What is your favorite meal to bring to others?

[Melissa in New York]

I need ideas for bringing meals to people have had a baby, a death in the family, hard life, etc. I'm tired of making the same stuff and would love to have recipes or suggestions for meals that you have made for others.

 

Thanks!

~Melissa

[ScoutTN]

I try to stay away from casseroles if I'm taking a meal fresh.

 

Lately I've been doing this one:

baked bone-in chx. marinated in lemon and olive oil first.

green beans or sugar snaps - slightly undercooked to leave room for re-heating.

starch: good yeast rolls or rice

fresh fruit

sometimes dessert - people getting meals often get dessert with each meal and end up with way too much!

[Blueridge]

I like a simple chicken and rice casserole, which is made from boiled chicken, a simple homemade chicken cream sauce, and mixed with brown rice. I also have some kind of green vegetable, a salad in a bag, and applesauce cake. I haven't done this in a while, so thanks for the reminder to seek out opportunities! :)

[SonshineLearner]

I like chicken divan :)

[babysparkler]

I like a simple chicken and rice casserole, which is made from boiled chicken, a simple homemade chicken cream sauce, and mixed with brown rice. I also have some kind of green vegetable, a salad in a bag, and applesauce cake. I haven't done this in a while, so thanks for the reminder to seek out opportunities! :)

 

I'd love your casserole recipe! I still haven't found one I like. :D

[Tap]

Chicken and cheese stuffed sea shell pasta with homemade vegetable sauce. I take a fresh salad, fresh french bread, side veggie (usually a bag of frozen white corn) and a 1/2 gallon of ice cream (Rocky Road usually).

 

I also make sure to tell the recipient that the dinner freezes well so if they would like to save it for another time, just put it in the freezer. I write reheating instructions, including freezing, on a tag that I include and let them know the serving dish is a gift as well (so they don't have to remember to return it). This is the same reason I include a frozen veg and dessert.

 

Sometimes people end up with too much food, just aren't in the mood for what is delivered or repeats of the same dishes. I like to let them know that they can save it for later.

 

 

ETA: if someone is sick with the flu or such, I take homemade chicken soup that starts with whole chicken. I have one friend who says it is the best part of getting sick :0) When moms are sick it is hard on the whole family, so I like to baby the moms a bit if they are the ones who are down. For moms with littles, I will often show up with a bag of groceries of things that are quick and easy for a kid to prepare for themselves or with minimal help from mom. Presliced cheeses, crackers, quality lunch meat, granola bars etc.

Edited April 22, 2010 by Tap, tap, tap

[Melissa in CA]

I usually take a nice-sized Costco ham (cooked), company potatoes (hasbrown potato casserole), salad, rolls, and sometimes a dessert. I like taking ham because they can then have ham sandwiches, or fried ham with eggs, etc., the next day. And EVERYONE I know loves company potatoes. YUM! :D

 

I have also taken a crock-pot full of chili, with chips and cheese. A large pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. Chicken enchiladas with rice, beans and salad. Etc. It really depends on the time of year and situation. I know one lady who always makes an extra tray of lasagna when making one for her family and freezes if for meal-giving. She can pull it out the morning of, cook it, add a salad, garlic bread and serve that evening. ;)

[RanchGirl]

I always take lasagnas which is a little boring but everyone seems to like them and they freeze well. I usually make up a batch of 4 at a time to keep in our freezer. I typically pick up a salad and garlic bread at the store and bake a small cake or brownies to go with it.

 

Some of these dishes sound great, I may have to change it up a bit!

[RanchGirl]

Chicken and cheese stuffed sea shell pasta with homemade vegetable sauce.

 

I would love to get this recipe, would you mind sharing or linking? Thanks!

[Tap]

I would love to get this recipe, would you mind sharing or linking? Thanks!

 

Ohhh man, I can try but I really just throw things in a pan so I don't have exact measurements.

 

 

I bake boneless chicken breasts in a cake pan with rings of sweet onion, garlic and Italian seasoning. Once baked through, I toss the onion, and chop the chicken into smallish bite size pieces.

 

I mix about equal portions of ricotta, mozzarella, 1/2 portion of parmesan and another Italian style cheese like asiago, I will use cheddar sometimes too if that is what I have. If I am in a hurry I will just use an Italian blend cheese mix from the store and add ricotta.

 

I make the sauce with cans of diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes. I make a big batch at a time so I buy the gallon size cans at Costco. I heat a skillet with olive oil and saute a finely chopped zucchini and yellow squash. Once lightly browned on the edges I toss them in the pot. I then dice/saute a whole onion (white/yellow or sweet) a cup or so of red/yellow peppers, and about 3-4 stalks of celery. When this is almost done I add about 2 tbls of minced garlic and finish cooking (garlic can scorch easy so that is why I add it last). Toss in pot. I then will finely chop/saute any remaining veggies I decide to add - green beans/leeks etc (usually what ever is in the fridge). Once I am done with the skillet I add a thin layer of water and cook some chopped carrots in the water. Once it is almost boiled down to nothing I add it to the pot. This adds a lot of flavor from the various cooked veggies that were in the pan.

 

I like to individually cook each veggie, because they seem to have a more unique flavor if the are lightly cooked before adding them to the sauce. I then cook the sauce until it is cooked through. I then add what ever Italian herbs I choose. Either a pre made mix or individually. I keep frozen basil so I usually add that.

 

If I am serving this to someone who doesn't like veggies, I will blend the sauce so they don't see the chunks. LOL

 

I add the chicken, cheese, one egg, what ever herbs I choose (oregano, basil etc), salt/pepper, and a very, very light sprinkle of allspice.

 

I cook a pan of shells about 3/4 of the way done. they are easier to handle if they aren't all the way cooked. I oil a dish, stuff the shells with the meat cheese mix, and make a single layer. I top with the sauce.

 

That is about it.

 

If you really don't want to cook the veggies separately, you can run them through a slicer/food processor and just add to the tomatoes and cook them all together. I just prefer to make it the long way :0)

 

If you want to seriously make it easy....

Boil pasta.

Add cooked chicken/premixed Italian cheese together.

Stuff.

Top with a jar of sauce. :D

[TammyinTN]

A roasted chicken, roasted red potatoes, spanish style green beans and rolls.

[RanchGirl]

Ohhh man, I can try but I really just throw things in a pan so I don't have exact measurements...

 

Thanks, this sounds yummy!

[*Jessica*]

I know how sick people get of casserole-type dishes, so when I did this for a couple of friends who had new babies I took a chicken caesar salad (with dressing and croutons on the side), cheddar biscuits, and a fruit salad or strawberry shortcake. I've done it for a couple of people, and it was a HUGE hit in both cases.

[Blueridge]

I'd love your casserole recipe! I still haven't found one I like. :D

 

Oh goodness, when I say simple, I mean simple...;). I just take some chicken breasts and boil them in a seasoned water (celery, onion, salt, pepper) until really tender. Remove from water and cut them into bite-sized pieces and set aside. While those were boiling, I make a cream sauce. For 3 cups of sauce, I use: 6TB butter, 6TB flour, 3 cups milk, and 1 TB no-MSG chicken bouillon granules (or 3 cubes). Just melt butter over low heat, add flour and stir until bubbly but not browned. Stir while adding milk, and cook over medium heat until thick. Add chicken flavoring. This makes about 3 cups of sauce, which is equivalent to 2 cans of chicken soup. Now, if my casserole is large, I will double this recipe to make plenty of sauce. Now, at this point, add in your chicken and rice. You can add mushrooms or frozen green peas if you like them. Sometimes instead of adding in rice, I add whole grain noodles, or use the creamy chicken as the base and use all sorts of fun topping like pineapple, coconut, chopped celery, chopped nuts, raisins, etc. Everybody picks what they want for their *chicken stack*. Just another idea when casseroles get tiresome.

[muffinmom]

Here are a couple of my favorite meals that were brought to me after having my babies:

 

yummy quiche, mini-cinnamon rolls (made from refrigerated croissant dough, I think), and cut-up fresh fruit

 

a platter of appetizer-type items for nibbling here and there: sausage pinwheels (or sausage balls would work); mini chicken salad sandwiches...I can't remember everything on it but it was yummy and nice to not have to sit down to a whole meal every time. I could just grab and go...most of the items had plenty of protein, which was good for a nursing mom.

[Garga]

Bean enchilladas. You can eat the whole pan, or just pull out a couple and save the rest for later.

[DawnM]

Do they have a sign up sheet or an online sign up? I noticed that the woman I signed up to take a meal to had a LOT of chicken dishes that week so I called her and told her I could still bring my chicken dish or I could bring meatball hoagie sandwiches with mozzarella cheese to put on top (with salad and dessert).

 

She said she would much prefer the meatball sandwiches if I didn't mind because they had had so much chicken.

 

I have also done tacos with lots of extra salad so people could have taco salads or tacos in a shell/tortilla, whichever they preferred.

 

Dawn

[Mergath]

I make a kicka** meatloaf. You basically just take a standard meatloaf recipe- be sure you add chopped onions to the beef- and, for the topping, mix half a cup of crushed pineapple into the ketcup/brown sugar mixture. Gives meatloaf whole new dimensions of yummy. Still haven't found anyone that doesn't like this, and it transports well and reheats perfectly.

 

I also like to bring people homemade cheesecake. Most people really like it, and it's so easy to make it pretty. :)

 

Quiche is a good one. Along with the eggs, I add spinach, mushrooms, feta with tomato and herbs, and cheddar. Amazingly yum.

 

Oh, and homemade pizza is great, if the person is going to eat it right away. I make the crust and the sauce from scratch. It's heavenly.

[Audrey]

I need ideas for bringing meals to people have had a baby, a death in the family, hard life, etc. I'm tired of making the same stuff and would love to have recipes or suggestions for meals that you have made for others.

 

Thanks!

~Melissa

 

I've done homemade frozen pizzas for people and they really seem to like that. I cut circles from boxes, cover those with foil all around, put the pizza dough on top, add sauce, cheese and toppings, then wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap. I write the type of pizza and baking instructions on the wrap in Sharpie marker.

 

It's easy because you just unwrap the pizza and pop it in the oven on the foil-wrapped cardboard, so you don't even have to dirty a pizza pan.

[HeidiKC]

Chicken Noodle Soup - kids usually like this

 

Caesar Chicken Salad - I grill chicken and cut in strips and put in a separate container. Handy that way if they have young kids who might not like the salad part. I do extra chicken in this case, less salad.

[LibraryLover]

If I don't know what they need, I ask mutual freinds what they like/want/need and what the children might esp enjoy/ like.

 

I have brought anything from down-home mac & cheese to salads to crusty bread and favorite cheeses or meats from fav delis.

 

I once left a basket of bread, cheese, meats and condiments at the front door of a family who had the day before brought home twins. The father left me a babbling message of thanks on my answering machine. "Food...was a really good idea...it was so great...thank you so much!" lol

[Aubrey]

Breakfast. It's my favorite meal period, & I love cooking it for people, & I know nobody else will think about it.

 

I know that's not what you were asking, but there ya go. ;)

[Holly in FL]

Here are a few things I like to make...

 

For breakfast: pumpkin bread or banana bread

 

Meals: Meat loaf, scalloped potatoes, spinach quiche

 

Beef Stroganoff, mashed potatoes (Pioneer Woman's recipe), and

a veggie

 

~Holly

[FriedClams]

Chicken Fingers from the best local place - Homemade mac and cheese - green beans - bread - and lots of chocolate chip cookies.

[lollie010]

I'm from the south and around here you take chicken and dumplings. Yummm!! My husband however did not get the memo and he always takes couscous--baked with chicken, diced tomotoes, and spinach all topped with pine nuts and feta cheese. I have learned to take items to make fancy sandwiches for lunch, because when you have heavy dinners at night sometimes you would just like a light sandwich earlier in the day. I like to get good bread, a variety of meat and cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and sliced pickles. It can be nicely presented slices and ready to go on a platter.

 

And then homemade (preferably still warm) chocolate chip cookies.

 

Oh another thing, if they eat pork--we take pork loin. It is reasonably priced and can be used for sandwiches the next day.

[Natalieclare]

For new moms, I like to take a Cobb salad, some good crusty bread, and a big bowl of cut-up strawberries and pineapple. I know after I have a baby, I really hanker for vibrant, fresh foods.