oh susie--i'm REALLY happy you have some good news! i have been sending my best thoughts to your family since i found out about the accident... i'm sure lots of others are following things too and hoping for the very best outcome!

Not what youd call haute cuisine and itÂs certainly not for the calorie conscious, but itÂs actually quite tasty!

Wok Lasagna

Cook 6 broken lasagna noodles about 10 or 12 minutes and drain them.

In a small bowl, mix together:
1 cup cream style cottage cheese
4 oz of soft style cream cheese
½ cup shredded mozzarella
½ tsp of Italian seasoning (or oregano or basil or whatever you like)

Brown in a wok (or skillet) ¾# ground beef and spoon off the fat
Stir in a clove of minced garlic
Pour over this a 16 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
Stir in the lasagna noodles
Spoon the cheese mixture over the mixture in the wok (can add some shredded mozzarella and parmesan but itÂs pretty "rich" as is). Reduce heat, cover and cook 5 minutes more until everything is thoroughly hot. Makes 4 servings.

for this, make your own creme fraiche and i wouldn't even do the cookie part. just mix the stuff up and put it into paper cups or a tupperware container and stick it into the freezer for a while before you go--wonderfully tasty!

Frozen Lemon Cream Sandwiches  Barbara 52
one 7-oz container chilled creme fraiche
1/4 cup lemon curd
finely grated zest of one lemon
12 crisp butter waffle cookies
1/4 cup chopped unsalted pistachios
Line a small baking sheet with wax paper. In a chilled bowl, beat the creme fraiche with the lemon curd and zest until firm peaks form.
Arrange half of the cookies on the baking sheet and spoon the lemon cream onto the centers, letting it ooze gently to the edges. Top w/the remaining cookies, pressing down very gently. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and freeze the sandwiches until firm, at least 4 hrs.
Spread the nuts on a plate and roll the edges of the sandwiches in them.
6 servings

this is very quick to make and a nice snack that we've made many times!

White Bean Dip with Pita Chips -- Lori
1 (15-ounce) can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons
1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 pitas
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the beans, garlic, lemon juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, and parsley in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the bean puree to a small bowl. (Note: The dip will turn green in a relatively short time due to the fresh parsley.)
Cut each pita in half and then into 8 wedges. Arrange the pita wedges on a large baking sheet. Pour the remaining oil over the pitas. Toss and spread out the wedges evenly. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until toasted and golden in color.
Serve the pita toasts warm or at room temperature alongside the bean puree.

we love spinach in all forms and this works out really well at room temp!

Spinach Brownies -- sheshebop
1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
16 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded **I used 8 oz and that was plenty.
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
4 T. butter, melted
1 cup milk
I also added 1/8 tsp nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350. Spray 8 x 12 baking pan with cooking spray.
Drain spinach in colander and squeeze out excess moisture. Combine cheese, spinach, and onion in large bowl. Mix. Stir salt and baking powder into flour and mix with the spinach. Mix eggs, butter, milk and stir into other ingredients. Pour into pan. Bake for 30 minutes

Wow I'm so happy both of the guys are doing better. What an ordeal for everyone!

Now about the food....anything you take, just heat it up YOUR microwave and wrap it in foil. By the time youget it there, it should still be as warm or even warmer than what he's getting at the facility. By the time they cook their food and get it to the various rooms, I'm sure its not hot. And if you make something cold, just keep it in a small cooler w/ice, until you get there. I know it'll be fine!

You're a great person to make sure he gets decent, nutritional food. You really are!

For healing you need to think high protein and high calcium....and he needs to be sure he's taking a vitamin suppliment.
I would perhaps think of taking chicken salad...easy to eat one handed and lots of protein, with a side of raw veggies and perhaps optato salad.
How about BBQ beef, not on a bun unless you think he can manage that one handed.
I'll just bet he would love some roast beef roll ups....slices of deli roast beef rolled so it becomes finger food. That broccoli and bacon salad would be good...some cole slaw with the BBQ beef.
And I would make some nutritious cookies with oatmeal, dried fruit and nuts for him to have other times.
Glad to hear they are healing.
Linda C

Suzie what great news about them both. I know only too well how important every step is, the big and the small.

When Sara was in hospital I took lots of meals for her. I too only had a microwave available but it worked well.

I would take things like mashed potatoes, gravy, meatloaf, roast chicken, spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, lasagna, ham mac and cheese tuna noodle casserole. Basically I would make an extra meal from what ever we had. She really appreciated the basic home cooked stuff more than anything special.

The trick was to take each thing in its own container so each thing could be heated up on its own and then plated and given a final zap. I find that trying to reheat a total meal in the microwave never works well because of the different textures, density etc.

The spaghetti was cooked and I just ran it under boiling water to reheat and then topped with the hot sauce.

Again thanks for the update and here is to continued progress for them both.

Sorry to hear of these problems but glad that your family members are improving! I agree with Chase that any meal that you make, just make an extra plate and take along. I went through this for a long time with my father. Other options are some of the same as hers:

Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and veges.
Taco Salads with beef or chicken
Roasted chicken, potatoes & veges.
Chili, crusty bread and salad
Any homemade soup with bread
Shep. Pie (which I'm making tonight!)
Quiche, salad and fruit
Pork BBQ, potato salad
Big dish of stir fry veges. with shrimp or meat over rice
Mac & Cheese with sliced tomatoes
Small pork tenderloin sandwiches, celery & carrot sticks

May your family have continuing good news and progress.

Great ideas!!!

I tend to agree about the protien and calcium. I'll ask what he's taking, if anything.

Stephen is a gym rat! He has always been a jock! Played everything growing up and coached too. None of us are tall-growing up it really bothered Stephen. So he compensated buy lifting weights and getting super strong.
Proir to the accident Stephen would spend 5-6 days a week in the gym. He even convinced the other co owners to put in a small gym in the restaurant for the employees to use.

Hus level of fitness was why the docs say he did so well so far.

The restaurant,,,well its a huge part of his life!!
He has/had access to whever he wanted to eat...the very best of the best and so food is a huge part of his life.
I will link the web site. Stephens main job is with weddings, banquets and catering. Also dinner theater

I have a nice picnic basket ready for him. I sliced some berries and peaches. I bought a small tub of heavenly dip at the market. The pasta salad is a recipe I am working on for work....as soom as its finished I will post it-think of everything in a muffalatta sandwich only with pasta.
The rice pudding I made was with brown rice. Since I was at the market I picked up a calzone for him. Sausage and peppers, sauce and cheese.
I also picked up some organic granola bars and some pretzels so he has something to snack on.

Tomorrow I make make some poacked chicken and do as Linda c suggested and make salad.

I wonder if he'd like some ensure type drinks??

I'll report back after I get home tonight!

Cheers!
Susie

Hey Susie --

GREAT news about Stephen and Charles! Hooray!

As for food, I was thinking nice hearty soups -- maybe a beef barley, or a good minestrone with lots of veggies and white beans... Or a white bean soup with kale maybe? I also find baked pasta things heat up well in the microwave, so maybe some kind of ziti with sausage and broccoli rabe bake?

Stuffed peppers are also nice -- tasty, easy to transport, and reheat well... I love the Cooks Illustrated stuffed pepper recipe (pretty traditional, filled with beef and rice and diced tomatoes and cheese)...

Emily

Hi all!!
Ot was late when I arrived home so I didn't get to post.

Stephen LOVED everything. He ate the pasta salad right away while we sat and talked. He had a lady from work there too and she tried it...the salad that is. She said she wouldn't change anything! Nice lady!

So we sat and talked for awhile. Stephen was his old chatty self again so it was a nice visit. He even talked about the accident and what he remembers...I was careful to not ask too much and to just let him talk.

I am simmering some chicken now for the chicken salad I plan to take tonight...prob make a light chickem soup tomorrow.

I am going to have to watch tho...since I told everyone in the fam about the food, they have been telling me they will take him things too so I don't want to overwhelm him. They do have a fridge in the pantry but Stephen can't get to it so today I am going to put a soft side cooler in my car and see if it'll fit somewhere near his bed so he can get to it.

Keep the ideas coming!!
Thanks again!!!

Cheers!
Susie

Wooo-hooo, I'm so glad they're improving so well. With your home cooking, and everyone else's, I bet Stephen's healing speeds up even more.

I think Linda C and I were on the same wavelength, cause the first thing I thought of was that he'd need lots of protein and calcium, not to mention vitamin C and all the other vitamins. Don't forget vitamin D, which is extremely important, and he's probably not getting any sun. Make sure he's getting some D supplements, or get him out into the sunshine for 15 minutes every day.

I think everyone has come up with good suggestions. I got to wondering if he has some favorite dishes from his restaurant that he'd like to eat, or favorite dishes of his own not necessarily from his restaurant. Maybe you could ask him for some of his favorite recipes and cook those for him. Just ask him what he's hankering for. Lots of times when someone's craving something, it's something their body needs. (I can attest that my body needs chocolate on a daily basis!)

I'm so happy they're getting better.

Sally

Susie Q I have two words for you - chicken soup. You know that's the best thing for whatever ails a person!

But seriously, any kind of soup is good. I bought a bunch of these Corningware ceramic soup "cups" which have handles and tight fitting lids and can be popped in the microwave. I use them all the time, make a pot of soup over the weekend, fill a bunch of them up, and re-heat during the rest of the week. They can also be put in the freezer, so you could freeze some and bring them to Stephen and they would keep for a while and also keep other things cold. Those Corningware soup cups are a little pricey, I think I paid 8 bucks a piece for them about four years ago, but I use them all the time, almost every day. And soup tastes so much better in them than the plastic containers. No comparison. I got mine at the grocery store in the kitchen supplies aisle.

I'm making potato fennel soup this weekend, but asparagus or wedding soup or homeade tomato would also be good nutrition for someone on the mend. Even chili sounds good right now!

Susie, another idea is to buy a small dorm type fridge. If the nursing home will let him have it in his room, it would be a great way to have healthy food available for him. Frankly I think that place should be reported to the govt agency that oversees nursing homes. That food is beyond disgusting and it cannot be nutritious when food is so overcooked that's its unrecognizable.

I think the dorm fridge is a good idea.

When my Dad was in the nursing home occasionally I would take him a sandwich and a milkshake or a hamburger and a milkshake, he always loved that. For some reason they never had a sandwich or a hamburger. I also kept some seasoned salt and pepper in his room because even the better meals were not seasoned. Alot of times I would just fix him a plate of what we were having for dinner that night. But, he was only about five minutes from me so that makes a huge difference.

I'm so glad they are doing better and on the mend!