Doug has his favorite time of the day, and that would be ... Dinner Time! Unfortunately, sometimes I don't share his excitement ... especially since I am cooking a lot more than I did in the past.
As I glance over the only cookbook that survived the ''RV cut'' and look at my many online recipe documents, the questions begin:
- Should I try a new recipe or stick to a ''tried-and-true-oh-so-good'' one?
- Do I have the ingredients needed?
- Do we have enough battery/electrical power to use the microwave, or do I need to depend on our propane stove?
- Do we have enough fresh water and gray water holding tank capacity to handle washing the mounds of dirty dishes that will undoubtedly appear?
Without a doubt, the annoying ''what's for dinner'' question is something that you also grapple with on a daily basis. Living in a van just adds another twist to the puzzle. But in the past few months, this is one of the challenges that I have actually enjoyed, and we both have been pleasantly surprised at the flavorful and healthy meals that have come out of my small-but-mighty van kitchen.
What's for dinner??
Hints for Enjoying Full Time Cooking ...
Whether You Live in a Small Van or a Regular Sized Home.
Hint #1 ... Make a preliminary meal plan
Let's face it ... we all live busy lives, and sometimes figuring out what's for dinner is not the highest priority. Since we live in a van, it's not the easiest task to pack up our ''home'' and drive to the grocery store or a restaurant on the spur of the moment. So I definitely need a solid answer when I hear the ''what's for dinner'' question. The key for me is to decide what meals I want to prepare and develop a list of ingredients needed before doing our grocery run. I look at what I have on hand and build from there. I take into consideration what ''services'' we will have ... cooking simple meals when we are boondocking, and more elaborate ones when we have easy access to grocery stores, electrical power, and dump facilities.
Hint #2 ... Keep those necessary ''staples'' stocked
Developing a list of ''staple'' foods based on your particular eating lifestyle is important. Doug loves his rice, and I love my pasta. He needs his breakfast cereal, and I enjoy my fruit and hot chocolate in the morning. Since warm chocolate chip cookies aren't coming out of my RV kitchen anytime in the near future, Doug has convinced me that M&Ms need to be considered a ''staple'' for someone with a big sweet tooth like him.
Just to give you an idea, here are some of of the items on my food staples list:
- Fruits/Vegetables: Garlic, Ginger Root, Apples, Oranges, Bananas, Carrots, Red pepper, Zucchini, Onion, Tomatoes, Jalapenos, Spinach, Potatoes (Hint: wrapping the red pepper, zucchini, jalapenos, and cut onions in aluminium foil while storing in the refrigerator will keep them fresh a lot longer and contain the odor. Repackaging the spinach in an airtight zip lock bag will keep it from wilting too quickly)
- Canned Goods: Canned vegetables, Diced tomatoes, Black beans, Soups, Artichokes, Tuna, Tomato sauce/paste, Mushrooms, Peanut butter
- Meat: Chicken breasts (repackaged into individual bags of one or two breasts), Brats, Sausage, Hamburger, Bacon bits, Lunch Meat
- Pasta/Rice: Orzo, Spaghetti, Pasta sauce, Mac & Cheese, Quinoa, Jasmine rice, Wild rice
- Breakfast: Oatmeal, Dry cereal, Dried and fresh fruit, Milk, Pancake mix
- Cooking supplies: Small containers of sugar, flour, brown sugar, and corn starch, Olive Oil, Cooking Spray
- Miscellaneous: Salsa, Soy sauce, Salad dressing, Mayo, Spicy mustard, Various spices, cooking vinegars, Cooking (and drinking) wine ... gotta keep the cook happy!
- Snacks: M&Ms, Chips, Pretzels, Granola bars, Nuts
- Bread: Bread, Buns, Tortillas
- Dairy: Butter, Eggs, Cheese, Soy milk
- Freezer: Frozen veggies (as space allows)
When one of these staple items is running low, it gets added to my grocery list. We usually make a grocery store run about every two weeks, even though, finding the space to store all the groceries in our van can be quite a feat!
Where am I going to put all this???
Depending on your diet and lifestyle, your list may look similar or much different. I just recommend creating a food staple list that fits your family's eating habits.
What are some foods that you absolutely would have to have on your ''staples'' list???
Hint #3 ... Take advantage of On-Line Shopping
I wasn't sure about it at first, but my mother-in-law raved about the ease, convenience, and accuracy of Walmart's Pick Up grocery service, so I tired it out for the first time just before Christmas. And I have to admit ... I love it! I place my order online, pay by credit card, chose my pick up time, drive up, load up, put away, and drive away. No more trying to figure out the layouts of different stores. No more trying to scan the shelves for my favorite brand only to find it out of stock. And from the look of the parking lot on the day before Christmas ... no more trying to maneuver through crowded grocery isles.
Pros:
- The produce has always been fresh and high quality.
- I can shop from the comfort of my ''home''.
- It is easy to change the Walmart store location depending on what city or state we happen to be currently traveling through.
- No contact shopping.
- If they are out of an item, they will substitute a similar item with my permission. This sometimes means getting a higher priced item for the price of the item that I originally ordered.
- I actually spend less, because there is usually not so much ''impulse'' buying.
Cons:
- Your groceries arrive in LOTS of plastic grocery bags. Not sure why ... they just do ... so I usually have to make one trip back into the store to put the thirty or so bags in their recycle bin.
- The service is free, but requires a minimum $35 order.
Hint #4 ... Try one ''new'' recipe a week
We all have our favorite meals. Doug would eat Beans, Brats & Rice and Chili every day if I let him, and I would devour huge pots of pasta. But it is nice to broaden our food horizons. Recently I started experimenting with recipes that contain quinoa and found some good vegetarian meals that we both enjoy. And sometimes just adding a new ingredient to an old stand-by creates a fabulous new favorite like these banana pecan pancakes. I added an over-ripe banana to the instant pancake mix and topped with additional bananas and toasted pecans ... delicious!
I am currently intrigued with ''one-pot'' meal ideas in which the protein, vegetables, and liquid are cooked in just one pot along with the pasta, quinoa, or rice. Their simplicity seems to fit in well with van cooking. Soups and salads would also fit into this category. Just be warned ... if you start googling ''one-pot'' recipes like I recently did, all sorts of new recipe suggestions will start appearing in your news feed. I saved quite a few that looked good and am slowly trying them. Happily, more ''one-pot'' recipes are getting added to my permanent
collection. Some of our favorite ''RV Friendly'' recipes can be found here.
Grecian Chicken and
Pasta was a hit!
Hint #5 ... Gather all the ingredients beforehand and maximize cooking prep workspace
Since I sometimes have to store my ingredients in ''interesting'' locations (under our bed, in the floor storage area, way in back of a deep cabinet, or way, way in back of the fridge), I try to get all the ingredients out before starting to cook. Counter surface is also limited, but I recently had a brilliant idea that helped me to expand my prep area.
This Pampered Chef cooling rack fits securely over our sink opening, doubling my counter top surface. And bonus ... I can still use the sink to rinse items if needed. The cooling rack and the lightweight plastic cutting boards store nicely in the small space under my cook-top when not in use.
Hint # 6 ... Get creative while using up leftovers
I have a ''cook once, eat twice'' philosophy. Therefore, I try to make good use of the leftovers. I have a couple glass bowls with lids that I use to store leftovers and heat up in the microwave for the next day's meal. If there is enough for a third meal, I try to ''change it up'' a little. Doug never knows ... it may re-appear wrapped up in a tortilla, on top of a brat, or in a stew.
Hint #7 ... Use only your favorite and most useful small-space kitchen tools
Years ago, I was a Pampered Chef consultant ... mainly because I loved all their fun and useful kitchen products. While I certainly can't store all of the kitchen gadgets that I enjoyed in my previous life, by choosing wisely, I have all that I need. Below is a list of some of my favorite small-space kitchen tools that so far have allowed me to cook everything that I want to cook in my van kitchen. I am happy to say that I am still able to use many of my favorite Pampered Chef items.
- Pots and Pans: large skillet and lid, saute pan, a 1.5 quart pan and lid, a 2.5 quart pan and lid, and a small flat griddle for pancakes, grilled cheese, and garlic toast.
- Pampered Chef microwave rice and pasta cooker
- A couple good knives
- A few of my favorite Pampered Chef preparation, cooking, and serving utensils
- Four plates, bowls, forks, knifes, spoons, drinking glasses
- Pampered Chef garlic press
- Pampered Chef glass storage containers (1, 2, and 3 cup size) for microwaving leftovers
- A few Rubbermaid plastic containers that easily stack in each other and come with ''one size fits all'' lids
- Hand-held can opener
A few of my favorite ''I can't bear to part with'' Pampered Chef cooking utensils are stored in my mother-in-law's kitchen ... ready and waiting to be used to prepare more elaborate meals when we visit. It is really a treat to visit my in-laws and give Doug and his dad their ''sweet fix'' with ''fresh from the oven'' chocolate chip cookies baked on the Pampered Chef stoneware that is still my absolute favorite cooking product.
We currently don't have any electric cooking appliances in our van other than the microwave. Doug decided to give up his caffeine habit a couple of months ago as a part of his ''healthier new year'' resolution. I'm not sure that I was as enthusiastic about the change at first ...
...but then I realized that we no longer needed cabinet space for the coffee maker, coffee, and Diet Coke, which means that I have ... more storage for my things! We have never embraced the ''bar-be-que'' scene, so we don't have any type of outdoor grill. Also, while many fellow travelers enjoy the ease of using an Insta-pot for meal prep, I haven't jumped on that bandwagon yet. Since the luxury of being plugged into shore power is pretty hit and miss, I prefer to rely on my propane cook top (and a quick microwave zap, if needed) to produce my ''home cooked'' meals.
Hint #8 ... Get creative when it comes to food storage ideas
I am a big advocate of the ''baskets on top of baskets'' storage method. They are easy to pull out and keep my small pantry (relatively) organized. My spice rack consists of two plastic baskets that I can easy pull out. I believe that spices are some of the most useful pantry items, especially when cooking in a small space. I can make my own taco mix, Cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning and more from just combining the spices that I have on hand. Labeling the lids of the spice containers helps to quickly find the perfect spicy addition to any dish.
Once in a while, however, I get out of hand. My recent homemade sloppy joe mix was deemed even a little too spicy for my chili-loving husband ... it probably didn't need the chopped jalapeño, chili powder, and the cayenne pepper.
Some other creative RV/van storage ideas:
The empty mandarin orange bags work great for storing onions, potatoes, and avocados, and they hang nicely on the cabinet knobs,
the microwave doubles as a handy bread box,
and the ''super secret'' floor storage compartment is the perfect size for canned goods, beer, and even a box of wine!
I would love to hear about your creative kitchen/RV storage solutions, so please share any that you have!
Hint #9 ... Everyone's cooking and eating style is different ... Do what works for you and create the meals that you enjoy
Tex Mex chili, Italian pasta, Chinese stir-fry ... I love being able to continue to cook some of my favorite recipes while we are on the road. While I do occasionally miss having a big kitchen with lots of space to create elaborate meals, I have to admit that I really enjoy the simplistic cooking style in my small van. And despite the limited space, I can still create some of our favorite meals.
Hint #10 ... Give yourself permission to take the evening off
Sometimes the cook just needs a day off. What a gift to be able to travel to places where the weather lets us to take advantage of outdoor patio dining ... and allows Doug to ''make'' dinner for me once in a while.
While we wait for the soft-shell crab and Jamaican shrimp to arrive ...
Cheers ... to enjoyable home-cooked meals and to a future when we will once again be able to gather with family and friends to share good food and conversation!
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