Meal plan for mini break

[Roastagainitisthen]

Any ideas please for food to make, trying to save money, so won’t eat out the whole time

Going away-Friday until Sunday-two adults, one 7 year old.
Friday will be a fairly long drive, we will set off in the morning, stop half way and have lunch out. We arrive at our destination around 5, we won’t eat out as will likely be tired by then.
The apartment we are staying at has fridge, stove (no oven) and microwave. Will need to make/have dinner in the apartment.
Next morning breakfast in the apartment, then out for the day-we will have a nice lunch out and then dinner again in the apartment
Sunday morning-breakfast in the apartment, set off and lunch stop out halfway home.

Does anyone have any ideas for Friday & Saturday night dinners and Saturday & Sunday breakfasts in the apartment?
Going to a snowy, cold place

I take my air fryer when I do places like this. You can make fajitas in the air fryer
Or chicken and serve with rice cooked on the hob.
If you want something to warm, spag bol.

It’s just like camping. We take food prepared at home, such as a pasta sauce and a curry.

Make some bolognese or whatever pasta sauce you like and have that with pasta on the Friday, and take a curry with microwave rice pouches for the Saturday night. For breakfasts I’d just take what we have at home, crumpets/cereal/toasted tea cakes or whatever.

Will be in the car for a 6 hour journey though

Freeze it.

pizza

No it’s nice weather now she shouldn’t otherwise it will go nasty in her tin car

They should be ok if they're frozen and kept in cool storage bags. Then into fridge as soon as you get there.

In the microwave? Can it be done? We don’t have a microwave, forgotten what you can do in them 😅

Take dinner with you to have in the Friday evening. Get a decent cool bag and pack a chilli or bolognese or something along those lines.

Can you pick up stuff when you are out on the Saturday? (So grab dinner on route back from your day out on Saturday? You could grab anything from nibbles in an M&S or a pizza from a cheap pizzeria)

Breakfast I'd probably just grab a pack of pastries (not sure who does naice pre made ones?) and some Greek yogurt and fruit to last both mornings.

It sounds like a very long way to go for a relatively short amount of time so I'd want to be doing as less meal planning, prep and cooking as possible.

I'd make two of curry, chilli, bolognese, casserole, freeze, cool bag, and microwave for the two dinners. I'd take dried pasta and microwave rice packets or potatos to microwave if preferred. Sometimes we get a takeaway curry from home the night before, refrigerate/freeze and take that (very cheap round here!)
Breakfasts I'd take cereal variety boxes, pastries, fruit and yoghurts. You could do a fry up on the hob if preferred. But I don't like the hassle personally. I'd also consider weatherspoons for a cheap and cheerful breakfast/dinner.

I always take a chilli or bolognese for the first night for this sort of holiday. Maybe frozen depending on length of journey but always transported in a cool bag with ice packs so it's still fine when we arrive.
Depending what breakfast you like take cereal/bacon/eggs/pastries/fruit, again all will be fine with ice packs for a few hours.
Bag of pasta with a jar of sauce and salad is always a good back up.

I batch cook so I'd lift 2 bolognaise/ chilli or curry out of the freezer for the nights and cook the rice or pasta on the hob

I'd take porridge oats with nicer toppings than I usually have and make a pot on the hob for breakfast

If this were me, I would be taking a packed lunch for the journey and then going out for dinner Friday night, or getting fish&chips or something similar.

Do people really never just cook on the hob? Sausage, mash and cabbage can be done on a stove. Other pan-only foods:

Vegetable tomato pasta
Spaghetti bolognese
New potatoes with pan-fried salmon and asparagus
Thai green curry and rice
Tacos
Beef stew

I used to make a chicken curry for the first day of camping. You freeze it, it defrosts in the car. Do you like jar sauces? You have the ability to cook, potatoes, pasta, rice and fry/boil the meat/veg. I'm not seeing the issue tbh. You could even carry a cooked pie to microwave when you get there. I used to freeze a loaf etc and pack food in the middle of my frozen stuff, with freezer blocks, that had to stay cold. It then goes in the boot. If you have a cooked lunch, sandwiches would do you for tea. You could take custard and cake, if you feel you need to make up whatever you have for tea.

Fresh pasta (eg tortellini) and sauce; salad; grated cheese.

Omlettes

We will need to stop and get a break halfway as a 5.5 hr journey, so plan to stop at large park with play park with a nice cafe, then Dc can run around too. We’ll be too tired to venture out properly when we get there and it will be cold (ski resort) so i’m planning seeing the mountain sunset on a snowy terrace, hot chocolates and something easy to cook then tv and bed

Dear lord, who wants to schlep curry or chili on holiday? Just take steaks and some potato rosti that you can do in a pan!

Tbh a curry or chilli you can just heat through on the hob is far less faff than cooking steak (potentially for several people who like it cooked differently!) and messing with potato Rosti 😂

What a non dilemma. Make a pasta and freeze it. Make a curry and freeze it. Take some shop bought naans.
put it all in a cooler bag, with some ice packs. I’ve done this same journey with proper food in disposable dishes. These can be easily heated on a stove top or microwave.

What would you usually eat at home which doesn’t involve oven cooking? You can pan fry all kinds of meat and fish and vegetables, steam things in the microwave, make pasta dishes on the hob, bring all the ingredients for something like tacos and heat up the bits you need to. Chilled ingredients will stay cool in the boot of the car with ice packs. Eggs are nature’s perfect travel system, and you can make all kinds of breakfasts with them. Treat yourselves to one dinner out to lessen the work.

It’s four meals, it’s a holiday, and you have a 7-year-old. Don’t sweat the details. You could have cake for breakfast and they’d be overjoyed.

I did think this 😅 but am grateful for everyone’s comments

I take a selection of tins when I'm caravanning - tinned stew, tinned curry, tinned bolognese, anything that takes my fancy - stuff that can be done on the hob or microwave. Then just rice, pasta or bread alongside. I want minimal faff and time taken cooking - if we aren't eating out we have a quick meal between 5 and 6pm and then get back outside to enjoy a beach or countryside in the evening. No waste with tins as any unused ones just come home again.

For breakfast we have microwavable porridge, cereal or toast.