Drop-Off Meals to New Parents

A girlfriend emailed me and asked advice on taking meals to friends that just had babies.  I thought I'd share my reply with all of you as well.

"Hi Friend,


I don’t have any “go to” recipes for taking  meals but I have a couple ideas for you.  If it’s a friend that you know is receiving a lot of meals I like to take one of two things: 


(a) a lot of times I’ll take breakfast items, usually the night before, because making breakfast and having a nutritious start is more difficult with a new baby than making dinner or (b) I’ll take a meal that’s prepared but not baked so they can choose to have it that night or if they have enough meals they can freeze it and eat it later.

Here’s a peak at a breakfast basket I’ll make a lot of times:  http://www.humblehostess.com/2010/06/celebrate-good-neighbors.html (stick a cute little stuffed animal in it for the baby)

For dinners I put everything in a bag and on the outside I type a note that says “Dinner’s In The Bag” (hah!) and write down what’s in it and how to bake it.

If she’s breastfeeding and likes beer, I usually put two beers in with the dinner, one for hubby because he needs it and one for mommy because it brings in milk.

An egg casserole is PERFECT because they can eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Zesty Enchiladas. http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/zesty-chicken-enchiladas-00000000012498/index.html.  These are super good and you can make it all in advance, and then she just bakes it at 400 for 15 minutes. Take with chips and salsa."