Something Besides a Casserole....

I always do lasagna in a lasagna pan, they are bigger than the 13 x 9. That way they have a meal and then can portion and freeze the rest for later.

If they really like pasta you can make homemade sauce and freeze it in meal sized portions. That way they just defrost what they need and cook the pasta.

When I had my baby, my MIL came over a couple of times and put a meal in the crock pot for me. That was nice. I love a good pot roast in the crock pot and it makes lots of good leftovers.

I love lasagna and make it a lot, and would love for someone to make it for me - hahaha! But - I have heard new moms make comments that when people make meals for them that they get mostly pasta dishes. (pasta is cheaper than meat.....) A friend was so happy recently when I made her a crock pot roast. She was thrilled to get a meat dish! And if you're cooking for a couple with just the baby, you could cook the roast and send half to them and they'd probably still have leftovers and you'd get a dinner out of it, too. (to cut on cost if that's a factor!) Just a thought!

With one of my babies, a friend brought me honey-mustard chicken with rice and vegetables. It was so good, and we have had it as a family favorite ever since. The baby is now 17! LOL Here's the recipe:
Chicken breasts (how ever many you need for the family. If it is just the two of them, I'd do 4 so they could have leftovers)
1/2 c honey
1/4 c mustard
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1 stick of butter
Mix everything but the chicken together in a saucepan. Stir over med -high heat until it boils. Pour over the chicken in a baking dish. Do not cover. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes, until chicken is done. The extra sauce is very good served over rice. You can add a salad or a green vegie on the side (the dish is yellow, so a yellow vegie doesn't look as appetizing). Wonderful meal, great for new moms as it is gentle on the system. I am sure she will appreciate your efforts!
UPDATED: Please ask the mother if she is noticing that the baby reacts to anything in her diet if she is breastfeeding. One of my babies couldn't tolerate tomatoes. Talk about hard to find easy recipes!

Pot Roast, Stew, Cook a turkey (can be used for dinner, lunch, etc.) and
sides for one night. Anything in a crock pot.

Order them a pizza from their favorite pizzeria and have it delivered. My mom lives hours away and sometimes surprises me with a "dinner delivery" and it always makes me smile.

How about a salad bar type of meal? Plastic containers full of really nice chopped vegetables, cooked chicken, lettuce or spinach, and the kinds of toppings offered on a salad bar. They could make their own salads.

Or baked potatoes, with choices for toppings such as a homemade cheese sauce, cooked broccoli, crumbled bacon, sour cream ...

Or fresh bakery rolls with a selection of nice sliced meats and cheeses, with some gourmet mustard and sliced tomatoes and lettuce so they could make hearty sandwiches.

A nice summer pasta idea: In a bowl, combine either halved cherry tomatoes or chopped tomatoes (fresh, raw, not cooked), diced fresh mozzarella (not the shredded stuff, but the fresh kind that comes in a ball), sliced fresh basil leaves, and enough olive oil to lightly moisten it all. Let that sit to marinate for a couple hours. Lightly season with sea salt. At supper time, cook pasta (this goes best with small pasta like small shells or fusilli or oriechette, not spaghetti types), and when it's cooked and drained but still hot, immediately toss it together with the marinated tomato/cheese/basil mixture. You could make the tomato mixture ahead of time and include a box of nice pasta and all they'd have to do is boil the pasta and toss the whole thing together.

Fajitas!!!

Either Carne Asada (easy recipe to follow) or grilled chicken, then chopped up. Green Pepper & Onions. Some pico de gallo. Some guacamole. some rice and beans. A stack of small tortillas. Keep everything separate so they can assemble themselves.

Carne Asada

- Skirt (best) or Flank Steak ((hint: skirt steak is *ugly* but it tastes 50x better than flank steak which is soooo much "prettier" than skirt steak. In most areas skirt steak is also half as expensive ))
- Santa Maria Seasoning http://shop.scottsfoodproducts.com/Santa-Maria-Seasoning-... OR make at home http://greenleafbbq.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/santa-maria-...
- Red Onion
- Cillantro
- Lime Juice

LIBERALLY season the skirt or flank steak with Santa Maria Seasoning and place in baking dish or big ziplock bag. Add 1/2 bunch of chopped cillantro (including stems!!! tons of flavor in the stems), 1/2 chopped purple onion. Add about 1 cup of lime juice, a dash of olive oil, and enough water to cover. Marinate for 1-3 hours. Grill or broil skirt steak until medium rare (couple minute per side, internal temp to reach apx 125... it will heat up to 135 as it rests). Allow to rest 10-20 minutes. Slice thin against the grain.
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ADDED:

My favorite 'donated' foods (and so what I now bring to people) are like the above; things that I can eat a little now, a little later. Another BIG fav was the 25 Croissant-Sammie tray. I could eat cold or heat up. Life saver

can you part with yoru crock pot for a few hours. I got a roast with potatoes and carots in the crock pot one day after a rough hospitilization. Ooh so yummy! With some bread.

You could also transfer it from your crockpot to a travel container.

A large garden salad with tons of fixins in ziplock bags - olives, tomatoes, croutons, nuts, dried fruit. Add chicken or beans to make it into a meal.

Or maybe taco salad. Make a big salad. Have chips in a baggie. Salsa. Some meat for her to warm up in the microwave. Cheese.

My friend just had her baby. I took her enchiladas and a loaf of banana bread. Knowing her, I should have sent her a big fruit salad too to snack on during the daytime.

I also considered letting her have my crockpot for a week - bringing it to her one evening so that all she had to do was plug it in and turn it "on" in the morning - potatoes, roast beef, carrots.

Chicken salad sandwiches are also good and easy.

ADDED: Is it cool enough there for soup? I made my friend soup when she had her baby. Mom calls it "German Soup" It has green cabbbage, potato, carrot, and sausage (regular Eckerich sausage) and some dillweed. it's tomatoey brothy. PM me if you want the recipe. I love to make it in the winter, but I love drinking all the broth to warm me up.

When I brought my baby home two years ago, I was HUNGRY! My friends brought me food almost every day for two weeks and gave us enough to have leftovers for lunch and to freeze-- my friends are amazing. The things I loved the most were: a breaded chicken with mashed potatoes and carrots, Stewed chicken with boiled potatoes and carrots (hmmm, I now notice a theme :)

I always love to give meatloaf, cheesy potatoes and baked beans. Everyone loves my meatloaf and cheesy potatoes and my baked beans are my grandsons favorite he says they are the best. They are all easy to make and transport. I am sure anything you make will be appreciated. Chicken noodle soup would be good or what I call ham and cheese and potato soup just make it like potato soup only use ham ( I like the honey ham or glazed ham) and put in Velveeta when it is done I also use instant mashed potatoes to make it a little thicker now I am hungry for that LOL. Home made chicken or turkey pot pie (or you could use left over beef) Take already made or frozen pie crusts, put in about 2 cups of chicken, a can of mixed vegetables or frozen mixed, 1 can of cream of chicken soup I also put in extra peas and corn put all of it in the crust top with another crust seal the edges and bake until brown and bubbly my family loves it.

My church ladies brought us dinner for two weeks after I came home from the hospital. We really appreciated and enjoyed it, but everything was a casserole except one spaghetti and one roast w/potatoes, carrots, etc...the woman just brought her whole crock pot. :) I think casseroles because they are easiest to transport.

Along the lines of a casserole but different would be a good egg bake...we personally like to use tater tots or cauliflower (depends on our "health" mood), sausage (links, browned, cut up), broccoli (lots), cheddar cheese (lots), and eggs. That's it. We layer it in that order, bake it for about 1 hr 20 minutes or so...and it's so yummy.

You could also make a big batch of yummy fried chicken and bring it over with a "Simply Potatoes" microwaveable mashed potatoes, or something, and I'm sure they'd love that. I know I would...I haven't had fried chicken in over a year and I really, really miss it.

When I was in need my MIL & SIL brought me:
Sheperd's Pie
Stew
Lasagna
Spaghetti
Chilli
Taco Salad (cooked/froz grd beef w/all the fixings incl bag of lettuce)

All frozen in freezer bags w/re-heating directions on the bag
Lifesavers!
Loved it!

I call it Russian Dressing Chicken the receipe is as follows:
Chicken Breasts (I do one chicken breast per person)
1 container Russian Dressing
Apricot Preserve
Lipton Onion Soup Mix (I only use 1/2 the packet)
Put chicken breasts in baking pan, mix the dressing apricot preserve, and onion soup mix. Pour mixture over chicken and cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until chicken no longer pink. Serve with Rice.
Very yummy my husband really likes this and it is very easy to make.

Good luck

I make my friend's quiche when they have babies. You buy premade pie crust, fill it with whatever you like - I've made a bacon cheddar one, a feta and spinach one, sausage and monterey jack. They're all very yummy and a great meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Super easy to freeze and serve whenever.
You could also make meatballs. I often buy large family size ground beef when I food shop and I like to do alot of cooking in advance over the weekend due to being too busy during the week. I will take a 5 lb package and make a few different meals:
1. a standard chili with beans recipe
2. Cinncinatti style chili (no beans)
3. meatballs
4. burgers (i just form them into patties, I don't precook them. Reheated burgers are not so great.

I would not make chili for her unless you know for sure she loves it.
I think a lasagna is a great idea.
Also another good one is stuffed shells.

My husband actually just left to deliver a meal. Our church does a "Meals for Moms" where we sign up and the new mom doesn't need to make dinner for the first two weeks. It was such a blessing for us when we had ours so I was happy to be one sending a meal this time.

He brought a crock pot full of sauce (his grandmother's recipe, cooks 12 hours overnight), spaghetti for them to cook so it won't be mushy, parmesan, and fresh loaves from the store.

My family loves Swedish Meatballs which we eat over egg noodles. One of my kids' guaranteed likes.

It is a kind of casserole, but homemade macaroni and cheese is really yummy.

An aluminum (disposable) pan with a roast and veggies would be good.

Stuffed peppers. (My husband doesn't like these, but someone brought us stuffed red peppers and they were amazing.)

Stew.

If your grocery store has rotisserie chickens, that with some fresh bread and microwave-steamable green beans would be yummy. Our store sells the chickens already hot and ready to eat.

(Here I am thinking of some of the meals people brought us. I really craved the meat since I was recovering from delivery and breastfeeding.)

A friend of mine made us enchiladas and brought chips and pico de gallo... YUM! We just had to toss it in the oven to warm it up. MMM... I might make those tonight... Haha. You're such a nice friend!

I have an awesome recipe for BBQ chicken. It is made in the crock pot and it is a "fan favorite", so to speak...meaning everyone I have made it for LOVES it! In fact, I made it for my neighbor and her husband when she had surgery and her husband brought the crock pot back, handed it to me and asked for a refill. LOL!

Here is the recipe:
1 Tbl canola oil
1 Cup ketchup
1 (12 oz) bottle chili sauce (on the ketchup aisle)
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/3 Cup balsalmic vinegar
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
2 Tbl worchesterchire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp Tobasco sauce

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
12 kaiser rolls

Combine first 12 sauce ingredients together in a large bowl. Place chicken (I use frozen) in bottom of crock pot and pour sauce over chicken. Cook on hight 4-5 hours or low 6-8 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Stir back into sauce. Serve over kaiser rolls.

You can bring this with a salad (or baked beans, potato salad, etc) and dessert and it makes a great meal! Hope this helps.

Buy a bag of those chicken tenderloins, dip in egg and breadcrumbs and bake at 325 for about 30-40 minutes. Put in a foil pan. Make a nice batch of steamed broccoli & put in another foil pan. Then you could also make a small pan of chicken stuffing.
The breaded chicken will be nice for leftovers for lunch for the next day or two.

OR what about a meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy and a salad?

Have you considered breakfast and/or snacks for them? In my house, we can usually figure out dinner but right after our baby was born, I was always short on grab-n-eat foods.

If you like the idea I would suggest breakfast burritos (super cheap to make en masse); or muffins, or lately I've been layering 1/3 of a biscuit (like from the chilled section) w/ about a 1/4 cup of egg/sausage mix into each well of a muffin pan. The biscuits absorbs some of the egg and they come out as one big delicious unit. These things are rocking my world and if I'd had a few dozen of them after my second was born I would have been such a happy mommy!

Also, Whole Foods and Central Market (I don't think they're around in your area) have meals for two in the deli/bachelor foods area. We had several people bring us one of those from time to time. So good!

We have a few favorites in our house for pre-made meals:

Caraway Swiss Chix
(2) 10 oz frozen spinach - thawed
(4) boneless chix breast
3/4c. milk
2 tsp cornstarch
1.5 tsp chix boullion
1/4 tsp caraway seed
1/8 tsp black pepper (+/-)
2 oz swiss cheese

- Cook chix till tender w/light brown color. Chix should no longer be pink and be juicy.
- Combine milk, cornstarch, boullin, caraway and pepper.
- Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly.
- Add cheese and melt.
- Layer spinach, chicken, then sauce.
- Extra cheese can be layed across the top.
- Cover with foil, cool in fridge then freeze.
- Cook frozen meal @ 375F for 45 to 50 minutes or until heated through.

Beefy Mac, Beans and Cheese
2/3c macaroni (like elbows or other "small" fun pasta)
1 lb ground beef
1/2 chopped onion
(1) 10.75oz condensed mushroom soup
1/4 c milk (or water)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
9 oz cut green beans
1/4 c shredded cheese

- Cook pasta till al dente.
- If using frozen beans, drain pasta over them (to lightly defrost).
- Place pasta and beans into a pot
- Brown meat with onions (and garlic pieces, if substituting for powder). Add to pasta.
- Mix soup, milk/water, basil and garlic powder into pasta.
- Mix well. Spoon into 10x6x2 pan.
- Cover with foil and freeze.
- Cook frozen meal at 375F for 60 minutes or until heated through. Top with cheese and melt.

I take over garlic bread with each of these and sometimes a salad.

I have also started pre-marinating meats ahead of time and freezing them in the marinades. This allows me to toss them on the grill, onto the foreman grill, into the oven or even into the crockpot. You could take something like that over with some frozen veggies that are microwavable. I just googled pre-marinaded frozen chicken/beef/pork. If you can't find any recipes for something like this, let me know and I'll post them.

You are a sweet person! God bless you for thinking of the family.
~C.

Enchiladas - just buy a can of the green echilada sauce and it will have the recipe on the label. Super easy 1 skillet one class dishware and voila...food that everyone loves.

Pot roast is a good one pot meal that isn't casserole. If you put it in an oven bag, there isn't any clean up either.

Chili
Split Pea Soup w/ ham & a loaf of french bread

One of my favorites is lentils (or mung beans) in coconut milk with coconut rice. Easy, yummy, and healthy!
Cook the lentils (french green ones are best but regular ones work too) with a little salt. Saute some grated ginger root and garlic in a little olive oil (you may also add some diced carrots, bell peppers, zucchini, etc...) and add to the cooked lentils with a can of coconut milk (unsweetened). I also always add some finely chopped kale or chard for flavor, nutrition and visual enhancement. Salt to taste ( I generally use tamari or soy sauce to add a little more flavor as well).
The rice can be just plain (I prefer brown or white basmati) or saute a little unsweetened shredded coconut with the rice before adding the water and cook normally. Hope this helps!
Peace

Great idea - also I'd bring them their favorite takeout one night...that could be fun for them too.

Chili! You can bring it for the night, and they can freeze the rest for a later night.

my mom is having sugery next week and I am bringing her chicken enchalidas. The recipe I use is: Two cans cream of chicken soup, 1 container sourcream (16oz), 2tb green onion, 2 cup cooked chicken, 1/2 a bag chedder cheese, (you can also add green chillis but my family doesnt like them) mix, and use half the mixture to fill 8 tortillas, wrap tortillas and place in pan and cover with the rest of mixture and the other 1/2 bag of cheese. You can bake this and give it to her to freeze or bake latter (bake at 350 till the cheese and all gooey. about25 min)

Meatloaf with mashed or au gratin potatoes and a salad. Italian Sausage with meat sauce and hard rolls.

I've done baked spaghetti with garlic bread and salad. Sometimes I'll skip the salad or bread and bring dessert (brownies or homemade cookies).

Stuffed green peppers are uber easy to make, and taste great reheated! c:

King ranch chicken. boiled chicken, creme of chicken soup, cheese, tortillas, and optional chiles are all you really need. Simply tear the flour tortillas and mix them in with everything. heat until hot then sprinkle cheese on top.

Here is a fast and easy Crockpot Chicken recipe that my husband and kids love that I got from a local radio show's Crocktober recipes:

Black Bean Chicken

INGREDIENTS
2 cans black beans
16 oz jar salsa
1/2 cup brown rice (uncooked)
1 lb chicken breast

DIRECTIONS
Place frozen chicken breasts in slow cooker.
Pour beans, rice and salsa over chicken.
Cook low 8-10 hours and serve.

Comes out delicious and it takes so little time and effort.

Butter chicken and/or lamb korma with rice and naans. Cold roast chicken, already broken up for their convenience, with green salad and bread rolls, minestrone and crusty bread.

Just last week I took a dinner to a couple at our church who had a baby early. I made chicken pot pie. My recipe makes two big pot pies and it was a huge hit! They can slice the left overs into pieces and wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for later.

You could get one of those rotisserie chickens at Sam's or Costco for super cheap and make some mac n cheese or potatoes to go along with it. A huge pot of beans and cornbread, soup, or tamales.