What's in your cooler??

[PaminMaine]

So now that I have purchased my 24 can polar bear cooler, I need ideas for what to bring. We ( 2 daughters ) will be packing luncheon meat, cheese, hummus, hamburg? etc.. Anything that I MUST bring that I need to know about? I need help brainstorming!

[mindehankins]

Butter....real butter from our local store can be frozen and enjoyed on St. John

We have a couple of steaks awating Cruz Bay seasoning, four chicken breasts awaiting marinade. We have several pounds of sirloin marinated to make spiedies. Also salami and cheese for crackers. And our favorite bread to make Blaine's favorie sandwiches

.....24 more hours to WAIT !

(edited spelling )

[Teresa_Rae]

We take lunch meat, cheese, steaks, pork chops, chicken breasts, that sort of thing.

[PaminMaine]

Ohh I would never thought of butter! That is a great idea. Ok.. what are speedies?? LOL

[Xislandgirl]

Butter....real butter from our looal store can be frozen and enjoyed on St. John

We have a couple of steaks awating Cruz Bay seasoning, four chicken breasts awaiting marinade. We have several pounds of sirlion marinated to make speedies. Also salami and cheese for crackers. And our favorite breat to make Blaine's favorie sanwichjes

.....24 more hours to wAIT !

MMMM Speidies!!!
what marinade do you use? I can't get any in CT so I mail order Salamida's!

[California Girl]

I have a 24 can Polar Bear, too. I'm taking two bags (about 6 doz.) frozen unbaked cookies to bake there a few or a lot at a time.



I'm also taking frozen chicken enchiladas that I'll make the sauce for and bake there.



Add to that, grated cheese for the enchiladas and frozen pulled pork for another meal and that pretty well fills up the cooler!

[mindehankins]

Speedies are marinated beef chunks wrapped in italian bread, in our house. Others use chicken or lamb. Our family loves them! Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiedie

I'd spelled spiedie (and almost every other word) wrong...typing too fast!

[cindygad]

Thanks Minde for the definition of Speidies! Sounds good I had never heard of them either. Have a great trip!

We also pack shrimp, salmon and lots of cheese.A pork loin is good too for supper one night and a lunch sandwich the next day.Sometimes I bring homemade meatballs for spaghetti or barbecue sandwich. I vacuum pack some marinates and sauces for easy meals.

I think the biggest price shock is crackers and chips.I bring enough small bags of chips, granola bars, peanuts for a snack everyday in our checked luggage.

Love the idea of frozen cookies just added that to my list.

[augie]

On our last trip we had steaks, chicken breasts, pork tenderloins, ground chuck, cheese, tater tots, and an assortment of "steam in the bag" frozen veggies.

[stjchica]

I never entertained the idea of packing food...honestly, thought it was silly...
But now I am thinking I would do it..
In fact, I bet I do next trip~
ps....love the cookies to bake idea~

[mark & susan]

Our list is very similar to what other are bringing with these additions:

bacon

tiny rubbermaid container of costco minced garlic

soup such as chicken corn chowder - (also costco) and provides good "mass" to keep everything frozen

As to cheese after doing some online looking at the advisability of freezing cheese (could loose texture etc) we did not freeze the cheese before the trip but added it to the bag the am of the flight.

Also this may be totally unnecessary but we fill the polar bear the night before and put it in the freezer packed so the next am it's extra cold and and a "pre- flight" item out of the way. Luckily we have a 2nd freezer so freezer space not a premium in our household....

[Barb Y]

In addition to some of the meats listed we shape up some burgers and put them in airtight plastic bags. We also freeze a london broil or two.

[liamsaunt]

Chicken: boneless plus usually one or two whole, spatchcocked and in a marinade for the grill.
Shrimp: a couple of pounds
Wedge of parmesean cheese
Good butter (lots)
bags of frozen fruit for smoothies and cocktails
lemon and lime juices, plus their zest, grated and packed seperately
tube of lemongrass paste
pesto sauce
a couple of steaks and burgers for John
spices in small tins
a sharp chef's knife (villa knives are universally dull and terrible)
microplane
screwpull
pepper grinder
plastic gloves for meat prep
finally, if there is room I fill in the rest of the space with bread, pizza dough, etc.

[jimg20]

We pack rib eyes, pork chops, marinated chicken breasts, ground beef, ground sausage, and bacon. The quantity and size of the cooler depends on our length of stay and size of the party.

We have the butcher pack it up a few days before departure and freeze it. The day before we leave we load it all into the cooler. We too put the cooler in the freezer. We figure every deegree might make a difference. We don't open the cooler until we get there to keep the cold air inside. The other key is that the cooler needs to be full. Solids are easier to keep cold than air.

We also place a note on the front door to remind us to grab it. Since it is out of sight we might forget it in the freezer.

In all the times we did this we arrived with completely frozen food. The only sign of thawing we ever found was the bacon. It was still very cold but getting soft. The butcher pointed out that because of the salt it is very to keep it frozen. That was OK for us because we wanted to thaw it out and eat some of it in the morning with breakfast.

We have carried it on and checked it in the luggage. When carrying it on the TSA agent opened the bag and looked at the packages. If you want to include Techi Ice or other agents, place them into the cooler first. Some TSA agents will allow them and others will not. They are highly unlikely to empty the bag and find the "ice" ordinarily. Some of our Forum friends say theirs stay frozen without additional cooling devices.

JIM

[toes in the sand]

Frozen home made spaghetti sauce w/meat.