Meal ideas for remote holiday cottage.

[BreehyHinnyBrinnyHoohyHah]

I'm going away at the end of August to a fair remote cottage in the Highlands. According to the maps it's a fair trek to the supermarkets so I'm planning on taking food with me.

I'm looking for ideas for fairly simple meals I can cook for a family of four. Recipes that don't require lots of ingredients so I can take it up with me. I've got a substantial coolbox.

I thought about doing Gousto / Hello Fresh, but we're traveling up a day earlier and stopping with a relative half way who will cook for us. When I've had Gousto before the use by dates for meals have only been a few days. I'm conscious that if I have the box delivered on the Friday, travel to relatives on Saturday, then it's Sunday before we can start eating the meals so some might be out of date, or all four meals need using up before the Tuesday!

Does anyone have any suggestions? Please and thank you!

We take the 'Cook' Ready meals, or the Charlie Bingham ones

Just pop to a local M&S on your way and pick what you fancy! Ready meals, easy cook and pre prepared veg and fruit along with nice croissants and cakes! I wouldn’t trust keeping things cool enough if you’re stopping over at a friends for a night, do your shop after you have left them!

Well ofc depends what your family like - but I once did a week on a remote island where we had to take everything! My tips would be veggie wraps with tinned kidney beans in chilli sauce, cheese , salad ( not bagged, stuff like romaine / toms etc) pasta pesto - either make own pesto or good jars, home made Tom soup from good qual tins of tomatoes and jarred red peppers onions stock cubes. Bread making mixes that can be for a bread maker but also go in oven or can make pizza bases, tinned tuna , green beans olives sort of niçoise , take plenty eggs if you can’t get nearby, veg that last a while like carrots onions. Breakfast stuff like oats and fruit and Greek yoghurt, I could go on!

A slow cooker will be your best friend!
Diced beef, casserole veg, a tin of beef consommé and some potatoes for baking.
Two chickens for roasting, one as a roast dinner and the other to take off the bone and add a tin of tomatoes with curry powder or curry sauce.
Sausage casserole with mashed potatoes.
Roast vegetables (courgette, mushrooms, peppers, onions carrots & parsnips) with packet couscous.
Pork fillet, veg and pork casserole mix.
Pizzas made with wholemeal pitta breads as bases, jar of bolognese sauce, mushrooms, ham and grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese.
HTH, enjoy your break!

I'd treat it as a camping holiday plus an oven- which for me means waving goodbye to nutritional concerns! I'd also revert to my most basic recipes.

I'd take some backups like UHT milk and a big bag of potatoes, plus rice, flour, salt, pepper, mixed herbs, curry powder, lots of eggs, bacon, butter, oil and vinegar, jam, tinned fruit, veg and fish, huge block of cheddar. I would take some frozen veg and some robust salad like little gem and cucumbers.

Then I'd be doing days like this (add salad or frozen peas):
Pancakes for breakfast with jam
Scrambled eggs on toast
Toad in the hole

Porridge
Pasta with tomato sauce
Jacket potatos with butter and cheese

Porridge
Bacon rolls
Omelettes

Pancakes
Cheese wraps with grated carrot
Jacket potatoes with tuna

Porridge
Pasta with tomato sauce again
Curried eggs and rice

Etc etc

Bolognaise (or similar) made and frozen ahead of time acts as a brilliant ice pack to keep everything else cool, and means that you have a ‘ready meal’ for your first night. In my experience, it tends to take over 24 hours to fully defrost in a cool box so would be fine for your overnight stay too.

We do this every year.

Take staples like rice and pasta, tinned fruit and half baked baguettes, Tinned soup, tinned tomatoes. And drinks , wine, beer, soft

Visit M&S to pick up tinned curry and some cooking sauce of your choice along with nicer snacks than normal.

Look at your route. We inevitably end up driving through Inverness, Fort William or Oban so call in at supermarket there for protein, veg and fruits, and pizza and salad for the first night.

We usually cook from scratch at home but on holiday make use of short cut ingredients like Thai curry paste, pesto.

Also remember people do live in the Highlands and Islands so corner shops are usually far better stocked and there may be a meat or fish van that stops near you weekly.

Remember ti visit the local pub or restaurant for a meal - usually best to book well in advance

What cooking facilities are at the place? Is there a fridge/freezer? Sometimes they will have a tiny, under counter fridge and a freezer the size of a shoe box! There was a similar thread recently which I'll link if I can find it.

In addition to the other suggestions- bag of pasta and jar of sauce which could be a pasta bake or just pasta. Add a side of salad and dressing

Simply cook kits are tasty and quick- you'd just need to check what ingredients you need and note that most kits only serve 2

Ready, Set…Cook! Thai Green Curry Kit 253g | ALDI These curry kits from aldi are the cheapest I've found. They also have red curry and pad thai and can be made with veg or meat/prawns etc.

Can you get the Gousto box delivered to the relatives on Saturday? Choose one veggie meal, so that's got no meat to worry about a use by date.

Kind of all depends what you want to eat and what you want to cook.

Are you looking just for food as fuel, and convenience - in which case all the tinned/packet stuff suggested up thread.

Or are you looking for a way to have more interesting meals/fresh ingredients/happy to spend a bit of time cooking? If this option, I would definitely go with something like Gousto. A good opportunity to try some new dishes, and still eat interesting food on holiday.

Theres plenty of coop’s in the Highlands and they are well stocked. Take some spice packs and then pick up your protein on the way up. I think you are over thinking this.

Whereabouts in the highlands? I’m from the highlands so if you’re happy to name the area I might be able to advise what the shops are like! However generally, west highlands I’d stock up en route in Fort William. East, Banchory has a Tesco etc.
Stuff that will keep - jacket potato with beans and cheese, sausage and mash, pasta bake, pizzas etc.

If there is a coop nearby they tend to be pretty comprehensive as long as you don’t need more specialised cooking ingredients- you won’t be finding any Mirin 😅

For trips like this I usually take:rice, pasta, potatoes and noodles; veg that lasts a while - broccoli & carrots. Meat in sealed packets - bacon and steak, chicken would be eaten on day 1. Tins of tuna, sweetcorn.

I agree, it really can't be that difficult to plan this.

I wouldn't be carrying fresh food (meat etc) in a cool box for two days so whatever you do, plan to stop and stock the cool box at some point closer to where you're going.

Holiday meals need to be simple. Pack up a box of basic things like rice, pasta, cereal, long life milk (if your family will eat it), fruit, bread (I usually buy things like bagels and sliced bread that lasts and then lots of loaves of par cooked bread that can be tossed in the oven). as well as basic cooking things like oil, salt, flour, eggs, your 3 favourite herbs/spices, vinegar. Tinned tomatoes/beans as per preferences

Then when closer, buy things like mince (one big batch of mince will do at least a couple of days), cold meats/frankfurters and other fresh food and vegetables.

If I was catering for a week, we'd do mince twice. Probably chicken pieces once. Some other pasta sauce - tomato and bacon or similar. Fajitas.

Lunches would be sandwiches/rolls with meat/cheese.

Breakfast - cereals or pancakes or toast.

Check and see if gusto or hello fresh will deliver to your holiday home. Likewise some supermarkets deliver to remote places albeit often on specific days of the week.

We take a Hello Fresh box with us with 4 meals included.

Check your holiday cottage postcode for Tesco delivery. I think they deliver from Oban, Tain and Inverness (maybe also Thurso) so you might be surprised!

Also, as pp said, co-op in the Highlands and Islands and co-op elsewhere in the country are very different beasts!

..people do live in the Highlands and Islands so corner shops are usually far better stocked and there may be a meat or fish van that stops near you weekly.

Remember ti visit the local pub or restaurant for a meal - usually best to book well in advance

This. Support the local community. You might find that there's a farm shop or a bakery nearby.

Yeah just go to an M&S or Co-op on the way. You could get some frozen stuff that would be part defrosted by the time you get there. Things like onions/garlic and tinned and dried stuff from home won't go off either.

Pizza and salad

Pie, mash, gravy and veg

Spag bol

Italian bean soup and crusty bread

Then get some fruit and cakes for dessert. Plenty of booze. Breakfast things. Stuff for packed lunches. Done.

I would just look at nearest supermarkets and shop on journey before arriving. And look up, there’s like other options like farms with eggs also.

m and s or Waitrose have great family size ready meals for example. I would get a couple as saves carrying loads of ingredients like spices And just do basic pastas, grilled chicken, etc the other days

Some of us live in these areas. Honestly there are co ops. Just buy what you need from there.

I did this last week and meals were;
Chilli in slow cooker (frozen mince, onion, tinned lentils, easy chilli) with nachos
Pork chops (frozen meat and mash and peas)
Sausages and steak (frozen meat and buns)
Curry in slow cooker (frozen meat, veg with rice)
Pasta with pesto
Beef joint (from local supplier) with all left over veg
I take as much meat and veg frozen in the cook box as needed - with enough ice or frozen milk etc it is still frozen when we arrive and can be defrosted as needed or cooked from frozen.
I also take wraps, tons of tuna, beans, tomatoes some herbs and spices and eggs

We do this every year and I cook before I go so I don’t have to on holiday. Have a massive hard sided cool box and fill it with a lot of stuff that I’ve cooked and frozen. Chilli, curries, pies etc and also cakes and home made sourdough. Where we stay is a 40 minute drive to the nearest Coop and I love not having to cook in what is a pretty basic kitchen.

Oh and a 'massive salad' the nearest co op to there was a 30 minute drive and very expensive - also a hassle to walk around with dc

We don't go as remote but if we do a self catering holiday we usually book a click a click and collect Tesco for nearby on on the way. Or delivery if we are sure it's accessible and we'll be there by a certain time to book.

We also usually make a bolognaise / chilli or curry in advance and freeze it to take. That way we have at least one nutritious but little cooking option. Usually just make double for a meal in the week or so before do no extra work.

Other than that, typically we take a jar of pasta sauce and put tuna, bacon or leftover meat in it and serve with broccoli on side to bump up the nutrition a bit. Also burgers, sausages, buns and salad to do a BBQ night (even if no facilities or weather for BBQ we just cook it in the oven and call it an indoor BBQ). We might also take supermarket pizzas. Or I think we've taken a fajita kit and some chicken in the past. Basically keep it simple and low cooking! We always eat out and or get takeaway for about 3 nights of a week holiday.
Also get plenty of cooked meats, bread etc and baked beans for lunches, and eggs, cereals and croissants or pain au chocolate for breakfast. Cereal bars for snacks when out. Plenty of fruit.

Do be careful though, as sometimes fridges are tiny so unless you can check that only get first few days of stuff beforehand and top up from local shops later.