Travel Tuesday: Ski Trip Dinners

I didn’t do a recap of our Steamboat trip last March because we’ve been so many times and didn’t do anything new on this particular visit. We had glorious sunshine and warm temps and lots of friends and family with us. It was perfection.

Em and Me

Rather than a recap, I thought I would dedicate this post to ski trip dinners as I know many of you will head to the mountains over the holidays. We tend to eat in most nights of a ski trip because everyone is tired, we tend to have a large group, reservations can be tough to get, and the kids often want to night ski. Since I want to spend my time on the slopes and in the hot tub, I like crock pot dinners or quick meals for these trips. We tend to eat most lunches on the mountain, but I always grab some bread, cold cuts, chips, peanut butter and jelly for the few lunches we eat in the condo. We always eat breakfast in the condo, hence all the bacon, eggs, sausage and cereal. Here’s a look at my grocery list and cart for a party of ten for a week:

Grocery Shopping on a Ski Trip

These are all tried and true family favorites and, most importantly, kid approved. I’ll share links and recipes below.

Baked Tortellini https://www.thespruceeats.com/red-and-white-tortellini-481886

Ingredients

2 (18-ounce) packages refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini, uncooked
1 (28-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup water
1 (12-ounce) jar Alfredo four cheese sauce
1/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded Parmesan or mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a three-quart glass baking dish, layer the frozen tortellini and the spaghetti sauce. Put the water into the empty sauce jar, close the lid tightly, and shake well. Pour this mixture over the tortellini. That’s how you get all of the spaghetti sauce out of the jar, and the water helps the tortellini cook and stay tender.

Spoon the Alfredo sauce over the tortellini, making sure that all of the little pasta is completely covered. Place the milk into the empty Alfredo sauce jar, close the lid tightly, and shake. Then drizzle this mixture over the casserole to get all of the sauce out of the jar.

Sprinkle with the cheese.

Cover the casserole tightly with foil and bake at 350 F for 55 minutes. Then uncover the casserole and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, until the tortellini is tender, the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted.

Enjoy! I serve this with roasted broccoli or a bagged salad.

Potato Sausage Soup (Alison’s Soup) https://thefoodcafe.com/slow-cooker-creamy-sausage-and-potato-soup-recipe/

Ingredients

3 russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1inch cubes
4 cups sliced Andouille sausage sauté until slightly browned
3 cups vegetable broth
3 cups corn frozen or fresh
1 cup onions diced
4 tsp garlic minced
½ tsp garlic salt
½ tsp garlic pepper or black pepper
½ tsp onion powder
2 cups whole milk
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream

Instructions

In your slow cooker add ingredients through onion powder and cook on low for 6 hours. Half an hour before soup is done, whisk together corn starch and milk and pour into soup. Cover and finish cooking.

Once done add grated cheese and sour cream. Stir to combine and allow a few minutes for cheese to melt.

Chili (no link as this is something I have in my head and just throw together)

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey breast or lean ground beef

2 cans kidney beans

2 cups tomato juice

2 cans petite diced tomatoes

1 green pepper, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

1 TB chili powder

1 TSP ground cumin

1 TSP oregano

A few dashes of Tobasco

Instructions

Brown the turkey or beef with the onion in a large Dutch oven (I double the recipe on ski trips). Add the spices, diced pepper, tomatoes, juice and beans. Bring to a boil and then simmer for half an hour. I always serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar and Texas Toast.

Spaghetti (again, no link as this isn’t really a recipe)

Nothing earth shattering here…spaghetti is always a winner in my house and my kids like it best without any extras. Boil a box of noodles (I try to buy the protein kind) while browning ground turkey breast or beef. Add a jar of Rao’s (always Rao’s!) to the meat and let simmer. Add an onion or mushrooms at this point if you so desire, but my kids turn their noses up at that. Drain noodles and combine with the meat sauce. Voila!

Packing and planning for a ski trip is daunting, I know. I hope this grocery list helps keep you organized and save a little money. HAVE FUN!

Speaking of packing, my #1 piece of advice for ANY trip is to use packing cubes. These are the best and the price is great. Get them here if you don’t already have some: https://amzn.to/4cNXZk4