Caravan inspiration

zcrat41

Hello,
We are taking our new caravan away this week for 3 nights. I've not really cooked in a caravan before and am looking for meal inspiration.


There are 2 adults, a 2 year old and a 4 year old. We have an oven, 3 gas hob and a microwave. I'd rather not use too much gas and I really want to keep it fairly healthy. Cheap would be good too as the trip is going to Peppa Pig world which I've just seen the horrendous entry prices to!


Thanks everyone
ZC

PasturesNew

Why can't you just cook what you cook at home?
What's different?

C_J

Do you have a fridge too?

When my daughters were young we had a touring caravan and used to go away in it quite a lot. I put together anA4 folder of recipes that worked well with the limited space and facilities in a caravan, I'll see if I still have it and post some if the recipes. I do remember that we used to take a slow cooker with us when we stayed at sites with an electric hook up and that was really successful.

zcrat41

PasturesNew - there's a lot less space. At home I have tons of workspace and a huge double oven. The limited space in our caravan doesn't really lend itself to ages chopping veg for lasagne for example. I also don't have all the equipment I do in my house.


CJ - We have quite a big fridge and a very small freezer. That's exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for - ideas of what has worked well for other families. I like the slow cooker idea too. I didn't think of that!

BOBS

you are away in your caravan to relax and enjoy yourself so simple easy to prep and cook dishes. We had a George Foreman and made lots of use - great for sausages, and kids loved toasties made in it. We cooked big pots of pasta and stirred in shop bought sauces that we dont normally buy - but its time away to be spend making memories not prepping food and being healthy. Lots of time and spaces at home for doing that.

System

We eat what we would at home...no roasts though. Im on holiday not there to scrub the oven clean. I don't mash potatoes and rely on tinned peas and carrots a lot. We don't go without and it's not really a hardship.

caronc

When I used to go on caravan holidays when my kids were young I used to make a couple of dishes beforehand and froze them. They were fine in the fridge for a few days. Night one we tended to have "picnic" style meal of cooked chicken, salad, crusty bread etc. and then the next couple of nights whatever I had made. Sausage casserole with tinned veg and tinned potatoes always went down well as did a chicken curry. I used to also take my slow cooker and found it handy. It helped keep the costs down leaving cash for treats and entrance fees.

PasturesNew

zcrat41 wrote: »

PasturesNew - there's a lot less space. At home I have tons of workspace and a huge double oven. The limited space in our caravan doesn't really lend itself to ages chopping veg for lasagne for example. I also don't have all the equipment I do in my house.

You can get little rigid cool boxes, that fit into the car cigarette lighter - and would run off the caravan electrics.... if you work out what you're eating before you leave (built up over time) then you can prep it at home, chuck it into sealable sandwich bags, then chuck it in the chiller.

For the first trip, you might as well just "settle in" - and buy a pie from the local shop and send the rest of the family down the chippy for some chips while you reheat the pie

NewShadow

caronc wrote: »

When I used to go on caravan holidays when my kids were young I used to make a couple of dishes beforehand and froze them. They were fine in the fridge for a few days. Night one we tended to have "picnic" style meal of cooked chicken, salad, crusty bread etc. and then the next couple of nights whatever I had made. Sausage casserole with tinned veg and tinned potatoes always went down well as did a chicken curry. I used to also take my slow cooker and found it handy. It helped keep the costs down leaving cash for treats and entrance fees.

Seconding caronc.

When we used to caravan it was traditional to swing by a supermarket and buy a rotisserie chicken and a crusty baguette for the first evening - we'd either eat it on the way if we were starving or rip it to pieces on arrival *joyful memories*

Mum then used to have a cool box which normally had a lasagne, chilli or curry and packs of bacon. These could be transferred directly into the caravan fridge on arrival (and filled it) and fed us for the first couple of breakfasts (bacon rolls) and dinners.

Normally mid-week we'd eat out somewhere on the cheap - fishty chips or pizza normally - and the rest of the meals were things like baked potatoes, egg/beans on toast, bbq.

TBH - you're going to be spending so much time out and about - anything hot is going to taste amazing.

Have fun

nannywindow

When we are caravanning, on the first night I normally take a ready cooked chicken from A*di and salad stuff. If there's any chicken left, the next day I use it up by making sandwiches, so nothing gets wasted. I also usually make a bolognese sauce at home before hand and then all I have to do is reheat it while I cook the pasta/spaghetti. The sauce can be made in advance and frozen until needed. You will also probably find that bottled gas lasts a lot longer than you think it will. HTH
Newshadow cross posted. Great minds and all that :rotfl:.

sillyvixen

PasturesNew wrote: »

You can get little rigid cool boxes, that fit into the car cigarette lighter - and would run off the caravan electrics.... if you work out what you're eating before you leave (built up over time) then you can prep it at home, chuck it into sealable sandwich bags, then chuck it in the chiller.

My dad still has one of those cool boxes, but alas no caravan anymore. He wired the car battery into a socket in the boot, he also had a transformer so it could be plugged into the mains. It's great I borrow it at Christmas for extra fridge storage. Apparently the model he has is also good for keeping hot food warm.. as my parents found out when the setting got knocked when loading the boot and half way down the motorway the car was filled with the smell of cooking sausage and bacon!!