| If you have a cooler and "blue ice" or ice to keep things cool, you can buy
your lunch meats and mayo, etc, where you live and take them along. We've
camped out with a cooler using blue ice for a week and never had a problem
with spoilage. Just make sure the blue ice covers the bottom of your cooler
so the cold is evenly distributed throughout the cooler. And don't leave the
lid open for any longer than you need to get something out of it or try to
keep the cooler out of direct sunlight.
If you only have an 8 hour drive or even 24 to 48 hours, you should be OK with
just ice or blue ice.
Judy
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| HERE ARE MORE THINGS YOU CAN PACK IN A COOLER (IF YOU HAVE
A BIG ONE: HAMBURG
CHICKEN
STEAK
EGGS/BACON
MILK/BEVERAGES
THE LIST CAN GO ON AND ON. BASICALLY, ANYTHING IN YOUR
REFRIGERATOR WILL KEEP WELL AS LONG AS THERE IS ICE IN THE COOLER.
THEN, IF YOU BRING BOXED FOOD LIKE HAMBURGER HELPER, MAC & CHEESE,
SPAGETTI, ETC. AND CANNED GOODS, YOU WILL HARDLY HAVE TO DO ANY
SHOPPING. AS FOR SPICES, BRING AN ALL-PURPOSE SEASONING AND DEHYDRATED
ONIONS. THAT IS ALL YOU BASICALLY NEED.
HOPE THIS HELPS.
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| My family vacations together every year. (Eighteen of us this year!)
Each of us makes a meal. I find I don't want to cook that much while
I'm supposed to be on vacation, so I tend to make something in
advance and freeze it. Then it can keep other things cold in the cooler
and thaw in the fridge when I get there and be fine to eat later in the
week.
Anything that is in a sauce/gravy will freeze just fine. I've made
lasagna, chicken strips in sherry, and eggplant parmigana in the past.
It is easier to take food with you, if you have the room. Where we
vacation, we don't know the stores, so we spend more and don't know
where to buy the better quality of food.
If you want to have some "fun" food on vacation, just make pizza when
you get there. You can buy the ingredients there or at home. We've
also had stir fry, and stuff on the grill. If you buy it here and
freeze meat in advance, it can be fine in the cooler and you can either
put it in the freezer when you get there or thaw it out. But with raw
meat you'll need to decide your menu for the week to make sure you eat
it early enough.
Enjoy!
Judy
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| In the past, I have brought a DEC Turkey on vacation (no comments from the
peanut gallery, please). I put the frozen turkey in a cardboard box with
other items I wish to keep cool. Newspaper can be used to line the box to
provide a bit of extra insulation. This works great for the things that you
normally keep in a the fridge, but are non-critical, like mustard, ketchup,
relish, etc.
When I get to my destination, I finish thawing the turkey the "fast way" (in
the sink with water, usually). And then bake it, unstuffed, that evening
after dinner, when the outside temperature has gone down a bit. Then I cool
it and put it in the fridge. Then for the next week, we have turkey for
sandwiches or salads. Great for the beach! Near the end of the week, I boil
up the carcass and any other leftovers from the week and make turkey soup.
With leftover noodles or rice, and some vinegar, soy and black pepper, and you
have a pretty repectable hot and sour soup, American style.
- JP
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