I’m participating with Alamo in their Holiday Hacks and Snacks (#AlamoHolidayHacks) program and have been compensated for my time; all opinions are my own.
While I’ve never had to travel “Over the river and thru the wood…” to get to my grandfather’s house, that doesn’t mean I haven’t suffered some travel mishaps. In fact, my van still smells faintly of Sweet and Sour Meatballs on hot summer days because of a crock pot incident almost 15 Christmases ago. I’d put my 1980’s crockpot (which I still own and use and is pictured above) on the floor of my (then) new van with items packed around it to keep it upright, or so I thought. On the first turn, the whole thing tipped over, spilling the entire contents of sticky sauce and meatballs onto my rug. What a mess!
It was that incident that came to mind when Alamo asked me to come up with my favorite travel hacks – tips to make your holiday travels to your grandfather’s house, or wherever you may be travelling, safer and more fun. I also wanted to share with you my one of favorite holiday recipes. It’s a sugar cookie that’s not only delicious, but happens to travel beautifully. I know because they’ve survived the US Mail as well as many car trips to holiday parties.
- COOKIE INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 tsp real vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp almond extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar (plus more for rolling)
- 2 ½ cups self-rising flour
- SUGAR COOKIE GLAZE
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 2 Tbls room temperature water
- 2 Tbls light corn syrup
- ½ tsp almond extract
- Food coloring if desired
- SUGAR COOKIES
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter until creamy. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and mix until incorporated.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until well combined and fluffy.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer, scrape down the sides; then by hand, incorporate the flour.
- Press the dough into a ball and cover with waxed paper. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven 350 ºF
- Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Sprinkle your rolling surface and rolling pad with confectioner’s sugar. Roll out ¼ of the dough to about ¼” thickness (thinner if you like a crunchy cookie). Add more powdered sugar as necessary.
- Use a holiday cookie cutter dipped in confectioner’s sugar to cut out the dough and place the cookies on a cool, ungreased cookie sheet (or one lined with parchment or silicon pad) about 2” apart (they will spread). If your pan is hot, run it under cold water and dry it before adding the cookies.
- Decorate with colored sprinkles or bake plain to add glaze or frosting later.
- Bake 8-10 minutes or until the edges are light brown.
- Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool. Decorate if desired.
- SUGAR COOKIE GLAZE
- In a mixing bowl, on low speed combine all ingredients (except food coloring) until thin and spreadable (add more water if necessary or more sugar - it should drip from the spoon but not be too runny).
- Divide the glaze into portions and add food coloring (only add 1-2 drops or it will thin the glaze). Keep the glaze bowl covered with a damp towel to avoid drying out.
- Cover the entire cookie thinly with the glaze with a knife or use a piping bag, squeeze bottle, or reclosable plastic bag with a corner snipped off to do a line design (or do both). Add sprinkles and other edible decoration while the glaze is wet.
- Let the glaze air dry overnight. If the glaze is thin, cookies can be stacked once it’s dry. This makes them perfect for shipping and travelling.
My Holiday Hacks – Travel
- Always take along a roll of paper towels and a gallon jug of drinking water when travelling. They work as a quick and easy emergency clean-up kit should something spill, can clean off your windshield or headlights for better visibility, and if you get stranded can work as toilet paper and emergency fluid for the radiator or yourself.
- Taking a crock pot to grandmas? Place it inside a cooler surrounded by padding. That way if it spills, the mess is contained inside the cooler and not on your car seat. Don’t have a cooler? Use packing tape or duct tape to seal your crock pot before travelling!
- Don’t have a pie carrier? Pack a pie inside a bowl! First line the bowl with plastic wrap or foil with 3-4 “of overhang all around. Next place the pie plate inside the bowl (the plate should fit about halfway down the inside of the bowl). Now use the overlap to cover the pie. That keeps the wrap from sticking to the pie. Add ice to the bottom of the bowl if it’s a cream pie to keep it cold on the way. Use the wrap to remove the pie plate from the bowl.
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Alamo Hacks and Snacks Giveaway
Now it’s your turn! What’s your best travel hack? Or do you have a recipe that survives even the most hectic ride? We’ll choose the best hack and best recipe and each will win an amazing prize from Alamo!
BEST TRAVEL-FRIENDLY RECIPE GiveawayYour gift pack includes everything you need to make and take your holiday treats! First a $75 AMEX gift card for ingredients, a True Fabrications Metropolitan Tote, a Cool Gear Salad Lunch Kit, a Tupperware Round Cake Taker, an Alamo Carabiner with hand sanitizer, an Alamo 16oz Travel Coffee Mug, and an Alamo Rugby Tote Bag. The value of this giveaway is $167! |
BEST FOOD TRAVEL HACK GiveawaySave your car’s seat with these great travel-friendly products! This fabulous gift pack will be awarded to the best food travel hack. Enjoy a $75 AMEX Gift Card to cover the gas, a True Fabrications Metropolitan Tote, a Cool Gear Salad Lunch Kit, an OXO 12 pc LockTop Container Set, Tupperware Round Pie and Pastry Container, an Alamo Carabiner with hand sanitizer, an Alamo 16oz Travel Coffee Mug, and an Alamo Rugby Tote Bag. The value of this giveaway is $180! |
To enter, comment below with your favorite hack:
please identify which you’re entering – you may enter once for each prize.
ENTRY EXAMPLE: My Best Travel-Friendly Recipe is…. Or My Best Food Travel Hack is…..
CONTEST RULES:
One winner will be selected for each prize – must be 18 and older and have a US mailing address to participate. Only TWO entries per person – one for each prize. Contest ends 12/21/2013 at 2:00 pm PDST.
Follow #AlamoHolidayHacks on Twitter for more great ideas and more chances to win!
:giveaways:
Thank you!!
Hi,
What beautiful cookies! I’m excited to try them out for my daughter’s birthday party. Was wondering if the icing will hold up if I make it ahead of time and have the kids use it to decorate the cookies as a party activity? If so, what would be the best way to store the icing?
Thank you!
These are PERFECT for a child’s party. You can make the icing ahead and keep it covered with a wet paper towel. If a crust forms, just stir it well before using. Have fun!
My Best Food Travel Hack: Carry some hot soup in a thermos, preferably Stainless steel: A good hearty cream of tomato soup is filling and you won’t be so tempted to buy junk food.
My best hack; put a dollop of icing on bottom of cupcakes to keep it from sliding around in the box.
Or My Best Food Travel Hack is….. Tea making supplies to go on the road trip.
My Best Travel-Friendly Recipe is… fried chicken fingers. They vanish quickly!
Best travel friendly recipe: Crunchy chicken tacos, take chicken in a container; and if you want, other condiments in seperate containers (I.e cheese, tomato, lettuce) and have your premade taco shells ready!
Best Travel Hack would be celery and peanut butter! Take a spoon, and leave peanut butter in jar, when hungry apply and eat! YUMMY and easy
BEST FOOD TRAVEL HACK is caramel popcorn
BEST TRAVEL-FRIENDLY RECIPE is chicken salad
BEST TRAVEL-FRIENDLY RECIPE is peanut butter sandwiches with bananas.
Best Food Travel hack is pretzels mixed with some m&ms.
BEST TRAVEL-FRIENDLY RECIPE is flan, whenever i bring one along for a party or get together i use a upwards curved shaped plate (kinda like a low height bowl), it helps that with the shaking and moving the caramel topping will move around spreading evenly over the flan and sometimes accumulating in certain spots. Those become the sweet spots that everyone wants because they have more caramel on them 😀
BEST FOOD TRAVEL HACK is to always have some crackers with you, gold fish or ritz work exceptionally well, specially with a child along for the ride 😀
BEST FOOD TRAVEL HACK is to take homemade trail mix with you. It is healthy, keeps for awhile and easyt o eat on the go
BEST TRAVEL-FRIENDLY RECIPE is BBq pork. You can make in crockpot, clip on lid when driving and heat up at detestation
My best travel hack is to use a cooler, actually to hold my dish on the ride. I have a very large cooler that I can put pie dishes or pyrex dishes with casseroles in so that the dish doesn’t move around and the cooler isn’t flimsy like a cardboard box or something of that nature. I just put the cooler on the floor of the car and the food holds up perfectly. I also always make sure to have wet naps, paper towels, plastic baggies and an empty Tupperware container just in case in the car when traveling w/ food.
My travel friendly recipe is cookies – practically any type of cookies holds up really well in the car and for overall traveling – just put them in a sealed tupperware container and you’re ready to go and their always a crowd pleaser.
My favorite hack is to always bring extra plastic bags. Great for accidents, putting dirty diapers in, trash, holding things…
1 head broccoli
1 package of Hormel crumpled bacon pieces
1/2 cup chopped red onion
8 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar
Mix seperate and add when you reach destination-
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
Directions
Trim off the large leaves from broccoli stem. Remove stalk. Cut the head into flowerets and the stem into bite-size pieces. Place in a large bowl. Add the crumbled bacon, onion, and cheese.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, stirring well. Pic mixtures in a seperate container such as a cleaned water bottle for no spill traveling. When you reach destination, Add to broccoli mixture gently.
Hack- if you are making a cold salad, mix the wet ingrediants seperate and add them when you get to the party. We like to make broccoli salad and I add the mayo mixture at my destination. :).
Love the emergency clean up kit! Great idea. We usually have baby wipes but not a full clean up kit! Great idea . Would love the travel hack giveaway …would come in handy with all the traveling we do.
my best travel hack is to use a cardboard box put in your floorboard to carry dishes or desserts. they won’t move around if you get a box that is close to the size of the dish you are traveling with.
My Best Travel-Friendly Recipe is to make chex mix. It is a great snack to take on the road with you. In mine i use rice and corn chex cereals, mixed nuts, pretzels, m&m’s, and cheerios. when i bake it i always add cayenne pepper to the regular recipe because my family likes it spicy.
Ziplock bags are a must for any trip. For wet, for messy for grouping items for easy grab access. A must in any suitcase.
My best travel friendly recipe is a chicken salsa rice bake it travels well in a casserole dish with a cover and stays warm.
My Best Food Travel Hack is to get a casserole dish with a cover and get a sleeve that can keep your dish warm.
Travel Hack:
Carry Ziploc bags for trash, wet clothes, or anything else. They come in handy
Food Hack: Pasta salad and fried chicken. This holds up well in a cooler, tastes good and can be eaten cold
My best travel friendly recipe is green bean casserole!! Rubbermaid all the way!!
My best travel food hack is using pizza boxes (new ones of course. I get them from a local non-chain pizza place). Every year I make personalized ornament cookies (they have to transported single layer so the frosting stays put). They also work great for cupcakes 🙂
Tip: Use Snapware to transport your food. It works great!
Peanut butter balls recipe:
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered milk
Can add 1/3 cup coconut, if you like.
“All you do is mix these ingredients together and shape into balls and EAT
My Best Food Travel Hack is making soup in a stock pot (with handles), securing the lid with a nylon strap with buckle, and then dropping that into 2 paper grocery bags and then a big carrying bag. Your soup will stay warm and the paper bags will keep you from melting your carrying bag.
My Best Travel-Friendly Recipe is chile con queso. The ingredients are available everywhere, so if you pack a few spices and a crock pot, you can take it anywhere with only a few minutes notice. 1 block of velveeta,4 cans of rotel diced chiles, 2 tbsp of minced garlic, and 1 tsp of cumin and paprika. Coat the bottom of the crock pot with milk, add the diced chiles and velveeta, and top with other ingredients on high until it’s warm. Drizzle over your favorite tortilla chips and you’re done.
Great tips and suggestions. If you don’t have a cooler, you can easily use a small box and put the crock pot down inside. Or if the box is a bit bigger, line it with towels to keep it from tipping over.
My best travel food hack is to stack your baked cookies in an empty and cleaned potato chip can for traveling. It’s great for mailing to someone in a care package. Bonus: you can decorate the outside and you’re upcycling!
My best food travel hack is to enjoy strawberry covered chocolate at the bottom
Best Travel Hack: It’s easy to pig out on junk food so I always pack bananas, clementines, and other fruit so we snack healthier! But I also like to pack cookies and peanuts!
BEST FOOD TRAVEL HACK – Must have travel essentials, wipes, blankets, car chargers as well as one of those small emergency kits. =)
I have brought many things in the car to pot luck dinners or holiday dinners and the ones that transport the best are the quick breads, like banana or zucchini bread.
I have a zippered insulated travel bag that holds a rectangular lidded Pyrex casserole. I wrap the dish in newspaper before putting in the zippered holder but it keeps the casserole hot and contained until we get to where we’re going
My travel hack is when travel with our green bean casserole. I double wrap and seal my dish with tin foil. I put a bath towel in the bottom of a box, put my casserole dish inside the box and place more towels around the dish to keep it warm and secure. Keeps it from spilling and warm at the same time. So much easier carrying the box inside when we arrive.
My best travel friendly recipe is cookies. They can be packed in gift wrap or in a container to be transferred to a serving plate later. My fav is Chocolate Crinkles or glazed sugar cookies.
My Best Food Travel Hack is to wrap my hot dish in newspaper,that way it keeps it insulated to stay hot longer!
My Best Travel Friendly Recipe is Chocolate Crinkles,My Husband’s favorite X-Mas Cookie! They are chocolate balls dipped in powdered sugar before they bake and crack as they bake!
My best food travel hack is that when I make my buffalo chicken dip for parties I put the lid on the 13×9 glass pan. I then put a silicone oven mitt underneath the glass (between the floor and the glassware!) I also bring two extra oven mitts to carry the pan in to the party since it is usually still hot! 🙂 Just a tip! lol. Thanks for the giveaway!!
My best travel friendly recipe is my sausage and cheese dip in the crockpot. I have a wall outlet installed in my car (it came stock with the car so it is safe lol) , and I plug in the crock pot and it keeps the sausage and cheese dip warm!
RECIPE:
1 jar Pace Picante Sauce (Hot or mild, up to you!)
1 full block of Velveeta cheese
1 roll of Jimmy Dean Sausage
It is AMAZING ! 🙂
Thank you so much for the chance!!
My Best Food Travel Hack is Ziplock bags for my kids snacks, it really stops them spilling Cheerios everywhere!
My favorite travel friendly food at this time of year is Mince Pies, my family love them! They are so filling and store well along with getting everyone into a holiday mood.
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My Best Travel-Friendly Recipe is homemade trail mix.
My Best Food Travel Hack is using Zojizushi bento box for miso soup and brown rice rolls
My Best Travel-Friendly Recipe is homemade dark chocolate pecan brownie
My best food travel hack is to use several cardboard boxes to separate and hold your traveling food items. This way the stuff won’t roll around or get crushed.
My best travel friendly recipe is my homemade brownies. They are delicious and can travel right in the pan.
My best travel-friendly recipe is lasagna; it is very easy to travel with, you can keep it in a large thermal tote to keep it hot.
jslbrown_03 at yahoo dot com
My best travel recipe is gluten free trail mix – peanuts, cashews, almonds, M&M’s, pretzels and gluten free chex
My fave food travel hack is to freeze guacamole cups and then they thaw on the road for chips and dip