dinners and what to take

When we were young and poor (now we are old and poor, but I can afford better pot luck meals. LOL)
I had to take a "salad" to someone who had had a baby or something. It was thru my church, The Presbyterian Church in Elko, NV.....and since we were poor, the only thing I had in my fridge were carrots and I had some raisins in the cupboard.
So I made carrot and raisin salad.

Who the heck takes carrot and raisin salad to someone? Most people don't even like it (do you?).
It was all I had.

the best meal brought to me was when Dustin was born......so this meal will be 24 years old on the 1st of August. That was the first time I had it anyway...
hamburger Soup
Jell-O
French bread.

The soup is in the FF soup cookbook (for those of you who don't have one......call me). It was just a good beef soup made with ground beef and barley.
and the Jell-O? The lady (her name was Faye Carrillo) put a touch of cinnamon in it. It was just red Jell-O with fruit cocktail and a hint of cinnamon.

So, when I think of taking someone something, that is the meal, I always think would be the best. It was good and easy on the stomach and....GOOD. Not very fancy, but good. :~)

I asked this question because Traci is taking dinners to her friend/cousin who is going thru chemo treatments. Traci is organizing a group of women to do it.

from Traci Marques in Los Banos:
I would really be interested in these answers.........thanks! :0)

I took Linda&Dean a bbq'd tri tip, wild rice, green salad and rolls last week. I think the next time I take dinner it will be pork of some kind. Linda can't handle anything greasy or fried at the moment.

from Meghan Stone in Livermore, CA:
hmmmm.meatballs in a sauce? and dried pasta? that way they can use right away or easily freeze for later...soup is always good, hard to bring to someone tho, to get a disposable container big enough... there are these tubs I want --they are 32oz, or something - perfect for sharing soup, they sell at a restaurant supplier by the case - 250 are like $60,,, but worth it, they are heavy duty plastic with a tight lid, two tubs of soup would be the perfect share.


from Laura Gunter in Elko, NV
WHO, incidentally probably received the same dinner from Faye Carrillo since we had our babies on the same day and we both went to the Presbyterian Church...
Laura:
It is easier for me I think because when we take something to is sick, just out of hospital, new baby etc, we do it as a group. I get a call telling what is needed and I “volunteer” for one item…But if it were me all by myself then I would take spaghetti or lasagna with a salad-even the bagged kind-and rolls, or my personal favorite, boneless fried chicken with mashed potatoes & gravy, a veggie and rolls, or something like that so they could have leftovers. (When I am a part of the “group” that delivers, one usually bakes a ham, a second person takes a salad, another a veggie, there is usually a potato casserole of some type and rolls. This way, they can munch for a couple of days…then if it is needed…a 2nd set of people will contribute in about 3 days so they can start all over again.)

When we do pot luck…I usually take a desert. I am a better desert cooker that anything else cooker…or I will take Connie Bell’s Taco Salad. Always my fear that what I take will not be interesting or tasty enough and I will end up taking home as much as I took to the event…Taco Salad & deserts so far haven’t failed me.

from me/debbie:
you know how someone will say "it's a small world"?
Well, in Friday Friend land...it's a small world too. The "Connie-Bell" that Laura speaks of.....is Faye Carrillo's ex-daughter in law. I have her taco salad recipe too!! Connie-Bell's that is.

from Gina Jones, Winnemucca, NV:
I usually take lasagna or spaghetti to someone who is sick or had a baby. Its easy to make and can last a couple of days.

Pot lucks are pretty varied for me. Depends on how busy I am or if I have a new recipe I want to try out etc. I range from pasta dishes to appetizers.

from Barbara Brown, Buckeye, AZ:
I must be a lousy person, as I don't remember taking any food to someone who was sick, etc. I need to change my ways!The last potluck I went to here at Festival, I brought a cold rice salad with artichokes. It's really delicious. I think usually I stick with the salad category. It's hard to bring warm/hot stuff, as it isn't always easy to keep things at a warm temp when going to a potluck.Another thing I make is Chinese Chicken Wings. They are yummy hot cold or lukewarm.Speaking of lukewarm, how's the married guy, Luke, doing?!

from me/debbie:
LOL...I told Barb he was doing good. I called him on Sunday night at 9:00, our usual calling time, but he was "getting ready for bed". Mara was in brushing her teeth....he said "can I get back with you tomorrow mom?"
Barb said he sounded like an old married person..... actually what she said was this:
That's pathetic. That's when I go to bed!! He should be ashamed. Unless, he's not going to go to bed to sleep.....................................

me/debbie
I thought he was looking for some action and wanted his mama off the phone.
He laughed when he called today and said it was because they get up at 4:00 to go to work.
goes to show what we know!! LOL

from Diana Elwess, Elko, NV:
To potluck, potato saladtaking a meal would be a casserole or lasagna


from my mom Bev Hambelton in Kennewick, WA:
1) meals to sick people and their families ( or people who've had operations or some such thing) I take a complete dinner, like a casserole, salad, veggie or rolls and a dessert

2) pot lucks I take a really good recipe of mine like a salad or dessert (cake) or a meat dish which I hope I get a lot of compliments on.


from me/debbie:
my mom was always big on taking TP too. Like when there is a death in the family..... it sounds weird, but you would be surprised at how much it is appreciated and needed. No one thinks of things like that when a tragedy happens. And it would be just my luck to have to stand up at Rich's funeral dinner and tell everyone I had to run to the store to buy toilet paper!!!
So....really....it's a good thing.

from Betty Butner in Enterprise, OR:
Baked ham, baked pork chops, meat loaf, scalloped potatoes, plain creamed potatoes, Jell-O dishes, creamed peas & carrots, green salad, puddings and cake.

from Jolina Adams, Winnemucca, NV:
soup for the sickos I make a pretty good chicken noodle, and a good potato soup too, but it's pretty rich, so not for the sick ones - perhaps for the potluck.depends on the theme for the potluckare there kids? that changes things too.

from Theda Larson----OMG, I wrote Larson--ahahahahhahaaa, she hasn't been a Larson in 26 years--TOMORROW. Tomorrow it will be the big 26 for Theda and John PANSEVICIUS.
lol
from Theda Pansevicius in Tualatin, OR:
Guess I have healthy friends or no friends. I really have not taken anything. Actually I have a co-worker who is new to our office and works across from me-- she has cancer. This is her 3rd time with colon cancer and she also has liver cancer.
It all happened so fast her boss did not set up anything. Perhaps it is different when people live all over. I felt bad that we have not done anything but she is new to the office and has close family and friends.

As for pot lucks I don't just bring. I have to be given a direction: main dish, dessert or a salad. I think that I usually try for dessert. Here in our cul de sac we do have lots of "pot lucks". Mainly we just bring our own meat and beverage and whatever else. We sometimes will say "you bring this" or "that" but we don't end up with 5 of the same salads. For the 4th of July we had lots of food and not one was the same thing. We each brought a dessert and not one the same. We had 7 different desserts, yum.

Happy day to you. I am painting the back of the house and have to move outside. But first I will check a few more of your emails.


from me/debbie:
that is so funny, because when we have get togethers and they say, "bring appetizers" it always happens that, in our little group, 3 of us show up with the same appetizer!! It happened with artichoke dip on winter. And that is not a common appetizer, is it?
They were all good, but when there are only 7 couples invited and 3 of the 7 apps are the same, it's a bit disappointing. Funny, but disappointing.
it has happened a few times, but the artichoke dip was the first time and there just was not a lot of variety there, I mean in the remaining 4 appetizers, LOL
I wish I lived in a cul-de-sac that had get togethers. I'm a horrible neighbor person.

But I do have a new best friend....he is five and he lives next door. His name is Issac or Issahia or something like that. He was riding his bike and he asked if he could drive in my cement and I told him sure....but then I couldn't get rid of him!! He followed me around while I was getting cobwebs and he even came into my backyard with me.
Guess what? His last name is "Wilson" (his dad is tony and he works at Valmy--where Gina works)
April thinks it ironic that the name whom Dennis the Mennace mennaced was Mr. Wilson.
She thinks it's somekind of cosmic payback for me or something.
HA