Need a Good Meal Recipe for a Neighbor That Just Had a Baby

Everyone always makes pasta - so I'm giving an Enchilada recipe. I made this last night and my husband loved it! You can even use a rotisserie chicken, so it is even easier/faster. Really, it is SOOOO easy!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Campbells-Kitchen-Creamy-Chi...
Spanish rice as a side. :)

Missy E. made a similar request on March 14th you may want to check it out. Here is what I suggested.
Here is my award winning King Ranch chicken recipe.
You can make this up in a big baker and then divide it up to freeze or you can prepare in 3 different containers and then freeze.

1cup Chicken Broth
8 to 10 corn tortillas or bag of tortilla chips (be careful to purchase lightly salted or no salt chips)
1 lb boned chicken. (you can even uses a store bought roasted chicken)
1 medium onion finely chopped
1/2 bell pepper chopped
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese (or sharp cheddar cheese)
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 11oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 11 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 can of Rotel tomatoes with chilies

1 cover bottom of 8x11 (or 9x13) baking dish with tortillas that have been dipped in chicken broth. Place chicken over tortillas. sprinkle onions and peppers in next layer. Sprinkle chili powder and cumin over this.
2. Squish the Rotel tomatoes into the 2 cream soups until fairly well blended and pour this mixture on top. Cover with remaining cheese.
3. Cook in a 350 degrees for 40 minute. Do NOT cover. Place foil or baking sheet on next rack below to catch any spillage.

I think this is best the day after cooked when reheated..

When I had my daughter my mom made meals for hubby and son as I was at the hospital many nights. My sons favorite was the Ham and Potato soup. (he was 4 at the time)

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through.

Get a loaf of crusty bread and you can bring it over in a crock pot that she can just plug in until it is warm. (that's how my mom did it)

this is my standard recipe. So here goes. its easy and kids love it

1 lb box rigatoni
1 large jar prego or ragu spag sauce
1 lb ground beef browned and drained
2 cups mozzarella cheese

make pasta according to directions drain
put into baking dish (I use a cake pan or something about that size) put hamburger over top and pour ragu/sauce over all and mix up a little bit. put into oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until hot all the way thru. pull out and spread cheese evenly over top. place back in oven until cheese is bubbly. its good and most kids like spaghetti type stuff. bonus with this is no noodles to cut so less mess for the little ones. serve it with garlic bread and a salad and your good to go.

When we had our 2nd, the meals were a lifesaver! To us, that was the best gift anyone could have given.......

Bar-B-Q Chicken

Put some frozen chicken breasts in a foil pan and top with bar-b-q sauce. She can put in the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350 and it's done! We really like the Uncle Ben's chicken flavored rice for a side dish. And butter bread. Add a bag of salad and you've got a whole meal!

Enchiladas

1# browned (and seasoned) hamburger
1 can spanish rice
1 can refried beans
Mix together.

Spread taco sauce on bottom of pan.

Place a scoop of mixture in a torilla shell and roll up. Place in pan on top of taco sauce. Repeat till mixture is gone.

Put another layer of taco sauce over top of enchiladas. Sprinkle cheese over top of sauce.

Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes or till cheese is melted and slightly brown.

We serve this with Uncle Bens' Spanish rice.

A great meal was one that my neighbor brought over to my house after I had my 4th baby! It is a pasta dish, and I used her recipe but then modified it to make it even easier. Cook a large bag of noodles, any kind you want. Draon and then stir in two cans of cream of "anything" soup, one half of a container of sour cream, salt and pepper to taste. Also add a cup of chicken broth. Then take a cooked chicken (the kind you get from the store already cooked). Pull the meat off and throw it in the pasta stir it together. Add your favorite cheese and you're done! It's so easy and all of my kids love this!

Here are two easy crock pot recipes that can be complete meals as is:

Tuscan Chicken and Artichokes

Ingredients:
2 pkg (9 oz each) frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted and divided (I just used canned)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14 oz) reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs (I used breast)
1 tsp. Mediterranean or Greek seasoning
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 c. halved grape tomatoes
1 pkg. (11 oz) dry whole-wheat couscous
Chopped parsley, optional

Directions:
1. In a 3 ½ or 4-qt. show cooker, combine one pkg. of artichoke hearts, onion, garlic, and broth. Add chicken and sprinkle with seasoning, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours. Then place zucchini, tomatoes and second pgk. artichoke hearts in the cooker; re-cover and heat for another 15 minutes, or until veggies are cooked.
2. Remove chicken and vegetables with a slotted spoon; cover w/ foil to keep warm. Stir the couscous into remaining liquid. Cover and cook 5 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Sever chicken and veggies over couscous. Top w/ parsley if desired.

Beef and Potatoes w/ Rosemary

Ingredients:
1 lb. red potatoes, medium, cut in fourths
1 c. baby carrots
3 lb. chuck roast, boneless (beef)
3 Tbs. Dijon mustard
2 Tbs. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ c. onion, finely chopped
1 ½ c. beef broth

Directions:
Place potatoes and carrots in slow cooker.
Trim excess fat from beef. Mix mustard, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; spread evenly over beef. Place beef in cooker. Sprinkle onion over beef. Pour broth evenly over beef and vegetables.
Cover, cook on low heat setting 8-10 hours, until beef and veggies are tender.
Remove beef and veggies from cooker using slotted spoon; place on serving platter. Skim fat from beef juices in cooker if desired. Serve beef w/ juices.

Enjoy!
J.

Everyone is going to think I'm horrible.

As a new mom, I preferred for people not to cook for me as my husband is a very picky eater and often wasn't interested in what their generosity provided (we threw a lot of what people brought away) and didn't have space for leftovers.

When I went through chemo after the birth of our daughter, people again rose to the challenge. The best dinner we received was a Papa Murphy's pizza, bread sticks and cookie dough. She'd found out what toppings to get/avoid and we could stick in the oven when we were ready.

Pasta is always easy and tends to be popular, but everyone brings it. One of my favorites during chemo was beef stew, but my husband wouldn't eat it. Another neighbor made a homemade chicken pot pie that was really good.

If you can swing it, I'd almost suggest inviting the older kids to your house and feeing them there and allowing the new mom/dad some alone time with the new baby (if you can manage it and if they are interested).

It's very kind of you - I hope I didn't come across as ungrateful. It was just the reality of the situation in our house.

One of our favorites recently has been Garlic Lime Chicken served with rice
•1/2 cup soy sauce
•1/4 cup fresh lime juice
•1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
•3 garlic cloves, minced
•1/2 tsp. dry mustard
•1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
•boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Marinade the chicken for atleast a couple hours in the above ingredients, when ready to cook remove chicken from marinade & discard. I then either grill the chicken or put in the over for approx 45 minutes @ 375*.

Another easy on is just Baked Chicken & Rice

I prepare the rice using 3/4 of the water that the recipe on the box/bag of rice calls for and a can of cream of mushroom soup in a baking dish then lay the Boneless, skinless chicke breast on top of the rice. Cover and bake @ 375* for approx 45 minutes, flipping the chicken half way through.

I would agree with bringing over some Papa Murphy's pizzas or other grocery store pizzas and let them make them at their discretion!

My sister brought me stuff for Sloppy Joe's, a pasta salad (for the kids) and a HUGE green Salad for me!

The sloppy joes were a big hit... easy to warm up the filling, pile on a hamburger bun and whaola! They were tasty, easy and cheap.

I am a big salad lover so my sis cut up all my favorite "add-ins" to a salad and packed them in Ziploc containers and then brought over some bagged greens and 2 different kinds of dressings...it was perfect and lasted more than one meal...and I loved that I didn't have to feel guilty about eating so much because after all, it was only salad:)

*Cooked chicken
*Tomato,onion,avacado,cucumbers,etc.
*Green olives
*Nuts of all kinds
*Raisins and cranberries
*Hard boiled eggs
*Feta cheese

YUMMY!

How about lasagna? That was my favorite dish I was given when I had our baby. Don't forget the bread and salad to go with it. :-)