Family Cooking in an RV: Tips and Recipes

To tell you I didn't know a lot about RVing before I took one for a weekend recently with my kids would be a massive understatement. When I arranged to pickup my RV, arranged through Go RVing Canada, I was floored to discover that the Toronto Camping Centre was on Highway 7, literally four minutes from my house. I have probably passed it 1,000 times on my way to and from hockey and never noticed all of the RVs out there. However, with over 1 million RVs on the road in Canada this clearly puts me in the minority.

 

 

Canadian families have clearly discovered the many benefits of RVing and the adventures that lie ahead on the open road. Starting at $6,000, there is an RV for every family budget. Studies show that it is up to 78% cheaper to vacation with an RV versus a regular vacation. On top of the economic benefit the RV lifestyle helps families untangle their busy individual lives and “unschedule” to enjoy quality family time with all the modern technological conveniences of being at home.

 

The RV we took for the weekend was by no means the biggest or fanciest on the lot and was fairly modest in price. However, it still had a full kitchen with a double sink, gas stove-top, fridge/freezer, microwave, dining area and kitchen storage! The convenience of being able to make home cooked meals on the road was fantastic. Again, it allowed for economic meals that didn't cost a fortune despite being on vacation AND we were eating together as a family around a dinner table just as we would at home. 

 

Picking up the RV was super-easy. I got a quick tutorial on all of the bells and whistles and we were soon hitting the road. My kids had SO much fun with our RV, I could barely pull them out of it when it was time to return it. The excitement of the open road, a camping atmosphere, and spending time together meant we had a weekend of laughs and great memories. For me personally, it was a great experience to think about food preparation a little differently than normal. Sure our RV had a full working kitchen in it, but space and time are all a little bit compacted when on the road.

 

Below I've included some tips and recipes for cooking for your family when RVing. You can find lots more ideas on the GORVing.ca website or on their Facebook page. 

 

  Choose food that can stack on top of one another. For example: instead of taking bag of chips take chips that are in cannisters to save space.

 

  Don't leave cups full of water on counter tops when you start to drive. We may have learned this the hard way. Twice.

 

  Look for dual-purpose kitchen items. For example, plastic milk cartons can also be used as a juice container.

 

  Pack what’s needed for each meal only. Use multi-functional kitchen tools that can be used for multiple meals. 

 

  Plan ahead. You can make sauces, stews, and other side dishes ahead and have them ready to go in the fridge or freezer. Only do what you need to do in the RV and do the time consuming stuff ahead of time! This means more time for fun!

 

  Transport meat and vegetables in freezer bags with their marinades. When you're ready to cook, they're already marinated, which saves you another step along the way.

 

  Minimize your cooking apparatus (pots, pans, spoons etc.) and base your meals around what is convenient to cook with those items.

 

8 eggs

1 lb. sausage or veggie ground round

1 yellow onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

6 med. potatoes, chopped

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

4 green onions, chopped

3 T parsley, chopped

8 or 9 tortilla Shells

Salt and pepper to taste

Tin foil for wrapping

 

 

  Saute yellow onions and garlic in 2 T olive oil until fragrant. Add sausage to onion mixture and cook all the way through.

 

  In large bowl combine sausage mixture, scrambled eggs, potatoes,  cheese, green onions, parsley, salt, and pepper.  

 

  Divide ingredients into 8 or 9 tortilla shells. Roll and wrap in tin foil until ready to eat! Serve with salsa and hot sauce. 

 

 

4 graham crackers, broken into halves

2 45g HERSHEY Milk Chocolate Bars, broken into halves

4 marshmallows

 

  Place 1/2 of a HERSHEY’S® 45g Milk Chocolate Bar on graham cracker half.

 

  Carefully toast marshmallow over RV cooktop (supervise the kids if they’re doing this).

 

  Place over chocolate. Top with second graham cracker and gently press together.