What is in my tiny kitchen

Hello beauties!

Have you been wondering how you will be cooking in an RV during your camping trip? Or maybe you are thinking about going full time in a RV to travel more. I have put together a list of what is in my tiny kitchen to help you gain some ideas for making meals much easier on the road. It is hard to not want to go out to eat all the time, but it gets expensive and sometimes not the healthiest of meals.

A quick little background on myself, my family and I started full timing in a travel trailer in August 2020. Not very long ago, but every single day I am making meals in our tiny kitchen. While bringing things into the RV to move in, I grabbed my crockpot, griddle, and blender. We have a built-in grill outside and microwave in our RV too. I thought yes! I have everything I will ever need to cook some great meals.

In all honesty though, I quickly found out I don’t like our propane oven or stovetop. I am just not a fan, so I have learned to use other kitchen appliances to make my life easier. We ended up taking the whole oven appliance out for more space in the kitchen. I hope to give you some new ideas about cooking in a tiny kitchen.

#1 Instant Pot

My number one recommendation to cooking quickly and rather healthy is getting an instant pot. I did not have one at first, I actually was a little intimidated by the thought of pressure cooking all together. But I was struggling in the kitchen, it might just be me not being a huge fan of cooking. So, the ninja foodi air crisp appliance is da bomb. I can cook anything in it, from steak to scrambled eggs to chocolate chip cookies. The Ninja has all the settings you could ever ask for. It has bake, saute, pressure, air crisp, dehydrate, broil, steam, and even slow cook yogurt. The air crisp setting uses 75% less fat than traditional method, how awesome to make meals a bit healthier too! I got mine at Target, but amazon has some just like it, like this one!

Here is my go-to list of easy to make meals using the Ninja foodi or Instant pot equivalent.

-Chicken salsa tacos grab some soft tortillas and add your toppings. I added peppers and onions as a topping, along with queso, white cheddar cheese, lettuce, and sour cream.

-Instant pot spaghetti and meat sauce everyone loves spaghetti

-Traditional Meat loaf My kids devoured this meal, I was a bit skeptical if they would like it, but we ate the whole thing in one setting!

-Pulled BBQ chicken My favorite way to eat this is piling it on top of white rice and black beans, this is one of my childhood meals growing up. Put on sandwiches, salads or eat it right out of the pot.

-Orange chicken I could eat this every day.

-Cream cheese crack chicken my husband is not a big fan of cream cheese, but this meal blew his mind. Cheesy goodness on top of rice, noodles or in a sandwich, or again eat it plain. Add some veggies and you’ve got yourself a delicious meal prepared in 20 minutes.

-Ground beef tacos who doesn’t love tacos am I right!? This is my go-to when I don’t have much time to prepare meals. Sometimes we are out too late, or I forgot to thaw out the meat prior. Also, great recipe to make ahead of time.

-Homemade Hamburger helper I don’t know about you, but we can devour 2 boxes of hamburger helper in one sitting. I found this recipe to make a healthier version with less salt and to give a variety of meats in our diet.

-Cream cheese wontons now this recipe was great with the orange chicken and rice meal. My kids love these, so crunchy and creamy in the middle. I made these in my ninja foodi air crisper option, worked out perfectly.

These are just a few recipes I absolutely love and wanted to share. I also make scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, chocolate chip cookies and more. I hope this helps you get some meal ideas for you and your family using the instant pot or equivalent.

#2 Crockpot

Crockpots are always a good choice for making meals. I have used our crock pot so many times in our RV. I throw all the ingredients in, turn it on, go take a hike with the kids and come back home to a delicious, cooked meal without any effort. Crockpot chili and peanut butter cluster candies are my ultimate favorites.

This lazy lasagna meal was absolutely delicious and I hardly had to do a thing.

Peanut Clusters going to a party or craving some chocolate? Make this recipe and save a lot of it by freezing!

#3 Multi Grill

I have a Cuisinart griddle that can make panini press sammies, full flat top to make eggs, fry bacon and make pancakes. I have a squirt bottle to make fun little pancake characters and heart shaped ones. It is super-duper easy to clean with removable plates and it does not take up a whole lot of space. I love multi use kitchen appliances to keep down on the amount of stuff to store and it usually is so much simpler to use in the kitchen.

-Pepperoni Pizza Panini is a delicious alternative to traditional pizza. I like finding recipes like this, because I can’t just buy a frozen pizza and pop it in the oven anymore.

#4 Outdoor grill

Now I thought I was going to be using my outdoor grill so much more since going full time, but surprisingly I have only used it a handful of times. It all depends on the weather; summertime is perfect for grilling all the fixin’s. Our grill came with the RV, it’s on a rolling base that just pulls out with some extra table space to hold your utensils and plates. I like that it is in our storage bay, so I don’t need to find another space for it.

Grill chicken, steak and foil meals are easy and quick.

There are so many meal ideas on Pinterest. I have an instant pot cookbook that is a great resource to find new meals to change things up. Making homemade meals in a RV whether full time or just on weekends, you will still be able to find something delicious and heathy to make for your family. A little planning can make your cooking experience delightful. I hope this helps you. Travel long, Travel Happy!

Written by Shelby Long

Follow me on Instagram & tik tok @longsaturdays

* I am not affiliated with the recipe links on Pinterest, I have used the links to personally make meals for my family. I thought I would share to give you recipe ideas.

* I do have an affiliate link to the Ninja Foodi on Amazon, if you click the link and purchase the Ninja or any other item on Amazon, I get a small earning no cost to you at all. Thank you.