What do other foodies take their friends?
“What do other foodies take to their friends when they bring them a meal?”
Hi friends! I recently found myself in a recipe rut of dishes to make for my friends & family so I asked myself well, what are other people I look up to bringing others!? I asked a few ‘foodies’ and friends I love following on social media to help me get inspired, and hopefully help you too!
The timing couldn’t be better because it just so happens to be the fourth annual Take Them A Meal March at Naptime Kitchen. If you’re new here, the concept of #TakeThemAMealMarch is near and dear to my heart because I love finding new and fresh ways to get others excited about loving their community through yummy food and thoughtful gestures. My goal is to help you make others feel seen and loved. Whether that’s a takeout coffee and pastry or a three course homemade meal, the goal is always making people feel seen and loved.
Last year we shared a FREE Take Them A Meal manual (get it here for free). It was a labor of love created by the amazing Naptime Kitchen community full of recipes, tips & tricks to make it easy to help others feel seen and loved. If you don’t have it, I highly recommend printing it out and keeping it in your kitchen to help inspire you to better love your neighbors. Whether that’s a new postpartum mom or a friend whose whole family got the flu, having easy recipes locked and loaded makes it more achievable to care for those in your life.
This year, I’m so excited to collaborate with four of my favorite foodies to share their go-to recipes. These are fantastic main dishes that not only taste wonderful, but they are so easy to make.
Here’s the lineup and the participating creators!
Caroline Chambers: Beef Basil Bowls with Coconut-Ginger Rice
Brittney Hanks with Home and Kind: Hawaiian Chicken Bowls
Kelly Stumpe with The Car Mom: Chicken Pot Pie
Sara Wells with Our Best Bites: Baked Chicken Taquitos
Kate Strickler with Naptime Kitchen (me): Two M Pasta Treat
Do you have a hangup or stress that stops you from taking a meal to someone? I wanna hear it if so, leave a comment!
Caroline’s Beef Basil Bowls
This dish is a home run in a bowl featuring Thai basil beef and coconut-ginger rice. Caroline calls a meal like this a CYOA (choose your own adventure) because depending on the person, they can build it exactly how they prefer and it accommodates a bunch of different palates. It comes together in about 15 minutes and she gives you a ton of ideas for toppings and a bomb drizzly peanut sauce. Find Caroline’s full recipe here.
Caroline Chambers is the writer of the substack and New York Times bestselling cookbook “What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking” based in Carmel Valley, California. Her journey began in her mom’s kitchen in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and blossomed into a career as a chef, caterer, and freelancer for top brands and publications. She lives with her husband George and their three sons. Follow her on Instagram here.
*Naptime Kitchen Tip: If you’re like me, then you rely on your rice cooker in a moment like this. Here’s how to cook a yummy rice like this in your rice steamer.
Brittney’s Hawaiian Chicken Bowls
Aloha to a veggie-packed flavorful bowl. With chicken thighs, bell peppers, and onion, this one dish boasts a ton of flavor. It’s an easy marinade that’s sweet, tangy, and can be used on chicken breasts or thighs! Tip from Brittney: use 90 second microwavable bags of rice for easy serving sizes and to cut down on cook time. Find Brittney’s full recipe here.
Brittney Hanks, founder of Home and Kind, helps women simplify their lives with practical solutions for managing their homes, feeding their families, and creating meaningful connections. Based in North Carolina with her husband and four children, she shares family-friendly recipes, gift ideas, household tips, and product tests. Follow her on Instagram here.
Naptime Kitchen Tip: Level up a bagged salad as a side for your Hawaiian Chicken Bowls with a 3 ingredient homemade lemon ginger salad dressing. Pour into a mason jar or other container with a lid and snag an Asian bagged salad from the grocery store!
Kelly’s Chicken Pot Pie
Affectionately known in her house as “Chi Chi Pie Pie,” this classic recipe is a feel-good dinner that is warm, filling, and makes perfect leftovers. Tip from Kelly: swap biscuits instead of pie crust for a rustic twist on the classic dish! Another one of Kelly’s go-to additions to bringing someone a meal is electrolyte packets (like these)! Find Kelly’s full recipe here.
Kelly Stumpe, The Car Mom, is a car expert and busy mom of four based in St. Louis, MO. Kelly blends her passion for cars with real-life experience, helping parents navigate the car-buying process and offering advice on family-friendly options. Outside of the car industry, Kelly enjoys spending time at home with her family – raising calves, pigs, and chickens. Follow her on Instagram here.
*Naptime Kitchen tip: pair this heavier dish with a lighter side, like a salad or veggie! We love this Arugala Salad.
Sara’s Baked Chicken Taquitos
These chicken taquitos are an all-time family favorite and one of Sara’s most popular recipes to date on her blog. They’re crispy on the outside, with a creamy cheesy filling. YUM! Find Sara’s full recipe here.
Sara Wells is a mom of 4 boys living in Boise, Idaho and founded OurBestBites.com She’s also co-authored 3 best selling cookbooks. Across her many platforms she shares trusted recipes to simplify kitchen routines, provide meal-time solutions, and help people have fun in the kitchen while enjoying food with the people they love. Follow her on Instagram here.
*Naptime Kitchen Tip: grab some individual packets of guacamole or make my Black Bean & Corn Salsa for easy dipping that also travel and store well in the fridge.
Kate’s Two M Pasta Treat
This recipe hails from my grandmother, who is an exceptional cook. It is named Two M Pasta Treat after Mama and Macy, which is my grandmother and cousin. A hearty pasta casserole complete with noodles, ground beef, sour cream, cottage cheese and shredded cheese (trust me here) – it really is so delicious! It freezes well, is easily doubled for a crowd or the freezer, and is super comforting. It’s made with minimal ingredients, but there’s something magical about the cottage cheese/sour cream topping. Find the recipe here.
*Naptime Kitchen Tip: If baking a casserole like this from frozen: Personally, I prefer to defrost ahead of time before baking, I rarely bake from frozen. When I am well planned, I stick them in the fridge 2 days before so they can defrost completely before baking. However, if you find yourself needing to bake from frozen, double the cooking time, covering for the first 30 minutes then uncovering for the final 25-30 minutes.
I hope that these recipes from these awesome women will inspire you to take something delicious to a loved one in your life who needs it. As always, my goal is to help you make others feel seen and loved! So thankful for ways we continue to show up for each other – even if that’s just an iced latte and doughnut. It matters, and it makes a difference!
The basil beef bowls look so yummy but you have to be a paid subscriber of her Substack to access the recipe.