Need great recipe for new mom

[keeganm]

What is a great recipe to take to new moms besides lasagna? I'm looking for something that freezes well and just needs reheating. I have 3 friends that just had babies and I'm stuck on what to bring. Help!

[Chefzhat]

I have just been in your shoes, and have impressed my new mom friends with the Roasted Chicken and Wild Rice Soup that appeared in the CL May issue (I think). If you can't find it e-mail me and I'll post it for you. THis soup keeps well, freezes well, and heats up even better each time. I always take a loaf of fresh bread along also, or some rolls, and viola! a meal ready to go! The soup is easy to make also.

Good luck!

[suziking]

I just had a baby and the most wonderful thing that some of my friends did was arrange a day to bring me dinner. They brought over a hot dinner - right out of their oven with veggies and bread, From their oven to our able - so all our family had to do was to find the dinner table and set it.

I got also of frozen pasta dishes - but something hot with a veggie to go along was my favorite. Then you don't have to worry about what freezes.

Personal Chef probably has some good idea for frozen dishes!

suzi

[funnybone]

keeganm, I just wanted to say "welcome" to this board. You are the newest member, according to the main BB page!!

[GayeC]

This is a different kind of lasagne, a very comforting dish for those who are sick and/or worn out! I have posted it before but thought it would just be easier to post it again. Almost any meal is appreciated by new mothers. Your efforts will not be in vain! Gaye

Chicken-Cheese Lasagne

8 T. butter
8 T. flour
4 c. milk (I have used as low as ½%)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked
12 lasagne noodles
4 c. grated extra sharp cheddar cheese

Melt butter over low heat. Whisk in flour and increase heat to medium. Cook for one minute. Add milk and whisk over medium heat until sauce is thick and bubbly. Keep warm and set aside. Cook lasagne accrding to package directions. Shred (or chop, although shredded seems to make a nicer casserole) chicken.

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Spread a small amount of. sauce over the bottom of pan. Place 4 lasagne noodles in pan. Top with one half of the chicken, one third of the cheese, and one third of the sauce. Layer 4 additional noodles, the remainder of the chicken, another one third of the cheese, and one third of the sauce. Layer the remaining 4 noodles and the remainder of the cheese and sauce.

Loosely cover with foil and bake at 350° until bubbly. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

[Tiina]

Thanks for posting your recipe, Gaye! I've been watching this thread for ideas. If baby doesn't come soon, I'll have to start whipping up dishes. Five days overdue and counting...

[gobluem82]

There was another thread a couple of months ago on a similar topic, so there may be some suggestions there as well. One note of caution--if the mothers are nursing, foods with garlic, onion, broccoli, etc. can cause gassy babies. From personal experience, this is not fun! Neither was going without garlic for a few months--I think that was tougher than going without wine during my pregnancy! Anyway, the Chicken-Cheese Lasagna would certainly fill the bill, and so would a lot of other recipes. You're very sweet to do such a nice thing for your friends.

[SueK]

GayeC-Thanks for that great recipe. I have a friend due any day now, and plan to make this for her. I figured she'll be busy enough with 4 kids, so I wanted to do something for her, and this recipe sounds great.

[keeganm]

I can't believe the responses I've received to my question, this is great! The Chicken Cheese lasagna sounds perfect, I'll be making 4 of them and will let you know how it goes! This is the first time I've used this bulletin board and am still trying to figure out how it works, I wasn't sure if anyone would even see my message since I'm such a novice at this. Thanks so much again for your help!

Michele

[GayeC]

Originally posted by Tiina
Thanks for posting your recipe, Gaye! I've been watching this thread for ideas. If baby doesn't come soon, I'll have to start whipping up dishes. Five days overdue and counting...

5 days overdue! How frustrating for you! I hope the baby will come very soon and that all will go smoothly. Keep us posted. By the way, there are some threads by pregnant women on the Healthy Living board that may be of interest to you. Gaye

[Personal Chef]

What about Cooking Light's Loaded Macaroni and Cheese? You could throw in an extra vege and add chicken or ham.

This recipe is really good and easy. I love sauce so I keep the sauce ingredients the same and only use 2 breasts. The sauce is a bit tangy so you may want to start off w/ 1/4c. balsamic and then increase.

Braised Balsamic Chicken

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme


Directions
1 Season chicken breasts with ground black pepper and
garlic salt. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet, and brown
the onion and seasoned chicken breasts.
2 Pour tomatoes and balsamic vinegar over chicken, and
season with basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme. Simmer until
chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 15 minutes.

[suziking]

Personal Chef -

Can you freeze that chicken dish?

I would love to try to prepare ahead more meals. Could you give me some hints on what is good to freeze and what isn't. In what process of the cooking do you freeze something? etc..

Thanks!! Suzi

[Personal Chef]

You can freeze this dish. For ease, you could cut the chicken into pieces--this would help a bit with reheating. Or if you want the breasts whole, I would undercook them SLIGHTLY and then reheat over low heat on the stove top in a skillet and cover w/a lid. There are few things that you can't freeze--something of them being raw tomatoes, egg whites and sour cream. May I suggest Prevention's Freezer Cookbook to you? It's a good starting point for you. When freezing meat or poultry, always make sure you have plenty of sauce with it. The sauce helps to keep your entree from drying out. I know these guidelines are general. Also, take a look at the freezer section in your grocery store. That's a great place to check out what's good for the freezer.

[Personal Chef]

P.S. It's a little early in the morning for me to be making sense. Pardon the weird response.

When freezing rice or pasta w/out a sauce, add a bit of oil and toss. This will prevent sticking. I've also used no-stick spray in lieu of oil. Add some type of liquid when reheating rice-small amount of water, wine or stock. Pasta doesn't need liquid to reheat.

[Packy]

Originally posted by Personal Chef
You can freeze this dish. For ease, you could cut the chicken into pieces--this would help a bit with reheating. Or if you want the breasts whole, I would undercook them SLIGHTLY and then reheat over low heat on the stove top in a skillet and cover w/a lid. There are few things that you can't freeze--something of them being raw tomatoes, egg whites and sour cream. May I suggest Prevention's Freezer Cookbook to you? It's a good starting point for you. When freezing meat or poultry, always make sure you have plenty of sauce with it. The sauce helps to keep your entree from drying out. I know these guidelines are general. Also, take a look at the freezer section in your grocery store. That's a great place to check out what's good for the freezer. Thanks for the tip about Prevention's Freezer Cookbook. I just pulled it up on Amazon.com and am going to order it. Do you refer to this cookbookoften in your personal cheffing. Where did you really learn the basics of what you can freeze or not. That's just something I've never really done so I'm so unfamiliar with cooking in advance and then freezing what I've made.

[Personal Chef]

Great! I'm glad you're ordering it. I learned what to and not freeze from the USPCA, other personal chefs, leftovers I've prepared for myself and books. Mainly, I refer to Prevention's book on reheating instructions. They are pretty detailed in their instructions. Another tip, be sure you cool down the food quickly and properly, either use an ice bath or if you aren't preparing a lot of food, cool it down in the freezer. Food must be cooled quickly to prevent freezer burn and bacteria growth. It's also important to use the proper size container. Too much air in a container can also cause freezer burn. If you have specific recipes you're thinking of freezing I'd be happy to give you tips.

[Personal Chef]

Typo--cool food in fridge not freezer. Oh boy! I think today is going to be one of those days!:p

[suziking]

Personal Chef - I think I will have to get that book too! I have this really yummi chicken enchalada recipe that I usually double and put some in freezer. When I cook the frozen ones - the tortillas have absorbed most of the white sauce and they turn out kind of dry. Any suggestions???

Thanks a ton!!!

Suzi

[suziking]

Personal Chef - I am just full of questions today. You said the fridge. Why would you put it in the fridge instead of the freezer right away?

Thanks again! Suzi

[Tina_B]

I just had a baby five months ago, and the food gifts I most appreciated were the baking. Breads squares, cakes, etc. Not for me - I didn't really need it at that point in time. But, it was nice to have to offer to all the visitors dropping in. I didn't have to worry about impressing anyone with my culinary skills, with a brand new baby.

[Personal Chef]

Suziking--I would double sauce or freeze the enchiladas without the sauce and freeze the sauce in a separate container. After both have thawed, pour on sauce then bake.

Foods need to be cooled down quickly to avoid bacteria growth and they need to be completely cooled so you don't get freezer burn. That's why I suggested that if you are not cooking a ton of food to put it in the fridge to finish cooling. Beware though that if the dish is too hot it will bring down the temp. of your fridge and may cause spoilage of other items and you'll have a condensation build up.