Food Storage

[jabfado]

Being new at this and preparing for out first outing I was wondering if any of you old timers can give me some simple tips on supplying the Frig and a few simple recepies that you use regularly.

[Wanabee FTer]

Okay, I'll tell you all my secrets... but they aren't really secrets

I store all left overs in zip bags, not bowls, containers etc. saves a lot of room. When I fill the freezer (which doesn't take much) I take most items out of the boxes.

As far as recipes, I keep it as simple as possible. I have a small crock pot that I use quite often. I find the cheapest cuts of beef roasts and add the usual veggies, but for seasoning I use 1 packet of Lipton onion soup mix (dry) on top of the meat before I add the veggies. Under the meat I put a few sweet onions and garlic, yummy, just had this tonight

For pork roast I buy the cheapest fattiest roast I can find. Then I add 1 can of evaporated milk and 1 can of Coke
Yes you read that correctly, evap milk and Coke, that's all. This concoction seams to dissolve all the fat in the pork roast and tenderizes it. I got this tip from Guy Fieri when he went to an authentic Mexican restaurant and the proprietor gave her recipe for their families carnitas. Wrap it up in a flour tortilla with some some re-fried beans and your favorite salsa. To die for!
Of course corned beef and cabbage is also easy in the crock pot.

I don't cook on the stove much, except when I make breakfast for dinner.
A tip for this is find the pre-cooked sausage and/or bacon. Cuts down on prep time and grease splatter.

A quick lunch item I came up with is buying the pre-cooked frozen meatballs in a bag (are you starting to see a pattern with the pre-cooked meats) I particularly like the Armour brand beef meatballs, they are only a couple bucks for a bag of 16-18. Then I buy a loaf of french bread and some sliced mozzarella cheese. First microwave the meatballs then cut the bread sandwich size and put a slice of cheese on each 1/2 of the bread and nuke it lightly, pile on the meatballs. Yummy!

Mostly I cook outdoors on the barbeque year round unless I'm staying in a place that actually rains

Hope this helps

[jabfado]

Thanks Wannabee FTer, only response but great info...I didn't even think of a crock pot and the pork concoctions sounds terrific and I will include the coke for sure.

[sdennislee]

We use our crock pot more than any other appliance. Couple boneless chicken breasts and a couple cans of cream of ________ fill in the blank with your favorite soup. Also use our George Foreman grill (with removable plates) quite often.

Agree with using zip lock bags for storage over containers. Space savings is huge. Same with large boxes of cereal etc...

[Dan DeBruin]

I cook more on our little Weber grill than anything else. We had a gas grill but like how the charcoal tastes. Usually, I cook enough meat, usually chicken or pork to last several days of leftovers. As others have said, into the zip lock bag and used for sandwiches, salad protien or added to stir fry. I have pics of me cooking in 8 inches of snow next to the Weber. Like others we also pack the freezer without boxes.

We also use the microwave more than at home.

[okmunky]

Check out the RV Gourmet forum here on irv2. RV Gourmet - iRV2 Forums

I am a big fan of frozen entrees. Let someone else do the cooking or make your favorite casseroles at home so all you have to do is heat and eat. One dish meals make dining much easier.

Make sure you stock the frig with small versions of your favorite condiments.

[Geezer80]

Regarding food storage we're big fans of "Lock & Lock" food storage (or lots of other stuff) containers. They are leak proof in any position, and you can freeze them. They stack nicely and come in many different sizes. We were introduced to them while sailing and living aboard our sailboat. Most of ours are 6 or 7 years old now and we've never had a failure.

[SarahW]

I agree with the frozen entrees, especially home-cooked stuff. I freeze leftover soups, casseroles, etc. to carry in the moho. (I find that I am more of a "reheater" than actual cook when we're traveling. ) Also, we like sandwiches so we always carry a lot of sandwich meats, tuna, etc.

[Diwizi]

Pork recipe sounds great.... Wish i had bought some today... I do a lot of double meals before i leave, freeze in ziplock freezer bags... Prefer the pint size. Also dont have to deal with leftovers that way, in the frig.... Add a veggie and bread.... DH is insulin dependent diabetic so he needs carbs.... Can fit meals for about two weeks in freezer.... I mostly use my convection oven to thaw and reheat..... I do homemade pizza with yeast crust and vary toppings, But i like to bake.... I found plastic baskets at store that fit into frig space, 8 baskets worth of space, plus the doors, so i can judge how much room i have, plus i can pull out one basket that is filled with sandwich fixin... One for butter, etc..... But then i also use pastic baskets in my pantry... Hmmmm. In fact use them in the bathroom too.....

[PyrateSilly]

Here's a tip for those that use celery in the crock pot or where ever. I know that I never use up the whole thing of celery before it goes bad and then I found out that I can cut it up in pieces and then put it in a freezer bag. Makes it handy to just add some frozen celery for soups and roasts. You can do the same thing with onions and leeks

[pumper9x9]

If you have a microwave/convection oven go to a rally and attend a course by Janet Sadlack. She has a cook book out called "Easy Microwave Convection Cooking" She has a lot of great recipes. I like to use as either a microwave or convection oven DW likes to use the "combination" methods. If you cook it at home you can cook it in the bus.
Bon apitie.

[PyrateSilly]

When I buy celery, onions or leeks I cut them up right away and into the freezer they go. Works really well since they do not go bad and into other dishes they go to cook anyway. Really thou, we cook pretty much the same things in MH/RV that we do at the S&B.
By the way, leeks are part of the onion and garlic family. They have mostly an onion flavour but cause of the garlic part they are actually better for you. We don't get onions too much anymore but leeks now, lol.
As for recipies here is one that we like:
Hamburger Stew Recipe
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
4 can stewed tomatoes (I used 2 stewed and 2 whole and then hand crushed them)
8 medium carrots, thinly sliced (since I crockpotted it I did not slice thin)
4 celery ribs, thinly sliced (since I crockpotted it I did not slice thin)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (since potatoes have most of the good stuf at peal level I did not peel them)
2 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
1-2 Tablespoon salt (I don’t use salt since almost everything has salt added)
1-2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup water (additional ingredient for each batch)
Preparation
1. In a Dutch oven, cook beef and onions over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomatoes, carrots, celery, potatoes, water, rice, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables and rice are tender.
2. Uncover; simmer 20-30 minutes longer or until thickened. Transfer 3 cups to a saucepan and add water; heat through. Cool remaining stew. Transfer in 3 cup portions to freezer containers. May be frozen for up to 3 months.
3. To use frozen stew: Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Transfer to a saucepan; add water. Cook until hot and bubbly.
If you want to use and store for just one person then do 1 1/2 cups of mixture and 1/2 cup water. Made enough for Thom and I with enough for 5 more meals in the freezer.

[Dacotah]

We are probably the only ones who do a lot of cooking on the road. All the advise on storage is great, we try to utilize every inch in the freezer and refrigerator like everyone does. When we bought our 38' motorhome, it had the convection microwave and a small cook top but if you spend a lot of time cooking (both of us love to cook, sort of a hobby) you need more room for cooking so we took out the cooktop and put a propane stove and oven combo in and bought a medium size infrared grill. We travel with more pots and pans and appliances, but again cooking is our hobby and we enjoy it! We pick up recipes from restaurants along the way and try to duplicate them. DACOTAH

[Shardan1]

Everybodies replys were great! The only thing we would add is an electric skillet. We use this in and outside the coach. it works as well as a crockpot without the time it takes to cook.