Anonymous wrote:We go with a group. Every night one family is responsible for every aspect of dinner, from shopping to cooking, serving and clean up. If it's not your night, you get waited on hand and foot.
Let me strongly recommend this system, otherwise the same old people will do all of the work and the same old people will sit on their rears.

We do this too. We have five "families" (we are all one family really) and everyone cooks a night. That means whoever is cooking plans a grocery run for that day to get what they need. Some of us bring a few things from home (a sharp knife, cooking oil, spices, a decent can opener) which helps.

Popular things:
burger/hot dogs/brats
spaghetti with meat sauce
fajitas
pulled pork in the crock pot
meat loaf
various meats on the grill
baked ziti/baked casserole pasta

We have 16 people so your dinner needs to feed a CROWD. Most of these can be customized a bit to deal with the little kid's who may be pickier. We also have lots of ice cream in the freezer for anyone who didn't love dinner.

A fun meal we do with our large group is seafood foil packets...kids/adults select their own mix of shrimp, scallops, fish (could add sliced sausage I guess), veggies, potatoes, corn, etc...wrap it all in foil, add lemon, maybe old bay and a splash of beer, pop it in the oven or on the grill, and dinner is served.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth would you go on vacation and spend time cooking. Stay home.

ITA.

These beach house vacations that everyone loves to go on are just "mom does all the same work at a different location" trips.

You are doing it wrong then. And plus, no one is forcing you/mom to cook.

Anonymous wrote:Going on a two week long beach vacation with five adults and three kids. We would like to eat dinners in each night.

What do you make for dinner on your vacations for large groups? I am thinking along the lines of tacos, spaghetti and meatballs, etc. so you don't need a ton of spices or ingredients.

Whenever we traveled when I was a kid to a place where we had a kitchen and were planning to cook meals, my mom would portion out spices in advance for various meals. Then you can buy the fresh ingredients (i.e. meat and veggies) when you get there and still have a variety of meals. You probably have to do something like choose just one kind of cooking fat or something to avoid a ton of ingredients, but for 2 weeks I think you'll want more than just salt and one or two spices/herbs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth would you go on vacation and spend time cooking. Stay home.

I disagree. Eating out every night would be costly, not to mention unhealthy. Cooking at home is not hard to do if you can figure out some easy tasty recipes--which was the purpose of this thread!

+1
Adding to this...cooking at home is way faster too.

And if your beachfront, we often take our dinners down to the beach.

We've done the "each couple" takes a turn bit. Works fine, except I chose a dish that took most of the afternoon to prepare. Keep it simple, and it works better!

OP I think you are making this harder on yourself than it needs to be. You are cooking for 5 adults not 20. You don’t need to do everything big plate/buffet/family style. Grill chicken, get local seafood etc. Make a big enough portion of sides that you can have for lunch the next day.

Anonymous wrote:Just stay home and cook OP.

Why so much hostility for people who like to cook on vacation? Not everyone sees cooking as a chore.

We have visited the same condo in Florida Keys for 5 years. We are a 3-generation family totaling 12.. the night we arrive Mom and Dad buy stuff to put together sandwiches, raw veggies, chips. Easy and gives time to settle in. Then each adult child and his family take a night to prepare a meal for the rest. We are always hoping the fish have been biting! We always go out to our favorite beach restaurant on Thursday night and Friday, the last night, has become’left-overs’ night so we don’t leave a lot of food. No one spends much time in the kitchen and we enjoy the rare treat of having all children together..
The sons have really sharpened their cooking skills and try to best one another. It is a fun week. Breakfast and lunches are usually less organized as we are either out early fishing or off on some adventure. But we do keep a ready supply of fruit and raw veggies for snackers. And tons of bottled water for poolside hydration and to carry on the boat.
?

I can't imagine eating out every night on vacation when I am staying at a beach house. I enjoy coming in after a relaxing day at the beach and opening a good bottle of wine and putting together a nice meal. All the planning and buying is done before hand so it is only the cooking. Plus, when I cook I don't have to clean.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth would you go on vacation and spend time cooking. Stay home.

ITA.

These beach house vacations that everyone loves to go on are just "mom does all the same work at a different location" trips.

And at least in my family, the week vacation at a 'family friendly' carribean all inclusive resort is just "mom is stressed out trying to keep her kids from disturbing other guests at the restaurant, finding food they will eat at the buffet, eating her own dinner, and getting them to bed after dinner hell before they turn into flaming pumpkins." It isnt about being cheap, its about that being a mom of multiple young kids is hard however you slice it. I cook most nights on our summer trip too.

If it wasn't a matter of money, then you would order in.

PP you quoted here. If you believe that, please provide me with the list of edible food that can be delivered to Sea Colony, because I've found precious little other than pizza. No need to get into the socioeconomic wars here but suffice it to say it is NOT about the money for us, but about that with a little planning I can feed my kids reasonably healthy and tasty food with far less stress and work than if we went out. When they're older and do better in restaurants I will be happy to go out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth would you go on vacation and spend time cooking. Stay home.

ITA.

These beach house vacations that everyone loves to go on are just "mom does all the same work at a different location" trips.

And at least in my family, the week vacation at a 'family friendly' carribean all inclusive resort is just "mom is stressed out trying to keep her kids from disturbing other guests at the restaurant, finding food they will eat at the buffet, eating her own dinner, and getting them to bed after dinner hell before they turn into flaming pumpkins." It isnt about being cheap, its about that being a mom of multiple young kids is hard however you slice it. I cook most nights on our summer trip too.

If it wasn't a matter of money, then you would order in.

OP here: It is more about convenience but also about the money. So what? Are you trying to shame me into feeling bad that I don't go out to eat every night while I am on vacation?

Thank you to everyone who has made helpful suggestions. Some great ones on here!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth would you go on vacation and spend time cooking. Stay home.

ITA.

These beach house vacations that everyone loves to go on are just "mom does all the same work at a different location" trips.

exactly.
pull out your wallet cheapskate.

Shut up already. We get that you don't want to cook on vacation but some people don't mind, or even like it. Just move along if you don't have anything to add.

I agree with a lot of these but you have to think through logistics on some things (like personal pizzas, only a few can cook at a time so it's not a good option for a big sit down dinner). I also like doing some kind of easy chicken recipe (we do a Moroccan chicken that's really not hard/doesn't take long). Key for us has been to think ahead a bit and prepare some things ahead of time. (ie, for the Moroccan chicken I make, I'd mix all the spices at home and bring one small baggie then it's basically mix in garlic, oil, lemons, prunes, olives. Super easy and delicious)

+1 for lots of grilling

That is a great idea!

As for unhelpful PPs, it isn't about the money. It is about convenience. For me, cooking at home is more convenient than going out: no getting ready (can eat dinner in jammies), no making sure my kids aren't driving other diners crazy, no waiting an hour for a table, no guessing where to go. We usually go out one night all together and we are all exhausted when that night ends!

What works for you may not work for others, so unless you are offering a meal suggestion, you can move along.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth would you go on vacation and spend time cooking. Stay home.

ITA.

These beach house vacations that everyone loves to go on are just "mom does all the same work at a different location" trips.

And at least in my family, the week vacation at a 'family friendly' carribean all inclusive resort is just "mom is stressed out trying to keep her kids from disturbing other guests at the restaurant, finding food they will eat at the buffet, eating her own dinner, and getting them to bed after dinner hell before they turn into flaming pumpkins." It isnt about being cheap, its about that being a mom of multiple young kids is hard however you slice it. I cook most nights on our summer trip too.

If it wasn't a matter of money, then you would order in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth would you go on vacation and spend time cooking. Stay home.

ITA.

These beach house vacations that everyone loves to go on are just "mom does all the same work at a different location" trips.

And at least in my family, the week vacation at a 'family friendly' carribean all inclusive resort is just "mom is stressed out trying to keep her kids from disturbing other guests at the restaurant, finding food they will eat at the buffet, eating her own dinner, and getting them to bed after dinner hell before they turn into flaming pumpkins." It isnt about being cheap, its about that being a mom of multiple young kids is hard however you slice it. I cook most nights on our summer trip too.