Take Them a Meal - Like Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas!

We have a new baby in our church family and last night J and I delivered the new parents a meal. I've written about the importance of and tips for meal delivery before, but since having a child of our own, this has become a real passion for me. Y'all, look around yourself and search for the new parents and offer them a meal. I promise you, "it takes a village" means more than helping raise a baby, it means making sure the harried parents are actually eating and eating more than just Easy Mac. The same goes for families in mourning, dealing with extended illness, or otherwise in crisis. 

I don't know this family very well (yet?), so we're just bringing dinner and sides tonight, but meal delivery can be so much more, especially if it's someone you're close to. As I mentioned in my previous post, after the birth of my niece we provided a few dinners, some breakfast items, snacks and all the fixins to make my in-laws' lives easier. 

It doesn't have to be a great production. Feeding people, I believe is my love language; I take so much pleasure in knowing that my hands produced something that will nourish their bodies, and maybe their souls. But just thinking about a person or family in need can be the thing that helps them keep their head above water. And those little extras are especially useful. 

How does that proverb go? Bring a mom a casserole and she'll have dinner for a single night. But bring her a casserole, some frozen pizzas, a pint of ice cream, a tub of cookie dough, freezable muffins, and a Stouffers lasagna and she'll actually retain her sanity during the first newborn sleep regression or bout of colic or postpartum hell. 


Let's go over a couple really easy tips to make meal delivery better for everyone:

 
• Use recyclable or cheapo plastic containers. New mamas have zero time or brain cells to spend on remembering whose Pyrex is whose. 
• Include idiot-proof instructions for reheating etc. Again, the brains of folks in are almost worthless at this point. 
• Include all the working parts for your meal. If you're bringing bagged salad with your spaghetti, grab a bottle of dressing. If you're bringing frozen waffles, bring syrup, too. Who knows the last time they hit the store. 
• And if you know they're going through a particularly trying time, with lots of visitors and little time (or money) for shopping, consider including a pack of paper towels, plates or plastic cutlery. 
  
• If you're organizing repeated meals with a group, use a planning service like Take Them a Meal, where you can include specific instructions (address, preferred delivery time, dietary needs) and each volunteer picks their "shifts" and logs what they're bringing. Please don't bring 10 broccoli casseroles in a row. They aren't a sponsor of my blog, but I can't sing the praises of Take Them a Meal enough; it's a great help to the volunteers and the family expecting dinner. 

So we showered little Eli with some love and offered his parents a chance to sit down and eat a real meal. I'm used one of my favorite recipes, which is perfect for meal delivery and freezer friendly (so you could benefit, too!). 

For some reason, as a single twenty-something, I was subscribed to a Pillsbury mailing list for coupons and recipes (probably why I resemble the Doughboy a little more now). I found this chicken enchilada recipe way back when and realized, even when I was cooking for one, that it was a find. 

It's relatively inexpensive and the prep takes less than 20 minutes. It's so easy to prepare, I could probably stop pulling the recipe out. You make an enchilada sauce from the soup, sour cream, chilies and cumin; then mix in the chicken and cheese; roll your enchiladas and top with sauce. Since all of the ingredients are fully cooked, you only need to heat through and melt the cheese and it's done! 

I love this recipe because it allows me to be thrifty with my ingredients and really plan ahead. You know I love to pinch a penny and we try to be especially economical with meat. Your local supermarket deli likely reduces rotisserie chickens at the end of the day,  at our Walmart you can sometimes snag them for less than $3; or whenever you make "basic" chicken - like grilled or even fried chicken, without a lot of sauce or bold flavorings - you can shred/chop those leftovers and freeze in 2 cup portions. Having chicken on hand is perfect for soups, chicken salad, or enchiladas! 

And these enchiladas are HUGE and hearty. If I'm delivering a meal for 3+ family members, I usually buy the aluminum 8x8" pans with lids ($1 for two!) and it's a legit struggle to fit eight enchiladas in there. What I like to do at home is use my 8X4" narrow pans and make two packs of four enchiladas. This way, we have dinner tonight and a freezer pack for whenever we, or someone else, needs it. The small packs are perfect for little families, so having a couple of these waiting in the deep freeze is very convenient. And they do freeze beautifully. 

Since everything is fully cooked, you don't necessarily need to par-bake the dish (but you could, just for 15 minutes or so), then wrap thoroughly in foil. To prepare, thaw in the fridge the night before and then bake until hot (which does take a little bit longer than when everything's room temp). And for the love of Pete - WRITE THESE DIRECTIONS ON ALL YOUR FROZEN FOODS. 1. You'll know what the eff those stacked up aluminum pans are filled with and 2. you (or whomever you deliver them to; fresh or frozen) will know how to reheat. This is incredibly obvious and a total pain if you forget to do it...like I do ALL.THE.TIME. 

Courtesy of Pillsbury.com 

Even if you aren't planning a meal delivery and could care less about deep freeze meal prep, this is a great in-the-moment meal. The enchiladas feed a crowd, they're really flavorful - you really get the cumin and the chilies, and you can dress them up as much as you like with salsa, sour cream, guac etc. 

I like to serve mine with what my Venezuelan friend calls "Mexican salad" (now that's a sociology project for sure). It's greens and cucumbers topped with canned whole kernel corn, canned black beans (rinsed and drained), cheese, and crushed tortilla chips. For the dressing you mix a taco seasoning packet into ranch dressing. We're talking Taco Bell level of culinary accuracy, but it's so good. Who could turn down "fiesta ranch?" 

But in all seriousness, take a minute this week as you meal plan to see if anyone in your circle is hurting, stressed, totally drained or just in need of a night off from the stove. And offer to bring them a meal. Or a pie. Or a drop off a gift card to a local pizza joint. Your small amount of effort will make a huge impact on their life and show them how much you truly care. 

Meatball Sub Casserole

Daylight Savings Time is still getting the best of me and I find myself scrambling to finish all of my new-found chores to do in sunshine and get dinner on the table before 8:00. So, I've been looking for quick, easy-to-make dishes and tonight I made a real winner.

I was inspired by a pin on Pinterest for a meatball sub casserole but when I was making our grocery list, the pin didn't work and was probably some type of Trojan computer virus crap. So, long story short, I found a Taste of Home recipe and adapted it to the contents of our fridge and the week's menu.

I'm a real sucker for casseroles, but this one was wonderful! My food photography skills are limited at best, but I couldn't even get a good picture before we devoured he whole thing! J said that I will just have to make it again soon "just for pictures."

The flavors were wonderful and blended together perfectly. J works at a successful local deli and sandwich shop, so he knows his sandwiches and was skeptical of some of the components of the casserole but it worked beautifully. The bread we used was soft and delicate, so the cream cheese spread on it added a great richness that would've been lacking with just the basic meatball sub ingredients. I added sauteed onions and they brought a crisp bite to the softer ingredients and the good sear on the meatballs added another crispy quality, too. 

I can't say enough good thing about this recipe. 

It's a great "double duty" recipe, which I love. For example, I try to plan as many meals off of the same ingredient list as possible. We had subs and chips for dinner last night and saved the unused half loaf of French bread for tonight's dinner. It also doesn't require a lot of sauce, so we were able to use leftover sauce that I'd kept in a mason jar from our last spaghetti night. This is a great budget-friendly way to get the most bang from your buck - especially if you're only needing to cook for two. This dish makes three servings, you can multiply it as needed to feed a crowd - I think this a perfect dish for a potluck, taking to a sick friend, or making for a large dinner party. 

This is a really customizable recipe, too, and you can change it to suit your family's tastes and your timeline. I added garlic to the cream cheese spread and sauteed onions. I think sauteed mushrooms would be a great addition and if you're wanting to really appeal to kids' cliche notions of Italian food, you could add a layer of pepperoni. To save time, I used frozen (it is National Frozen Food Month, after all), pre-made meatballs (less than $5 for 60+ meatballs) that I cooked in the oven according to package directions but you can certainly make your favorite homemade recipe. I'm including ToH's recipe for meatballs but I know that when I make it again, I will probably use my own meatball recipe. 

And speaking of a time-saving, this is a great recipe where you can make all of the components ahead of time and assemble and reheat quickly before dinner. You can cook your meatballs and mix with the sauce ingredients, prepare the cream cheese spread and slice your bread. That will make for simple mise en place! 

And is a great recipe for kids - make sure they're either dealing with pre-made meatballs or know not to touch their mouth (or anything else) while handling raw meat. 

I promise I'll make it again soon -- just to get you some good photos!

Meatball Sub Casserole

Ingredients:

Meatball Ingredients- it not using 20 pre-made, frozen meatballs:

2 T chopped green onion
1 T seasoned bread crumbs
1 T grated Parmesan
1/3 lb lean ground beef

6 slices French bread baguette, sliced 1/2" thick
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T mayonnaise
1/4 t Italian seasoning
2 cloves minced garlic, divided
dash pepper
2/3 c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided*
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 c spaghetti sauce (I used Hunts' original sauce)
1/4 c water


Method:

Preheat oven to 400. Mix meatball ingredients together by hand in a medium bowl. Roll small meatballs - will make over twelve 1" meatballs. Bake on a shallow baking pan for 8-10 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Drain on a paper towel.

Arrange bread in a single layer in an ungreased 8x8" baking dish. Combine the cream cheese, mayo, Italian seasoning, pepper and half of the minced garlic. Spread over bread.  Sprinkle with half of the two cheeses.

In a bowl combine the spaghetti sauce (if you have enough, use only 1 1/4 c spaghetti sauce, or add 1/4 c water to 1 c sauce), and garlic; add meatballs. Pour over bread and evenly distribute the meatballs. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes until heated through.

*Feel free to add more cheese! I love the extra gooeyness!

Meatball & Tortellini Soup

This month's church fellowship was a Soup & Pie luncheon. How much more homey can it get than a warm bowl of soup and a sweet slice of pie? For the meal, I brought a new, fresh-tasting soup with vegetables, meatballs and tortellini (and my classic peanut butter pie - but I'm not ready to share that one yet).

It's a light soup (less than 500 calories/serving) - with low-sodium broth instead of a cream base, fresh vegetables and flavorful, caramelized meatballs. Like chicken noodle soup, this recipe is hearty without feeling heavy or overly rich. The light saute on the veggies gives them a firmer texture that makes for a satisfying bite. And the meatballs don't become dry but the quick browning gives them deeper flavor.

This one-pot soup made for quick prep and worked really well for the potluck because I was able to do 90% of the work the night before then only had to reheat and add the last two ingredients quickly at the end. It also kept well in the Crock Pot - if you have a CP with a locking lid, you're golden with this dish! 

This is also another great opportunity to bring your kids in the kitchen. This could be good for youngsters - even toddlers - who like getting their hands dirty (and know not to touch their mouths during or after) and want to help with the meatballs; but would be especially good for a young kid - I'm thinking 7 or 8 - who can manage simple cuts and would be able to sear the meatballs. Soup is a great place to start teaching your children how to cook because they're fairly inexpensive (this was less than $2/serving and most of the ingredients are pantry staples), so little can go wrong and they are such improvisational dishes - got a little too overzealous with the stirring? Fine. Ground meat instead of meatballs would be fine. No stress!

Grab a bowl and ladle yourself a great big helping of this delicious soup!

Meatball & Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

8 oz. ground beef

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 c chopped fresh parsley (or 2 T dried herbs -- I used Italian seasoning)

1 large egg

1 clove garlic, minced

kosher salt, ground pepper

2 T extra virgin olive oil

2 carrots diced

2 stalks celery, with leaves, diced

1 quart (two 16-oz cans) low sodium chicken broth*

9-oz package refrigerated cheese tortellini*

4 c loosely packed baby spinach

Method:

Combine beef, cheese, half of the parsley or herbs, egg, garlic, 1/2 t salt, and pepper to taste in medium bowl. Mix with your hands until just combined - over mixing will make your meatballs tough. Form into small meatballs (1" at the biggest, I made mine miniature so I had about 24+). 

Heat the oil in a pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook, turning over when golden - until all sides are lightly browned (3-4 minutes, faster for smaller meatballs). Remove the meatballs to a plate. 

Add the carrots and celery and cook in the pan drippings until just softened. Add the broth and 3 cups of water; bring to a boil. Return the meatballs to the pot along with the remaining herbs and 1/2 t salt; simmer until the meatballs are just cooked through (about 2 minutes). Note: if you are making ahead - stop here and refrigerate until 15 minutes before serving and then bring back to a boil.

Add the tortellini and cook until they float to the top, about 4 minutes*.Note: if you are making this soup for only 1-2 servings instead of the full four, only make the fraction of the tortellini you need at the time. If pasta is stored for long periods of time, it absorbs liquid and becomes soggy. Add fresh pasta for each later serving. Add the spinach and cook, stirring until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. 

*Note: You can use dried tortellini as well (I did). If you do this, use an 8 oz. package (I used Barilla three cheese) and add another 16 oz. can of chicken broth. You'll need to cook the tortellini longer (about 8 minutes) and they will absorb more liquid. Keep an eye on it and you may want to add more water or broth if your soup looks too "thick," with little broth. 

Butternut Squash Recipe #4

In the past month, I've been experimenting with butternut squash. I've made a winter minestrone soup; "funky pizza" with squash, gorgonzola, onions and walnuts; and a rich pasta dish. All of these dishes had deep, satisfying flavors and have been added to my regular recipe cookbook and have actually inspired other new dishes. I'd promised an additional dish, and finally, here it is - butternut squash puree.

I certainly appreciate and enjoy making meals like bouef bourgeninon that cook and stew for hours, layering complex flavors. However, I'm a realist and know that those sorts of dishes aren't feasible most nights; so I love quick, low-muss low-fuss dishes like all of these butternut squash recipes. This puree was the easiest recipe of the four and perhaps of the of easiest I know.

I don't even need to use my traditional format with a list of ingredients and methodology steps. It's just that simple!

Steam one packaged of pre-diced butternut squash (or half of a squash diced into 1" cubes) for 12-15 minutes, until fork tender. I used a new Biltmore Home steamer, but you could use a traditional steamer  or a colander over boiling water (do not use colored, painted colanders, the color will seep off - and yes, I've made pink cauliflower puree).

When tender, mash with 1 T unsalted butter with a pinch of salt and pepper. For a chunkier texture, you could mash by hand, however, I enjoy smooth purees and used my Ninja blender. At this step you could add several seasonings to suit your accompanying dishes. We were having pork chops with my dad's homemade "pig rub" seasoning, so I wanted to go in a savory route - and added a pinch of cayenne pepper for a little extra spice. However, I think this would be great with a tablespoon or so of honey - this would lean more towards a sweet potato flavor.

I use this exact method and recipe when I puree cauliflower. I adore mashed potatoes but using this recipe makes the most spectacular mock-mash ever. It's lower carbs and requires so much less dairy to create a creamy texture than a mashed russet would. Also, this is a great way to sneak cauliflower into your kids' (or father-in-law's) diet. It would also be a great recipe for celery root, yucca or almost any root vegetable that isn't super fiberous.