Easy budget dinner to donate?

[lukenick1]

A family in my neighborhood is suffering and I have signed up to send a meal over to them. Can anyone make a suggestion for a good meal?

 

[brymolmom]

Very budget would be baked ziti with a loaf of Italian bread. Add in a tossed salad if you want to bring it up a notch.

I've done beef stew for a family before and it worked out great - but I brought it over still warm (just made some egg noodles - stuck them in a container on the bottom, poured the stew over them from the crock pot and then delivered). If you can bring it warm I recommend this even though its not so budget.

Someone made for me chicken parm when I had one of my kids. Worked surprisingly well - just the chicken a few pieces on the bottom and threw some sauce and cheese on it. It warmed up well and was yummy.

 

[marmalade]

Soups are a great easy inexpensive meal. With soup you can pretty much throw anything in the pot and it turns out delicious. And they freeze great and reheat wonderful.

 

[scrapquitler]

A family in my neighborhood is suffering and I have signed up to send a meal over to them. Can anyone make a suggestion for a good meal?

-Pot Roast cooked in the crock pot with potatoes, carrots, celery and onions. (The last time I actually intended to do this, but pork roast was on sale for a much better price, so I did that instead)

-Ham and Scalloped potatoes and a tossed salad.

-A Cold cut platter with rolls, pasta salad and sliced fruit.

-Meatloaf and mashed potatoes with veggies.

-A crock pot full of soup and a nice loaf of bread.

I also alway send some sort of desert item with it (a pan of brownies, some cookies, or a cake)

I usually try to avoid making pasta dishes in these situations because that is the first thing that everyone thinks of, and if they are getting meals like this for more than a couple days they will likely get sick of the pasta dishes.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

I made these last night w/ salad and everyone devoured them:
http://www.familycircle.com/recipe/jamaican-beef-patties/

This was dessert (used a premade pie crust we had left over from Thanksgiving):
http://bakedbree.com/fresh-blueberry-pie

The pie was wonderful (my new favorite blueberry pie recipe and very easy!) and only used 4 cups of blueberries for the premade pie crusts.

 

[bookgirl]

depending if chicken or beef is cheaper get some brown it with taco seasonings then take that tortillas lettuce cheese and a side of spanish rice and canned beans.

Something different than pasta and kid friendly you can also get most of these ingrediants very inexpensivly.

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

How about chili in a crockpot? You could bring over cornbread to go with it. Then you could also bring over hot dogs and buns so they could make a second dinner out of it and have chili hot dogs with the left overs.

 

[lizabu]

lasagna...yum

 

[Deesknee]

If there are kids, I say homemade mac & cheese, throw some hot dogs cut up in it. bring a salad on the side. It's a winnner! Can be as cheap, or more expensive depending on the type of cheese and hot dogs you use.
BTW, we've been on the recieving end of meals. I can honestly say, for us...anything was appreciated. One family brought us hot dogs and beans with a loaf of italian bread. It is the kindness that filled us up. May you recieve kindness in return.

 

[lukenick1]

I made these last night w/ salad and everyone devoured them:
http://www.familycircle.com/recipe/jamaican-beef-patties/

This was dessert (used a premade pie crust we had left over from Thanksgiving):
http://bakedbree.com/fresh-blueberry-pie

The pie was wonderful (my new favorite blueberry pie recipe and very easy!) and only used 4 cups of blueberries for the premade pie crusts.

Thank you but I was unable to get the recipe's from these links. It brought me to the register page for Family Circle.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

Sorry about that! Here is the recipe:

Jamaican Beef Patties
Makes: 6 servings
Prep: 5 mins
Bake: 15 mins 400°F
Cook: 13 mins

Ingredients
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
2 8 ounce package crescent dough sheets
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Directions
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add curry powder; cook 1 minute. Stir in ground beef, thyme, allspice, salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, breaking meat apart with a wooden spoon. Stir in broth and bread crumbs; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Unroll crescent dough. Cut each piece crosswise into 3 (8 x 4-inch) pieces, for a total of 6. Roll each piece out slightly. Place 1/2 cup of filling on one half of one piece. Fold dough over to enclose filling. Press edges to seal, using a fork. Transfer to a large baking sheet and brush with a little of the egg. Repeat with all the pieces of dough.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

 

[lukenick1]

Sorry about that! Here is the recipe:

Jamaican Beef Patties
Makes: 6 servings
Prep: 5 mins
Bake: 15 mins 400°F
Cook: 13 mins

Ingredients
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
2 8 ounce package crescent dough sheets
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Directions
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add curry powder; cook 1 minute. Stir in ground beef, thyme, allspice, salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, breaking meat apart with a wooden spoon. Stir in broth and bread crumbs; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Unroll crescent dough. Cut each piece crosswise into 3 (8 x 4-inch) pieces, for a total of 6. Roll each piece out slightly. Place 1/2 cup of filling on one half of one piece. Fold dough over to enclose filling. Press edges to seal, using a fork. Transfer to a large baking sheet and brush with a little of the egg. Repeat with all the pieces of dough.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

Yum those sound delish! Thanks

 

[kkandaj]

Rotisserie chicken (either from the deli or homemade--they cost about the same), some baked potatoes and a bag of salad. That's a meal that can feed at least four, most likely with some chicken left overs, for about $10.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I have used this before when I wanted to make it up the night before and drop it off. I figured they could use it as breakfast or dinner:

Egg and sausage bake recipe with bread, cheese, seasonings, eggs, and pork sausage.
Ingredients:

* 1 pound bulk pork sausage, crumbled
* 6 large eggs
* 2 cups milk
* 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
* 3/4 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
* dash ground nutmeg
* 3 slices French or Italian bread, cubed
* 1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese

Preparation:
Cook sausage in a skillet, stirring and breaking up, until nicely browned. Put sausage on paper towels to drain. In a large bowl beat eggs, milk, and seasonings until well blended. Stir in drained sausage, bread, and cheese. Transfer to a lightly buttered 8-inch square baking dish. cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 1 hour before baking. Bake in preheated 325° oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until lightly browned or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
Serves 6.

 

[englishteacha]

When we did dinners for a family in need at our school, I did a "Friday pizza night." I got a couple frozen pizzas, bag of salad, and a couple bottles of soda. They had a teen daughter who said having pizza seemed so "normal" during such a tough time. So even though it wasn't "homemade" the family really enjoyed it.

 

[Disney Addicted]

While it seems budget, it might be too time-intensive? I'm not sure because I have never made this from scratch.

A week after my son was born, one of my neighbors brought over a chicken pot pie. It was clearly homemade and still warm out of the oven. Almost 8 years later I still remember and feel that was just amazing of them.

 

[sk!mom]

I've been in a regular rotation for meals the last few months as a friend's DH battled cancer. Some of the meals I took-

Homemade soup and bread (Chicken noodle, Potato, Tortilla, Chili)
Pot roast, potatoes, carrots, bread
Chicken enchiladas, salad
Chicken Pot pie

On busy work days when I barely had time to cook one dinner much less two:
Fried Chicken and sides
Rotisserie chicken and sides
Pizza Hut pizzas, salad
Deli Chicken salad, croissants, chips, fresh fruit

This family has teens and truly the boys seemed really happy when I showed up with Pizza Hut.

I always include dessert as well. Homemade ice cream sandwiches, all the fixings for banana splits, and stuff for root beer floats are my easy favorites.

 

[tlh0726]

If the family has kids, as previous posters stated, pizza or even McDonalds brings some of the normal back into their lives.

 

[kirstenb1]

chicken enchiladas over rice, so easy!! Put in a disposable pan, and I just tape directions on top for either heating, or freezing for later. Whenever I cook for someone, i definitely do the throwaway tin pans. I remember when our younger dd was born, so many people brought us food in their nice ceramic or stainless pans. It was hard to remember when returning, whose pan was who's.

 

[luckyBelle]

Bless you for being there for this family.
My thoughts would include anything where family members can customize their part of the meal:

Huge baked potatoes with several fixings
Chili, plus cheese, fritos, onions, etc
Soft Tacos with multiple items for filling

One of the most appreciated things one family told me they liked were just in-between foods, like snacks. Fruit basket, deli tray for making sandwiches, pumpkin bread, etc that could be frozen for later.