Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
BRINGING A HOME-COOKED meal to a friend who needs it might seem like a simple gesture, but it’s something that will be appreciated beyond measure.
Maybe your sibling just had a baby and is too exhausted to cook, or elderly neighbour has fallen ill, or your friend is just having a rough time of it. Whatever the situation, a meal prepared lovingly by a friend can be a lifesaver.
For this kind of cooking, convenience and freezability is key. Divide the meal out into portions after you’ve cooked it, and pop into plastic containers that can either be frozen for later use or reheated within a few days. One pot meals like casseroles or stews are ideal for reheating, and often taste even better a day or two later when the flavours have had time to settle.
For heartier dinners, pies and bakes are really easy to divide into portions and reheat whenever your recipient is peckish. Got a friend who needs a boost at the moment? Take a little time this weekend to surprise them with one of these comforting, home cooked meals…
1. Lasagne with White Sauce, from One Yummy Mummy:
Nothing is more comforting than a lasagne, and this is one of those dishes that tastes even better when it’s reheated. Sometimes making a white sauce can require a little bit of effort, so One Yummy Mummy has kindly suggested a fuss-free version requiring just two ingredients, if you’re a bit shorter on time. It’s a simple case of bake, cover, and deliver!
2. Traditional Cottage Pie, from Lilly Higgins:
Filled with tender minced beef and lots of vegetables and herbs, and topped with creamy mashed potato, cottage pie is the ideal meal for anyone in need of something wholesome. If you’re cooking for a vegetarian, you could swap out the beef in place of lentils for a really nutritious, fibre packed meal. This is comfort food at its best, and would be a hit with kids and adults alike.
3. Chicken and Broccoli Bake, from Bumbles of Rice:
The great thing about this recipe for a chicken and broccoli bake is that it can be served on its own, or with boiled potatoes for something more substantial. With a creamy sauce and tender chicken, this warming recipe is very easy to make. Sweetcorn makes a welcome addition and adds some crunch to this traditional recipe.
4. Sausage Casserole, from Jamie Oliver:
The recipe for sausage casserole calls for Cumberland sausages, but any good quality sausages would work perfectly instead. Mashed potato or colcannon would make a delicious accompaniment to this one pot, so pack some up in separate containers for a full meal that can be reheated in minutes. It’s an ideal winter warmer!
5. Minestrone Soup, from Gourmet Grazing:
This flavour-packed one-pot soup can be made in just 30 minutes and could be enjoyed for lunch or dinner, or a healthy snack in between. Minestrone soup can easily be adapted according to whatever vegetables you have in the fridge – a bit of chorizo would add a delicious flavour, or kale would add to the texture (although swaying quite a bit from its traditional form!). Deliver the soup with plenty of fresh, crusty bread for a thoroughly wholesome meal.
6. Thai Yellow Curry, from Wholesome Ireland:
Curry is so great because you can double or triple the quantities, add in whatever vegetables or meat your friend likes best, and even keep a little portion for yourself, too! Thai yellow curry is quite mild, so it’s great if you’re cooking for a family with younger kids. Deliver this dish with a few microwavable pouches of rice for a delicious meal that’s ready to go.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Kinda obvious. Everything is down.. Uncertainty during a pandemic and all that
@Jim O Brien Tech: Not to some on here, I was explaining to someone when house prices would fall by at least 20 percent and they actually told me they would rise next year lol…..totally delusional, he must have been an estate agent or something like that.
Collapse in employment, collapse in lending, higher taxes, will all lead to massive drops in house prices and rents…..its in the post, it might take a couple of years to filter through but it will.
@Peter Hughes: For house prices and rents…its location,location.location. Sligo/Leitrim, Donegal or Roscommon will suffer the most. Dublin would be much more solid.
@Peter Hughes: Well rent is still very high in Dublin. We are in process of finding new accomodation and people are still willing to pay 2k for 2bed average standard apartment. Some guy I heard moving out of his apartment at the end of the month. A reasonable 1-bed in D15.
And his landlord put it up on Friday morning. They were inundated with requests by Sunday and withdrew it. He couldn’t believe it to be honest; he thought it would be slow going for months to come.
@artur filip: The economy is been held together with the covid payment, when that dries up things will change. Hundreds of thousands of people will have no job……its all in the post.
@Ronan Mc Namara:
enchant reality. I think you’ll say whatever you want reality to be.
The same explanations like 12 years ago.
100% expected.
Looking forward to some great value houses coming to market……….12% drop in prices would suit me fine. Every cloud has a silver lining.
@Ronan Mc Namara:
Not if you’re selling a property in order to buy a new one
It’s value will also be down 12%
Double edge sword
@Steven Wynne: Aint necessarily so……….12% increase you would be in the same boat when selling.
@Ronan Mc Namara:
The res property mkt in
@Steven Wynne: A lower house value by a seller should result in a lower commission payment to an Estate Agent. It’s a win win for a seller who intends to buy/trade up/trade down. House prices will fall fast as only estate agents think it’s location, location. The location attracts the premium payment for a desired location only. The real driver is national income (unemployment/income/taxes/debt). All these are negative which will result in a property crash!
Everyone is expecting an economic crash like we had 10 years ago and prices to drop the same…this is a different set of circumstances. There is no surplus of new housing to buy, people thinking of selling may not, people buying have money and savings as the requirement from central bank last few years.
@Bleurgh: Also new housing regulations make it increasingly incredibly expensive to build a house now. 12% drop in housing prices = no profit for builders = no houses/unemployment.
@Bleurgh: House prices are dependent on these things……available credit, employment and taxes. We are going to be borrowing 10s of billions and if we somehow manage to keep the interest rates down then we should be able to manage that.
But we have to pay said money back, which will mean big tax increases in the coming years, employment will also collapse for the next couple of years. Banks will also drastically cut loan amounts, these will all hammer house prices and all the wishful thinking on the planet won’t stop it……
@Bleurgh: exactly… we were going to sell next year but if price drops to much won’t bother..
@Bleurgh:
enchant reality. I think you’ll say whatever you want reality to be.
You use the same explanations like 12 years ago.
I don’t really buy the economic uncertainty – you’re either working or you’re not based on the lockdown. I can’t see why people who are still working would be refused a mortgage.
Fingers crossed the prices drop a nice bit, the stress on supply will still be there as vendors may remove houses from the market
@@itweet_jake: Not having a mortgage is the key to buying a house. No point getting a
mortgage for a property that will lose 12% of its value.
Then having a crying face blaming the banks and government lol!
@@itweet_jake: the real pain hasn’t even begun yet. The economy has been on life support which will slowly be weaned off. When it is I’d expect a huge amount of corporate insolvencies which will lead to more job losses and it won’t be just low paid workers.
@@itweet_jake: we have been refused a mortgage by all the banks because my partner is receiving one days worth of covid payment through the company she works for…. Flat out refusal even though we have a substantial deposit and are earning in excess of 60k. Have emailed paschal and got the usual “we’re doing all we can” reply
@Cupid Stunt: Trust me you will be grateful for this in the coming years…..people don’t seem to understand just how bad things are at all…..its really disturbing and I can see how some get taken to the cleaners so easy I really can…..totally delusional and detached from reality.
@Cupid Stunt: sorry, this may seem like a silly question, but how does one get just a 1 day covid payment. As far as I understood if your on the pup you have to be fully laid of on a temp basis due to pandemic and therefore recieve full payment of 350 otherwise the only other covid payment is the subsidy scheme which falls under same criteria but your company is able to afford to pay 70% of your weekly wage and government pays the remaining 30% up to 410euros. What covid payment pays for 1 day only? I’m not trying to be smart here, I’m honestly confused so if anyone could let me know it would be greatly appreciated. I obviously have misunderstood the information out there somehow.
@Sam Glynn: he might have mean, that his partner was making 350 a day prior to covid… but only @Cupid Stunt can confirm that.
I see that people try to enchant reality, .
They say whatever they want reality to be.
The same explanations were used 12 years ago.
have your say