After spending January thinking through the blessing of new little ones and February thinking through how to love each other well during loss, I kept thinking back to the ways we'd be loved during both. While there are lots of ways to care for each other during these seasons, meals are such a practical blessing. Here are a couple favorites we've received and have duplicated for others.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
Borrowed from Abbey Durham
I love this salad because it's so easy for people to customize and works well for kids who might not enjoy casserole type food. Kids can eat all the parts separate or combined. It's like a fun salad bar!
Ingredients:
Grilled chicken
Romaine lettuce
Halved grape tomatoes
Chopped cucumbers
Hard-boiled eggs
Avocado
Shredded cheese
Bottle of ranch dressing
Croutons
Sunflower seeds
Directions:
1. Grill chicken* (I like this recipe)
*Not good grilling weather? You can basically do chicken anyway. Even buying a bag of frozen chicken tenders and cooking them in the oven.
2. Cut tomatoes and cucumbers
3. Put all ingredients in separate containers** (to make it even easier you can buy chopped lettuce, shredded cheese, bag of croutons, etc.).
**I usually do not chop the eggs or avocado, so they can be chopped when it's time to use them
Bread Machine Italian Bread
Borrowed from Elizabeth Wolfram
I love carbs, so I feel like this bread could be a perfect addition to any meal, so while the salad is nice and low carb, the bread balances it out!
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp olive oil or butter
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2.5 cups flour
2.25 tsp yeast
Directions:
1. Add ingredients to bread machine (follow order your machine suggests).
2. Bake on french bread setting
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Borrowed from Mary Francisco (who borrowed from Lee Delano, who borrowed from Sherry Taylor)
I'm not a great baker, but these cookie bars are easy and our families favorite. They can also be baked as cookies, but I love the bars because I can put them in the oven once without having to bake in batches. We like ours on the softer side, but you can add a few minutes to crisp them up. Sometimes there is no time for dessert, or just add in a bag of grapes, cuties or a carton of ice cream, but if I have the extra time I make these (and my kids are grateful they end up with some too).
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips (we also have used M&M's)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line 9x13 pan with parchment paper
3. Cream butter, vanilla, sugars
4. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl
5. Add in dry ingredients slowly to butter mixture
6. Hand stir in chocolate chips
7. Add to pan and spread evenly
8. Bake for 24 minutes and check with toothpick.
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