what do you cook on your DVC vacation?

[disneyking1200]

I just wanted to get ideas of what to cook for our upcoming vacation in our 1 bedroom Old Key West vacation... recipes for things that I can make with the existing kitchen stuff already provided would be great...

 

[ptlohmysoul]

We cooked eggs for breakfast. Had drinks, bananas and apples for snacks. Rest of our meals were out.

 

[drusba]

We are the poster childs for a very old Henney Youngman joke (and if you remember him, you are also old). Q: What does your wife make for dinner? A: Reservations. I have on occassion done breakfast things such as eggs and bacon or even omelettes but even then we are usually just doing cereal, pop tarts, and yoqurt. I once cooked some steaks with vegetables and on another occassion, hamburgers. That is about it after 16 years as a member.

 

[Bojo]

Simple stuff; spaghetti, sandwiches, pizza; snacks & drinks.

ETA: OKW is our home resort, hope you enjoy your time there!

 

[Minniesgal]

We do bacon and eggs for beakfast, hot dogs, sandwiches, pizza, pasta and sauce, mac and cheese, toast and cheese.

 

[kirstenb1]

I cook up a big bunch of taco meat, and all the fixings the first night. Then folks can have nachos or burritos, or whatever, in case anyone comes back from the parks early the next day for lunch, or if we make that day a pool day. I also buy fixings for sub sandwiches, with the same thought in mind--flexibility. It would be so easy to do a baked ziti too. Although we go in the summer, so pasta seems heavy. I also buy cereal, milk and breakfast bars, so we can get out the door quickly in the morning.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

cooking?

You cook make something like crock pot beef or chicken or beef stew. There are lots of sites on the internet for crockpot and freezer cooking.

You could also find a good BBQ place on the way in and get a couple of pounds of bbq pork, sauce and some slaw. Pair that with potato chips and white bread. Yum!

The bbq is easily warmed up in the oven or microwave and then everything else is cold.

 

[cseca]

Depends on your level of cooking

Mine is more along the lines of cereal and milk, pbj, cheese sandwiches, deli meat plus a bunch of ADRs...

If you're not a health nut, you can bring some noodles and sauces, or pasta ronis type that could be made quickly. Eggs, hot dogs, deli meat, cheese, hamburger/chicken helper.
Or order some freezer stuffs like frozen pizzas, lasagnas, potatoes and such.

People have mentioned crockpots but you have to bring your own for that. Although it is nice to have one and just stuff a bunch of chicken breast in there enough for several meals.

If you're a healthier cooking person, you put together some salad. Bake your chicken or other protein. Boil (or bring your own collapsible veggie steamer) your veggies.
They do have some pots, baking pan and stuff but I find that if I do all that, not much of a vacation for me...

Have fun cooking!

 

[bbak3030]

We like to do canned cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Or muffins that you mix with eggs and milk.

 

[Cinderpamela]

We pretty much only do breakfast in the rooms, yogurt, fruit and juice.

Though I do have a friend who stopped in at Whole Foods in Orlando on her way to check in. There she purchased some of their pre made heat and serve family style casseroles and pasta dishes that are in the deli area. Then she would pop those in the oven and have a great dinner for her family without all the mess of prep and extra ingredients.
I thought that would be brilliant to try for those times when you are tired of eating out.

 

[Splashboat]

I used to plan on making some meals and I soon realized we always come back hungry and nobody wants to wait for me to cook something. Breakfast is easy and the only realistic meal for us (If we owned a locker a crock pot would be perfect). We buy a lot of fruit, vegetables, cold cuts and good rolls so we can make salads and sandwiches quickly.

 

[MsTessP]

We have a fold-up electric skillet in our OL which we use for pancakes, bacon, eggs and omelets. Breakfast is heaven with that skillet and our small Keurig pot. When we stop by Publix when we arrive, I pick up a rotisserie chicken which works well for sandwiches, hot and cold and lasts for a few days.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

I seasoned and roasted an eye of the round roast for 2 1/2 hours at 250 deg for rare. Slice it really thin and you have delicious roast beef sandwiches for lunch or dinner.

 

[mkunichi]

I seasoned and roasted an eye of the round roast for 2 1/2 hours at 250 deg for rare. Slice it really thin and you have delicious roast beef sandwiches for lunch or dinner.

Adopt me!

On our various trips, I think breakfast is the one meal that we find useful to eat in. We can sequence who wakes up and takes a shower with who cooks or wants to eat a full breakfast vs. a quick bite before heading to the bus/car for our visit to the designated park.

We also buy the makings of sandwiches to take to the park on days where we don't have lunch plans or just in case our lunch plans fall through. Also useful for mid-afternoon snacking so we can have a late dinner.

I don't know that I've ever eaten dinner in the villa except for the time I traveled with some of the in-laws. They were on a very tight budget despite staying in the villa (for free) with us. This meant that the ability to cook dinner really saved them a ton of money through the trip and allowed us to eat as an extended family without the awkwardness of us paying for all the meals.

 

[Anal Annie]

I just wanted to get ideas of what to cook for our upcoming vacation in our 1 bedroom Old Key West vacation... recipes for things that I can make with the existing kitchen stuff already provided would be great...

What do I make? As little as possible! It's vacation and the 1 week of the year that we eat out.

We only do breakfasts in and only use studios so I keep it light & quick. Usually toasted bagels with cream cheese OR frozen waffles toasted with some fresh fruit. One year at HHI (when we weren't in a rush to get out the door in the mornings to make EMH's) I made poached eggs in the microwave along with some bacon, added a slice of cheese & toasted some English Muffins to make breakfast sandwiches.

Since you will have a full kitchen your options are much broader. You can do anything you do at home as long as you're willing to take the time out of your vacation to do it.

 

[spruce]

Last week.... Bacon and eggs, pizza, ny strips corn and mashed potatoes, turkey sandwich's, peanut butter sandwich's, tacos, salad, popcorn, bananas, doughnuts, that's about it. We also ate out at t Rex, espn, puck express, bog, LeCelliar, coral reef, Sci Fi, pizzafarri, captain's grill, shutters and Hyrams in Vero, goods food to go, the plaza. 9 nights, plenty of food choices both in the room and out. It was fun.

 

[gojoe]

We'll rent a car on our first day. We don't hit the parks that day. My wife and daughters love to shop so we will hit a mall or an outlet. On the way back we hit Publix. We head over to the prepared food deli department. Stock up on roasted chicken, meatloaf, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw. We may get a ham. What we look for is diners that are ready to go. Just fill the plate and eat. Who want to cook on vacation?

 

[UFlawgator]

I think it depends on how long you are staying, whether you have a car that you can easily bring groceries in or shop, or want to use one of the delivery services. We enjoy going back to the unit for a wee nap and meal with a glass of wine before going out again. It also saves a lot of money, although we do splurge for the occasional Disney meal. We live only 2 hours away and when we are staying for 3 days or more we do a big shop at Publix and fill our cold bag or cooler. We always have fruit, snacks, juice, cokes, milk, cereal, bagels, bread, smart balance, coffee, tea, wine or beer. You have to bring your own salt and pepper or whatever seasoning you want as well as stuff like aluminum foil, plastic wrap and plastic quart size bags. They do have paper towels in the units. I have cooked everything from salmon to chicken to spaghetti and we do like eating in on the nice patio and enjoying the ambiance of OKW. OKW bell services will keep your food cold for you until you can check in after 4pm (or sooner if you're lucky), but we just keep it in a cooler or cold pack in the trunk. If you stay in a studio, you can cook, but your options are much more limited with just a microwave and mini fridge. (I actually bought a pasta cooker for the microwave that I can cook spaghetti in.) There is a super Walmart on 535 that isn't too far and reasonably priced for quick meal items if you have transportation.
Once we ordered a pizza at OKW to be delivered and I think it was the world's most expensive pizza. Probably won't do that again.

 

[Pattiwig]

I alway plan out the meals ahead of time. We usually drive down, so I bring all the non perishables with us. If a dish needs spices I measure out what I need and zip it in a snack size bag, write on it with a sharpie which meal it goes to. Then I shop for all the produce and meat when I get there. I have taken my own frozen sauce in one of those glad throw away containers.

we make: tacos; pasta w/ meatballs and sauce; pasta salad - with chicken from a pre-roasted Publix one or perdue shortcuts or cooked shrimp from the fish dept.; I have also been known to make a small baked ziti in a tin pan, freeze it at home, put it in a zip lock bag, then it is in the bottom of the cooler helping keep things cold.

I bring cold cuts from home, because we are brand loyal. I also bring cereals and what nots. HOpe that helps.

 

[jodifla]

We do a fair amount of cooking. I think it saves us a ton of money and time, and just the sheer calories of restaurant food.

We eat every breakfast in the villa, and two or three dinners. Lunch is often out because we're in the parks.

We also bring home our leftovers from restaurants and have them in the villa for lunch.

As for what we cook, for breakfast it's:

Eggs/bacon/bagels/
french toast/orange juce/coffee/
cereal/pop tarts

I normally buy a big tray of the cut up veggies with dip. That way, we have a fresh, healthy appetizers and I can use the cut up fresh veggies for dinner as well, like stir-frying the broccoli and carrots together with some onion.

For dinner, meals are often:
Fresh Florida seafood on the grill, rice and cooked veggies from the veggie tray
Steaks on the grill, baked potatoes and a bagged salad
Spaghetti and salad
Hamburgers on the grill, coleslaw and beans

We also bring popcorn and lemonade to have in the room as snacks.

Particularly when we go in the summer, we are at the villa a lot during the day using the pool and such.

Oh, and we also have wine and bourbon in our Owner's Locker as well as spices and such, so we can have cocktail hour.

We often have friends with us as well, so we like to kick back on our OKW balcony with our cocktails and appetizers before dinner.