Kajikit wrote:

> On Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:50:55 -0500, Kathleen
> > wrote:
>
>
>>Goomba wrote:
>>
>>>cybercat wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>"Kajikit" > wrote in message
m...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>One of the ladies at church has just had her cancer come back for a
>>>>>fourth time, so naturally they're overwhelmed right now... She's
>>>>>starting treatment again this week and we want to do something to help
>>>>>them out. Amy can't have anything tomatoey because of the medication,
>>>>>so chilli, spaghetti, pizza etc are all out and they're the easiest
>>>>>meals I can think of! What are some easy-to-reheat, easy-to-make meals
>>>>>that I could take over to them? I made them a quiche yesterday and I'm
>>>>>going to make some chicken soup today to go with it (I have homemade
>>>>>broth in the fridge and I'm roasting a chicken for our dinner so I'll
>>>>>have nice fresh chicken to put in the soup).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Macaroni tuna cheese casserole!
>>>>
>>>
>>>As a side question to this thread- when you prepare a casserole for
>>>someone, do you deliver it unbaked? hot and ready? baked yet cooled for
>>>reheating...? I never want to assume they're going to eat the dish that
>>>very night unless I've confirmed it with them in advance. But I also
>>>worry about how best to package and deliver the food for their
>>>convenience yet want the dish to remain in best condition.
>>>
>>>I have a new mommy to cook for and wonder how people best like to send
>>>(or receive) these food offerings?
>>
>>When a co-worker's three-year-old daughter was diagnosed with cancer we
>>took turns sending dinners for four cooked, chilled and packed for
>>either reheating or freezing, in small coolers, along with paper plates,
>>plastic utensils, napkins and packets of any logical condiments. We
>>also sent notes, cards, funny pictures and little toys for the girl.
>>
>>The child was in the hospital, on TPN, so the meals were for her
>>family/support personnel. Her dad brought the day's offering along to
>>the hospital where he, mom, and usually one or more of her nurses heated
>>it up in the microwave in the lounge.
>>
>>The girl's dad said that although the coolers were dropped off by his
>>desk early in the day, he always made himself wait until dinner time to
>>open them - saving a little surprise for when he felt the most tired and
>>grim.
>
>
> What a nice thing to do for the family! I'm sure it made a horrible
> situation a little easier to take... food is the last thing on
> people's minds at that sort of time, but you have to eat.

We kept a sort of list. You signed up for a day and listed what you
were going to send so we didn't wind up duplicating meals too much.

Some of the dinners:

Meat loaf, gravy, mashed potatoes and apple sauce

Chicken fajitas, tortillas, shredded cheese, chips, salsa, sour cream
and grapes

Cold fried chicken, chunks of seedless watermelon and bottles of Fitz's
Root Beer

Lasagna, green salad and garlic bread

Pasta salad with turkey and mozzarella cheese, and bing cherries

There were lots of others, including various stir-frys and casseroles.
The fact that we weren't cooking for the little girl and didn't have to
work around dietary restrictions made it a little easier. We always
tried to send some sort of fruit or light salad since sometimes that was
the only thing her stressed-out mom could stomach. Homemade food never
goes to waste on a nursing floor, anyway. Leftovers placed in the staff
fridge labelled "Help yourself" always vanish by dawn.

The little girl enjoyed fancy lollipops, even the weird flavors like
"blue raspberry" and "cotton candy" and thought a bouquet of assorted
striped candy sticks was the coolest thing ever.