Easy meal ideas for condo stay

[jennf]

Hi everyone, looking for ideas on easy dinner meals to have a condo stay?

 

[wilbret]

For what age group(s)? Our kids could live off Man & Cheese or ramen lol. There are microwave trays made for cooking these, makes it easy!
Spaghetti. We have this thing called "Fasta Pasta" that lets you cook spaghetti in the microwave, it's the bomb and the kids make their own!
Sandwiches. Baked potatoes. Soups. Leftovers.

Now, the in-laws just buy whatever they'd normally make and cook it anyway. Chicken, steak, whatever. If you have a full kitchen and supplies, go for it?
Every year, my brother does a low-country boil and we gather in their room to consume mass quantities. It's just throwing stuff in a pot!

 

[Penmac]

We have young kids and tend to keep it very simple. I enjoy baking at home with my kids, but cooking dinner is not a passion of mine . It doesn't relax me and I find no joy in it, so it's the last thing I want to do while on vacation. But, with 5 kids we can't eat out for every meal so meal prep is a necessity. On vacation, we go for things that are easy to prepare, will fill the kids up and don't create too much of a mess to clean up. We find hot dogs and mac and cheese to be the easiest meal, and one most of the kids will eat. We do pasta with red sauce another night, and sometimes breakfast for dinner- bacon, eggs, pancakes, etc. Tacos is always a hit and although it sounds messy, it's a pretty easy clean up if you keep the toppings to a minimum. We usually do a couple dinners out during the week and find that we sometimes can use those leftovers for another meal the next day.

 

[Sherry Couch]

Grab and go breakfast:hard boiled eggs, yogurt, fruit, muffins

Lunches: sandwiches, carrots, fruit, pretzels, cookies or make your own lunchables with cut up lunch meat or turkey kielbasa, cheese, crackers, with carrots and fruit ad cookies

Dinners: dump style Crock pot meals with liners for easy clean up. You can google dump crock pot recipies but here are a few ideas 1) chicken tacos : dump boneless skinless chieck, jarred salsa and pkt of taco season in crockpot. Cooklow and slow. Shread when ready to eat. Searve with taco shells, shredded lettuse ( bagged salad) and cheese 2) bbq chicken, baked poatato: bbq sauce and chicken in bottom, layer of foil, potaotes. Serve with a steamer bag of microwave vegatables/ bagged salad. 3) teriyaki chicken: bonless skinless chicken and a bottle of teriyaki sauce low and slow in the crock pot. Serve with instant white rice and a steamer bag of oriental veg/salad. 4) Apple butter chicken: layer boneless skinless chicken, one onion sliceds and apple butter in crock pot. Cook low and slow. Serve with instant white rice and steamer bag of veg/bagged salad. 5) Creamy ranch chicken and potatoes: Layer chicken, cream of chicken soup and pkt of ranch seasoning, cover with foil, potatoes. Thrown in a pot of pasta ( angel hair cookes up in half the time) with frozen meat balls and a bagged salad and frozen pizza for a little variety. We are a smaller family so If I am planning for a week I will buy 2 bags of frozen chicken and a bag of frozen meat balls. I use half a bag for each for chicken tacos, bbq chicken, apple butter chicken and cream ranch chicken and thena bag of frozen meat balls and use half for pasta night and the other half for teriyaki instead of chicken.

 

[wed100105]

Warning----these aren't the healthiest options, but they work for us with "vacation rules". (In other words, eating the junk we really would love to have all the time!)

I've learned over the years that Costco and grocery deli meals are my friends as well. It's a treat for me, and sometimes I end up ahead since I don't have to buy all the little "extras" that you normally have in a stocked pantry at home.

Breakfast- bacon, eggs, pancakes. We rotate these things and buy the just add water pancake mix. Sometimes we just buy muffins instead.

Lunch - Sandwiches, mac and cheese, heat and eat deli meals, chips/veggies and hummus, sloppy joes, quesadillas & chips and salsa

Supper - Usually we plan tacos, spaghetti, and ham and mac n cheese or potatoes, ham and cheese sliders, pineapple bbq grilled chicken and baked potatoes, jambalaya with smoked sausage, pizza....

One of my favorites is sausage tortellini Alfredo and it's really easy for timeshare stays because it only takes 4 ingredients and it heats up so well for lunch leftovers.

1 lb bulk sausage (we prefer a spicier blend)
1 package cheese tortellini
1-2 jars Alfredo sauce
1 bag of frozen peas

Brown sausage and boil tortellini while browning sausage. Place frozen peas in bottom of colander. Drain pasta over frozen peas. Add sauce, sausage, and return to heat until heated thoroughly.

 

[Heluvsme]

Take-n-bake pizzas can he bought ahead of time and baked when you're ready.

Sandwich fixings.

Spaghetti

Oven-friendly foods---- corn dogs, lasagna, etc.

 

[Sherry Couch]

Warning----these aren't the healthiest options, but they work for us with "vacation rules". (In other words, eating the junk we really would love to have all the time!)

I've learned over the years that Costco and grocery deli meals are my friends as well. It's a treat for me, and sometimes I end up ahead since I don't have to buy all the little "extras" that you normally have in a stocked pantry at home.

Breakfast- bacon, eggs, pancakes. We rotate these things and buy the just add water pancake mix. Sometimes we just buy muffins instead.

Lunch - Sandwiches, mac and cheese, heat and eat deli meals, chips/veggies and hummus, sloppy joes, quesadillas & chips and salsa

Supper - Usually we plan tacos, spaghetti, and ham and mac n cheese or potatoes, ham and cheese sliders, pineapple bbq grilled chicken and baked potatoes, jambalaya with smoked sausage, pizza....

One of my favorites is sausage tortellini Alfredo and it's really easy for timeshare stays because it only takes 4 ingredients and it heats up so well for lunch leftovers.

1 lb bulk sausage (we prefer a spicier blend)
1 package cheese tortellini
1-2 jars Alfredo sauce
1 bag of frozen peas

Brown sausage and boil tortellini while browning sausage. Place frozen peas in bottom of colander. Drain pasta over frozen peas. Add sauce, sausage, and return to heat until heated thoroughly.

OH! I have to try that tortellini idea. My hubby is a hudge alfredo fan. Not sure kids will o for the peas though. have you tried itwith any other veggies?

 

[wed100105]

OH! I have to try that tortellini idea. My hubby is a hudge alfredo fan. Not sure kids will o for the peas though. have you tried itwith any other veggies?

I have not because we love it with peas. However, one year my cousin was with us, and she hates peas so I just omitted them out of her portion. She loved it, and even sent me pictures soon after we returned home that she as made it again.

 

[BigredNole]

Breakfast: Easy things that can be cooked in the micro or toaster. Bagels, cereal, etc.

Lunch: Lunch meat and hoagie rolls

Dinners: This depends on where you are staying. The best thing would be a crockpot with timer if you don't want to cook. For me, I like to grill. When staying in a condo area, I usually insure they have grills. Taking out some giant ribeyes or t-bones to toss on is great. Grilling next to a group of about 50 at WBC that were having hotdogs, salivating while I quick grill 3 1.5" thick t-bones was priceless. Holding them on the elevator while people piled in had some fun conversations as well. It is great for afternoon breaks. Just plan on eating a little earlier and back as the sun goes down. Works out great.

 

[Lmans77]

Costco prepared casseroles

this crockpot baked potato soup (could easy be adapted to stove or instant pot) potato soup. It is SO easy and I won a soup competition with it. https://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2017/02/loaded-crockpot-hash-brown-potato-soup.html
Serve with salad or sandwiches for a great meal.

Buitoni ravioli or tortellini with sauce

Burgers

Taco soup with fritos

hawaiian roll ham and cheese sliders

BLTs

 

[bearzabout]

Nachos are super easy and delicious.

Buy a cooked chicken and add grab some sides at Publix.

Publix also sells great sub sandwiches and other prepared food. Don’t miss their key lime pie for dessert.

They also have wonderful guava and cheese pastry bites in the bakery. They are best reheated in the oven.

Food is such an important part of vacation. We love to find items in grocery stores that we don’t buy when at home.

 

[Monykalyn]

My DD and I found those meal type kit thingies in the Dr Phillips Publix-probably in other Publix as well-all ingredients already prepared and just need to cook-super easy.
We did a preseasoned stuffed chicken breast, prebaked twice baked potato and steamed veggies (frozen section) one night, with the protein and starch coming from the meat/deli counter.
The prepared/seasoned stuff was a bit more expensive but still way less than eating out, tasty and meant we didn't have to buy or worry about excess ingredients going bad. Heck I will even pick up stuff like that on occasion as home as it is easy to pop into oven and then relax with a glass of wine-no other prep needed. With a condo this means any leftovers are easy to keep and reheat as well.

There are a lot of frozen "meal kits" too.
One thing I have found over the years of having our timeshare is to buy slightly less than what I think I will use. I tend to overstock on actual meal stuff. Snacks, water, breakfast items is where my family tends to run through food quicker, as we tend to snack/nibble more while hanging around resort/pool vs actual meals.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

google "angel hair pasta lemon chicken". This is my go-to cook in the condo recipe for vacations. It's easy and tasty, and you can substitute shrimp if you want.

If you are driving and can take a crockpot, I second the chicken taco suggestion above (chicken breasts, jarred salsa, taco seasoning). You can do it as they list it, or you can use it to make burritos with some canned beans and some rice. If you make a lot, you can toss the leftover chicken in with a store bought chicken tortilla soup starter and a box of chicken broth; serve with fritos or other corn chips.

We don't do spaghetti, but rotini with a jar of pasta sauce and 1# browned Italian sausage served with a bagged salad and garlic Texas Toast from the freezer section is another favorite.

We usually do poptarts or fiber one bars for breakfasts, with juice / milk, or I make muffins in tins that I bring (or buy disposables there). Martha White muffin mixes make about 6 decent sized muffins each and are less than a dollar for each mix.

Each of these is quick and easy and works for the budget.

If you have a car, you can also get to Wendy's and Chick'fil'A very quickly for something tasty and a lot less than theme park food.

 

[jsmla]

We usually drive so I fill a cooler with frozen homemade meals like gumbo, lasagne, etc. I use a Yeti cooler and everything is always still frozen after our 10 hour drive. In Orlando I make a grocery run for produce, dairy and sandwich stuff.

Never at home, but when on vacation I use as much in the way of disposable stuff as I can-foil pans, crockpot liners, etc. I find cleanup to be the least magical part of eating in on vacation.

If you use a lot of spices bring them from home. Baggies of chili, cumin, cayenne, etc. take up very little room, weigh next to nothing and the price of buying them in Orlando adds up.

 

[omniscientmommy]

Breakfast for us was oatmeal, cereal and granola bars
Lunch sandwiches - meat and cheese or pb&j
Dinner - frozen pizza, easy frozen skillet meals, seasoned pork loin(cooked in oven) and pre-seasoned or prepared meat item that could be cooked in the oven or a skillrs, canned or frozen veggies, boxes of pasta or rice sides, ramen noodles, canned soup,

Fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts, chips and crackers for snacks. Drinks we're Gatorade, juice, water and premade chocolate milk boxes. We did get plain milk for cereal.

 

[siestakeys04]

Chicken and Broccoli casserole. I boil the chicken breast and shred, mix with cream of chicken soup the tall cans about 3 steam broccoli and mix in along with 2 packs of boil in bag rice. Pour in foil pan and top with cheddar cheese and bake on 350 until rice is cooked maybe 45 min-1hr

 

[TwoMisfits]

Hi everyone, looking for ideas on easy dinner meals to have a condo stay?

Easiest dinner meal is to swap the concept of lunch and dinner. When we are in theme parks, lunch becomes the "hot" complicated meal of the day...and dinner becomes sandwiches, chips, fruit, and smoothies...

For sandwiches, we precook 2 lbs of bacon when we get in, we buy a rotisserie chicken, we get 2-3 lbs of lunch meat, 2-3 lbs of cheese, 1 jar of peanut butter, 1 all fruit preserves, and 1 honey with rolls, bread, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayo. We have fruit galore for the fruit and smoothies. We have bags of chips and pretzels. And we have milk, orange juice, apple juice, vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and yogurt for smoothie options. Smoothies are given as we walk in from the park...and then after everyone has a cup to cool down, we pull out sandwich fixings and get started.

We've done Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana smoothies, All Berry (Blackberry, Raspberry, Blueberry) smoothies, Strawberry/Banana smoothies, Mango Pineapple Banana Smoothies, just Pineapple Banana smoothies, Orange Julius smoothies, etc...and adults have been known to give out the kids servings, then reblend the remaining smoothie with vodka before serving the adults...

Once you rethink the paradigm of the meals, you can be done fast and easy...with little clean up...and folks that can almost serve themselves as they want...

And you get in plenty of fruits/veg that might be missing from the regular "vacation" diet...

PS - We do only buy enough "fresh meat" for about 4-5 days...and do a fast restock mid-week at night if we need more and are on a long trip (if we have 7 days, the end of week gets the PB, grilled cheese, and bacon routes)...

 

[Northernlites]

I do what everyone else does but to keep within a reasonable budget we stop at a grocery store in Georgia before entering Florida
I find the prices on fresh produce, packaged stuff and meat cheaper than Florida. We put the perishables in the cooler. No waiting in line.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

My kids love eating "junk food" that we only buy every once in a while like hot pockets and such. We also bought frozen pizza and ice cream just easy stuff. I didnt want to cook.
We had one night we made hamburgers on the grill at our resort. I say buy stuff you dont buy junk food you dont buy at home you are on vacation.

 

[Firestarlife]

What I plan on doing is stocking the fridge with ingredients for making sandwiches and wraps, plus fruit, chips, veggies and dips. I only plan to cook 2 or 3 nights and for that I'm ordering a HelloFresh box to be delivered to the condo. It comes with all the ingredients (minus butter/oil) and it's actually fun to cook!