What easy-to-transport dinner can I bring over to a sick couple?
October 26, 2010 1:42 PM Subscribe
What dinner can I make to bring over to a sick friend's place? Difficulty -- no spicy foods, and I must transport it via mass-transit. Oh, and I am in a foreign-to-me country.
A couple I am good friends with has been out of commission for a few days, one with major back pain and one with a very bad cold. I offered to bring dinner to them, but then I suddenly realized that I have no appropriate dinner recipes. Help!
Difficulty points:
-- no spicy foods (this is where my cooking repertoire fails me.)
-- ingredients must be easy to acquire in Germany
-- I need to carry this food via mass transit.
-- I will have access to their kitchen, but the less mess I create, the better. My plan is to get in, quickly get dinner going, and get out. This way, they will not feel like they must entertain me.
Thank you!
A couple I am good friends with has been out of commission for a few days, one with major back pain and one with a very bad cold. I offered to bring dinner to them, but then I suddenly realized that I have no appropriate dinner recipes. Help!
Difficulty points:
-- no spicy foods (this is where my cooking repertoire fails me.)
-- ingredients must be easy to acquire in Germany
-- I need to carry this food via mass transit.
-- I will have access to their kitchen, but the less mess I create, the better. My plan is to get in, quickly get dinner going, and get out. This way, they will not feel like they must entertain me.
Thank you!
The old chicken soup remedy comes to mind. You can buy the chicken/ veggies/ seasonings at a market, perhaps do all the cleaning/ chopping at your place, and dump the lot into a pot over at their house. All they'd need to do is turn off the heat once it's done and ladle it into bowls before they eat!
posted by Everydayville at 1:48 PM on October 26, 2010
posted by Everydayville at 1:48 PM on October 26, 2010
Baked chicken, mashed potatoes (or rice), gravy and peas is my go-to meal if I am feeling lousy.
Not sure if they are available in Germany, but here in the US many grocery stores sell hot rotisserie chickens --cooking is done for you. Just get your sides (in this case, mashers and canned gravy) and you are ready to go.
Nothing is more soothing than baked/roasted chicken when you are not feeling well.
Hope they feel better--you sure are a good friend!
posted by I'm Brian and so's my wife! at 1:49 PM on October 26, 2010
Not sure if they are available in Germany, but here in the US many grocery stores sell hot rotisserie chickens --cooking is done for you. Just get your sides (in this case, mashers and canned gravy) and you are ready to go.
Nothing is more soothing than baked/roasted chicken when you are not feeling well.
Hope they feel better--you sure are a good friend!
posted by I'm Brian and so's my wife! at 1:49 PM on October 26, 2010
In general, warm soups are awesome when you have a cold, and also when you don't have a cold. Chicken noodle soup is the standard, but I also like congee.
Cook some rice. Add more water or broth, ginger, garlic. Cook until the rice turns into porridge. Pack up the porridge in a big tupperware, then in smaller containers/boxes, pack add-ins and condiments: green onions, sesame oil, soy sauce, cooked/shredded chicken, salt and pepper. When you get to their house, just reheat the porridge, and they can mix and match the extras to taste.
Also, if you can make a large enough batch (of whatever you decide on) that they'll have leftovers, I'm sure that would be a great help as well. There's nothing that sucks like trying to find a meal when you're feeling crummy, and a fridge stocked with leftovers is amazing.
posted by specialagentwebb at 1:51 PM on October 26, 2010
Cook some rice. Add more water or broth, ginger, garlic. Cook until the rice turns into porridge. Pack up the porridge in a big tupperware, then in smaller containers/boxes, pack add-ins and condiments: green onions, sesame oil, soy sauce, cooked/shredded chicken, salt and pepper. When you get to their house, just reheat the porridge, and they can mix and match the extras to taste.
Also, if you can make a large enough batch (of whatever you decide on) that they'll have leftovers, I'm sure that would be a great help as well. There's nothing that sucks like trying to find a meal when you're feeling crummy, and a fridge stocked with leftovers is amazing.
posted by specialagentwebb at 1:51 PM on October 26, 2010
Do you have a crockpot? Make some comfort food in the crockpot (beef stew, chicken stew, pot roast, etc.) and transport the whole thing over to their house in the pot when it's done.
posted by amyms at 1:51 PM on October 26, 2010
posted by amyms at 1:51 PM on October 26, 2010
My favorite comfort food is chicken & rice casserole. Everyone loves it and it's really easy to make.
Layer cooked rice, cooked chicken and gravy in a greased casserole dish (two layers). Top with bread crumbs mixed with melted butter. A little salt and pepper is all I use for seasoning.
You can cover it and transport it this way in a heavy duty tote bag. Then bake at 350 F (medium oven) for about 30 minutes, till bubbly.
Serve with a salad (premix and dress at their house, or assemble at their house), or any veg.
With a casserole, they'll have leftovers for the next day!
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 1:54 PM on October 26, 2010
Layer cooked rice, cooked chicken and gravy in a greased casserole dish (two layers). Top with bread crumbs mixed with melted butter. A little salt and pepper is all I use for seasoning.
You can cover it and transport it this way in a heavy duty tote bag. Then bake at 350 F (medium oven) for about 30 minutes, till bubbly.
Serve with a salad (premix and dress at their house, or assemble at their house), or any veg.
With a casserole, they'll have leftovers for the next day!
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 1:54 PM on October 26, 2010
I just did this with Spaghetti Pie. Which is a lot like Lasagna.
posted by dpx.mfx at 2:07 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by dpx.mfx at 2:07 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
Lasagne/any baked pasta dish with salad?
Stew, which you cook, put in large tupperware dishes and take to your friends - not clear how the suggestion further up to transport a full crock pot on public transport to two separate people is in any way easy or practical.
posted by koahiatamadl at 2:33 PM on October 26, 2010
Stew, which you cook, put in large tupperware dishes and take to your friends - not clear how the suggestion further up to transport a full crock pot on public transport to two separate people is in any way easy or practical.
posted by koahiatamadl at 2:33 PM on October 26, 2010
koahiatamadl said: not clear how the suggestion further up to transport a full crock pot on public transport to two separate people is in any way easy or practical.
You've never seen a crockpot at a potluck dinner? People have been transporting crockpots full of food to various locations for generations. Nowadays there are even crockpots made specifically for that purpose (with locking lids) and even travel bags for them.
posted by amyms at 2:42 PM on October 26, 2010
You've never seen a crockpot at a potluck dinner? People have been transporting crockpots full of food to various locations for generations. Nowadays there are even crockpots made specifically for that purpose (with locking lids) and even travel bags for them.
posted by amyms at 2:42 PM on October 26, 2010
You've never seen a crockpot at a potluck dinner? People have been transporting crockpots full of food to various locations for generations. Nowadays there are even crockpots made specifically for that purpose (with locking lids) and even travel bags for them.
No, I haven't, never seen one with locking lid in the UK either and the op appears to be in Germany, my guess is with limited crockery/kitchen utensils as they don't appear to have done much cooking there if they are still unsure about what ingredients they may be able to get hold of. For the record op, you'll find the shops will sell anything you need for a basic meal and much more.
posted by koahiatamadl at 3:02 PM on October 26, 2010
No, I haven't, never seen one with locking lid in the UK either and the op appears to be in Germany, my guess is with limited crockery/kitchen utensils as they don't appear to have done much cooking there if they are still unsure about what ingredients they may be able to get hold of. For the record op, you'll find the shops will sell anything you need for a basic meal and much more.
posted by koahiatamadl at 3:02 PM on October 26, 2010
I think your best bit will be something like soup and bread - just bring the ingredients and cook at their place. For ultimate easiness, you can buy dried chicken-noodle-soup packets at the grocery store in Germany. Not gourmet but it'll feed people easily and quickly. Buy a bunch of those and some bread, whip up a quick pot of soup for them, done.
This tomato lentil soup is a slightly heartier soup that is also extremely quick. You really just need about 5 minutes to get it started and then you can leave it cooking with little attention. Just leave out the hot pepper. The only hitch is that not every German supermarket has red lentils (or didn't two years ago), but plenty of them do.
Bonus: buy some lemon juice and boil it with some chopped up ginger, honey, and water for the friend with the cold.
posted by mandanza at 3:20 PM on October 26, 2010
This tomato lentil soup is a slightly heartier soup that is also extremely quick. You really just need about 5 minutes to get it started and then you can leave it cooking with little attention. Just leave out the hot pepper. The only hitch is that not every German supermarket has red lentils (or didn't two years ago), but plenty of them do.
Bonus: buy some lemon juice and boil it with some chopped up ginger, honey, and water for the friend with the cold.
posted by mandanza at 3:20 PM on October 26, 2010
I would like to recommend a salmon chowder. The only actual cooking is to sautee onions (till golden brown, ideally). Add a can of split pea soup, a can of cream of corn, and a can of salmon. Totally delicious.
posted by grizzled at 3:26 PM on October 26, 2010
posted by grizzled at 3:26 PM on October 26, 2010
Oh man, I've dealt with this problem in the Czech Republic too. My go-to option is "erzatz chili", which is not really spicy-hot at all - onion, ground beef, a little garlic, a couple of cans of beans, a thing of tomato puree, and a little water (and/or beer). The key is to leave out the chili powder and cumin, and season it with a few tsp of sweet paprika instead. Maybe a little hot paprika too, depending. Of course, at that point it's basically goulash rather than chili, but it's pretty yummy regardless. You can add in some caraway seeds (Kümmel), too, for an extra Central-European flavor profile.
The spices should be pretty easy to find, they usually come in flat green envelopes in one section of the grocery store. Make it beforehand, put it in some kind of sealable lidded container in the fridge, then just put it in a bag and pick up some bread on your way over.
posted by Cimrmanova at 10:38 AM on October 27, 2010
The spices should be pretty easy to find, they usually come in flat green envelopes in one section of the grocery store. Make it beforehand, put it in some kind of sealable lidded container in the fridge, then just put it in a bag and pick up some bread on your way over.
posted by Cimrmanova at 10:38 AM on October 27, 2010
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posted by Siena at 1:46 PM on October 26, 2010 [3 favorites]