Quick and acceptable meal train dinners

doodlesmom ↓

Thu, May 19 2022, 9:42 am

After all these threads, maybe it would be helpful if people post easy and acceptable meal train dinners so people have ideas what to make.

I’ll start
Blended veg soup, any veg- I do sweet pot, squash, carrot. Sauté onion garlic, add sliced veg sauté a bit- add water and spices, cook and blend.

Chicken cutlets thin- baked.
Mixture of 1 cup crumbs, 1/2 cup oil, T honey, parsley flakes garlic salt. Toss well with cutlets bake 375* for 18-20 min

Quinoa or rice in oven.
Easy veg salad.

Cut up fruit, or easy fruit compote- but not cheap-
1 pack frozen rhubarb, blueberry, strawberry boiled up with 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla sugar. Let cool.

amother

Mimosa ↓

Thu, May 19 2022, 9:59 am

Doing this in my neighborhhod 20 years Lzecher nishmas my Bubby. I work FT ... My go to meals (1/2 hour active prep time):

Broiled chicken, 25% more than dinner eaters (for lunch next day), sweet potatoes or rice
or
1 1/2 or 2 trays of dairy spinach lasagna
or
Tray of meatballs and sauce and tray of spaghetti
or
Fresh fish for adults NOT FRIED, kid-friendly fish, rice or sweet potatoes

AND
Dressed salad (ie Israeli, Caesars), or undressed cut garden salad with bottle of dressing, unopened or cut up kid-friendly veggies lined neatly in pan with hummus or bottle of dressing on side

AND
Cut melon, oranges or washed grapes enough for meal plus snacking.

My family loves when I'm sending a meal because we eat the same fresh out of the oven dinner- guaranteed no leftovers for dinner that day. Wink

...and I always prep an extra meal or two of meatballs or lasagna for the freezer when I do this- it adds 10 minutes but saves me at least an hour in the future.

amother

Firethorn

Thu, May 19 2022, 10:04 am

How do people send soup? Its hot to put into containers and messy.

I make: a carb, a protein/salad, dessert. Sorry thats all im doing and people never complain.

Schnitzel, roasted broccoli, potatoes, brownies.

Baked ziti, israeli salad, CCC.

salmon, string beans, rice, muffins.

I started recently making fresh hot schnitzel, roasted potatoes, israeli salad. In small containers I put ketchup, bbq sauce, duck sauce and hot sauce. And a tray of brownies. I get compliemnted all the time on it. Who doesnt like schnitzel? Wink

my dh drops it off on his way to yeshiva for night seder so its still hot when I fry it

↑ doodlesmom ↓

Thu, May 19 2022, 10:06 am

Just put into my oven the baked chicken and minutes steak and realized it’s also easy and gives 2 diff options for families,
Layer onions, minute steak and chicken bottoms and spice, cover well, bake for a long time on 300*.
Use sides etc. suggested above.
Or
Potato salad whatever…

amother

Floralwhite

Thu, May 19 2022, 10:07 am

A pan of baked chicken and potatoes is perfectly acceptable in my book.
I feel sorry for people who feel it's not good enough and would resent a person who provided them a nourishing, tasty, satisfying meal such as that.

amother

↑ Mimosa ↓

Thu, May 19 2022, 10:12 am

amother [ Firethorn ] wrote:

How do people send soup? Its hot to put into containers and messy.

After cool, put in large deli containers. R c
I usually only do chicken soup for Shabbos. I either pick up the family's soup pot or send a disposable alum pot that I tape/ Foil the lid on.

Also, Shabbos cholent is brought assembled and raw in the crock pot liner. I set the liner in their crockpot, add necessary water and turn on.

Kudos Firethorn for hot fresh schnitzel. Yum! In my house, the age apprpriate kid who wants schnitzel fries it. I help with cleanup. Talk about messy!

pause ↓

Thu, May 19 2022, 10:20 am

Blended soup

Any protein with a quick sauce over it, whether salmon slices with a garlic-dill dressing or chicken with apricot jam-oil-honey, shoved into the oven and baked as needed

For a side I usually do sweet potato wedges but that's not very quick. Pasta, rice, and mashed potatoes are quicker options.

String beans are quick in the oven. Splash of oil and spices and bake, first covered and then uncovered. If I want to be fancy I add sauteed onions or cubed peppers.

Salad is cherry tomatoes and lettuce thrown together with a dressing and croutons on the side.

Cake - I usually double whatever I'm baking for Shabbos, but otherwise you can use a cake mix. I also have a quick and easy fudgy brownie which mixes directly in the pan. I make it often. (If anyone wants, I can post the recipe.)

Doesn't take more than 45 min total.

cuffs

Thu, May 19 2022, 10:22 am

I know people really appreciate schnitzel. I send with fresh rolls and ingredients to make sandwiches. A blended soup for mommy.
I also do a lot of meatballs and spaghetti and people always tell me their kids love it.

amother

Bone

Thu, May 19 2022, 10:34 am

Always give a soup
I've done meatballs and spaghetti
Breaded Chicken steak and corn on the cob
Marinated Grilled chicken cutlets and vegetable love mein
Baked fish variation, eggplant parmisan
I find all of these easy, and obviously make enough for my own family as well, so it isn't too much of a big deal.
I just need to know enough in advance to buy enough of everything.

amother

↑ Mimosa ↓

Thu, May 19 2022, 10:35 am

pause wrote:

I also have a quick and easy fudgy brownie which mixes directly in the pan. I make it often. (If anyone wants, I can post the recipe.).

Yes, please. TIA

amother

Magenta ↓

Thu, May 19 2022, 11:05 am

I recently got a great one (my kids are still little so they weren't really counted in this, it's not necessarily the most kid friendly but it was perfect for us adults!): baked salmon, quinoa, roasted vegetables, cut up salad with dressing on the side and cookies from store bought frozen dough. Coming from another young mother who told me she was bringing this supper to 3 other people on the same night!

I thought it was brilliant - almost everything could be made in the oven, it all fit nicely/was made directly in disposable pans and the only thing she really had to spend time on was cutting up the salad. Plus the cookies were delicious and no one needs to know they came from the store freezer!

↑ pause ↓

Thu, May 19 2022, 11:19 am

amother [ Mimosa ] wrote:

Yes, please. TIA

1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 heaping Tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup oil
4 eggs

Mix dry ingredients right in the 9x13 pan. Add oil and eggs and mix until you get a thick consistency that pulls away from the sides of the pan. Bake at 350 for about half hour.

Topping: I take baking chocolate and rub it across the top of the cake while it's warm, until the chocolate melts all over the top. Sprinkle on top with whatever I have at home: chocolate sprinkles, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, or nothing.

If I want to be fancy, I do two toppings, half on one side and half on the other and then I slice the cake into bars, arrange on a platter with alternating toppings. Looks really nice.

Last edited by pause on Thu, May 19 2022, 11:48 am; edited 1 time in total

↑ pause ↓

Thu, May 19 2022, 11:20 am

amother [ Magenta ] wrote:

What kind of roasted vegetables? Did they not need peeling and cubing?

tweety1

Thu, May 19 2022, 11:20 am

Cubed melons, deli roll-sounds fancy but it takes me 5 min to put together. Store bought pre rolled pastry dough, smear sauce, put cold cuts on top and roll it up. I do it all the time. Breaded salmon, baked breaded cutlets or bottoms, angel hair garlic salad. These are things that I regularly cook for others.

amother

↑ Magenta ↓

Thu, May 19 2022, 11:21 am

pause wrote:

What kind of roasted vegetables? Did they not need peeling and cubing?

Zucchini, mushrooms and grape tomatoes - no peeling just washing (I assume!) and the zucchini was sliced but the rest were whole.

lamplighter ↓

Thu, May 19 2022, 11:24 am

Dinner done 9x13 section is my best friend for meal train meals.
I try to make milchigs bc most people make fleishigs and it's easy lunch leftovers for the mother (who wants to eat fleishigs for lunch).

Raisin ↓

Thu, May 19 2022, 11:33 am

Easy pasta with cheese for the little kids (or baked ziti, mac and cheese wtvr)

Baked salmon for parents and older kids.

Salad.

Optional: hearty lentil-veggie soup. Dessert. (I really don't think a weekday meal NEEDS a homemade dessert, so I think throwing in a bought bag of cookies is totally fine)

spaghetti and meatsauce - even easier than meatballs and just as good.

Reality

Thu, May 19 2022, 11:41 am

Roast chicken
Baked fries/baked sweet potato fries
Salad with dressing on the side
Cut up melon/home made brownies, sometimes both.

If it isn't melon season, I've stuck in a bag of clementines.

In the US I worked full time. I only signed up for Sunday or to send part of a shabbos meal.