Vacation Food

As I mentioned earlier, we are going to Myrtle Beach next week for a family vacation. We rarely take vacations unless going to a relative's for the holidays. We did not know where we were going until last week when I scored some great prices (around $87 per night) on a four star hotel there. This would fit into our frugal budget. Our other option was to go camping which would have also been nice. Since we would have had to buy a bit more equipment for that and also pay a park fee, the final amount is close. However, the cost of food for five people is going to be a challenge. Thrifty Florida Mama also had to address this topic for her recent trip to the beach. Unfortunately, this hotel does not provide a continental breakfast (surprising to me). I suppose that you have to be on a club floor to get this extra. So to follow Angie's example, I will be bringing a little cooking equipment to use in our room for simple meals. My goal is to take my crockpot, breadmaker and possibly an electric pan. I generally pack light so this will be an extra suitcase worth which will not be too bad. I googled many of the restaurants in the area to see what their prices were and I can tell you that it is unlikely we can leave a restaurant without spending atleast $25 for lunch and $50 for dinner. While we will most likely eat out at least once or twice a day, I don't want to do three meals a day for five people. So my goal is to have breakfast in the hotel and to make two or three other easy meals for dinner. This is good since taking small children out to eat can be real torture to parents and other diners!

I could bring poptarts (got lots of those!) for breakfast, but since I am in no hurry while on vacation, why not be creative? Plus, my breadmaker has a wonderful timer that I can set the night before and the bread is done when we wake up, and oh, the yummy smell...mmmmmh. Thus, I have to find recipes that the ingredients can sit in the breadmaker most of the night and not go bad (no eggs or milk). I can mix up the dry ingredients before we leave (except for the yeast), which would make it a cinch to throw together the night before. Here are the recipes I have found that meet my requirements:

Raspberry-Cranberry Bread
Honey Lemon Bread
Pumpkin Yeast Bread

For Breakfast Crockpot Recipes:

Crockpot Cobbler
Crockpot Cherry Crisp

For Easy Dinner Recipes:

Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup
Secret Crab Alfredo
White Chili (recipe below)

We may throw in a few other things but this will at least keep us in budget. If anyone has any other great travel recipes please let me know.

White Chili

This was my boss' recipe and really, really good. I can mix up the dry ingredients before we go and the rest will travel well - no need for refrigeration.

Ingredients:
3 cans chicken breast
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
2 (15.5-ounce) cans cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15.5-ounce) can cannelloni beans, rinsed, drained and mashed
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chilis, undrained
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Toppings (optional):
shredded Montery Jack cheese
salsa
chopped fresh cilantro
sour cream