Favorite, easy meals to cook in Villas

Savagekids

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 15, 2015
What are your are you favorite easy meals to cook in the villas?

We're driving so we can pack almost anything. All I can think of is Hamburger Helper and breakfast foods. Any other easy ideas?
 
Last trip we did a roast in the crockpot with oven roasted potatoes and carrots, million dollar spaghetti bake, pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, canned biscuits......
 
We almost always make the same meals. My girls call them "vacation meals." Spaghetti, tacos, ham/egg casserole (serve for dinner then eat leftovers for breakfast), tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, bacon/toast/scrambled eggs, and chicken/egg/cheese hot sandwiches. We do all of the cooking (casserole, spaghetti, and taco meat) the first night. The rest of the meals just involve opening up packages or cans. We go for simple meals that I know everyone likes.
 


Prepare a large batch of taco meat before you leave home and freeze it. Take down in your cooler and than you can have tacos and/or nachos.
 
Are you shopping when you get there at all? If so, one of our favorites, rotisserie chicken from (Publix, Winn Dixie or Costco)

1st meal - Dinner with steamed veggies and/or roasted frozen or fresh potatoes (are you in a 1 bd with a stove ?, if not ready mashed or ready rice) and add a tossed salad. Crusty bread.
2nd meal-possibly lunch and/or dinner, add left over cold chicken to romaine greens, croutons, shaved parm and toss with your fave Caesar dressing.

I've traveled with 6 hungry teenagers, so when there's 11 of us I bring the crock pot.

My favorite tomato sauce, frozen meatballs, boil some pasta, add a salad, garlic bread, done.
Take a pot-roast, stick in the crock-pot with beef broth, onions and a jar of peperoncini peppers, add nice sub rolls and cheese for really good French dip sandwiches.
Every resort has grills, marinate London broil in your favorite vinaigrette while at the parks, grill it with some asparagus, green/red peppers, Bermuda onions. Eat it as is or make fajitas if you marinate in Mexican spice.
 
DW usually makes a one pot meal:
Stew
Soup
Lasagna
As we usually stay in studios, these work out great for reheating in the microwave. 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.
 


We love sandwiches with chips, veggies dip and pickles (ate this by the pool at Boardwalk today).

Baked chicken with peas, carrots, mashed potatoes and salad

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with salad and garlic bread

Homemade lunchables—cheese, crackers, turkey kielbasa. Served with fruit, veggies, dip and pickles. Homemade trail mix for dessert (life cereal, almonds, chocolate chips)

Tacos

Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad and garlic bread

Chili mac

Lasagna

Chicken noodle casserole (taking this out of rotation next time)
 
Here is a “healthier” version of Hamburger Helper that has been a big hit with my crew:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/23605/souper-skillet-pasta/
(I usually use petit diced tomatoes or even the fire-roasted tomatoes)

I also do a Mexican salad (if you have salad eaters) - Romaine/Iceburg; canned fiesta corn drained; can of black beans, rinsed and drained; grape tomatoes; shredded four-cheese Mexican cheese; tortilla strips and either Ranch or Chipotle Ranch dressing. You can add other veggies as you like. And, if you have leftover taco meat you can throw that in, too.
 
Last trip we did a roast in the crockpot with oven roasted potatoes and carrots, million dollar spaghetti bake, pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, canned biscuits......
Oh, if I could bring my Instant Pot, I would just use that! One pot spaghetti, tomato meat sauce or chicken alfredo, and a salad. Bam. done.

The warming function is my favorite feature of the instant pot, besides the quick cooking.

For some reason we always do pork chops and grits when in Florida. My kids love it.
 
When at disney parks, I only make reservations. =D

When staying with DH's family at their timeshare, I premake casseroles/main dishes in disposable pans and then freeze them.

Lasagna
Rigatoni Bake
Creamy Chicken Casserole
Meatloaf
Smoked Ribs
King Ranch Chicken
Chicken and Stuffing Bake
Pulled Pork

Pair them with salad kits and / or steamable vegetables for easy dinners. Leftovers or sandwiches for lunch if it is convenient. I premake sausage and bacon for breakfast and then re-heat it while biscuits or sweet rolls bake and I scramble some eggs.

The bonus of having the food premade and frozen is you can use it to keep everything else in the cooler cool. If I am lucky enough to have an oven with time bake, I use it. Just put the frozen casserole in the oven in the AM and set the timer. Dinner is mostly done!

If we are traveling with more than one family, we all have dinner together and each family takes turns hosting. That way you are only cooking / cleaning every couple of nights. If it is not your night, you don't help cook or clean.
 
Wow! My standard is one night frozen pizza and bag Caesar salad, plus fruit salad. Now one of my pizza is usually a little bit gourmet, maybe a bbq chicken pie!

I am impressed by what people make.

I once made Raviolis and frozen garlic bread, plus the salad.

One or two nights eating in is a big savings, but also relaxing and fun!
 

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