RV Cooking Made Easy: Go-To Meals And Staple Pantry Items To Always Have On Hand

Beef, Pork, and Sausage

Ground beef is very versatile, and I make a ton of different dishes with it. I typically buy a 5-pound pack from Costco and split it into five, 1-pound slabs and freeze them individually. They freeze nice and flat in quart-size freezer baggies. 

Here are some meal ideas for inspiration on what to make with ground beef: 

• Mega Bacon Cheeseburger
• Spaghetti with meat sauce
• Easy Meatball Stroganoff
• Hamburger steak
• Salisbury steak
• Hamburger curry with mixed vegetables
• Tacos (or taco dip)
• Quesadillas
• Enchiladas
• Chili
• Sloppy Joes
• Minestrone soup
• Hamburger Helper

Other meat variation recipes I love are Chipotle Coffee Rub Steak Skillet, pork adobo, pork chops with mushroom gravy, sweet and sour pork spareribs, Slow Cooker Walking Carolina Pulled Pork, beef stew, beef kabobs, and Campfire Surf and Turf.

Meal-Prep Tips

If you make tacos for lunch or dinner and find that you have a little meat and toppings left over, make Campfire Nachos for an appetizer the following day. Just be sure to keep a bag of tortilla chips or Doritos around or be adventurous and fry flour tortillas to make chips. 

To make nachos, spread a single layer of chips on a baking sheet or in a cast iron pan, sprinkle the leftover taco meat and cheese, bake at 375 for about 15 minutes until the cheese is melted, then take it out and sprinkle over the remaining leftover toppings such as tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro, jalapeno, avocado, etc. and enjoy.

If you want to opt for a healthier version, swap ground beef for ground turkey, too. This can also be made using shredded chicken, or flaked fish such as cod or shrimp. 

Chicken

I love Costco’s rotisserie chicken and you can get plenty of different meals from one chicken. I make easy grab-and-go meals from chicken Caesar salad wraps, pesto chicken wraps, chicken salad sandwiches to savory chicken enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, chicken noodle soup, and tacos. 

Here are some meal ideas for inspiration using chicken:

• Chicken Katsu
• Comforting Chicken Stew
• Chicken in the Crock Pot
• Hawaiian Chicken Salad
• BBQ Sweet Tater and Chicken Enchilada Stack  
• Creamy Salsa Chicken
• Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing 

Meal-Prep Tips

The key here is to shred the chicken. It may be a little time-consuming at first, but once you break down the chicken into shredded pieces and store them in a container, its uses are endless. 

For chicken Caesar salad wraps, simply throw some shredded chicken in a bowl and toss it with your favorite Caesar salad dressing, lay a tortilla wrap down, and layer a piece of your favorite white cheese, I typically use mozzarella or provolone, then add some chopped lettuce, then the chicken. To roll, fold one of the vertical ends in about a quarter of the way, then roll the bottom piece up so that one of the ends is closed. 

This can be repeated with a pesto version. Costco sells a jar of delicious pre-made pesto so it’s great to keep on hand. To make a pesto version, toss chicken with pesto instead of Caesar salad dressing and repeat steps similar to the chicken Caesar salad version. You can also do a version of either of these with any deli-style ham or turkey and use spinach instead of lettuce. 

I typically make these the night before we go skiing. I pack them in a Tupperware and when we are ready, I throw them in my backpack (be sure to make enough or use the right sized container so that when you pack it, it’s snug and it doesn't roll around. It’s a perfect protein-packed meal that is easy to just grab and refuel while on the slopes. The best part is that you don't have to worry about refrigeration because the chilly weather will take care of that for you. 

Seafood 

Swapping seafood for meat is a great way to switch things up a bit. Buy fresh seafood at a local farmer’s market when you’re traveling and cook it up on the grill. 

Your opportunities here are endless, but here are some favorite go-to seafood recipes:

• Trout
• Foil Wrapped Salmon with Herbs and Lemon
• Sriracha Butter Lobster Tails Recipe
• Panko Fried Wild Salmon Recipe
• Shrimp scampi
• Shrimp pad thai noodles
• Chinese-style steam fish
• Fish tacos
• Fish stew
• Grilled Sea Scallops and Pineapple Skewers
• New Orleans BBQ Shrimp
• Pie Iron Asian Salmon
• Layered Hot Crab Dip 

Everything Else

Breakfast can be simple and fun over the campfire, from a basic egg scramble to Dutch baby pancakes, have fun with your breakfast recipes on the road. Oatmeal is always a quick and easy option that can be a crowd-pleaser with build-your-own bowl toppings.

Sandwiches are an easy go-to meal option for lunch, so always have some of your favorite deli-style meats on hand as well as cheese and bread. Eggs, tuna, and chicken (for curry chicken salad) are also great sandwiches. 

Sides can be easy to forget about on the road, but I always like to carry a bag of fries in the freezer with us when we travel. It’s a great item to have on hand to pair it with burgers, sliders, sandwiches, or to make loaded baked potato fries. For a healthier option, head to a local farmer’s market and steam whatever fresh veggies they have on hand, or throw together an easy Caprese salad. 

If you’re entertaining, a charcuterie board is always a good idea. Think of it as a tray or serving board of what you have on hand… turned fancy in a presentable way. From deli meats to nuts, crackers, cheese, sausages, and fruits, this board makes a great appetizer. 

Dessert, arguably the best meal to have on a camping trip. From s’mores to pie-iron concoctions to skillet cookies, get creative with what you can cook over an open flame.

Ice; if you have an ice maker at home, fill a fairly large square-sized Tupperware without the cover and take it along with you in your freezer instead of buying a bag of ice every time you camp. Depending on how many beverages you have with ice, you may find that you don't need to buy a bag of ice when on the road. And if you do, you can pour the ice into the container to keep things organized in your freezer.

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I hope these recipes inspire you to get creative and try new meals. Remember, you don't have to have every ingredient in each recipe. Many of these meals can also be premade and kept in the fridge or in the freezer to save time. Just take it out the day before you plan to eat and defrost in the fridge.