Meals in Villa

[amanda]

I will be on St. John for the first time at the end of May! So excited!! We are planning on making some meals in our villa. Does anyone have some good dinner or lunch ideas? Most lunches will probably be on the beach.

The first place we are staying will only have a stove, toaster oven, and grill. So keeping it simple is key! There will be two of us, and we'll eat just about anything.

Thanks in advance!!

[P-600]

You should definitely stop by Starfish Gourmet and grab a sandwich from Lori before you hit the beach. Every week day she makes a vegetarian option, a meat lover's option and usually a dessert. Prices are affordable and the food is excellent!
Deli Grotto is another one of my favorites-The Greek Sandwich--Yum!

[mindehankins]

We grilled crabs legs brought from home one time - put them in a pan with some water, covered in foil. They were really good. Couscous mixes are fast and easy on the stovetop. We also have brought frozen home-made lasagna and the like, to re-heat in the microwave.
Welcome (almost) to St. John!

[jimg20]

Pasta is always an easy solution using a stove-top. Buy the pasta, sauce and some meat to brown and mix in at Starfish. Add some bread, salad and desert and the meal is complete. We'll be there around that time too. I am sure Diana has some more easy meals as well.

JIM

[Lindy]

We always take a few things from home to save on grocery costs on the island. Here's a couple of our favorites - before you leave home buy a turkey breast and debone it. Double bag and freeze. I also make a batch of homemade meatballs, which I bake, cool, bag and freeze. The night before we leave I wrap frozen items in news paper and tape it up or place in a large ziplock and perishable foods get placed in a checked bag so that they travel in the coldest part of the plane and everything stays frozen until we get to the villa. The deboned turkey breast cooks very quickly when done on the grill with indirect heat (aroiund 30 minutes depending on size). It makes a great dinner with a salad and a side dish and the leftovers can be sliced for sandwiches to pack for the beach. On pasta night we stop and pick up a jar or two of premade sauce and plop the precooked (thawed) meatballs in the sauce to warm up. A salad and some garlic bread makes it a quick feast when you're starving from being at the beach all day - that also makes easy to microwave leftovers if you're hanging around the villa for lunch. Last year I bought bacon at BJ's in a 3 lb package which was really too much for breakfasts but we discovered that you can cook it up, drain it on paper towels and store it in the frig to make BLTs for the beach over the next day or two. Yummy!! I would leave the tomato off the sandwiches and just put the slices into a baggie or a plastic container and that way the bread wouldn't get soggy in the cooler. It's easy to just plop a slice of tomato on when ready to eat. We'd also make pitchers of sweetened tea (with the cold brew tea bags) to pour into empty water bottles and freeze them. They would keep the sandwiches cold until lunch and you'd have cold iced tea all day at the beach if you drank it as it thawed and then placed it back in the cooler when not drinking it. You can do the same with water or other drinks, but for some reason I find that tea is more thirst quenching and also seems to get rid of that saltwater taste in your mouth. We also take along snacks like apples and peanut butter because snorkeling always seems to make you hungry. The apples go in the cooler with the frozen drinks so they are cold, crisp and refreshing. We throw a knife in the cooler to slice them and spread the peanut butter on them. With just a little forethought you can really eat well despite being at the beach!. Have fun!

[Xislandgirl]

We usually bring chicken breasts from home.
On island I pick up a bottle of Italian dressing, Ken's Light Northern Italian is my favorite and I can usually find it, some zucchini or yellow squash and salad stuff.
Before leaving for the beach in the morning marinate the chicken and slice the squash lengthwise and about a 1/4 inch think and marinate that as well.
Throw it all on the grill,make a salad, and dinner is done!

Then take the leftover chicken and dice it up and make chicken salad. Grilled marinated chicken makes an awesome chicken salad for lunch the next day.

[PA Girl]

We got take out from Sam & Jack's almost every day during our February trip. Every single thing was great. Most of the sandwiches could be split by two adults and there is a nice selection of sides as well. The take away meals looked great. If you are looking for take out and/or heat and serve meals, check it out. They are on the third floor of the Marketplace complex. They also have a website with menus/prices.

[amanda]

Thank you for all of the suggestions!!! This really helps out.

[Capn Dan and Ruby]

Ok, this sounds really crazy, but my favorite villa meal last year was hot dogs. Not just any hot dogs though. We bought some awsom buns from the bakery in the lumber yard, sauted onions and peppers, tosted the buns and grilled Hebrew National dogs. A little brown mustard and a VI Mango Ale...... Mmmmmmmmm. And cheap too!

[EagleRayLover]

Sam and jack's sandwiches are big enough for two beach meals or to split. We often take kiwi, apples, cheese and crackers to beach and it fills me up after a long snorkel. Will you have a grill? We bring steaks and veggies from home and grill out and usually have enough leftover for Lunch etc. ( can't believe I'm writing this as I sit in my new island rental but we still brought food down this trip!) have fun planning!!

[Capn Dan and Ruby]

Sam and jack's sandwiches are big enough for two beach meals or to split. We often take kiwi, apples, cheese and crackers to beach and it fills me up after a long snorkel. Will you have a grill? We bring steaks and veggies from home and grill out and usually have enough leftover for Lunch etc. ( can't believe I'm writing this as I sit in my new island rental but we still brought food down this trip!) have fun planning!!

You guys take veggies too? I kinda figured they would not let you take plant matter on the plane???