Easy Recipe/Meal Ideas for Travel Nurses on Assignment

Most of the time we write about hot topics in the travel nursing industry, but one thing we shouldn’t overlook is travel nurse topics that apply outside of the work itself! What does a travel nurse eat when off work? Eating out is of course an option, and while it might be tempting to hit the drive-thru or order take-out, there is something to be said about a home-cooked meal.

It’s not very practical to pack up your entire kitchen each time you move to a new location, and if you’re staying in agency housing, it’ll have the basics but likely not much in the way of specialty appliances. Regardless of whether you’ve decided to stay while on location, we recommend you bring your slow cooker. If you don’t already have one, consider purchasing one. It doesn’t have to be huge and expensive. $20-30 should buy you one that’ll do the job just fine. We recommend one in which the bowel itself can be lifted out of the appliance for easier washing, and make sure the lid fits properly.

Here are some of our favorite slow cooker recipes for travel nurses to use while they are on an assignment.

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, or white beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can yellow corn or white corn
• 1 packet taco seasoning mix
• 1 small can of jalapeños (optional-use only if you like it spicy!)

Toppings:

• Tortilla chips
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Sour cream

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain it of any fat before placing into the slow cooker.
2. Pour in the tomato sauce.
3. Add canned beans (don’t drain them). You can do just one can of your preferred beans or do a mix using two cans.
4. Stir in corn, also undrained, and the taco seasoning packet.
5. Place your slow cooker to cook on low and cover fully with the lid.
6. Let cook for 6-8 hours.
7. Eat with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and a dollop of sour cream.

Tip: It’s not a “must” to brown the ground beef prior to putting it in the slow cooker, but it is highly preferable. It will taste different if you cook the beef raw with the rest of the ingredients, and any fat of the beef will blend into the soup as well lending it a greasy flavor and texture.

Pepper Jack Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3.5 pounds of chicken thigh/breast or combination (skinless and boneless)
• Package of frozen green beans
• 1 can mushrooms (or 1 cup fresh sliced)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 chopped and seeded green bell pepper
• 1/2 a stick of butter cut into small cubes

Topping:

• Sliced or shredded pepper jack cheese

Directions:

1. Combine seasoning powders together in a large bag and add in the chicken.
2. Shake the bag to season the chicken.
3. Take chicken out of the bag and place in the bottom of your slow cooker.
4. On top of the chicken place the green beans, then the mushrooms, then the bell pepper, in layers.
5. Spread out cubed butter on top of veggies.
6. Cook on low, with lid tightly set for 4-6 hours.
7. Chicken should shred easily by stirring with a fork.
8. After shredding add the pepper jack cheese on top and re-cover.
9. Cook on high until you have melty cheese (15 minutes or so).

Beef and Cheddar Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of beef chuck roast (rump roast can be used but won’t be as tender)
• 1 packet of dry onion soup
• 2 cups of water

Toppings:

• Package of shredded cheddar cheese
• 6 sandwich buns of your preference

Directions:

1. Put the chuck roast in first, raw.
2. Add in the onion soup powder next.
3. Pour in the water, and cover tightly with lid.
4. Cook on low for 8-12 hours.
5. When beef is tender, shred and then place on the sandwich buns.
6. Top beef with cheddar then place the sandwiches in the oven toasting the buns and melting the cheese.

Egg and Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 30 oz. package of frozen tater tots or hash browns
• 6 oz. diced ham
• 12 eggs
• 2 heaping cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 chopped and seeded green bell pepper
• 4 Tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Alternate potatoes, ham, vegetables, and cheese in layers, ending with a layer of cheese on the top.
2. Whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, salt, and black pepper then pour over the layers.
3. Cover tightly and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

*Please take note, that for each of these recipes the serving size is six. Consider freezing a few servings in a bag and then eat the meals again the following week.

If you’re the kind of travel nurse who really enjoys the process of cooking but finding the time to shop for groceries and cook is too much, consider looking into a meal delivery service.

HelloFresh and Blue Apron are arguably the most popular, while Home Chef, Sun Basket, EveryPlate, and Freshly are other names in the industry. These services will deliver to you the exact portion sizes of the ingredients needed for their recipes, giving you the opportunity to really cook a few times a week, without having a lot of food waste. Just be sure that if you sign up for one of these services you keep an eye on your account. Make sure your current address is always updated.

We hope that you can find the time to enjoy some home-cooked meals while on location. It can help you feel more settled and can help you save some of your hard-earned money as well.