Meal Ideas for a Friend Who Is Having a Baby

I think that a nice crock pot of roast, potatoes, carrots etc. If they have older kids there is never enough milk in the house either. A gallon or 2 to replenish the fridge is great too!!

I had twins 3 mo ago...we got caramel apple french toast, lasagna, soup, pizza, hot pockets, orange chix, chix fett. alfredo, etc. all frozen

A.,

I have 3 kids (they were 3 and nearly 2 when #3 was born in Nov.). The following were great for me to have in the freezer:

Lasagna
Chicken/Noodle type hotdish
Fresh Bread
Burrito's or Enchilada's

How nice of you to help her out!

Jessica

Meatloaf and mashed potatoes is a hearty healthy meal! I usually make this one for my friends w/ babies.

Loren T
Thanks for putting that up, I had a coupon for ground turkey and didn't know what do make with it.

After I had my dd I had chicken bake dishes.. chicken broc. cheese bake was good. People brought lots of salads, you can request from someone that says do you need anything at the store.. ask them to get salad toppings in case someone doesnt put any on yours. I am a bit picky so I had my own at home.
Bread to just pop in the oven was nice!
sandwiches as people were over ALL the time, needed to feed them something and they didnt mind, no one wanted to eat what other people made for me, that was for us as a family.
find out what they like to drink, ie milk juice or pop, or what most of their family and friends like so they can have a few cans or whatever on hand.. what kinds and bring 1 thing of milk and one thing of juice, kids will like you and mom will thank you for less of a trip to the store!
It is very nice of you to do this.

We had someone find out way late, a few months later and brought us a meal, I would wait let everyone bring a meal to her, then surprise her with the last special meal, I mean you can always use a meal, and mommy will be tired with the rest of the kiddos!

Blessings+

Two weeks after my new baby arrived, my new friend dropped off a simple pasta chicken cordon bleu, and I seem to recall something else too, maybe a salad? But the particulars of the menu didn't really matter- what made it special was that it was a "real" meal; the first real meal we'd had since the baby came. She even included paper plates and plastic forks and knives, paper cups, and a handmade cards saying "welcome baby", with a list of the menu items inside. We got to sit down as a family and actually eat an entire meal, not just snacks and juice, which we had been pretty much living on for those two weeks. And I didn't have to do dishes!

Hi A.,

I recently did this for a friend of mine and I have a great burger recipe that I used. I made them ahead and froze them and brought them to her frozen so that she could pull them out whenever she wanted to use them. This recipe can be used with ground beef, too, but when I make them I use ground turkey. They are absolutely delicious and require nothing on them because they are full of such good flavor:

Mix together and form into patties the following ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1 chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
1/4 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 1/2 t. chopped fresh dill (or 3/4 t. dried)
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

These measurements make about 4 patties so when I want to make several, I usually triple the recipe and freeze a few. I can easily eat two of these patties and I am generally not a big eater but they are so tasty!!

Good luck!
M.

I can email you a Mexican Chicken Casserole that is really easy for the new mom to prepare. Just send me your address. Mine is ____@____.com

Here is a great turkey burrito recipe my family loves. You can leave out the sour cream and freeze these, individually wrapped in tin foil. Bake at 350 for about 30 min from frozen. Very healthy too!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Garys-Turkey-Burritos/Detail...

The world needs more friends like you!

The best meal someone made for me was a lamb lasagna, a big salad, and a fruit salad each packed in its own oblong glad plastic container. I was able to store the leftover lasagna in this container in the freezer and the two salads lasted remarkably long in the fridge! ( I think she used feta cheese crumbles as a dressing for the salad so it didn't get soggy. She made the fruit salad with strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and possibly pineapple?. It was fantastic and I was SOOO grateful.

I have enjoyed recieving Lasagna. I have also sent this to girlfriends after having a baby. You can make it, freeze it, then send it with a bag of cheese and they just need to pop it in the oven.

Try things like
Baked Spaghetti & salad
Lasagne
Grilled Chicken, salad greens, nuts/dried fruit & dressing

If you aren't up to cooking yourself take a rotisserie chicken and salads or if they live in Southwest MPLS get them a gift certificate for Broder's Deli. They deliver delicious family style meals like Spaghetti and Meatballs, Lasagna, Chicken Parmigiana with a salad and fociaccia bread and dessert bars for a good price. It comes with lots of food. You could also pick it up there and deliver the food yourself.

A fruit basket and deli tray for sandwiches can also be nice especially if they have visitors coming.

Things that freeze well are wonderful! Then if something else is happening, the meal can be pulled out as needed. Sloppy joes, tacos, meatballs, chili, chicken hotdishes, lasagna all work well frozen. If you need more specific recipes for any of these, let me know! Our kids' favorite is a chicken hotdish so I will give that recipe for you now...

2 c each frozen mixed veggies, hashbrowns, and cubed cooked chicken
1 can cream soup, any flavor you like
8oz sour cream
1 c milk

Mix all together and pour in sprayed 9x13 pan.
Top with cheddar cheese, corn flakes and butter.
Bake at 350 uncovered for about 1 hour.

Just a tip, spraying the pan is not necessary, just makes for easier cleanup, and our group here trys to always put the meals in throwaway containers, to avoid the pile-up of dishes to be returned.

Blessings~S.

Slow cooker Chicken Pot Pie. www.hy-vee.com/recipes/recipes_detail.asp?r=6417

You can make up the slow cooker part for her--it reheats and freezes well. Then include some frozen or a tube of biscuits and there you have it! The biscuit part isn't real healthy but the chicken/vegetable part is.

The best meal I got with any of my kids was homemade enchilladas! A friend of mine made a bunch for me so that I could put them in the freezer and take out however many I needed for that meal. I'd just have to pop them in the mic for about a minute and then I'd have a yummy, authentic, Mexican enchillada! :)

How about an egg bake/strata. It can sit up to 24 hours in a refrigerator before it needs to be cooked.

I am also a fan of lasagna.

What a nice thing you are doing. :)