Ideas for large meal at vacation house?

[Anonymous]

I do a similar dish to the Kraft Beef Noodle Bowl

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/beef-noodle-bowl-91434.aspx

I tend to use chicken, but its a flexible recipe and very easy to add extra vegetables.

[Anonymous]

Make beef stew and freeze. Make egg noodles and put in a gallon ziploc and refrigerate. The day before serving, move the beef stew to the fridge. The morning of, put the beef stew in a crock pot (if you don't have a crock pot, you can reheat over the stove or in the microwave, but you have to be careful to reheat evenly). Before serving, run hot tap water over the egg noodles in a colander.

[Anonymous]

You're driving there, right? So you could assemble a dish like lasagna or enchiladas at your home, and bake it just before dinner. Keep sides simple - green salad, store-bought garlic bread/ salsa/ guac, ice cream for dessert.

[Anonymous]

I would make 2 trays of lasagna or bakes shells ahead of time in throw away tins and bring them already assembled and bake on-site. Your love yourself for it...not having to find the right dish, spices, etc. Plop in the oven and voila!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about pulled pork? I usually make it in my slow cooker. Serve on hamburger buns with coleslaw, various kinds of chips and cut up veggies. Easy peasy!

+1
(assuming everyone eats pork)

[Anonymous]

Rotisserie chickens. Pick up several on the way, roast some potatoes or zuchini or asparagus or all three, make a salad.

[Anonymous]

http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2008/02/09/dinner-for-a-crowd-roasted-chicken-and-italian-sausage/

[Anonymous]

If you have a long drive and worry about keeping the food fresh, I once made and froze a lasagna, then used that in a freezer as basically the ice pack for other food.

Now the trick is to make sure there is enough time to allow it to thaw. My SIL decided there was no room in the fridge for my lasagnana and it had to be put outside, since it was cold enough outside. It was freezing, so it never defrosted. Oh geez, now I am dreading the family vacation in a month. Especiallly since all of these ideas sound awesome and my SIL and BIL would thumb thier nose at all of them. Their comment on my lasagna was that it was nice to eat something so "pedestrian" since they were so used to eating good food.......

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rotisserie chickens. Pick up several on the way, roast some potatoes or zuchini or asparagus or all three, make a salad.

OP said that she was making the large meal for "one night" of the stay, not necessarily the first night. If you aren't eating them that day, rotisserie chickens take up a lot of fridge space and are best if eaten within 1-3 days of purchase. If they're going for a week and her turn is day 5, this isn't the best option, but still a good option if your turn is the first or second night.

[Anonymous]

I usually do a pasta dish. Make the sauce before we go and bring pasta to cook Add a salad and some good bread. The pasta recipe I am liking lately is:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/nick-and-tonis-penne-alla-vecchia-bettola-recipe/index.html
The sauce can work for twice as much pasta.

Not economical but I have brought a beef tenderloin and cooked it and served with either a horseradish sauce or some other pre made sauce.

Usually bring a honey baked ham.

[Anonymous]

I am the PP who suggested the pulled pork. The last poster's pasta suggestion reminded me of a great pasta recipe that would be easy to double for a crowd. Here is the link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/turkey-bolognese-recipe/index.html

It's meant for leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, but I usually just buy a rotisserie chicken and it works just fine. It's delicious!

[Anonymous]

Most stews can be made ahead at home and reheated easily.

Beef stew
Egg noodles
Bread
Salad
Brownies for dessert

[Anonymous]

Burritos?
Tacos?
Chili?
Fajitas?

Shit. Make a good impression.

Get three or four large cuts of leg of lamb (enough for everyone to have several chops), big bag gold Yukon potatoes, dill, pine nuts, mache, fennel and Greek yogurt

Smother garlic, dill and yogurt together and let sit overnight as a paste on top of chops. Wrap ends in tin foil so the bone doesn't burn. Cut yukon potatoes into wedges and bake with olive oil turning frequently until golden, idally with a little rosemary. Make lamb. Serve alongside a mâché salad with lightly toasted pine nuts and shaved fennel. Pair with a malbec or sons other such shit.

Or just invite me to your fuckibg vacation home and I'll bloody make it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks but i hate lamb.

But I made three 5 pound Costco beef tenderloins at our recent big meal vacation along with roasted potatoes, roasted broccoli and salad. Outstanding.