Dining In on Vacation - what do you fix?
 

Renting a condo or apartment with a kitchen is a great way to save money on vacation. In a sparsely equipped apartment kitchen/kitchenette, what are your favorite items to prepare?

Depends how "sparsely equipped" and what's the destination exactly what I do.

In Mexico I buy prepared rotisseried chicken that comes with tortillas, red sauce, potato, chilis, rice very inexpensive, that lasts several meals.

In Hawaii I do chopped fresh fruit salads. Make fried rice using restaurant left-overs. Bring in "plate lunch" or something from the shrimp truck.

Boiled eggs, sliced ham, cheese, yogurt, are great staples most anywhere.

If there are adequate pots and pans I've made meat/bean chili, lentil soup, spaghetti sauce, cold pasta salads, greek salad - all pretty easy to do.

We rent condos on ski trips. We eat breakfast in--toast and coffee, pack a lunch to take on the hill (sandwiches from rotisserie chicken, carrots, oranges and cookies), but always eat dinner out.

Whatever is in season locally - sometimes white truffles with eggs; local cheeses, breads, olive oils and wines; pasta, sandwiches, etc.

We always buy eggs and hardboil a bunch at the start of the trip for easy snacks and egg salad sandwiches. Just eat the whites to avoid fat and cholesterol.

We bring this nifty little product and use it often in kitchen's that aren't that well equipped: http://www.rei.com/product/630590

In the Caribbean when grocery stores don't stock all the ingredients we might need, we often just have beans and rice with a salad. We've found interesting canned, flavored beans pretty much everywhere. Cheap and high protein.

We actually packed a box of pasta, a can of tomatoes, our handy spice holder, and a tiny bottle of olive oil to make a quick pasta and simple red sauce for a late night arrival on Bonaire after all the restaurants were closed, knowing we would be starving after a day on planes with limited food options.

In Italy, we buy pasta, what fresh produce is available, a wedge of Parmesian to grate over it, and white wine. If nothing else there's generally at least a pot to boil pasta.

In Hawaii, we buy cereal, coffee, and juice; fresh fruit and bring granola bars from home; dinners are simple--pasta, chili; sometimes friends who come grill fish too.

In Hawaii, a chicken was $12 but I got a lot of mileage out of it. I boiled it and deboned it. We had chicken salad sandwiches on the road the next day and chicken with rice at the house. Then for the 3rd time around, I used the broth which I had saved to make a chicken soup - added 2 pkgs of Ramen noodles and vegetables.

Beach vacations - steak, lots of in-season vegies and fresh fruit and grilled fruit.

Most of our travels include a trip to the local farmers market for good fresh local fruit and produce. We always buy good cheese, bread, fruit, wine, coffee and chocolate. That covers breakfast and basic picnic type meals. Then, depending on the facilities available at our rental, we add eggs, and ingredients for simple pasta dishes. Sometimes we can find a good cooked chicken, steamed lobsters, shrimp or a quiche and those add some variety. In Hawaii, we bought fresh fish most days because we had a grill available and I made fresh fruit salsas to accompany the fish.

I just had a very basic kitchenette in Grenoble, France, and I fixed salad and bread and cheese - cheese in France is so good!

BlueSwimmer, thanks for telling us about the multi-spice shaker. What a wonderful idea! Will definitely get one for my next trip. As far as the original question....sferguso, I generally look for fresh local foods....salad ingredients, rotisserie chickens, sandwiches or carry-outs, and in Europe, absolutely the breads and cheeses! Eggs are always an easy and versatile item....have made many an omelette while vacationing! Don't usually do "serious" cooking, like I would at home, just go for fresh and easy.