By Nate, Social Media Manager

I don’t know about you, but a big part of vacation usually includes eating out, tasting the local flavors. The thing is, if you’ve been here before, you know that River’s Edge, is a bit of a drive from the nearest restaurant—though for those willing to drive a bit, Hochatown is just 45 minutes down the road, and has sprung up with a number of great places to eat over the years, including Grateful Head Pizza Oven and Taproom, plus a number of others.  

Maybe, like many of our guests, you’ve come a long way already and don’t want to do anymore driving once you’re here. I totally get that—but it does mean your family chef is the one that’s gonna be doing the cooking. Usually, when my family goes anywhere, that ends up being me!

We're 45 minutes from the nearest grocery store, so meal planning is essential. At the same time, whether you’re coming from Tulsa, OKC, Dallas-Fort Worth or points elsewhere, there’s only so much space in the cooler.

Plus, who wants to spend boatloads of vacation time cooking? The main thing with all of these meals is that they’re simple, easy, and require minimal prep.

I look to do as much of my vacation cooking as I can on the grill—and considering that all of our cabins are outfitted with a quality grill, that just makes it easier.

Just don’t forget to bring your charcoal!

Cabin Meal No. 1: Surf & Turf with Tortellini pasta

One of the classic romantic dinners. What you’ll need: your favorite cut of steak—chuck steak is an underrated option that’s often affordable—half-a-pound of shell-on shrimp, plus a bag of fresh tortellini (the kind you find near the cheese). All you need after that is a bottle of your favorite pre-made pasta sauce, plus a little fresh garlic chopped into it for pizzazz, plus a couple of lemons and butter for your shrimp.

Don’t overcook the steak! :)

Cabin Meal No. 2: Okie Burgers and Brats

Everybody loves burgers and brats, right? What you’ll need: your favorite brand of bratwurst or other tasty sausage, plus some good ground beef, all the burger fixins, and buns. My twist for this one is to make sure to bring along a nice big white onion, and make a version of that Oklahoma classic, the onion burger. Since we’re cooking on the grill, we won’t be cooking the onions into the burgers, but rather frying them inside. The nice thing is that you can fry them while waiting for your charcoal to light, or at the last minute—delicious fried onions only take a few minutes. The major thing is cut them long instead of dicing them—that way they stay on the burger.

Just don’t forget to toast the buns!

Cabin Meal No. 3: BBQ Chicken with Roasted Peppers and Corn

This one’s perfect for family night. What you’ll need: grab yourself a package of drumsticks—or, if you prefer, boneless thighs—plus a bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce. Our favorite is Head Country. It’s Oklahoma-made, and just the right balance of sweetness, gentle spice, and touch of vinegar. After the chicken make sure you snag a few bell peppers—cut ‘em in quarters or eighths—and then get precut corn on the cob. All of this goes on the grill, more or less a few minutes after you put the chicken on. My twist on this is to make sure and toss the peppers in a touch of olive oil with plenty of salt and pepper, then blacken them to taste. Slather your sauce on the chicken and blacken these a bit too. If, like me, you need a little starch with every meal, bring along some couscous—you can have it boiling away while enjoying family-time on the grill.

And there you have it! Three easy dinners for your cozy cabin evenings.