What could I make for my sick neighbour that is easy to transport and heat up

[fieldgold]

My neighbour is ill just home from hospital and quite frail, his wife is not well either with flu or something atm. Their kids live abroad.

I know they can order in food/shopping and will not starve, but as a gesture I would like to make them a couple of home cooked dishes that they can either freeze for another day or reheat etc.

I am blank! Obviously chicken and beef casserole are top of the list, and a pot of homemade chicken and veg soup.

What would you make. I have plenty of dishes and pots and lots of foil trays too!

Thanks.

[Finfintytint]

I prepare a good deal of meals to reheat for my mother who is pretty unwell at the moment. Soups are always welcome. I also provide mini roast dinner in the foil dishes. Curries, lasagnas, chilli goes down well too depending on taste.
I’d keep portions fairly small too.
Do you know if they have a restricted diet at all which may affect what you make.

[LIZS]

Shepherds pie?

[fieldgold]

Finf, no allergies or other dietary restrictions. I subtly got that info yesterday when I popped in to see them.

They are managing fine, but I just want to give them a dish or two of something that they can just put in the oven or micro and eat!

[Finfintytint]

Fish pie, macaroni cheese, cauliflower cheese.
Pinterest is your friend!

[AnonCancer]

When I was having cancer treatment, a dear friend left me meals on my doorstep for our family.

They were all one pot dishes that heated up in the microwave and all had protein veg and carb.

I remember a chilli with tortillas and a chicken pasta asparagus and green bean dish.

[ChipsAndKetchup]

Cottage pie always goes down well.

Pasta bake?

Sausage casserole?

Well done OP. How lovely of you.

[EyeRolls]

Cheese and potato pie - add some baked beans for protein but it's proper comfort food.

[Ricekrispie22]

Quiche
Ham cheese and mushroom turnovers www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/164623/ham-cheese-and-mushroom-turnovers
Spanish chicken stew realfood.tesco.com/recipes/chicken-chorizo-and-potato-stew.html
Individual portions of apple crumble
Sausage rolls

[anniehm]

Most my go to meals have been suggested, but (depending if you know their tastes) lasagne/pasta bake is easily reheated, chilli and a package of microwave rice if they like spicy food, bean cassoulet is very popular with my elderly parishioners (and very cheap to make).

[LIZS]

Chicken or steak and kidney pie

[fieldgold]

Thanks all. Some lovely ideas there. I am salivating at them!

Everything sounds great, and am liking the cheese and potato pie suggestion too. For us! ha ha.

Would anyone know if toad in the hole could be reheated. I think they would like that, simple food if you get me, as they are getting on in years and like relatively plain food with few spices or curry stuff.

[wonkylegs]

My brother makes all my mums meals and freezes them in individual portions to be defrosted and microwaved.

At the moment she has
vegetable curry,
sausage, mash & roasted veg
Shepherds pie
Lasagne
Moussaka
Fish pie

[fieldgold]

Moussaka! Brilliant, I can make that, but I use sliced potatoes instead of aubergine. Silly little family recipe, but it's very nice with nutmeg and a bay leaf in the sauce and a few sliced baby toms on each layer. Thank you for reviving this for me!

[AgathaRaisinsCat]

I make these for elderly parents...
Chicken or pork casserole with potatoes and everything thrown in.
Cottage or shepherds pie.
Soup.
Pasties.

No pasta (foreign), rice (foreign and for pudding only apparently).

[fieldgold]

Agatha, lol.

My lovely neighbours, although they have no food allergies or restrictions would definitely be of the old school variety!

Anything with potatoes in sounds so comforting. So might just throw a chicken casserole together with veg and spuds. Might thicken the sauce too.

I would probably want to eat it myself though! But only joking.

[theboxofdelights]

I would do cottage or shepherds pie. Beef stew, Lancashire hotpot.

All things my eighty year old parents love.

[GeorgeTheHippo]

Stew with suet dumplings, cottage pie, fish in white sauce with steamed veg

[bluetrampolines]

Also some plain simple treats like pancakes or some fresh loaves with decent butter. My nearly 100 year old neighbour, before she died, her carer would buy her fluffy pancakes and the odd fish supper. She was always thrilled.

[fieldgold]

George,

Yep a beef stew with spuds in there somewhere, topped with dumplings sounds great.

Except we cannot get proper suet here anymore. Sigh. And I don't know how to make dumplings without them as mum is not able to tell me anymore, sad face....

[Weedsnseeds1]

If you are UK, Atora suet is widely available. Or you can use beef dripping or block margarine grated straight from the fridge (one of the few times you need Marg not butter). Half fat to sr flour, pinch of salt and water. You can weigh or measure by volume. Add herbs, pepper etc if you like. Pop on top of stew half way through cooking and put the lid on.
Toad in the hole doesn't reheat well, maybe a sausage casserole?

[fieldgold]

Weeds

Thank you so much for that information.

Will try the dumplings with marg from the fridge. No lard or beef dripping here either. But they might be the same thing!

I take note that toad in the hole is not a good reheating option too.

Thank you.

[Weedsnseeds1]

Lard is pork fat, it's softer than beef.
If you use margarine, you need the old fashioned stuff in a block, that's really rock hard from the fridge! Guessing you aren't UK, if you go to a butcher's shop, they might be able to save you some suet - it's the fat from round the kidneys.

[Weedsnseeds1]

If you get raw suet from the butcher, it comes in surprisingly clean lumps of hard fat ( no blood vessels or bits of muscle attached) There is some membrane around it, that pulls off easily, then you just grate it. My gran always bought suet like this, rather than the shredded stuff in a packet.
If you can't buy sr flour where you are, add baking powder or bicarb + cream of tartar

[theboxofdelights]

I just use salted butter for dumplings.