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Usually sometime in July, we each pack a bag, collect our beach gear and fill every seat in out eight passenger van to drive to the beach for a weeklong beach house vacation. With such a wide spread of ages in the family (toddlers to teenagers), it can be difficult to find something that makes everyone happy. You know what I’m talking about. Parks that the little ones love, the older kids now think are “so lame.” And usually if the big kids are entertained, the little ones are running around like banshees, bored out of their mind.
Solution: the outdoors and always without fail, the beach!! We love taking a beach vacation and look for places that are within close walking distance to the beach as well. For some reason, those darn wagons can get so heavy and most of the kids are just “too tired” to help carry all the toys back at the end of the day that they needed to bring in the morning.
When we arrive back to the vacation condo or beach house that we’ve rented for the week, the last thing I want to do is slave over dinner and truly, eating out every meal on vacation with a large family is well, a small fortune!!
The best vacation house recipes are the ones with few ingredients and very little prep that can be delivered to the table relatively quickly. They also should be able to be great as lunch leftovers the next day if not finished off. I look for one-dish recipes, 5 ingredients or less recipes, open and dump in a pot recipes and just quick and easy recipes for our beach house vacation!
Classic Italian Pasta Salad
Pasta salad simply screen summer to me. I love sitting down at an outside table and diving into a bowl of flavors that are so fresh on a hot day. I just can’t visit the beach with out making pasta salad for one of our beach house dinners. This is a quick chop and throw-together Classic Italian Pasta Salad. It is only a few ingredients, but ends up looking like a fun party in a bowl!
Italian Pasta Salad RECIPE
Turkey Chili Taco Soup
A friend shared me this recipe as a light alternative to chili that does not taste light at all! Every single kid in my family loves this chili and always gets a second (or third) bowl. This recipe is a must for a beach house dinner, as it only takes 20 minutes to cook but it tastes like it was simmering for hours! Top it with your favorite chili toppings such as sour cream, cheese, or cilantro. The kids especially love to scoop this chili up with tortilla chips.
Turkey Chili Taco Soup RECIPE
Skillet Chicken with Garlic Herb Butter Sauce
One of the times my husband was on a work trip, I stumbled upon this super easy dinner in a skillet and I’m not kidding, made it 3 times in one week (with slight variations). We devoured this super each skilled chicken meal every single time! It is that good! For a vacation house recipe, this is a keeper because it is all done in one large skillet. No extra pans to clean or oven to turn on.
Skillet Chicken RECIPE
5 Ingredient Southwest Chicken Rice Bowl
Rice bowls on vacation are so filling and great with a big group, because everyone can choose what goes into their individual bowl. I could honestly eat Mexican food every single day and usually have some variation of this for my lunches at home. Whether at a beach house, vacation condo, or cabin and regardless of the weather outside, this Southwest Chicken Rice Bowl always hits the spot!
Southwest Chicken Rice Bowl RECIPE
Easy Beef Stroganoff
Ease and time are the top priority when searching for what to cook while on vacation, but you should never sacrifice flavor. This recipe is all of those things packed into one great vacation dinner and has a total preparation time of only 30 minutes from cupboard/fridge to table! The stroganoff reheats very well, which is a plus for a quick lunch between activities.
Beef Stroganoff RECIPE
