Volunteered to make dinner for family of 3 - HELP!

A co-worker of mine has 2 children and his wife was sent to Iraq. People in my office are taking turns preparing meals for him to take home to his family on weekends while mom is away. I volunteered.

Here's the problem - I'm in my mid-20s and am only used to cooking for myself and in accordance with my taste buds. I don't know what young children eat! I have a feeling they aren't going to take to my chicken marsala or veal saltimbocca.

Does anyone have any suggestions on something that will be:

1. easy to make
2. not too expensive
3. nutritious
4. appeal to young children (ages 3 and 6)

Thanks so much for your help!!

-Erica

oh - and suggestions on serving size would also be appreciated.

Teriyaki chicken tenders
green beans
mac-n-cheese
yeast rolls

1. How do you make Teriyaki chicken tenders?

2. Just steam the green beans? I usually sautee in garlic and oil - kids don't like that, do they?

3. I don't even know what a yeast roll is.

Erica -

How about a nice big pot of homemade chicken noodle/veggie soup and cheese biscuits or rolls? Add some cold milk and brownies and you're good to go.

That's really nice of you all to volunteer to help this family and support our troops - WTG!!!


Lisa

Thanks Lisa - it's really no big deal. I hate cooking for 1 - I throw most of the food away! It'll be nice to cook for others for once.

Your menu sounds great! Any simple recipes for the soup and/or biscuits?

-Erica

Erica,

Relax and think about the things that you liked when you were a kid. Some suggestions:

Spagehtti and Meatballs
Mac and Cheese
Chicken drumsticks
Hamburger casserole
Pizza
A big plate of sandwiches and a salad
Lasange.

I could go on and on. If you look around the sit for awhile I'm sure you will find any recipe that you desire.

Thanks for helping out these folks. I'm sure it will mean alot to them.

By the by Chicken Teriyaki is just boneless, skinless breasts of chicken that has been marinated in teriyaki sauce and then sauted. You could add anything to the saute that you think might taste good

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

BB

Spaghetti or Lasanga
Green Salad or carrot and celery stick tray w/ Ranch dressing
Garlic bread

Brownies

You can't go wrong with kids and spaghetti!

How about a nice big pan of Lasange, to make it simple use the non-cook lasange noodle's, a big loaf of italian or french bread. Ice Cream to finish.

quote:

Originally posted by BakersBoy


Relax and think about the things that you liked when you were a kid.

I was a weird kid.

Oh, and 2 people have already prepared some sort of variation of italian pasta (ie: lasagne, stuffed shells) - so I thought I'd go with something different.

You have all provided me with some great suggestions... but how much do I prepare? 2 young kids and 1 adult male.

If you want generally simple, non-fancy recipes by ordinary common people, go to Hungry Monster at http://www.hungrymonster.com/recipe/recipe-search.cfm

They have over 52,000 recipes by categories that people have submitted.

As far as quantities, I would figure 2 1/2 to 3 servings that you would eat. The kids would each eat about 1/2 of your size servings and the adult male about 1 1/2 to 2 of your size servings (unless you really like to stuff yourself).

Kraft Foods has a lot of kid-friendly recipes also: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/FoodandFamily/

Cheeseburger Macaroni(homemade not Hamburger Helper)
Fiesta Applesauce( quart of applesauce with a package of jello (blue raspberry espcially popular)added, mixture warmed then served warm or cold, kid perennial asked for on this street)

Bisquick Impossible Pies......variety listed here:
http://busycooks.about.com/od/impossiblepies/r/imposschixbroc.htm

kid friendly and man friendly fare

Chicken Pie
Salad
Fruit
Corn on the Cob
Brownies or Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sloppy Joe Mixture or Manwich
Buns
Coleslaw
Chips
Baked Beans
Fruit

What about baked chicken with mashed potatoes and gravey and corn... cupcakes for dessert

If you make a large pan of Lasange you can keep it in the frig for a few days, also you can freez any leftovers.

My best feed a family recipe ( this is great funeral food too)is an easy casserole. My kid loved it and has begged for it all his life. It helps that I also love it.
Cook two packages of Uncle Ben's ORIGINAL RECIPE rice.
Saute a couple of medium onions, chopped up, in a good amt of butter while you roast two boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
To your sauted onions, add enough flour to get a sort of cream gravey going, then add half and half to loosen it up pretty well. Shred your chicken. Mix the whole mess up in a good casserole dish (you will probably have enough for two medium casseroles, so could keep one for yourself). Put slivered Almonds all over it and bake it at 375 for 30 minutes.
A packaged salad and a bottle of dressing and a baguette rounds out the meal.

Make this with some corn and a jar of applesauce.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/stovetop/quikmeal.html

Erica
Do the work the evening before delivering the dish for the next days dinner for the family. I assume you have a refrig at work to hold the stuff chilled..If not use a cooler with the ice on the bottom
Baked Pork Chops(4) with Stuffing & Gravy
Either Corn or peas
Brownies

Brown the Pork Chops in a Hot Frying Pan, then stick'em in a corning ware type of baking dish. Prepare some Stovetop style stuffing and put a scoop of it on each chop. Mix a little Brown Gravy Mix in a bowl and pour it over the meat and stuffing. Bake about 45 min in a 350 degree oven. Cover with foil or the Corning Ware cover and refrigerate overnite.
Use 4 Pork Chops...2 for Dad and 1 for each child.
Send the veggies over in a Micro-proof bowl with instructions to heat them after heating the meat dish before serving.
Keep it Simple!

Originally posted by emsmom

Chicken Pie
Salad
Fruit
Corn on the Cob
Brownies or Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sloppy Joe Mixture or Manwich
Buns
Coleslaw
Chips
Baked Beans
Fruit





the Sloppy Joes are a good idea...

ok, I hate to admit this on this forum, but very often, I check Campbell's website for dinner ideas. just the other nite, I ran across something quick and easy that I cooked that evening. cheesyjoes. similar to sloppy joes. you fry up the hamburger meat like you would for sloppy joes (and drain), but instead of adding the sloppy joe stuff, you add a can of cheddar cheese soup (I added about a 1/4 can of water to rinse out the can), a tablespoon of mustard and a tablespoon of ketchup, stir it all up and serve on buns. the family highly approved.

I can't believe how helpful you have all been! What a great community! I'm printing all of these suggestions out now and plan to go home to decide on the menu.

btw - on a side note, i was walking by my paralegal's office when I heard my name mentioned then followed by giggles. Just to preface this story - I have a very good relationship with everyone at work - so I walked into my paralegal's office with a big grin and said, "I heard my name mentioned and then giggles, what is this all about??"

Well it just so happens I was the office gossip today. Everyone got a real kick out of the fact that I volunteered to make dinner for my co-worker. I started getting comments like, "where will you be ordering in from" - and other such nonsense.

This means war - and thanks to all of your suggestions I will be whipping up something pretty tasty to put all of their ideas about me to rest!

Thanks again!!

Erica

Erica, it's a good deed you're doing. hope you feel comfortable enough to volunteer more than once. I'll post some more things as I think of them.

I do remember a real easy recipe I found from a fellow poster on another board. but you need to call the cholesterol police first!

3 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 pkg hidden valley dry ranch dressing
3 slices bacon
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

lay chicken breasts in bottom of casserole dish. Sprinkle dry dressing mix on top. Lay bacon across and top with cheese. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake open for an additional 15 minutes.

OH and since I have discovered the "release" foil, I use it in the bottom of my pans on everything now. the most wonderful invention in the world.

another thing quick and easy I make for my son -- cook up hamburger meat and flavor with enchilida sauce (it's not spicy, just flavorful) lay a flour toritilla in the bottom of a cake pan, spoon on a little queso (use it from the jar for this recipe) and some sliced black olives, lay another tortilla, spread on the meat, tortilla, queso, torilla, meat, etc. finish off with shredded cheddar on top, bake 350 till melted -- 15 minutes. garnish with chopped tomatoes, lettuce, black olives and avacado (if the kids will eat it. LOL) let it set then cut it like a pie for them. it keeps well and the single servings microwave real easy.

you'll have some leftover meat, queso and tortillas. take that to them as well, with some chips, and they can fix up their own burritos quick and easy.

I would think that a Shepherd's Pie would go over pretty well. Basically, brown some ground beef (or turkey) with onion, salt pepper, and a bit of thyme, then add either brown gravy or a combination of Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Cook together for a while, then add vegetables like peas and carrots, corn, etc. Put into a baking dish and top with mashed potatoes, then bake at 350 or so until the top browns a bit. It's easy to make a large quantity and reheat it. Also, you can make it in a aluminum pan, so you don't have to worry about your baking dishes. It's a complete--and filling--meal.

Note: I usually use frozen vegetables for this. If you use fresh ones, boil, steam, or microwave them for a bit before adding them so they cook completely.

There are lots of more precise recipes on the Web.

My kids and grandkids loved veal and chicken marsala as well as saltimboca. Don't forget eggplant parmigiana, lasagna, ravioli.

You want REALLY easy? Here's two that both start with boneless skinless chicken breast.
#1 Preheat the oven to 325. Spray a casserole dish with Pam, put in 4 chicken breasts and pour a bottle of Italian dressing in. Cover the dish. Bake for 1 hour. Serve on rice.

#2.Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a casserole dish with Pam. Put in 4 chicken breasts. Mix 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 cup milk and a little black pepper with 1 large chopped onion, and pour it over the chicken. Bake 1 hour, maybe a little longer if the chicken breasts are big ones. Serve on rice.

Either one of these are good if you just add a salad or vegetable and rolls.

That is really nice of you to cook for your co-worker. Here's another easy meal that does well ahead of time and can be easily reheated. You need 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 can of sliced pineapple, 8 pre-cooked bacon slices, and 1/4th cup of soy sauce. Put the chicken breasts in a bowl and pour the liquid off the pineapple into it then add the quarter cup of soy sauce. Dump the chicken breasts (I do this while they are still frozen) in the pineapple juice/soy sauce marinade and let them sit for about an hour. Then turn the oven to 350 and place the chicken breasts, covered with 2 slices of the precooked bacon and a pineapple slice on a baking sheet and bake until done. I serve it with chicken ricearoni and peas and carrots and everyone likes it.

Speaking of pineapples...you cant get easier than a ham steak baked or cooked in the skillet with just a little brown sugar rubbed on it with pineapple chunks! Serve it with some easy veggies like corn and green beans.

Chicken Fingers,Mac & Cheese,green beans,Spaghetti,Grilled cheeses,Chicken &Pastry,Meatloaf,Mashed Taters,Tacos,Pizza, these are just afew.

Thanks to everyone for all of your suggestions. I ended up using Al-The Mayor-Bowen's pork chop recipe and a side of stringbeans and cupcakes for dessert.

Thanks again!!