What to cook for a family in need?

Question

A friend of mine is in the hospital, and will be for the next month or so. She has a family of 3 at home. I need some new ideas for meals. I've already made spaghetti, chicken enchiladas and a full meal of cornish game hens. I'd like to make a couple of things that they can just pull out of the freezer, and one they can use right away. Can you give me some other ideas? Thanks all, you always come through for me.

Answer 1

If you have any kind of recipes for casseroles (like good old tuna noodle casserole) they are easy to freeze and heat later. Homemade soups, like chilli or beef stew are also easy to freeze and reheat. I make a lot of Italian food so things like stuffed shells, lasagna, or manicotti also work well frozen and reheated. Even a batch of cookies would be a nice thing to bring over.
I hope that helps. What you're doing is really thoughtful. :-)

Answer 2

Okay how old are the 3 people at home are we talking small children? Pasta dishes freeze well and alot of your tried and true casseroles freeze well. If you will be sitting down with the family or have a way to leave them something to eat now and there are little ones in the house try a taco night. My kids love it and get to pull all the toppings out and build It you have the seasoned beef or chicken prepared it can be re-heated and ready to go onto tortillas at whatever time they choose for dinner the rest just needs to be prepped and stored in individual containers to be ready to top the tacos. I am sure this would be a fun interact dinner that they would enjoy during a stressful time. Stock the fridge with lunch meat and cheese for sandwiches and a loaf of bread on the counter along with a few cans Of soup in the pantry. These little things go along way. Check out Family Fun and Kraft websites for great easy family friendly recipes and Kraft even offers up freezer ideas. I hope this helps and this is a very nice thing for you to do. I know the family will appreciate it.

Answer 3

I just made a casserole of pork chops, onions and cream of mushroom soup. I breaded the chops with flour, salt pepper and paprika, then put in the dish with sliced onions over them. Added 1/2 can milk to 1 can cream of mushroom soup. You can also put this on top of stuffing mix, layer the cooked stuffing mix on the bottom, meat, then onions, topped with soup mix. This can be used for chicken and ground beef, too.
You could make lean meatballs, bake them, then add them to spaghetti sauce. Freeze this, then provide hoagy buns, mozzerella cheeze. Just thaw the meat/sauce, put on sliced rolls, top with cheese, and broil until toasty.
I haven't tried this but french toast or pancakes can be made and then frozen, then reheated for breakfast.
A breakfast cassarole might also help, something they can pop in the oven while getting ready for work/school.
There are several books on freeze ahead menu planning that you might check out at the library. Some people do their cooking for a week or more at a time then freeze and reheat. I'm not that organized, but it might help this family if you doubled your recipe of all the meals you fix for your family, and froze the extra half.
Good luck, this is really a help for this family, I've been hospitalized before with small children at home and something like this would have greatly helped me!

Answer 4

When my son was over in Korea (Army) and his wife was moving with her two children, I made this chili for them since I knew she would be too tired to cook. It freezes wonderfully so you can make some to use right away and put some in containers to freeze for later. And naturally, chili is always better the second day!! We serve it over rice (completes the partial protein of rice and beans) and serve a nice salad along with it. I've been eating that since I was a pre-teen and I'm 59 now.

CHILI

3 cans kidney beans - drained
2 cans tomato sauce
1/2 pkg Chil-O mix
1 lb hamburger - crumbled, cooked and drained

Put all in a pot and bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer 30 minutes. Done!! You can double this recipe to make enough to freeze.

You can add sauteed onions to the above as well as either fresh or canned mushrooms - drained. I love mushrooms in my chili - I know it sounds weird but it's good. I started using mushrooms when hubby had to go on a low-fat/low-cholesterol diet and needed to substitute some of the meat.

Answer 5

My grandma (she lived alone) always had individual portions of her goulash in the freezer. Or you could even do a baked mac & cheese.

Grandma's Goulash

1 lb. ground beef
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
Spoonful of minced jarred garlic
Chopped celery
Chopped green bell pepper
1 Tbsp paprika
Salt and pepper
1.5 cups elbow macaroni (boil and drain)
1 can of Campbells cheddar soup
1 can of Campbells tomato soup
Big handful of green olives (slice or whole, your choice)
Cheddar cheese

Basically brown the beef with everything up to the paprika, drain if it's really fatty, add the paprika, salt, and pepper and cook a couple minutes. Then add the undiluted soups and olives and heat it all up. Stir in the drained pasta gently, dump into a greased casserole dish, top with as much cheese as you want, and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

It's my favorite comfort food of hers. God bless her, and you for being a kind soul.

Answer 6

How about a big lasagna? That is always good and can be frozen in whatever size pieces suit them best. You could also cook them a bunch of hamburgers on the grill and then put them into baggies which they can pull out of the freezer and heat in the microwave easily for a quick lunch or dinner. (Take a couple of packs of hamburger buns to them too). A big batch of chili and some cornbread would be good, or a batch of homemade soup. It's very nice of you to do this.

Answer 7

A nice pot roast is great, and can work for more than one meal.

Barbecue and homemade soups- can be frozen and re-heated

A meatloaf...leftovers can be reheated as a meal or as a sandwich.

You are so sweet to think of your friend during this time and in this way.

Answer 8

If you could cook a turkey then you could have turkey a la king, turkey potpie and/hot turkey sandwiches. For the turkey a la king, you need frozen or canned peas, white sauce, frozen (pepperpridge farm) or bakery bought pastry and cubed cooked turkey. For turkey potpie, one very deep oven casserole, frozen peas and carrots, pie pastry in a box (robin hood), white sauce, cubed cooked turkey. For hot turkey sandwich, bread for toast, sliced cooked turkey, peas, brown sauce and fries. And you service all these dishes with a salad. If you need more info or ideas let me know.

Answer 9

First, i want to thank you for being such a wonderful friend. Your friend is VERY lucky to have you.
Here are some suggestions:
Chicken pot pie
Quiche
How about roasting a small turkey? Lots of leftovers for sandwiches too.
Burritos
Tuna casserole
Jambalaya
Chicken noodle soup
Beef stroganoff
Shepherd's pie
Meatloaf
Stuffed peppers
Chili
Try to use your slow cooker - it will save you time!

Answer 10

Chicken Pot Pie

" This recipe makes two full-sized pies, one to eat and one to freeze."

2 pastries for 2-crust pies (ready-made is fine, but homemade is better)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 10-ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 cup sliced celery
6 tablespoons butter
3 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
1 cup potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
In a small saucepan, cook potatoes and celery until tender; add frozen vegetables and cook for 5 minutes; drain. Sauté onion in butter until tender but not brown. Blend in flour and salt, browning slightly. Add broth all at once. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.
Add chicken and cooked vegetables. Stir in celery salt; set aside. Prepare pastry for bottom of pie pan. Trim edges. Pour chicken filling into prepared pie shell. Top with remaining pastry. Seal edges and flute. Cut steam vents in top. Brush top pastry with milk. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.


Ranch Meatloaf
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix
1/2 ounce ranch seasoning for dips
1 6-ounce package fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine meat, eggs, ketchup, stuffing mix, ranch seasoning and fried onions. Shape into a loaf and fit into a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

Bake, covered loosely with foil, for 50 to 60 minutes, or until meat is thoroughly cooked. If desired, brush with ketchup the last 10 minutes of cooking and finish baking uncovered.


these recipes may be frozen if you need to. hope these help.