Vacationing at Home - Food

Once we decided that we were going to take a vacation and stay home, I realized that I needed to prepare what we were going to eat for the week...so, I began by making up our menu. After the menu was made, I did as much prep work for the food before vacation began.

Breakfast choices would be:
buttermilk pancakes
waffles - "regular" and pumpkin spice
cereal
eggs and Canadian bacon on toast
eggs and toast

I had this list posted and then Dawson and I would decide what we would serve that day...it was not a la carte - those were just the ideas and we would choose one of them! Now, I love pancakes and waffles, but I really did not want to make them during vacation...I wanted to FEEL like I was on vacation! So, I decided to make them in advance and freeze them! After I cooked the pancakes and waffles, I let them cool, then I placed them on a cookie sheet (put a layer of wax paper on the cookie sheet first), then I topped it with a layer of wax paper, and repeated. This way, I could freeze them flat and separate from each other. Once they were frozen, I took them off of the cookie sheet and placed them on top of each other in a bag and threw them in the freezer. When it was pancake day, we took them out of the freezer, and heated them in the oven until they were warmed through - they also do great in a toaster. They tasted fresh!

Lunches
Tuna sandwiches
Egg salad sandwiches (Brady's favorite!)
Grilled cheese
Peanut butter and jellly

Not too much advance prep was needed for this part of the menu. However, I did try to mix up the tuna or egg salad at night, and I made enough for it to last at least 2 lunches each.

Dinners
We did not want to go out to eat every dinner - it is nice not to cook, but my 15 month old, only lasts about 45 minutes to an hour when we go out to eat - and that includes waiting for out meal to come! We realized that since my birthday was the week after vacation, that we would actually get some BOGO birthday certificates, so we decided that we would use two of these while on vacation - one with the kids (which we actually had a last minute change of plans with) and one by ourselves...a DATE! :)

Our choices:
three bean chili - this was tasty on chips and with sour cream
subs
stir fry
pizza - homemade (love this new quick recipe! Will have to post it soon!)
night out with the kids
date night
something else, that I cannot remember!

Planning the meals ahead of time really helped to make me feel like I was taking a break from the regular rigors of each day. I definitely suggest that you consider doing this if you ever take a vacation and stay at home. I did not have all of the meals prepped ahead of time, and that would be one thing that I would change, if we ever decided to do this again!

Next up: Our Activities!