It’s less than a month until Shane and I fly to Florida for his sister’s wedding! We’re so excited for this little vacation, and to spend some time with family.

As I’ve mentioned, eight of us are staying in a vacation home, complete with a full kitchen. To save money, we’re going to cook some of our meals in the vacation house. I’m planning on packing a suitcase full of non-perishable foods purchased from my Aldi store in Pittsburgh, as there doesn’t seem to be an Aldi near where we’re going. We’ll pick up perishable items from a Publix nearby, for which I have a $5 off $50 coupon thanks to my Entertainment Book. (By the way, for those of you who shop at Publix: Do I need a store card to get discounts?)

Here’s some meal ideas I’m considering. I’d really appreciate your help with other ideas. We’re looking for foods that are easy to prepare and don’t require a ton of extra ingredients or special cookware.

Ingredients with a * indicate I’ll buy them at Aldi and bring down.

Drinks:

Lemonade* (powdered stuff)
Coffee* (When going to hotels, I typically save the individual coffee packets. I’ll take some of those and some extra filters).

Breakfast:

Fill a small container of oats for oatmeal*
Dry boxed cereal*
Pancake mix*
Syrup*

Tacos:

Tortillas
Ground beef
Lettuce
Sour cream
Cheese
Tortillas
Taco seasoning*
Salsa*
Refried beans*

Hamburgers/hot dogs on the grill

Ketchup*
Mustard*
Pickle relish*
Buns
Sliced cheese
Meats
Chips
Fruit salad (I’ll bring canned mandarin oranges and pineapple)
Deli potato salad

Deli sandwiches/ PBJ

Bread
Deli meat
Cheese
Condiments from above, and possibly mayo*
Peanut butter*
Jelly*

Snacks

Bagged popcorn*
Jell-o mix*
Florida citrus

Extra

Salt & pepper*
Electrasol tabs for the dishwasher*
Laundry detergent (thank you, free samples!)*
Trash bags*
Paper plates*

I might be looking for one more dinner idea. We’ll have two dinners covered (rehearsal dinner and wedding) and then we’ll need to eat three dinners at home or in a restaurant, one or two lunches at the airport, and five breakfasts. I imagine we’ll eat at a restaurant once or twice, but we’ll probably eat most of our meals in the rental house.

I’ll pack these foods in a sturdy suitcase and put it with my checked luggage. For the return trip, we’ll either put that suitcase inside another one so we don’t have to tote around an empty bag.

Help me out! What am I missing? What are good packable meal ideas?

Additional related posts:

1. Our trip to Florida: Flight & more update
2. Flight update
3. Volunteering to take a later flight

I’m trying to prepare more and more food items from scratch, rather than buy a convenience version at the store. I like cooking, and I like to know what’s going into my food. Plus, in many cases, it’s more economical to do it yourself.

Some items I’ve made recently include:

• Homemade tartar sauce (It’s just mayo, relish, a few drops of lemon juice/vinegar, and dill)
• Bread crumbs. I just save the heels of bread loaves, and put them in the freezer. When I need to restock my supply, I toast the bread in the oven, and toss it into my food processor. I add some seasonings, and that’s it! Sooo much cheaper than the store-bought version.
• Jello as a spread on toast. Have you ever done this? Sometimes, we like to put butter on toast, and then sprinkle a little bit of Jello (the powder, not the finished product). It’s delicious! I don’t know how good or bad it is for ya, but it’s an idea for when you want some flavor but are out of jelly.
• Apple syrup. Yum!

Visit Tammy’s Recipies and Hillbilly Housewife for tons of ideas.

Here’s a list of interesting foods you can make. My husband put this list together. (He’s actually pretty involved with this site! I love it)

Top 16 homemade ingredients:

1. Instant Oatmeal
2. Microwave Popcorn
3. Peanut Butter
4. Brown Sugar Syrup
5. Mustard Spread
6. Grape Jelly
7. Yogurt Mixins
8. Ranch Dressing
9. Beef Jerky (without dehydrator)
10. Honey Mustard Sauce
11. Curry Powder
12. Salsa
13. Corn Relish
14. Chocolate Syrup
15. Apple Butter
16. Granola

… and for something completely different

1. Kool Aid Pickles
2. Mountain Dew jelly

What do you make from scratch? What has worked, and what is better to just buy pre-made?

Additional related posts:

1. How much does bread flour cost?
2. Saving butter wrappers and bread ties
3. Banana bread and bread crumbs