Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Cooking while on vacation can be challenging but fun!!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you probably know that I have been trying to lose weight lately. And if you have been on a diet, you also know that going on vacation can ruin your diet. That is why I was so excited about having a kitchen in the condo that we stayed at. I mean, we did go out to eat twice while we were there and that totally made me gain back two pounds but really, that's no big deal, because I am a reasonable person who knows how to enjoy life every once in a while. I wasn't about to let my diet take away all the fun of my vacation. As much as I wanted to go out to eat for every single meal, however, we also wanted to save money as well. So we managed to cook three delicious meals during our stay at Tahoe. 

It was a little challenging, though, to cook something without any oil or any of my favorite spices. I only had my Santa Maria seasoning and black pepper, totally forgot to take olive oil. But thank goodness, there was a Raley just down the street so we went and got some cooking spray. Luckily, the condo came with a bbq so we did a lot of grilling. We also bought some tortellini and pesto, too. Sometimes, I have to tell myself that premade/precooked meals are perfectly fine... especially on vacation!

Chicken and apple sausage with brown rice. 
This was actually a fabulous meal! We had this for lunch one day and I loved it. It was my first experience with the chicken sausages and they tasted delicious! And they have very low calories compared to normal sausages. Oh and the brown rice was just perfect with the sausages. Look for chicken and apple sausages at your grocery store. I totally recommend them!

Cheese Tortellini w/ Pesto
These tortellinis have a great, rich flavor of cheese and went perfectly with the pesto. I used a store-bought pesto, about 1 cup of it.

Mushroom Burger w/ Pesto
Oh this was absolutely my favorite meal during the vacation. It was a little challenging to saute the mushrooms without any oil, but the cooking spray worked fine with a little bit of water to soften the mushrooms. I added some Santa Maria seasoning (which is a combination of garlic powder, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, black pepper, etc) to the mushrooms and they tasted wonderful. I also sprayed some cooking spray (It was butter flavored) on the buns and grilled them and boy, they were perfect! Spreading one tablespoonful of basil pesto on the bun was my husband's idea and to my surprise, I absolutely loved it! You should definitely try it, if you are a fan of mushrooms and/or pesto. Yum!

39 comments:

  1. wow u cooked all this yummy dishes on vacation, great sook, must be really fun and without much ingredients too this meal looks superb...

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  2. wow good for you and you cooked really well with limited ingredients love the pic of you and your lil one LOL

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  3. Oooh, that mushroom burger with pesto would be my favorite as well. Everything looks great and it is always a plus when you can save a little money while on vacation as food prices in tourist places are insane. Looks like you ate quite well there!

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  4. That burger really looks good!

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  5. i think you did really good with the meals you made.. the mushroom burger looks really good..

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  6. Hi, this is my 1st time here, hop over from Bo's bowl...You have a wonderful blog and found a lot of good recipes. I will definitely come back to check what you cooking the next.

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  7. That burger looks delish. Can't wait to try your version!

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  8. I can totally relate to that. Dieting while on vacation is hard.

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  9. Sook,
    Good for you being able to fix healthy meals while you are on vacation...That burger looks super yummy!

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  10. I seldom cook on vacation. So good on you!

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  11. Lucky you! I'd love to take some vacation time. I hope you're having fun! The mushroom burger looks fantastic!

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  12. wow you made really good meals too while on vacation. everything looks yummy.

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  13. I love the use of pesto for that mushroom burger--genius!

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  14. Awesome work Sook, u have cooked them beautifully even while vacation, lovely spread..

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  15. So your cooking muscles are not willing to take a break even on vacation? Admire your energy and ideas.

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  16. Sook...i totally commend you for cooking while on vacation and with a young child too...I normally tend to look at vacations as a vacation from cooking...but I know how fattening restaurant fare can be...totally agree with you...

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  17. You cook even on a vacation?! They look so mouthwatering! I love especially the tortellini with pesto.

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  18. Well done, Sook! That's great to cook even on vacation. I would love that if I can :D BBQ is a very good idea. You managed to prepare very nice dishes. I love them all.

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  19. It would have been so easy for you to have made sandwiches every meal, but you braved vacation cooking with it's limited resources and won! YUMMY :)

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  20. I go deep sea fishing in N.C. and rent a house at the beach for my vacations so it's one great seafood dish after another.

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  21. That mushroom burger looks so good!

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  22. Love the recipes you cooked on your getaway--they are healthy, yet sound like they're still full of flavor!

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  23. You did good! I know what you talking about whenyou are not home with your ingredients.
    That hamburger looks amazing; pesto; great idea.
    Thank you for your visits.
    Happy Easter
    Rita

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  24. Great job with limited ingredients Sook. My favorite will have to be the second or third..arrghh can't decide. All of them look fabulous!

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  25. Great job! I am on the road for work about 1 week out of 3, so no the challenges that come with being away from home and trying to stay healthy. I give some of the strategies I use here:
    http://fightthefatfoodie.blogspot.com/2010/01/road-rules-and-chicken-with-feta-sauce.html

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  26. Happy Easter Day! I've an award for you, please come and pick it up when you're free.

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  27. It sounds like you ate well in Tahoe. The burger looked especially good.

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  28. Mmmm uh, mushroom burger, I want to take a bite!

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  29. You cooked so many simple yet tasty dish during the vacation, amazing job sook.

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  30. Cooking in a strange kitchen is always a challenge, but it looks like you did just fine!

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  31. Your burgers and tortellini look so amazing! Moving to a new kitchen is always such a challenge - I never know where to find anything.

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  32. Good eats. That tortellini and pesto is calling my name!

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  33. I am going on holiday soon too! Unfortunately I won't have a lovely kitchen to work in but I can bookmark this link for inspiration when I come back to lose some of the weight I am sure to gain! :)

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  34. Oh! The mushroom burger with pesto looks very appetizing! I know being on a diet while on vacation can be a challenge, but you did a great job, Congrats!

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  35. Love the looks of the Hamburger with mushrooms and pesto and I'm for sure trying it. We have burgers at least once a week so won't have to wait too long!

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  36. Glad you were able to cook for yourself, and I bet that saved money too. I know what you mean because I am on vacation and it is too much sometimes. I actually ate mostly veggies all day because of Passover so I can't eat much out.

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  37. Good job. Would love to stay in that condo. The view is breathtaking! I am now convinced to try the chicken & apple sausage I keep looking at in the store. And I love pesto pastas and mushroom burgers. You have a hit with these dishes. PS- You don't look like you need to lose weight, are you trying to wither away? :D

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  38. Great job, and I hope you stayed on your weight goal, I know I have a hard time, no horrible!

    This reminds me of a vacation we took where I had to borrow foil from a neighboring restaurant to cook something in the oven in our cabin. No tools I would have liked at all, but it worked out.

    I want that burger with pesto!

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