Take-in meals: your favorites?


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When you have an opportunity to take a meal in to a new mom, sick neighbor, etc., what do you like to take? Or what was something great you got when you were on the receiving end?

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Once one of the big chicken pot pies from  Costco was brought into me.  It was excellent and I've used that idea a few times.  Just added a green salad and called it good.  So easy.

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Homemade loaf of bread is nice, or muffins. Those are always so good, and with the bread, there's a lot of things to become of it. I personally don't like soups because unless you know exactly what the person likes in their soup, it could be a toss out once you leave it with them.

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Homemade loaf of bread is nice, or muffins. Those are always so good, and with the bread, there's a lot of things to become of it. I personally don't like soups because unless you know exactly what the person likes in their soup, it could be a toss out once you leave it with them.

 

It's the same with anything that you take in.  Not just soups.  Personally, I like soups.

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I try to be aware too of the reason I'm bringing in a meal.  I learned that from my own experience.  I had gall bladder surgery.  One of the things they tell you to avoid for the first few days is anything greasy etc.  I was brought a greasy $5 pizza Little Caesars.  Couldn't eat it at all so it just got thrown away.

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Homemade Rice Cooker plain white rice with Lemmon Pepper Rotisserie Chicken from Walmart and a bag of "dressing inside!" Mixed greens salad and a bottle of flavored water.

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Coming from the Philippines, my stomach literally aches when I see food getting thrown away. Call the missionaries - they have good ideas on who can use some leftovers if they can't eat it themselves...

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Pam, that's true to an extent but there are some foods that are more generic and others that just have more "stuff" in them. If you want to play it safe, and or don't know the individual well, I maintain a soup might not be a good choice - or a casserole - etc. Bread is pretty generic. That's all I was saying.

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Anatess, though it's been years now, your experiences of back in the PI trigger things that I recall too. I want to go back there and visit so bad, but not sure when that'll happen. I'd love my husband and daughter to see it.

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It is important to know the best time to bring food as well as what type of food. My husband gets home later than many guys do- about 6:30pm, so when we were brought food after my surgery in December I preferred things that I could heat up instead of things brought to the house already warm at 5:00pm.  When I bring food I always ask the recipient if they prefer something they can heat up or something fully cooked. I also ask about food allergies, etc....  Another thing we do at our church is to have people bring 2 meals worth of food.  That way we can provide meals for a longer period of time; so a new mom, for instance, recieves meals for two weeks instead of one- or longer if need be.

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Homemade Rice Cooker plain white rice with Lemmon Pepper Rotisserie Chicken from Walmart and a bag of "dressing inside!" Mixed greens salad and a bottle of flavored water.

 

You can bring dinner to me any time.  :)

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Pam, that's true to an extent but there are some foods that are more generic and others that just have more "stuff" in them. If you want to play it safe, and or don't know the individual well, I maintain a soup might not be a good choice - or a casserole - etc. Bread is pretty generic. That's all I was saying.

 

Totally get what you are saying.  But if bringing in meals to a family with 5 kids...bread is just not going to do it.  There needs to be something of more substance there. Casseroles are a great thing to take in.  

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Pam, I brought dinner to a new mom last night but instead of rice, I brought in a quart of her favorite ice cream. She's not a rice person... I bet you'd want the rice AND the ice cream. Lol. What's funny is while we were visiting, my kid asked her, "are you ready to eat yet?" He was hoping he can get a piece of the chicken!

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Pam, I brought dinner to a new mom last night but instead of rice, I brought in a quart of her favorite ice cream. She's not a rice person... I bet you'd want the rice AND the ice cream. Lol. What's funny is while we were visiting, my kid asked her, "are you ready to eat yet?" He was hoping he can get a piece of the chicken!

 

Yeh i'm definitely a rice person.  Now if someone wanted to throw in a quart of ice cream too...BONUS!!

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Coming from the Philippines, my stomach literally aches when I see food getting thrown away. Call the missionaries - they have good ideas on who can use some leftovers if they can't eat it themselves...

I make a stock from the peels and whatnot of vegetables, and soup from bones and the like.

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As Pam mentioned, it's good to consider if kids are in the picture.  If so, they usually like spaghetti or tacos.  I also make sure to take things in 'toss out' containers so they don't have to worry about dishes or returns.  Another thing, I don't bother with dessert (I consider this an extra favor).

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As Pam mentioned, it's good to consider if kids are in the picture.  If so, they usually like spaghetti or tacos.  I also make sure to take things in 'toss out' containers so they don't have to worry about dishes or returns.  Another thing, I don't bother with dessert (I consider this an extra favor).

 

That's me too.  I will usually bring something in one of the tin containers so they can just toss it out.  And yep..spaghetti is great for those families with kids.

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My sister-in-law made this stuffed-shell pasta once with "dressing and croutons in the bag" Caesar salad and "toaster oven ready" Texas Toast and it was delish. The kids loved it too, even for a 2 year old. I've been meaning to get her recipe (she said it was super simple and easy) so I can have another go-to impromptu take-in meal.

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(1) Baked potato bar.  Bake several potatoes, and then wrap them in foil as soon as you pull them out of the oven (or microwave, if you're a procrastinator).  Pull together some toppings -- homemade or canned chili, cooked broccoli, diced ham, black beans, diced red peppers, sour cream, cheese, chopped green onions, etc.  Something for everyone.

(2) Spaghetti Pie, bagged salad, garlic bread, a bag of frozen veggies, simple dessert.

 

(3) Mac and Cheese, or Mac and Cheese.  (The second one I usually make with sharp Cheddar and smoked Gruyere.)  These are sure-fire crowd-pleasers for kids.  Throw together a salad or some veggies, and you're good.

 

(4) Baked Mexican Penne.  Somewhat fusion-inspired, goes together easily, is hearty, filling, and a good one-dish meal, though some people might like a salad to lighten it up a bit.  If kids are sensitive to heat, just use mild salsa.  This dinner also converts well to baking in a Dutch oven, for camping.

 

 

The last time I took dinner to a friend was after her baby.  I did the baked potato bar with some cookies (I think), a jar of homemade canned applesauce, a bag of apples (maybe oranges?) for her kids' lunches, and a small bag of my homemade granola for her for breakfast (I happen to know that she loves the granola, so that was just a special treat).

 

I also always use disposable dishes.  It costs me a little extra to keep a stock of foil casserole dishes, but it's worth it so that the person I'm taking a meal to doesn't have to worry about returning dishes, and I don't forget to get them, either.

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A big family size of Stouffer's Lasagna with a bag o'salad and some ice cream.  Haven't met the kid yet who wouldn't eat lasagna or ice cream, especially if the ice cream is a little different such as a push pop or Klondike bar.

 

I don't know if it's the right thing in terms of food ethics, but I will buy foods for others that I personally wouldn't bring in my home, for example, a cheese-laden lasagna. So, while my son loves my tofu lasagna, I hesitate to foist that on unsuspecting new moms.

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When I lived in Arizona, the Fry's Market Place had a really good and decent sized Rotisserie Chicken. I would buy the Herb flavored one, a bag of salad, dinner rolls, pound of butter, and cook up two of my own Rice-Sides in a toss away foil pan. 

 

Where I live now, the chicken is puny - the runt of the Bantam 'litter'. The Missionaries are the only ones we feed. That I do in my home. When I got out of the hospital after my bout with Acute Pancreatitis - I had to have bland food. No grease, no spicy foods, no tomato based foods. Chicken soup was okay, as long as it was not greasy or had anything other than salt and some black pepper in it. I couldn't even eat green bell peppers.

 

My husband at first refused to have the sisters bring us meals. But when he was hit between the eyes with - Iggy CAN NOT stand up long enough to even open a can of soup and wait for it to heat in the microwave- and afer 24 hours of NO food, he relented. He also would not agree to have the sisters come and clean house for me. For three days before I went into the hospital, I couldn't do any housework - then for the five days I was in hospital, he racked up such nasty dirty dishes and trash in the living room, dining room and kitchen. Also the MB was still in the really icky nasty mess from me being sick when the ambulance came to get me.

 

I finally called my VT and asked her to gather together some sisters to come and Power Clean my home. I really didn't want just one person to tackle it all - but felt that one sister per room, and two for the kitchen would be a fair division of such a nasty work load. Husband had a fit. My VT told him to hit the road and she would call him when the troops had finished. 

 

The meals I got were cheesy chicken casserole. Funeral Potatoes with fresh sauteed onions made by the single guy in church (my request - he is by far the best cook out of all of us women!) Medium Rare roast beef, sliced paper thin with just a hint of seasonings, that Hubby could make into sandwiches for me, and that he tossed into Stir Fry veggies for himself. Home made chicken noodle soup. We repackaged it into individual serving freezable containers. Again the single brother made that soup.

 

I had a frozen turkey breast in my freezer and my VT took it home to cook it and slice it up for me. So for two weeks, we had food that was cooked and easy for Hubby to heat and serve. 

 

Three days after the major clean up, two of the sisters returned to vacuum, scrub the bathrooms, empty the dishwasher and fill it again and take me to get my hair washed and styled. Also took me out to lunch. One of the couples from church owns a cafe, and they have The Best Ever Fish -n- chips. True Cod is my favorite rather than Halibut. They are battered in Tempura batter - super light and not greasy. Had coleslaw rather than french fries. MMMmmmmm good. Didn't hurt the 'ole gut either. 

 

If I were to take a meal now to a family, and there were no restrictions it would be Marie Callandar's family size lasagna, Safeway or Fred Meyers garlic french bread, clam shell of salad and a bottle or two of the families favorite dressing. If Mom or Dad can't pop the lasagna in the oven, I would deliver it early enough so that I could and then they can remove it. I no longer deliver HOT food, not after I burned myself with the last delivery, and made one horrible mess in the car. 

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I've never actually received a meal... Now that I think on it... But I DID recieve gift cards for food delivery!!

OMG.

Loved. Those.

Pizza. Chinese. Halal. Heaven.

I usually send gift cards, kebabs, or casseroles.

Mostly kebabs, though.

Because food on a stick is AWESOME.

Also, it lets me cater to people I don't know.

Meat & Veg & Sauces & Starches all seperate... So vegetarian & allergic folk can mix & match.

I also list the ingredients. On sharpie on the ziplock bags, or a card taped to the foil.

(Can you tell my circle of friends contains allergies, kosher/halal, vegetarian/vegan, diabetes, celiacs?)

And for people with kids who can't be trusted with sticks (we all know those kids!), it can be slid right off.

Voila.

I usually make about 100 kebabs a month to freeze out of leftover meats (Korean BBQ, tandoori, carne asada, steak, meatballs, whatever) plus the sturdier starch veg (plantains, potatoes, mochi, etc.)... label them & throw them in my deep freeze. Ditto, I keep extras of sauces in the freezer or pantry. So all I need to do is buy some fresh veg. for the veggie sticks.

I send a casserole if I'm already making one, and just double it.

Q

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