Make and Take a Meal

You know, I still have a very fond memory, of when I had our first little one...and the tater tot casserole someone brought over to me after my son was born.  I don't think I'd ever heard of tater tots before I had kids...seriously, I am telling you the truth!  I remember being so entranced with the dish and how everything was in there....I want to say all the food groups or should I say all levels of the pyramid...I don't know, that sounds dumb but you know what I am driving at.  Anyway, our unit used to rally up whenever someone had a baby.  A schedule was put together, and the mom had meals taken care of at least for the first few weeks after coming home...it was great.  I enjoyed it, and I tried to make sure that happened in every unit I was in after that!

Do you do something similar in your unit?  Would you like to share what you do?  I know you can make this as easy or as time consuming as you want it to be.  There was a time where I would have a homemade dessert, maindish, homemade bread, salad and even drinks.  Now, it's more like a maindish that'll have leftovers, still homemade bread and salad....but mostly storebought desserts.  I've found that it's great to add some kids' drinks and grown-up soda....one of the items most likely not to be found in the house of a new baby.....along with toilet paper, papertowels, wipes and diapers.  Of course it was like that in our house!  Always running out of the staples!

I think I have some good recipes that deliver well in my Cooking section.  Keep in mind that casseroles and lasagnas work best.  Try to find out what they had the time before.  It'll work even better if one spouse volunteers to maintain a list of volunteers and what they are bringing...and when.  I sometimes even assemble the casserole, and if I come over early enough, I leave heating instructions.  There's something to be said about a home with the smells of home cooking as it gets closer to mealtime!  I also recommend using disposable dishes....tin and tinfoil for the hot stuff and those plastic containers for everything else.  Even something as simple as pork chops baked in Campbell's mushroom soup and a container full of mashed potatoes can be filling and appreciated.  You don't always have time to make a meal from scratch, but I can tell you, any meal will be appreciated....it's the thought that counts most of the time and speaking for myself...I'll eat almost anything if I don't have the time to cook it myself.  I am not picky and seasoning powder and salt can do wonders for just about anything!

Nostalgia aside, if you have any great recipes to share that are perfect for taking over to someone's house, I would love to hear them!