Cooking for a group.

[TheMartellFamily]

There was a post sometime ago about meals being made while staying at Ft. Wilderness. Now we are going and we are having all meals at the cabin. I need ideas for meals and now the count is up to 16. The regular ideas of hamburgers, hot dogs, etc is already there but we need more ideas. The crock pot will be our friend this go around. I would like ideas for 14 meals (7 lunch and 7 dinners) we will also have a truck to go to the grocery store when needed. Thanks.

[Mickey'sGirl]

Pancakes (I mixed the dry ingredients at home and transported a huge zip loc bag with us... then we only had to add the wet stuff)

Lasagna?

Sandwiches are nice, cuz one does get sick of the "fast foods" at WDW.

If you have the crock pot, certainly a pot roast or chicken is an easy meal.

Chilli?

Honestly, when we were down last, other than making one chicken dinner, most of the cooking we did was pancakes, eggs, grilled cheese, cold cuts, toast and pasta. We made simple tasty foods, and saved out eating out for more exciting choices.

[wdw_bound]

Spaghetti (with meatballs - buy a big bag of Celantano frozen from Publix, put sauce in crockpot), bag of salad as a side.

Vegetable soup (crockpot) and cheese toast

Baked Potato Bar

Taco Bar

Grilled Chicken Breast Salad (Dump the chicken breast in gallon baggies, add marinade, leave in fridge during the day, grill and serve over greens)

Beef Stew (crockpot)

Meatball wedges

Sub sandwich (buy loaves of Italian bread, make giant sandwiches, then slice into single servings)

Chicken Tenders, raw veggies

Wow, hope you are all taking turns on preparing food for 16! Sounds like a lot of fun, though!

Have a great trip! :mickey:

[BluewaterBrad]

Like the O'ps stated: Chili, tacos,sloppy joes,if you have a fry daddy, maybe a fish fry? God luck and have fun!!:mickey:

[Maxwell]

Sixteen meals? or sixteen people coming to the cabin for dinner?

[ibrowse17]

When I was younger, mom would always have a pot roast going in a crock pot. She would let it cook during the day, and when we came back from the parks we had a great meal waiting for us. She also had many items mentioned above, such as tacos and spagetti:thumbsup:

[Goes4FastPass]

I would try something like lasagna made ahead in a disposable foil pan.

Freeze it solid than carry to WDW in an ice chest then put it in the fridge at your cabin.

Heat in the oven and serve. You did al the work back home before you left.

[joonyer]

use the crock pot for hot breakfasts too, saves time in the morning, and you leave the empty crock soaking for washing later.
I have a couple of good recipes for ham.eggs and grits or potatoes I can share, our whole family loves it. If one pot isn't enough for a large crowd, bring two!

[SoaringEpcot]

Meatball subs, put the frozen meatballs in a crock pot with a can of sauce. Heat for a few hours then put them on hoggies with cheese.

[TheMartellFamily]

The total number is 16 people and there are 14 meals. There will be two cabins and 1 camper. The camper people will go shopping before hand to get all the supplies.

[Maxwell]

Wow! That sounds like a challenge and a lot of fun! If you aren't a member yet, joining one of the big food clubs stores might be a good idea...(Sams, Costco, etc.) They have stores in the area and it might be worth the membership for what you are planning.

Here are some things to think about...
1. You will not have enough glasses, dishes or utensils in the cabins. Think about supplements. With that many meals and people, you might want to think about cheap reusable metal instead of plastic.
2. You should consider bringing or shipping a collection of spices. When you are cooking that much, you'll want a small selection of seasonings and won't want to have to buy full size new in the grocery. Favorite seasonings and spices go a long way in making ordinary bulk food special.
3. Set expectations to eat in shifts. Turning out 16 meals at once is a huge challenge. Better to have two shifts of 8. Seating can be a challenge as well.
4. Think about your cooking space /tools. The oven is your best friend here (or crock pot if you bring it). The stove and the pots that are provided won't handle that crowd unless you pre-cook some things. Think about disposable foil trays and sheets at the grocery store. The ovens can handle 4 cookie sheet sized baking dishes, but you won't have them if you don't bring them. The stoves will take twice as long as you expect to boil water.
5. Plan on what you are going to do with leftovers. After 4 or 5 meals, you probably have enough leftovers for a potluck lunch. We baked a salmon filet one night and put the leftover salmon on bagels with cream cheese for breakfast two days later!
6. Foil and gallon size ziploc bags are your best friends.
7. Consider inviting someone who has lots of good ideas and suggestion from your favorite Disney message board to come down and spend the week planning and cooking solely for the price of travel and lodging. :mickey:

[Rekenna]

Hi! How about chicken quesedillas (sp?) or chicken fajitas, or chicken or beef enchiladas. I like Mexican food can you tell? ;)

We get the frozen fajita chicken strips, Tyson brand which are easy to prepare, relatively healthy and very tasty. I also buy the Old El Paso Enchilada kits and make big casserole dishes of beef enchiladas.

Meatloaf is also an option. I know you are cooking in the kitchen. But, when we go camping we have had individual meatloafs for all. Just prepare as you usually would in little foil packets and put on the grill. Everyone can cook their own when ready. I like the meatloaf better this way, no mess as well, just eat out of the foil. We also make vegetable packs for the grill, sometimes potatoes and onions, or cabbage and onions-just wrap up in foil (double the layers) add butter and some seasoning salt.

Also, fried chicken from the local supermarket-quick and easy and usually a go for all.

Breakfast for dinner is also an option, eggs, bacon, biscuits, fried potatoes. Yum!

Sounds like you guys will have a great time! Enjoy!:mickey: