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Thanks for the tips, I'm trying for something that would have very little fuss. I'd thought of making chicken noodle soup because I use very little dishes but that weak hot plate would take FOREVER to heat up all that broth. I could make meatballs in the little crock pot but then cleaning all of those pots from making the sides would again be fussy with that tiny sink. The microwave sausage biscuits I've seen are nasty. Maybe a slow cooker pot roast, one of the "kits" you buy where you have everything already in the plastic wrapping?
There are plenty of things you can make in the crock pot that don't require that you make sides. You mentioned pot roast (not sure why you need a "kit") with the veggies right in the pot with the roast. You could make salsa chicken (chx breasts, jar of salsa, drained can of black beans, drained can of corn, envelope of taco seasoning; 6 hrs on low and shred the chx) and eat with chips or over rice. Shredded pork butt with BBQ sauce on buns with some pre-made potato salad from the grocery store. You can even do breakfast dishes in the crockpot, if you want a hot breakfast. Go on Pinterest and research some recipes. And get those Reynolds crockpot liners for easy cleanup.
shy, you said this was your annual family vacation, and yet you are going to a place where storing/cooking/clean-up of food is a problem.
A vacation is supposed to be where you go when you want to get away from all the requirements of regular every-day life, cooking and clean-up being one of them.
We are about to go on our annual family vacation in about 2 months, it will be about 5 days long. It will be in an itty bitty town in northern Arkansas in the Ozarks.
Typically we've stayed in small cabins that only have a "micro" kitchen like a college dorm refrigerator and a 2 element hot plate and a very small sink. One year I tried cooking full meals in there and it was aggravating. On the other hand last year we stayed at a place with a full kitchen and it made everything so much easier.
This year we're pondering returning to the smaller place not just because it's cheaper but because we really like it overall, the owners are so nice and they have a pool the kids love. I'm concerned though about the small kitchen being a pain again. Understand this is a small town so the only real "chain" place is a Subway. There's no oven for baking anything, no freezer to keep frozen food and it's ridiculously hard washing dishes in that small micro sink. If they had a Wendy's or such it would help so much. (They do have a "mom and pop" diner or two besides the Subway.) Even something as basic as having cold drinks at the ready is a challenge with that tiny refrigerator.
What do you guys do with respect to this? Do you absolutely prioritize staying in a place with a full kitchen or do you just eat out everyday at whatever is there and take a vacation from the kitchen too?
wow it almost sounds like camping and people camp all the time without decent cooking facilities. We did it often with our kids. You can take a few frozen items in a decent cooler. You can do things like canned chili, burgers, cold cereal etc. I think it sounds like a real adventure and a great outdoors experience for the kids. Maybe one night you would want to venture into town and grab a sandwich or find a nearby town within an hour or so for a really good meal one night. 5 nights isn't long to go without our modern facilities for preparing meals.
Have a great time in a wonderful part of our country.
There are plenty of things you can make in the crock pot that don't require that you make sides. You mentioned pot roast (not sure why you need a "kit") with the veggies right in the pot with the roast. You could make salsa chicken (chx breasts, jar of salsa, drained can of black beans, drained can of corn, envelope of taco seasoning; 6 hrs on low and shred the chx) and eat with chips or over rice. Shredded pork butt with BBQ sauce on buns with some pre-made potato salad from the grocery store. You can even do breakfast dishes in the crockpot, if you want a hot breakfast. Go on Pinterest and research some recipes. And get those Reynolds crockpot liners for easy cleanup.
Yum - those are some great ideas...and considering the trip is only 5 days, you've almost covered it right here!
If you don't want to grill, bring along an electric skillet.
We stayed in a cabin in Maine that sounds very similar to what you are describing. We had no problems with cooking and cleaning, but I grew up camping on an island every summer for 6 weeks. No running water and no electricity. I really appreciate my parents for teaching me how to make do.
You can whip up such a variety of easy yummy food in all of these!
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