Hello,

Since my fellow PBS-ers always have such great suggestions, I'd thought I'd ask you guys for help.

My friend's mother is having major surgery next week.  I wanted to bring some food over so they won't have to worry about cooking while they are taking care of her.  Does anyone have any suggestions for dishes I could make that would be easy for them to heat up (and easy to transport)?

Thanks in advance!

Therre are so many; witout knowing preferences and your cooking time and skills, I'm hesitant to advise. But check for make-ahead foods in cookbooks and online.

I just wanted to give one tip: when I was down for a few weeks, I had wonderful friends making and bringing food, for which I am eternally grateful. (so this almost sounds rude, but it might do some good...). Keep in mind how many people you are feeding.

We had so much brought in humongous casseroles and containers that we could have eaten the same one for a week!! We ended up throwing a lot out because we could not eat that much of one single thing; and not many could freeze. I know it's more troublesome, but if you made a couple of things in smaller dishes, that would be better than one great big one (unless there are lots of people eating) And taking things in "disposable" containers that do not have to be returned may not be green, but it's very helpful.

Those are great tips, Betty!  Always keep in mind storage space too, and try not to use huge casserole dishes that take up an entire refrigerator shelf.

I like to bring over meals to friends who have had illnesses, surgery, etc. as well, and here are a few things that have worked out well:

Meatloaf, cooled and sliced- this is easy to wrap up and freeze leftovers if they can't eat all of it.  You can make a healthier version with ground turkey instead of ground beef- I use a mixture of ground turkey and turkey sausage with the casing removed.  Use some canned spagetti sauce in place of ketchup when you mix up the meat and add extra sauce for the last 10 minutes in the oven, then sprinkle on some shredded cheese (parmesan, mozzarella, whatever) and you have an Italian twist on meatloaf.  I would accompany this with a green salad and a nice loaf of bread.

Soup or chili, which also freezes well.  I like to make a hearty chicken and vegetable soup with lots of different veggies.  Leave out the potatoes if it might be frozen later- those don't freeze well at all.  Bring some nice crusty bread along with it.

Turkey breast, sliced, with gravy- these are so easy to do in the crock pot!  Just get a boneless turkey breast and cook it in the CP for several hours with a few onions to give it some extra flavor.  Make a simple gravy with the gravy packet and some added chicken broth.  I like to bring this with some scalloped potatoes or rice pilaf and a vegetable dish, maybe dilled green beans or ginger carrots.

Good luck!

When we needed meals we tended to get a lot of pasta dishes.  The first few were ok, but they get old after a bit. 

The best meals we got were more 'make your own' types.... cold cut and cheese tray with sandwich stuff, taco/burrito fixings or pizza the kids could fix.  For us, that kind of stuff would work for meals or snacks and whenever the kids could eat it'd be ready for them. 

Some other ideas.... bbq pork for sandwiches, roasted chicken- good hot or cold, chicken pot pie.  We also asked for more snack type items.  Cookies go fast around here and I just couldn't pull it together to make the dough and then bake it, also things like muffins and fruit that can be breakfast as well. 

A home-made Shepherd's Pie is nice for folks who have to have their potatoes . . . .

If you make pie crust at home, you could make individual chicken pot pies in those little throw-away aluminum pans.  (You can use undiluted chick-veggie soup for the filling, and add a little chicken if you have some.)

I have found one-dish meals to be lacking in the vegetable area, and like Deb S. said, tend to be pasta-heavy so I like to bring vegetable entrees. Simple ones are:

spinach-artichoke heart quiche

lentil brown rice soup with carrots

broccoli casserole

vegetarian chili with rice

With the entree, I usually add a whole pineapple or canteloupe for a healthy dessert because lots of people bring cakes.

One of the dishes I have brought several times to folks recuperating from surgery is creamed chicken over rice.  People have said how much they like it.  This recipe uses chicken broth and milk, heated, thickened and seasoned.  It does not use cream of whatever soup.  (Some people don't like the soup based casseroles.)  I bring a vegetable dish on the side - can be as simple as steamed broccoli, or fancier if you like.

Here is an easy one.  Prepare in a 9x13 gladware (bakeable & disposable) container, and let them bake when it is convenient for them.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheesy-Stuffed-Shells/Detail.aspx