For those who cook during your WDW trip

[bigbabyblues]

Thanks everyone ya'll have some great ideas for dinners.
All I need now is a live-in chef to cook for me on vacation!

My husband likes to cook anyway, but we rent a house at the beach every year, and he/we cook there too. Nothing elaborate, we don't like to spend hours of vacation time cooking.

 

[Lvsdisney]

We're planning on cooking dinners in our villa. We only are planning 4 dinners as we aren't going to cook arrival night. Right now my menu consists of tacos, meatballs, PF chang frozen dinner, and hot dogs. I may change one of them for pizza (either get a premade crust and make our own, or get digiornio). We're just trying to save money and cook things my picky eaters will eat, but I'm also trying to keep it easy. I'm not a big processed food person, but I'm okay with it on vacation if it makes it easier for me!

 

[QueenIsabella]

To bring spices, like a PP suggested, I recommend using one of those plastic "bead sorter" boxes that you find in craft stores (or the craft area at Walmart). You can pre-measure if you like, but put the spices in small ziplocs, then put one spice in each little compartment. I'm Italian, so my spices run to those, but you could do anything you like. I also buy the cheapo, one-use salt and pepper shakers for ~$1. We've rented houses a bunch of times--sometimes, there's spices to be had, sometimes not. we also bring a small, snap-on lid container of sugar, some teabags, decaf coffee for DH, and sweetener packets. I find that most places have regular coffee, but tea and decaf drinkers get shafted fairly regularly.

 

[quandrea]

Just back. We cook every day. Here’s a sampling.

Tacos
Lasagna and salad with garlic bread
Chicken fettuccine Alfredo
Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies
Chili
Sandwiches with veggie tray, chips and fruit
Chicken noodle casserole
Sloppy joes

All breakfasts and snacks

Next trip I want to simplify even more, eat cleaner. I’ve always found the produce to be subpar, but this trip it was great. That might allow me to cook next time with fresher ingredients. I like it to be simple andour favourite meal was the baked chicken. Looking to add baked fish, couscous.

 

[tasha99]

We cook about half our meals, but make them quite simple.

Breakfasts-- Eggs/Bacon/toast, bagels/cream cheese/lox
Lunch--Sandwich fixings, Salad
Dinner--Spaghetti or baked ziti, salad, and french bread, Crock pot type meals (chili, chicken chili verde, etc)
Snacks--Fruit, chips, frozen pizza

We cook much simpler than at home. At home, I make salad dressings, bread, make my own sauces, etc. At Disney, we buy dressings, marinara, bread, prepackaged salad and so on. I often prepare food for the next day in the evening if I'm back. My kids are grown, so I expect them to make their own lunches and breakfast unless they're up when I'm cooking.

Btw, the kitchen gear in DVC is not that great, and I imagine it's no better in the Ft Wilderness cabins. We bring some of our own stuff to keep the frustration level down (pizza pan, crock pot, decent knife or two--I have my meal plan in mind and pack accordingly. Or order something cheap from Amazon. A "disposable" crock pot (for $15-$30) is less than the cost of one Disney meal out, and I'm sure the staff would make use of it if left behind.

 

[Sleepy425]

Things we like are:

Pizza bagels (easy to bring bagels, sauce, a can of mushrooms, a package of pepperoni, and even freeze shredded cheese and throw it in your luggage)

Burritos (large tortillas, a can of black beans, a can of rotel, a can of corn, shredded cheese, and if you can get to the store sour cream)

Pasta with frozen meatballs

The microwave at the cabins is also a convection oven, which is how we made the pizza bagels.

We also love our Hamilton Beach Sandwich maker. It makes mornings so easy. If we aren't getting groceries delivered, we just freeze a carton of egg whites and throw it in our luggage.

Just a heads' up - the store at Ft Wilderness doesn't sell shredded cheese. Nor did AKL. They did have a cheese shredder in the room and they sold blocks of cheese. But that was a lot of work and took away from my wine time.

 

[Darcy03231]

First day there we do a large potato salad, pasta salad and tossed green salad. Then it's just cooking some type of meat. We've done steaks, chicken, hamburgers/hot dogs on the grill, a baked ham or turkey breast in the oven.

I also will make up a casserole/lasagna the night before in a throwaway foil pan.

A crock pot meal is another easy way to cook. Most places don't have one, so I either bring one with me or buy one ($20 at Walmart). There are lots of great recipes out there. One I've done is meatballs in spaghetti sauce. One night we'll have spaghetti & meatballs and another night we have meatball subs.

 

[lisa3635]

When my little 2 were young they were so badly behaved in restaurants that we never went out even on vacation so we’ve gotten used to cooking in our villa at disney.

We like to grill so I’ll grill hamburgers/steak one night and also grill chicken for the next night. I warm it back up in the oven.

We like the bob evens microwaveable side dishes, mashed potato and Mac and cheese.

Well usually order pizza one night.

We pack sandwiches for park days too because my kids hate waiting in the counter service lines. We mostly do pbj but have done lunch meats. I leave off the mustard and mayo. I freeze water bottles to put in a cooler with anything that needs to stay cold.

Like others have said, tacos and spaghetti are super easy. We’ve done stirfries. Chicken, frozen veggies, bottle of sauce and minute rice.

For breakfast, we do pancakes, bacon and eggs. Bacon can make good sandwiches to take for the park too if you like bacon.

 

[Action City]

First day there we do a large potato salad, pasta salad and tossed green salad. Then it's just cooking some type of meat. We've done steaks, chicken, hamburgers/hot dogs on the grill, a baked ham or turkey breast in the oven.

I also will make up a casserole/lasagna the night before in a throwaway foil pan.

A crock pot meal is another easy way to cook. Most places don't have one, so I either bring one with me or buy one ($20 at Walmart). There are lots of great recipes out there. One I've done is meatballs in spaghetti sauce. One night we'll have spaghetti & meatballs and another night we have meatball subs.

Lasagna is one thing I would buy on vacation if you want it, even though I would never consider buying it at home. It uses A LOT of ingredients when making homemade.

 

[dsanner106]

What are your favorite recipes to cook during your trip? I am staying at the Fort Wilderness cabins for 7 days/6 nights, and I will be cooking dinner at least 4 nights.

We do a lot of crock pot or one pot dishes that we can set and forget for 8 hours, and is all ready when we get back. We get some steamer vegetables as sides and can be eating in minutes of getting back. We generally get a few frozen pizzas and other late night snacks too.

 

[LovesTimone]

What about comfort foods, like grilled cheese sandwiches.. or grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, you could add some tomato soup for dipping, or just veggie to munch along side of with some type of dip. We always do this the last day or so when we are in the mountain to use up any deli meat, cheese and bread.

Make sure to bring your spices with you. Put them in baggies/ make sure to mark them with what's inside the bag if your not going to bring the container that they are in... and then put them in a plastic container with a good locking lid. Trust me on this..

For breakfast there are a lot of overnight recipes that you can put together one night and cook up the next morning... One of my favorite is Cinnamon Roll French toast casserole. There are a few overnight recipes for hash brown casserole that has everything in them...

I would find out about a grill, - steaks and baked potatoes, some kind a veggie on the side, grill up a bunch of chicken the 1st night, have with baked bean, coleslaw or pasta salad from the deli, use the other for chicken for tacos.

Make up some taco meat, and make homemade nachos.

We always buy a large container of sour cream, premade guacamole, hummus, chips, veggies, cracker, string cheese/baby bells, hit up the deli for sliced meat and cheese, flour tortilla for deli wraps, or soft tacos,

I would plan your menus, so that you can use up all your ingredients, when you get back from the park and everyone is starving, you really are going to want to have something ready to go.

 

[RangerPooh]

When staying at the FW Cabins/DVC villas/Wyndham Bonnet Creek we end up cooking a few meals in room. Every trip varies. Some of the things that we cook include:

Tacos or sloppy Joes
Hot dogs/hamburgers/steaks on the BBQ grills
Pizza
Lasagna (frozen)
Breakfast casseroles