Simple meals for a cabin vacation
June 15, 2018 11:02 AM   Subscribe

I’m looking for some dinner ideas for a week in a cabin with family (4 adults and 1 kid). There are some significant limitations: tiny kitchen and no electricity.

There is a gas stove/oven, propane fridge, grill and fire pit. There will be a pretty good selection of pots, pans and utensils. As far as dietary restrictions, there will be one vegetarian, one mildly lactose intolerant person and two people who don’t like spicy food. I love to cook but am used to making more complicated/adventurous meals than will work in this situation! I’m already planning tacos, build your own pizza, and spaghetti. Any ideas for anything simple but interesting that will work with our restrictions?
posted by Empidonax to Food & Drink (20 answers total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
Robust cold pasta salad with cheese and deli meats in it (make it build-your-own to address the dietary restrictions).

Hobo pies and foil dinner packets for the fire pit.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 11:06 AM on June 15, 2018


Big pot of hoppin' john. There are a million variants but the core is beans, greens, rice, thrown in the pot (perhaps at different times) and simmered until tender. You won't have to refrigerate anything if you do it meatless, and bacon etc. can easily be added on the side if the meat eaters want it. You can do it over the fire or on the stove, it's very forgiving and cheap good nutrition. Also if you use brown rice and collards, you'll get plenty of fiber, which is often lacking in cabin cuisine.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:14 AM on June 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


I think of these as "quesadillas": the largest tortillas I can find, a can of refried beans (Ducal brand is ideal because it's smooth for spreading and doesn't contain whole beans, but I can't find it any more), and shredded cheese. I use a large butcher knife to spread an even layer of refried beans on one side of the tortilla, sprinkle the cheese on, and heat at 350℉ for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and fold in half. Cut into four wedges and serve with sour cream.

Supermarkets near me have cooked, pre-sliced chicken and beef kept at refrigerator temperatures, which I sometimes toss in. As long as there isn't too much, it will heat up adequately with no changes to temp or cook time. But bean and cheese by itself is pretty good.
posted by XMLicious at 11:24 AM on June 15, 2018


If you go to an ethnic/gourmet/camping store, you can find interesting soup-in-a-pouch concoctions that will be lovely fun. They are at different price and nutrition points (camping store is most expensive/interesting/nutritious). The camping store stuff is probably your best bet for vegetables.

Then there is the world of canned food. If you're driving, that may be an option. Don't forget a can opener; if the cabin has one, it might not be the most comfortable to use.
posted by amtho at 11:24 AM on June 15, 2018


Chili and rice was nearly always the go-to at Girl Scout camp outings. Also foil dinners, as peanut_mcgillicuty suggested.

This would probably need to be a first night meal due to the seafood, but something like a lowcountry boil communal eating situation could be fun. Not super vegetarian friendly though, unless they really love corn and potatoes.
posted by helloimjennsco at 11:27 AM on June 15, 2018


Best answer: I like to make shish kebabs and cook them over the campfire/on the grill. You can make a few veggie only ones, and make sure not to use any spicy marinades and everyone should be happy. You can make them with pretty much anything you want, so they allow a lot of flexibility. I like to serve mine with cous cous for an easy, tasty meal.
posted by chatongriffes at 11:29 AM on June 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Potato hash works for pretty much any meal and is infinitely flexible. It's great for using up leftovers, too, so if you have things from the tacos or pizza that need eating just brown them up separately and mix them in at the end. Some smoked kielbasa is an excellent addition - do the hash first, take it out and separate out the vegetarian's portion, brown up the kielbasa chunks and add the rest of the hash back in (keep the veggie portion warm by the fire, maybe mix in some beans and/or cheese).

Be sure to check out local produce wherever you are. If it's in season where you are, try a corn and okra stew with tomatoes - really just brown onions, add fresh corn kernels and okra pieces plus some form of tomato (sauce is fine, freshly diced is awesome, whatever you got) plus seasonings like cumin and cilantro if you're into cilantro and let it simmer and get yummy. At the end put in a splash of vinegar or lime juice to really bring out all the flavors. Serve on any kind of carb you like, and you can stir in some black beans at the end or top a steak with it or whatever. Great with shrimp or catfish.
posted by Mizu at 11:32 AM on June 15, 2018


Best answer: Foil packet dinners are a MUST. Here's a bunch of ideas above and beyond the usual "meat and potatoes" combo.
posted by briank at 11:42 AM on June 15, 2018 [4 favorites]


I'm a big fan of make-ahead for trips like this, if you're driving in. Make and freeze a veggie lasagna and have it with garlic bread or can croissants, make and freeze a giant fruit pancake and hash or potato casserole and make breakfast-for-dinner one night. Cook and freeze a massive batch of sweet potato chili (you don't need to slow cook it, and it'll cook pretty fast on the stovetop if you use canned beans so you could cook it onsite) and have chili and cornbread one night and then use it to make chili burgers/dogs or Frito Pie the next night.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:07 PM on June 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Soba noodle salad. Of course, you can add meat to amp it up. This recipe doesn't mention edamame but I like to add that too.
posted by vunder at 12:07 PM on June 15, 2018


Hearty mac'n'cheese with a few permittable veggies mixed in and/or shredded chicken for the non-veggie folks

Also LOTS of french toast!
posted by argonauta at 12:35 PM on June 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


Seconding tin foil dinners. It's a great way to cook vegetables, you can cook a bunch of them at a time, and it's easy to make individual portions for everyone so you can work around food allergies (or just picky eaters like me).
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 12:39 PM on June 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


Spray the inside of your foil with cooking spray before adding food, especially if your dish contains cheese.
posted by soelo at 12:41 PM on June 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


No suggestions offhand but i would google for RV boondocking meal ideas, as that setup is very similar to RVs camping without electricity — they typically have propane appliances in a itty bitty kitchen.
posted by cgg at 12:41 PM on June 15, 2018


Best answer: During summer, I mostly want to celebrate the seasonal products: lots of new potatoes, greens, salads, peas, served with simple dressings. Courgettes and eggplants and Bell peppers are great on the grill, served dressed with olive oil and lemon. Remember vegs nede to be Well-oiled before grilling.
I like green salads with a bit of fresh summer fruit in them, too. And watermelon salad with feta and mint.
Simple roast chicken is very summery for the omnivores, and I usually serve a lot of other of choices, so no one is left out. Food on sticks over fire is fun, wether it is bits of chicken or vegs.
Left over potatoes are delicious hashed for breakfast/brunch/lunch, so I always make a lot.
Basically, in your situation, I’d fill the car with whatever seasonal vegs and fruit I could find, and a cooler with a couple or four chickens, some sausages, some bacon, some eggs and some feta. Bring lots of olive oil and lemon, pomengrates are good too. Remember salt, pepper, garlic and herbs. Bring flour and dry yeast for Baking simple rolls or even flat breads like pita.
If some of the vegetables go tired, they will rejuvenate in a bath of cold water.
posted by mumimor at 1:05 PM on June 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Buy or borrow some pie irons and make stuff in the fire pit. My Girl Scouts demand every camping trip that we make cinnamon rolls in pie irons, using the stuff in a tube from Trader Joe's.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:39 PM on June 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


For breakfast, make bacon ahead of time. Wrap in foil. Reheat over fire when you want!
posted by kerf at 4:00 PM on June 15, 2018


> simple but interesting

Set Your Dinner On Fire. You wrap a hotdog in foil and put it in an empty milk carton with some wadded-up newspaper and you take it to the fire ring and you set it on fire. I'm not saying it's the most efficient way to heat a hotdog, but it is "simple and interesting."
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:15 PM on June 15, 2018


You basically have a full kitchen there (I guess no microwave?) but if you want to ignore it and continue with the "simple but interesting" idea -- vagabond stoves and buddy burners.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:17 PM on June 15, 2018


I regularly make this vegan one pot mushroom stroganoff even though I’m not vegetarian, because it’s so delicious.
posted by tinymegalo at 5:12 PM on June 15, 2018 [2 favorites]


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