Beach Week Menu?

[cminmd]

My family and I rent a beach house on the Outter Banks and we leave this weekend. Yahoo! Let's hope for great weather!
One problem we have is food. We have fourteen people- four are children between the ages of 4-9 - and take turns making dinners and rarely eat dinner out. We always end up spending way too much money on food because we need to get so many ingredients. The houses are well stocked in cookware and dishes, but no food. So a recipe can get rather pricy when you have to buy all new spices ect. I was thinking it would be easier to make some meals ahead of time and plan a menu of some things that require very few ingredients. Also multiple meals that use the same ingredients. Does anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking of a dish I saw on Barefoot Contessa that had chicken marinated overnight. I could put it together Saturday and grill it for dinner Sunday night. If I did make up some chicken in a marinade- how long is it safe to let it wait before cooking?Would it be safe to make a bag of marinade then bring down the meat frozen, then thaw the meat say on Tuesday and grill it on Wednesday? I'm not paranoid when it comes to germs and stuff, but I dont want to ruin a vacation!

[BetsyS]

You can pour the marinade over the meat, then freeze the whole thing. That way, no extra dishes to transport!

Have fun. We love, love, love the Outer Banks. I changed jobs this year, so no vacation for us. I'm so sad I'll miss OBX.

[Robyncz]

We almost always have one meal of Red Beans and Rice when we have to feed our extended family of 15 or more at the beach. When we do this, I cheat and use Zatarains (sp?) mix. Not the one that comes in a box with the beans and rice (4-6 servings), but the one that is just a seasoning packet that you add to a giant bag of red beans and simmer on the stove for awhile. The only ingredients you need to take along are the mix, dried beans, white rice, and a bottle of Tabasco. We serve it with a tossed salad and fresh bread.

Editing to say you also need some smoked sausage. It's definitely not the same without sausage!!

[cminmd]

Redbeans and rice sounds good because rice can go with so many other meals. Good idea. What kind of Sausage goes best? Could I use a sausage that would be good in Sausage and Pepper sandwiches? That would make a good lunch one day.
Marinade over meat- anyone have a guess on how long that would be good refrigerated or do you think I should freeze?

[Gracie]

We used to plan meals for our ski vacations when we rented condos. My husband used to marinate all types of meats ahead of time in ziplocs and either freeze or keep refridgerated or on ice depending on the lead time. I made desserts and froze them (cakes, cookies, etc). We bought lunch meat, fresh rolls and salad stuff right before we left and brought them in coolers. For breakfast, we either had coffee cakes and muffins I'd baked and frozen or eggs, bacon etc that we had just purchased, along with cereal.

We did tons of prep beforehand, and the car was full with more food than ski equipment (!) but the flip side was that we ate very well all week for no extra money other than my regular grocery budget and the car was much lighter when we came home - much less to unpack than pack!

Loren

[erin elizabeth]

I think that you should only marinate meat for 24 hours, maybe 36 at maximum. The marinade will eat make the meat mushy after too long.

We always bake a ham one day and then use the bone and leftovers to make bean soup in the crockpot later in the week. That way we can have a full day of whatever without having to worry about dinner. Of course, we did go in October, but...

My grandparents used to go every year--for 24 years--my family joined them, one by one. This is the first year we won't be going. :(

Hope you have a great time!

[Peggy C.]

If it were me I'd do a combination of some of these suggestions. I don't normally marinate and freeze meat, but a good friend does it all the time with boneless skinless chicken breasts and they are always great. Do you have enough room in the car for a box or bag of your own seasonings? Outdoor stores (like Gander Mountain) also sell a canister that is already filled with several different seasonings in it. Also Coleman sells smaller empty ones (that are really cheap or you could maybe use empty film canisters?) that you can customize. I agree buying every dried herb or seasoning you need for each recipe is really expensive!

[nlh]

My mother, my MIL and most of my friends mothers always cook a fresh ham to bring to the beach. It's so good! We have it for dinner the first night and then everyone "picks" from it the rest of the week for sandwiches or breakfast meat or whatever.

My mom also has cooked a pork shoulder and made BBQ from it. That serves quite a few and is the same concept.

My SIL always makes a shrimp boil (it's very easy but this could get pricy). And chicken pastry is a BIG hit in DH's family for the beach.

Good luck and have fun!

[TerriS]

When we did a week in the Outer Banks (lucky you!) we took turns cooking (it was a group of couples). One night it was kabobs on the grill, very easy. Our night we made enchiladas...you can use sauce in a can and not need to buy/bring any spices. We made spanish rice out of a box (cheating) and black beans kicked up with a little salsa. It was pretty easy and I made two huge pans so we had leftovers for lunches.

Flank steak on the grill would be good...make up your marinade now, and freeze the meat with the marinade and take it down in a cooler. Then just take it out of the freezer the morning you want to grill it up. It thaws and marinates at the same time! I like the coriander teriyaki recipe from Epicurious but there have been many good recipes posted on here.

[cminmd]

My sister in law has already said she was making two chicken dishes so I would like to stay away fom more chicken.
Does anyone have a good Paella, redbeans and rice, or rib recipe that would be easy to transport? I was thinking I could pack up all the spices for paella and get the sea food at the beach.