicken alfredo, I think). Another we had chinese food delivered and another pizza. Keep it simple. You are on vacation and won't really want to cook...........

 

[angelat]

I had the same dilema when we were at WDW off-site a few weeks ago. I didn't want to have a bunch of ingredients, nor left overs. Once night I made ham bbq sandwiches (ham from the deli and a bottle of bbq sauce) and chips. Another night I bought a frozen Stouffers meal (chicken alfredo, I think). Another we had chinese food delivered and another pizza. Keep it simple. You are on vacation and won't really want to cook...........

I don't mind cooking a small, simple meal. I don't want to cook some outrageous meal that will take hours to make. That's why I think we'll stick to eating breakfast and lunch at the condo and just having dinner out. Brkfst and Lunch tend to be less messy to make.

 

[prncess674]

Such great ideas!! I love that I posted this question.

The only issue that I have is that my DS11 is a VERY picky eater. With the exception of the Hamburger Helper, nothing can be mixed. No casaroles or anything like that. Everything has to be separate on the plate or he won't eat it. (I think it's a mild form of OCD, honestly) DD10 will eat almost anything though.

We won't have a grill, so that isn't an option. That would be great though. I think I'll sit down with DH this week and go over some meal options, then pass them by the kids and make a plan now. I'm the kind of person who has to have things set up and ready as soon as possible. No last minute stuff for me. Too stressful.

Thanks again everyone! I'll keep checking back for more ideas.

Even without a grill and a picky kids you can make "grilled" meats in the oven. Be sure to bring along a roll of wide aluminum foil so you aren't scraping cookie sheets! Just line a cookie sheet with foil, then buy some of those disposable grill liners (http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=15037644) and place in the rimmed cookie sheet, then just turn in the oven like a grill. Works like a charm.

 

[twinglesmome]

How about tortilla wraps? You could use deli meats/salad mix/other thinly sliced veggies. PB & J and grilled cheese sandwiches are good ole standbys. Soups can be quick and easy, though you might not want that on a hot day. Fruit, cheese and ham/turkey kabobs are yummy.

For the child who dislikes casseroles with everything lumped together, how about your own home-made lunchables with carrot and celery sticks?

 

[cmjaffe]

Are you members of Costco? If so there are several not that far away and you can stock up on their rot. chicken and other heat'n eat prepared meals that are yummy and alot less $$ than eating out.
This past Xmas we stayed in a condo in Hawaii and stocked up at Costco the first day with baked goods, meats, veggies and we were set. I've got a picky 12 yo so I know how difficult it can be.
Good luck

 

[floydfamily4]

One thing to keep in mind is trying to overlap some ingredients. This way you won't wind up with too much left over food, that you will wind up throwing away.

For instance, english muffins or bagels for breakfast can be used the following day for lunch....pizzas...the sauce you use on the pizza can be from the day before's pasta lunch.

If you are making eggs and bacon for breakfast, another day could be BLT's or egg salad. This way you use the whole dozen eggs or whole pound of bacon. And maybe even that whole loaf of bread! Toast in the morning, sandwiches in the afternoon.

If you buy chop meat for burgers, buy the 2lb package. Then you will have 4 quarter pounders and enough meat left over to make tacos.

The same thing with the chicken...whole roasted one day...chicken quesadillas the next. The left over wraps can be used for wrap sandwiches if you purchase cold cuts.

I have found we have had a lot of wasted food. Planning ahead can save time and money!

This is great advice! There is an entire Food Network show where the host, Robin "repurposes" meat twice so she can prep once and have a weeks worth of meals. Just thought I'd share because I didn't think about it for WDW.

 

[branv]

One of my favorite "I'm hot and tired" meals is a tuna pasta salad of some sort. I either mix the tuna with mayo & macaroni pasta, or for lighter I go with light italian dressing & fresh veggies mixed with rotini. I'll make a large batch, then store it in the fridge to eat off of for the next few days. They make very filling, but refreshing lunches on a hot day.

I second the Costco since there's one within a 5 mile radius. Besides the yummy rotisserie chicken, but they also have those gigantic pizzas. The other types of "take & bake" meals I've seen at ours included stuffed salmon, beef pinwheels, chicken alfredo, chicken noodle soup, greek pasta salad, caesar salads. But best of all, don't forget that Costco carries the Mickey-shaped chicken nuggets. You could easily feed your kids & still feel like you're on your Disney vacation