One of the biggest mistakes we see houseboaters make is bringing too much stuff. And we understand why, it happens when you want to make sure you have all your bases covered for those “just in-case” scenarios. Lets face it, the majority of excess is food. Usually your houseboat vacation includes a combination of families which means each family is trying to make sure they don’t miss anything. For this reason we highly suggest one person take on the roll of Meal Planner. Have a plan and it will result in much less waste, more room to move around the boat, a lot less to pack and will save everyone money.
Here are some classic houseboating meal ideas:
Pizza night with all of your favorite ingredients or even bring frozen for the first night to keep it easy and crowd pleasing.
Roasted Chicken on the BBQ (look up “Beer Butt Chickens”), add a side of baked potatoes or your favorite rice dish. You can easily roast any of your favorite veggies on a sheet pan in the oven while chicken is on the BBQ. The left-over chicken is good for sandwiches etc. Each BBQ can fit four chickens.
Spaghetti with Garlic Bread and Salad. An easy favorite and a lot of the ingredients don’t need to be refrigerated or frozen.
Burgers are always a favorite. As a side, we recommend pre-makeing two large cold salads like potatoe, pasta etc. We enjoy doing a grain based one and wait to add any dairy until the day of.
Premade lasagnas are a hit. It will need to be kept in a cooler as the freezers are not that big. No big deal but you would want to eat maybe the second night.
Breakfast
For Breakfasts we recommend having cereal available for the kids and then do a good sized brunch later in the morning. Eggs, Bacon, Pancakes, whatever your heart desires.
Snacks
• Chips
• Fruit & Veggie Platters
• Cheese and Meat Platters
• Granola Bars
• Yogurt