meals and containers

My church is big on taking meals to those in need. You can sign up to take a meal to anyone who just had a baby, just had surgery, a death in the family or anything big going on that is making it hard to get dinner on the table every night. Having a church family is awesome like that :-)

There is so much baby making that you can pretty much guarantee someone will be having a baby any given month of the year. I usually sign up because I enjoy making people meals. It's easy and they really appreciate it when it's hard to cook for themselves. If you've never made a meal for someone, try it. Think about the people you know. Do you know a family with lots of little ones? Maybe someone is going through a separation or divorce or maybe they have a lot going on and could use a night off from cooking. It means so much and it is really not that much work. I usually make something I make all the time for my family like enchiladas or pasta with meat sauce. It doesn't have to be amazing.

We had meals brought to us when my husband's mom passed away last year. It was so nice. We felt loved and supported. We were eating lots of take out and fast food and were craving home cooked meals but just couldn't do it at the time.

Plus, I got ideas from people who brought us meals. One friend reused cottage cheese containers to put spaghetti in and a sour cream container for green beans. So brilliant. I am all about thrifty. Now I save all containers that can be reused like Tupperware. That way you don't have to worry about getting them back from people and you don't have to keep buying new ones. Anything plastic with a lid works. Just throw it in the dishwasher and reuse it. Things like margarine, large yogurt containers and sour cream containers work great. I label mine with a sharpie when I use it to take a meal to someone. You can put a plastic bag inside to seal whatever you are putting in it too. (If I'm taking something like enchiladas or pasta and salad, I like to use those disposable aluminum pans you can get in bulk at Costco for pretty cheap compared to regular stores)

I love having such a large community of fellow moms. I've learned so much from each of them.