Trucker cooking

Whirlwind

Hard to Handle
I've gleaned a lot of experience in how to cook good meals in a company truck with no inverter, so I will share this with anyone who's interested in reading it.

First off, appliances. The cigarette lighter style outlets are 12v outlets, so anything that says 12v on it has that kind of plug. Do some Googling (12v fridges, freezers, appliances, etc) and see what looks useful to you. I have with me a Koolatron KCR40 fridge ($200) an Edgestar freezer ($479) a lunchbox oven/portable stove ($30) a crock pot ($30) and a frying pan ($25) This is only a small sample of what's available. For new drivers just starting out, a good fridge and a lunchbox oven are my recommendations for first purchases.

Secondly, shopping. We can't just drive an 18 wheeler truck into any store we see, can we? There are still some stores that allow trucks to park there. Also, there are several truck stop locations near a store (within easy walking distance) I keep a notebook with all these locations listed in it. Of course, by now I have most of them memorized, but I still find a new one now and then, and add it to the list. I'll share the list if anyone asks for it.

Once you've got appliances and groceries, you're ready to cook. I like to prep the ingredients ahead of time, or buy them ready to eat. This is where the freezer is really handy. I buy bags of frozen vegetables so I don't need to wash and slice the fresh ones. I also keep small portions of meat in freezer bags - buy a big package, and immediately split it up and get it in the freezer. When I prepare a meal, I make a little extra, and put the leftovers in the fridge. I use the glass storage dishes (with the rubber lids- Pyrex or Anchor are the most common brands) so they go straight from fridge to lunchbox oven. With some advance planning, there's no reason you can't have a hot meal waiting for you when you park for the night.
 
Yes, please share the list; i too like to make lists---see my truckstop reviews in the truckstop section.
 

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