ISO: Brain Dead - ISO easy reheatable meals that young kids will like....

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music-city-missy

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I am brain dead between working on taxes, work and everything else but one of our firefighters lost his house in the tornadoes that came through Friday afternoon. His wife and two boys, 3 & 7, were home. She got them to safety and then things started flying and she was critically hurt. They should be discharging one of the boys from the hospital today but she unfortunately wasn't so lucky - has a collapsed lung and crushed vertebrae and could possibly be laft paralyzed. One of the firemen has already got them a hosue close to their old one so the boys will have some semblance of normalcy and can go on back to school. Besides money, I thought some meals might be nice but my daughter is 14 and I MADE her try everything so I really can't think of what dishes I can make ahead for him to just reheat for the boys. Any ideas would be great.

I am also thinking about getting a crock pot and fixing 'packets' that he can just dump in there and go to work and come home to meals. I am doing my first of the crockpot cassoulet tomorrow and if it turns out good, might fix that in a vacuum packed bag. So things like that would probably work too.

TIA

 
Oh no, I'm so sorry..

And we are so lucky, but did spend the eve in the powder room downstairs.
I'm loving the spag and meatball idea. Also, I bought a pork tenderloin and will slice it to put in the crock (not much experience there) pour Wickers (the absolute newfound best in my house) and a bit of H2O over it for sandwiches. He could easily do that. How about a great mac and cheese with ham thrown in, or Burgers, if he grills. Hope that helps.

 
Here's a good Mac and Cheese recipe from Neener at the old swap...

I've never met a kid who didn't like macaroni and cheese. For kids, I leave out the bacon and onions. It could be made in foil pans and given with baking instructions, or frozen.

TDF Macaroni with Three Cheeses

1/2 lb smoked bacon
2 Tbs butter
1 small onion
2 Tbs flour
1 cup heavy cream
1 can (10oz) evaporated milk
1 Tbs sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup gruyere cheese
1 cup mozarella cheese (all shredded)
Macaroni - I use 5 heaping cups of penne (I use 1 lb.)
butter for baking dish - or PAM
handful of bread crumbs

Take smoked bacon, chop into one inch hunks and fry to crispy. Set aside. Use any drippings plus 2 Tbs butter to saute one small finely diced sweet onion. When onion is clear, sprinkle with 2 Tbs all-purpose flour. Make a roux and continue to fry until it turns a nutty brown color, like macadamia nuts. On the stove scald 1 cup heavy cream and 1 can of evaporated milk. Very slowly, add this milky mixture to the roux, half a cup at a time until it in incorporated and whisk until it becomes very creamy. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. To this add 1 Tbs granulated sugar, stir well. Remove from heat and add, 1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese, 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese and 1 cup shredded mozarella cheese. If it is too thick, gradually add some water, a few Tablespoons at a time. Add 1/4 tsp of fresh ground nutmeg. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper to taste.

Boil macaroni according to directions on pkg. and drain well. I use roughly five cups uncooked to make enough to fill a 9 x 13" baking dish. Pre-heat oven to 350*F. In a large bowl put cooked pasta and cheese sauce and mix well, pour into buttered baking dish. Sprinkle top with smoked bacon hunks and a handful of breadcrumbs. About forty minutes later, or when topping is nicely browned, voila

To Die For Mac and 3 Cheeses. I have subbed swiss cheese for the gruyere, brie for the mozarella and Monterey Jack for the cheddar. Any combos will work. I've also been known to bury broc and cauliflower florettes in the dish before baking.

 
Ask Dad what the kids won't eat- usually it is everything healthy that they hate...and then...

don't knock yourself out trying to make fancy stuff or trying to get balanced nutritional things into them. Things Mom usually cooks for them are the best way to go- hope you can find out what they are- Mac & Cheese, meatloaf, cheese enchiladas, spaghetti, baked chicken with a crunchy top, pot roast should all be "safe" territory. The idea of course is to just get food down these kids (dad too!)

I do a fair amount of cooking for people every week- just to help out- and I quickly learned that all my research and new recipes, all my time and energies were certainly appreciated but what folks want is their normal food in cases like this where their lives have been disrupted. Now I still try new recipes for them but stick to the tastes that they like. In many cases I have taken the actual recipes they know and like and made them without my tweaks (oh that is hard- to leave a recipe alone!)

Good luck, Missy- this is a good thing you are doing.

 
Hey - we're in the South here - leaving the bacon in!....

My biggest problem is that I fix some old fashioned comfort foods but you know me, I am always about trying new things so for some reason I am just drawing a blank here but this sounds great.

 
They were all over here Friday....

I work in downtown Nashville and they went to the North mainly - at least the main ones that did all the damage. Luckily, there was a 4 county Homeland Security massive $1M drill scheduled for Friday and Saturday so they already had equipment and teams in place and were able to get them out quickly. But they were just bouncing everywhere. As soon as I finally left work to head home I heard that if you lived south of town like I do to give it about 15 minutes because another cell had cropped up out of nowhere. They found 10 people dead and 2 more died overnight in hospitals. Just last Sunday night, we lost 24 people over in west TN as they came through there - it was rough here but not much damage as it continued through. We seem to be on some sort of Tornado Alley this year. The devistation from the ones Friday was just unbelievable - don't know when I have seen it just completely demolish a strip that I think they said ran for 10 miles.

My dad was a fireman and I know a good many of our firefighters so I feel particularly drawn to try and do something for them. Maybe with prayers she will be okay and not have paralysis but they said at best it will be a long road to recovery.

 
Oh, it's good with the bacon! Kids around here freak out at anything that doesn,t

look like the blue-boxed stuff. California Cuisine my foot!

It's a nice deed you're doing. It sounds like this family is in for a long ordeal. Is this something some of us could help with, i.e. sending cookies or something? I wouldn't want to intrude on anyone's privacy, but maybe the fire station's address is public?

 
Sure - let me get a better feel for his return to work....

I feel that right now he is probably not going to be working for at least a few shifts. But I know how most of these firefighters are and usually money is tight so I think he'll be back pretty soon depending on what they find out in the next day or two.

I should have a better feel tomorrow and I'll post more information. Thanks for thinking about that. It's always special to kids (even us adults) to get something in the mail so I bet that would really be great!

 
((Missy)) I was thinking of you when I saw the news on Friday. How about some soups or stews

chicken noodle soup or pot pies would be easy and comforting.

 
My 3 kids love the basics:

Mac & Cheese
Ghoulash (not the real Hungarian kind, but the kind made with macaroni, tomato sauce and ground beef), gratine
Chicken Wings
Chicken Fingers
Pogos (hot dogs on a stick)
Lasagna
Meat loaf
Enchiladas (make them mild)
Chicken Pot Pie (or beef)
Quiche

This family would probably appreciate some desserts, too.

How horrible for that family. Keep us posted, and I'll keep them in my prayers.

 
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