12 Meals You Can Make With Food Only From Fort Wilderness Trading Posts

Let’s start with a warning. The choices are limited.

This is not going to be gourmet or royal. And the prices are not cheap, but still less than counter-service.

There are no vegetables (except for frozen broccoli) and little meat in either the Meadow Trading Post or the Settlement Trading Post. And their offerings are very similar – my photos are from the Settlement Post. But there will be times that you want to make something with what is nearby, rather than driving out to the nearest grocery store or paying for delivery. So here are ~~ten~~ twelve meal ideas (and I’ve included photos of most all available groceries).

MEAL Number one

Spaghetti and Italian Bread, Chocolate Chip Cookies

The store has noodles, Prego sauce, Parmesan cheese, and butter. Also available are frozen Spaghetti and Meatballs. The cooler has refrigerated chocolate chip cookies (cook them or break the rules and eat the dough). If you are tent camping without an oven, there are Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies available.

MEAL Number two

Cheeseburgers with Baked Beans and Tater Tots

In the frozen section, you may sometimes find a package of four small frozen burgers from Buckhead Meats. There are also hamburger buns, ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise. Both American cheese and medium cheddar are in the refrigerated area. Also, in the frozen section are Tater-Tots. Cans of baked beans are on the shelves (there is frozen bacon available if you want to enhance the beans).

MEAL Number three

Hot Dogs with Macaroni and Cheese, Peach Cups

This one sounds a lot like Wednesday lunch at the elementary school. An eight-pack of hot dogs is under $6, and the peach cups are about $2.50 each (one serving). Also available are buns and condiments. The macaroni and cheese comes in the larger individual (serves 1-2) microwavable cups.

MEAL Number FOUR

Burritos with Cheese and Applesauce

This meal is my least favorite because of the price and lack of rice, avocado, sour cream and salsa (but maybe you already have those items) In the freezer section near the top are individual frozen burritos for $3.99 each. These can be cooked and topped with grated cheddar (found in the refrigerated section). For the applesauce, there are apples available so these be peeled, chopped, and boiled down with some sugar.

I am thinking that this burrito “meal” could be enhanced with a Corona. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah! Unfortunately, there are usually no limes in the trading posts.

MEAL Number FIVE

Fried Bologna Sandwich with Potato Chips and French Onion Dip

So, this does not have to be fried. I honestly love a good old-fashioned bologna sandwich with mayo and white bread from time to time (scandalous, I know). It’s about the closest we’re going to any sort of comfort food in the Trading Posts. I do like it better with a tomato, which is not available. Both the bologna and the onion dip are in the refrigerated section, and there is actually quite a selection of packaged breads. Mayo and mustard are on the shelves.

MEAL NUMBER SIX

Pancakes with Sausage and Cheesy Scrambled Eggs

This one makes me happy. We can do this for breakfast or dinner. I love breakfast at dinner time. In the trading posts, you will find Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup, along with oil, milk, and eggs for making the pancakes. The sausage links are in the frozen area, and the eggs and cheese are in the refrigerated section. Serve with orange juice and/or coffee (both available in trading post). The Aunt Jemima website also has a few creative ideas for using their pancake mix in recipes.

MEAL NUMBER SEVEN

Continental Breakfast Buffet

We can also call this Sunrise Sugar Buffet, because that’s what it is. So we’re going to do this one on a park day or a hiking day to avoid going back to sleep after the carb high. For this, we’ll offer:

two or three sugar-based cereals (really the only kind in the Trading Posts),
toasted Pop Tarts
heated Entemmann’s coffee cake
Hostess muffins
a selection of individual yogurts
bagels with cream cheese
quartered oranges
milk and orange juice

Enhance this buffet by playing or singing the Magic Kingdom opening song. Good mornin’, good mornin’, to you, and you and you!

MEAL NUMBER EIGHT

Tombstone Pizza with Apple-Peanut Butter Dippers

The Tombstone Pizzas, available in Pepperoni, Cheese, and Supreme, .may be one of the better values in the Fort Wilderness Trading Post. Bake these and serve with sliced apples and peanut butter. For a creamier peanut butter dip, add a bit of cream cheese and milk to the peanut butter until you have your desired consistency.

MEAL NUMBER NINE

Bacon-Cream Cheese-Broccoli Omelette with Toast and Jam

For this meal, we can finally make good use of the frozen broccoli and one of the most beautiful foods in the world – cream cheese. For this we will prepare our bacon and chop it. Then we will cook or microwave the broccoli and set aside. Once our egg omelette has started to set up, we will sprinkle it with bacon, broccoli, dollops of cream cheese, and some grated cheddar as well. Finally, we will add some black pepper, and fold it over. The trading posts have all ingredients needed for this – eggs, bacon, cream cheese, and broccoli. For our toast, we will have a choice of Smucker’s Grape Jelly or Strawberry Preserves.

MEAL NUMBER TEN

Tin Foil Ham & Cheese Sandwiches with Pretzel-Hummus Cups

This is a take on the classic foil sandwich, less a couple of the ingredients. We can make a spread of butter and mustard and spread on the insides and top of hamburger buns (add minced onions if you have them – the Trading Posts do not typically). The buns are priced at $3.59 for a package of eight. Then we will layer American and cheddar cheese with ham inside the buns. Wrap in tin foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (or place on grill). Pretzel-Hummus Cups are available in the refrigerated section. Tin foil is located on a shelf that includes paper towels, paper plates, laundry detergent and baby food.

MEAL NUMBER ELEVEN

Tomato Soup with Peanut-Butter Jelly Sandwiches

The only soup to be found in the Trading Posts is Campbell’s Chicken Noodle. However, we can make a quick tomato soup by combining (and heating) one jar of the Prego Traditional Spaghetti Sauce with 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of black pepper. Serve with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on white or wheat bread.

MEAL NUMBER TWELVE

Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Gold Coast Broccoli

We are starting with Stouffer’s Fried Chicken and Potatoes (frozen) and blinging it up a bit. In the frozen section next to the frozen Kids’ Chicken Nugget meals are Stouffer’s Fried Chicken Individual Meals. You will purchase one for each family member, and remove the chicken and potatoes. Place the chicken on another baking sheet and cook (or wrap in foil and put on grill). Put all the potatoes into another dish and add a little butter, salt, pepper, and even cream cheese if you have it. Warm up the potatoes. Next, thaw and completely the broccoli (found in the freezer area) and put into a baking dish. Salt it and spread a layer of mayonnaise over it, and then sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese (block cheese in refrigerated area of trading post). Bake for about 30 minutes in 350 degree oven, covering with tin foil after the cheese turns gold.