recommendation: cooking for others

I came across this great blog post, Cooking for Others, A Guide to Giving Sympathy Meals, and loved it. whenever someone is under the weather or just out of the hospital with a new tiny family member, I think its really helpful to bring a meal or some kind of food gift to them during your first visit. When you are sick or recovering or have your hands full, cooking can be quite the task (as we all know it can be a lot of work even when you are feeling great and don't have your hands full!!!).

We just received the most delicious coffee cake from our neighbors to welcome us to the neighborhood. It was such a nice treat and I think really thoughtful of them. Baked goods work great for someone you don't know as well but want to give something to. It shows that you thought of them and baked goods are enjoyed by most people so its a good choice, just watch out for nuts in case of any allergies if you don't know the person as well.

When it comes to cooking a full meal, this works better if you know the person and their tastes and likes/dislikes. My go-to dishes for friends with babies are my mom's baked rigatoni recipe (non-veg) or Kraft's stuffed shells (veg) because they are both quick and inexpensive for me to make, easy to make a double batch so you get a meal out of it too, both freeze well, and everyone loves pasta!

stuffed shell recipe:
find it here

rigatoni recipe:
1 lb Ground Italian Sausage (sweet or spicy)
6 cups of spaghetti sauce (although I like to put more in, have 2 jars on hand just in case)
12 oz Rigatoni
3/4 c Parmesan Cheese
4 oz package (2 c) shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook and drain the rigatoni. Brown the sausage, crumble, drain. In a 2 quart baking dish, combine sausage, sauce, noodles and parmesan cheese. Mix well. Top with mozzarella cheese. Freeze or bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Yields 4-6 servings
Notes:
* I've been doing half a pound of sausage lately because I don't like as much meat in the pasta and its cheaper but if you love sausage, follow the original recipe!
* Paul Newman Marinara works well for this recipe
* if freezing, leave mozz cheese out of dish, top with foil. add mozz when you are ready to cook!
* this is a great recipe, the shortcut version of it, is buy Mids Italian Sausage meat sauce, and mix that with cooked pasta, and top with mozz (so skip the parm, skip the browning of sausage) - pretty close in taste and super quick - baking it for 20 min to brown the cheese makes it seem like you put a lot more into the dish than you did!

Here are some more great tips from the article:

Ideally, sympathy meals are:
- easy to transport
- easy to eat
- hold well
- freeze well

Ideas that meet this criteria are:
- Soups & Stews: chili of all types, hot nourishing soups, hearty stews, chowders
- Crockpot/Slowcooker meals: Spaghetti sauce, Pulled pork/chicken (accompanied with slaw, and buns), chicken cacciatore, chicken curry
- Casseroles: Lasagna, Macaroni & Cheese, Chicken Devon
- Sauced Meals: Chicken Parmesan, Meatballs & Sauce, Ribs, Meatloaf

Don't Forget:
- Always include heating instructions
- Try to use disposable containers that are oven friendly so that the receiver doesn't have to worry about getting the dish back to you
- Make it something easy for them to make so that they don't have to spend a lot of time prepping the meal, that defeats the whole purpose of giving it
- Make it a complete meal - I normally send a bag of salad along with my pastas. Side dishes are great and don't have to be anything fancy - a tub of pasta from the deli section at your grocery store, a can of baked beans, a bag of salad, frozen garlic bread, a steamer bag of veggies, etc.

Happy Meal Giving!