[scrappinchar]

Hi. I'm taking a meal to a family on Wednesday. They have a newborn and other young children.

What are your favorite things to take for such situations?

Someone else is taking them lasagna tomorrow, so I want to stay away from spaghetti, baked ziti, etc.

I was thinking of a chicken pot pie. (Which I've never actually made before. lol) If I did that, should I take plain rice, too? What do you eat with pot pie?

Or, shredded/pulled bbq chicken with buns, mac n cheese, coleslaw? This might be easier.

I figured I'd take a dessert, too. And maybe something like muffins which could be had for breakfast.

Any suggestions?

[Sara Arell]

Love the breakfast idea, Char - no one ever thinks of breakfast! I like your idea - and they could snack on muffins too!

[April Showers]

I'm not a big casserole maker - well, I can make them, they just aren't my favorite- so I usually grill some chicken, bake some whole wheat rolls (I have a recipe that makes them light and fluffy) and add a fresh green salad or another vegetable. My family loves it when I'm taking dinner to people. I just double what I'm making and we have the same thing.

[Smiles]

The nice thing about BBQ chicken is it can be reheated later if there are leftovers or if they had already planned on something else. Coleslaw keeps well also. I expect they will love whatever you bring.

[Cheri T]

First up before I forget - April, would you be willing to share your whole wheat roll recipe? Pretty please?
My fav thing to make for others is "Chicken Parisienne". It is a ridiculously easy (and very American for all its fancy name) crock pot dish. If your crock pot is large enough you can cook enough for your own family at the same time.
chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1-2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (depending on how much chicken you do. If you're doing enough for both families use 2 cans)
sliced fresh mushrooms
1-2 cups reduced fat sour cream
1/2 cup white wine (or water, milk, white grape juice are suitable substitutes)
1/4 - 1/2 cup flour
salt, pepper, and paprika

Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. Lay it in the crock pot. Stir the remaining ingredients together and turn the crock pot on low. Sprinkle paprika on top. Cook for about 6 hours. If you elect to cook on high for a shorter amount of time, don't stir in the flour and sour cream until the last 30 minutes. I also usually leave the mushrooms out until the last 30 minutes or so since they cook so quickly.
I serve this with thin spaghetti shaped pasta and stir the pasta into the sauce from the crock pot. That way you can make the pasta and take it all in one dish to the family.
Green beans or broccoli make a great side dish. Or a salad:)

[April Showers]

Here's my recipe. It tastes a lot like the Great Harvest Honey Wheat. You could cut the recipe in half. I make 1 ounce rolls with it because I don't really like to slice bread. (And yes, I put the little blobs of dough on my scale.) I bake part of the batch and throw the rest (already formed) into the freezer on cookie sheets and then bag them up for later. (Like Rhodes but better and cheaper.) I got the recipe from my piano teacher ages ago. It uses powdered milk and water since that is what she used, but you can just use milk instead.

I have a fast little wheat grinder and grind the wheat right before I make the dough. I use hard white winter wheat or hard red. The hard white seems to need more flour for some reason.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

3 1/2 c. water
1 1/3 c. non-instant powdered milk
1 c. oil
1 c. honey
8 c. whole wheat flour
2 eggs

Mix the above ingredients together well and let sit at least one hour or longer (even overnight.)

Mix 1 tsp. honey with 1 c. very warm water. Then pour in 4 Tbsp. Yeast (4 pkg.) and let it soak until yeast has doubled.

Add yeast mixture to above dough mixture, then add 2 Tbsp. salt and 4-5 c. flour. Add enough flour to make the dough only slightly sticky. Mix for 10 minutes in electric bread mixer. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease both sides. Cover. Let rise until double, no further. Punch down and let rise again. Divide into 4-5 pieces, depending on size of pan. With each piece, flatten dough 9” wide and about 1” thick and roll up flattening as you go to get rid of the air bubbles. Roll to fit pans. Let rise until double. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

My recipe notes say 8 cups of wheat (red winter) will give the right amount of flour.

[Belle]

My favorite is chutney chicken. I don't know if you like meat that is sweet. In South Africa it is a firm favorite and easy to make.

1 cup mild fruit chutney; 1 cup tomato sauce (ketchup??); 1 pkt cream of chicken or mushroom powdered soup.

Mix all together, add 1/2 cup water. Pour over chicken pieces and bake in oven for 1 hour. I like my chicken cooked through.
Serve with rice.

Variations: Add 1 teaspoon curry powder, 2 teaspoons tumeric and 900ml water. Add mixed vegetables and potatoes for a complete meal.

Either way we love it here in SA.
I call it my funeral food. Whenever I have to take food for someone, this is my standby.
It's a family favorite as well.

[Sara Arell]

Cheri T, on 12 February 2012 - 07:45 PM, said:

First up before I forget - April, would you be willing to share your whole wheat roll recipe? Pretty please?
My fav thing to make for others is "Chicken Parisienne". It is a ridiculously easy (and very American for all its fancy name) crock pot dish. If your crock pot is large enough you can cook enough for your own family at the same time.
chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1-2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (depending on how much chicken you do. If you're doing enough for both families use 2 cans)
sliced fresh mushrooms
1-2 cups reduced fat sour cream
1/2 cup white wine (or water, milk, white grape juice are suitable substitutes)
1/4 - 1/2 cup flour
salt, pepper, and paprika

Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. Lay it in the crock pot. Stir the remaining ingredients together and turn the crock pot on low. Sprinkle paprika on top. Cook for about 6 hours. If you elect to cook on high for a shorter amount of time, don't stir in the flour and sour cream until the last 30 minutes. I also usually leave the mushrooms out until the last 30 minutes or so since they cook so quickly.
I serve this with thin spaghetti shaped pasta and stir the pasta into the sauce from the crock pot. That way you can make the pasta and take it all in one dish to the family.
Green beans or broccoli make a great side dish. Or a salad:)

That sounds delicious, April! Thanks for sharing your recipe.

[Cheri T]

Thank you April!! Now to convince myself to try it;) I don't think my bread maker has that large a capacity (I'd half it), but I need to read up on my new stand mixer and see how many cups it can handle! I'd rather make a large batch all at once if possible. I love the idea of freezing the portions for later.

April Showers, on 12 February 2012 - 10:24 PM, said:

Here's my recipe. It tastes a lot like the Great Harvest Honey Wheat. You could cut the recipe in half. I make 1 ounce rolls with it because I don't really like to slice bread. (And yes, I put the little blobs of dough on my scale.) I bake part of the batch and throw the rest (already formed) into the freezer on cookie sheets and then bag them up for later. (Like Rhodes but better and cheaper.) I got the recipe from my piano teacher ages ago. It uses powdered milk and water since that is what she used, but you can just use milk instead.

I have a fast little wheat grinder and grind the wheat right before I make the dough. I use hard white winter wheat or hard red. The hard white seems to need more flour for some reason.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

3 1/2 c. water
1 1/3 c. non-instant powdered milk
1 c. oil
1 c. honey
8 c. whole wheat flour
2 eggs

Mix the above ingredients together well and let sit at least one hour or longer (even overnight.)

Mix 1 tsp. honey with 1 c. very warm water. Then pour in 4 Tbsp. Yeast (4 pkg.) and let it soak until yeast has doubled.

Add yeast mixture to above dough mixture, then add 2 Tbsp. salt and 4-5 c. flour. Add enough flour to make the dough only slightly sticky. Mix for 10 minutes in electric bread mixer. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease both sides. Cover. Let rise until double, no further. Punch down and let rise again. Divide into 4-5 pieces, depending on size of pan. With each piece, flatten dough 9” wide and about 1” thick and roll up flattening as you go to get rid of the air bubbles. Roll to fit pans. Let rise until double. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

My recipe notes say 8 cups of wheat (red winter) will give the right amount of flour.

[April Showers]

I have an older (like 23 years old) Kitchen Aid stand mixer and it barely fits. (My husband keeps fixing minor issues with it, so I'll never be able to get a new one.) The newer ones have a bigger bowl, so it shouldn't be a problem. My piano teacher used a Kitchen Aid mixer - that was one of the reasons I wanted one.

Cheri T, on 13 February 2012 - 10:07 AM, said:

Thank you April!! Now to convince myself to try it;) I don't think my bread maker has that large a capacity (I'd half it), but I need to read up on my new stand mixer and see how many cups it can handle! I'd rather make a large batch all at once if possible. I love the idea of freezing the portions for later.

April Showers, on 12 February 2012 - 10:24 PM, said:

Here's my recipe. It tastes a lot like the Great Harvest Honey Wheat. You could cut the recipe in half. I make 1 ounce rolls with it because I don't really like to slice bread. (And yes, I put the little blobs of dough on my scale.) I bake part of the batch and throw the rest (already formed) into the freezer on cookie sheets and then bag them up for later. (Like Rhodes but better and cheaper.) I got the recipe from my piano teacher ages ago. It uses powdered milk and water since that is what she used, but you can just use milk instead.

I have a fast little wheat grinder and grind the wheat right before I make the dough. I use hard white winter wheat or hard red. The hard white seems to need more flour for some reason.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

3 1/2 c. water
1 1/3 c. non-instant powdered milk
1 c. oil
1 c. honey
8 c. whole wheat flour
2 eggs

Mix the above ingredients together well and let sit at least one hour or longer (even overnight.)

Mix 1 tsp. honey with 1 c. very warm water. Then pour in 4 Tbsp. Yeast (4 pkg.) and let it soak until yeast has doubled.

Add yeast mixture to above dough mixture, then add 2 Tbsp. salt and 4-5 c. flour. Add enough flour to make the dough only slightly sticky. Mix for 10 minutes in electric bread mixer. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease both sides. Cover. Let rise until double, no further. Punch down and let rise again. Divide into 4-5 pieces, depending on size of pan. With each piece, flatten dough 9" wide and about 1" thick and roll up flattening as you go to get rid of the air bubbles. Roll to fit pans. Let rise until double. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

My recipe notes say 8 cups of wheat (red winter) will give the right amount of flour.

[Cheri T]

April Showers, on 13 February 2012 - 11:04 AM, said:

I have an older (like 23 years old) Kitchen Aid stand mixer and it barely fits. (My husband keeps fixing minor issues with it, so I'll never be able to get a new one.) The newer ones have a bigger bowl, so it shouldn't be a problem. My piano teacher used a Kitchen Aid mixer - that was one of the reasons I wanted one.

Mine is a 5 quart and the instructions say not to use more than 6 cups of whole wheat flour at a time (or 10 cups of white flour). I'll just do 2 half batches one right after the other:)

[LaLo1103]

I'm just enjoying all the recipes in this thread!

[scrappinchar]

Thanks for the suggestions and recipes.
Unless I change my mind, I'm going with the BBQ chicken (pulled/shredded), a pack of 12 buns, coleslaw, baked mac n cheese, a can of Pringles, a small bottle of bbq sauce (in case they want more sauce or sauce on the bun), 8 muffins (2 flavors, storebought), and homemade brownies. That's what I bought stuff at the store for, anyway.
I'm too scared to try something for them that I've never made before. I'd hate for it to not turn out.

[Smiles]

April Showers, on 13 February 2012 - 11:04 AM, said:

I have an older (like 23 years old) Kitchen Aid stand mixer and it barely fits. (My husband keeps fixing minor issues with it, so I'll never be able to get a new one.) The newer ones have a bigger bowl, so it shouldn't be a problem. My piano teacher used a Kitchen Aid mixer - that was one of the reasons I wanted one.

April, the newer Kitchen Aid stand mixers are not as well made. I got one a few years ago and ended up getting rid of it. They leak oil. There are instructions online to take them apart and re-grease the works, but I didn't use it all that much anyway. I got the basic model, so maybe the more expensive ones are better made, but check out reviews before you invest in a new one.

[Smoky]

scrappinchar, on 13 February 2012 - 08:39 PM, said:

Thanks for the suggestions and recipes.
Unless I change my mind, I'm going with the BBQ chicken (pulled/shredded), a pack of 12 buns, coleslaw, baked mac n cheese, a can of Pringles, a small bottle of bbq sauce (in case they want more sauce or sauce on the bun), 8 muffins (2 flavors, storebought), and homemade brownies. That's what I bought stuff at the store for, anyway.
I'm too scared to try something for them that I've never made before. I'd hate for it to not turn out.

That sounds fantastic! I know I'd be thrilled to receive a meal like that.

[Smoky]

April Showers, on 12 February 2012 - 10:24 PM, said:

Here's my recipe. It tastes a lot like the Great Harvest Honey Wheat.

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I'm always looking for a good whole wheat bread recipe. I use King Arthur White Whole Wheat, hope it won't make much difference. AND I'll have to knead it by hand, as I don't think my 62 year old Hamilton Beach mixer will be able to keep up! If I end up making bricks, I'll know it was user error, LOL. So, this makes 4 to 5 loaves?

Belle, on 13 February 2012 - 01:12 AM, said:

My favorite is chutney chicken.

Sounds really good and easy. I'll be trying this for sure.

Cheri T, on 12 February 2012 - 07:45 PM, said:

My fav thing to make for others is "Chicken Parisienne".

Yum! Another good recipe to try. Thanks!

[diannecp]

Thanks, Char . . . as soon as i posted that, I thought of something to make, that's easy to take. You layer cooked pasta (macaroni or rotini works well) with canned tomatoes, Velveeta cheese (cubed) and sliced sausage (I prefer turkey - not the breakfast type, the kielbassa type).

[GhostRider]

I would prefer breakfast idea with bread and the vegetable salad with a strong tea.

[Olaf]

I think chicken pizza, cookies, chocolate, and dessert will be the good idea for taking a meal to family that has young children.
Young children will like to eat the chocolate, dessert and cookies.