a song for the homesick, a secret recipe, and a jar of confetti
Fantastic Friday
I don’t know how it’s Friday because yesterday was basically Monday after MLK/Inauguration Day and then two snow days. But here we are.
If you missed my post about the original Fantastic Friday or last week's Fantastic Friday, then catch those for funsies. Or just roll with me…
Getting to experience legit snow in the Houston area and be a central part of my children’s snow day experiences was a dream come true. So, in honor of alllll the nostalgic feelings of growing up in the North, here is my karaoke song for Fantastic Friday:
Feels Like Home by Drew and Ellie Holcomb
While you’re singing along, take a moment to consider if you know anyone who could use a home-cooked meal from a friend. Maybe they’re shut in due to weather, going through a tough spot emotionally, or they’re just plain worn down. Read on for a delicious meal idea to bless others with!
Shifting to Soup Mode (sorry, couldn’t help myself)
Today I’m delivering a meal to a friend and I’m using a recipe I saw a book blogger raving about (soup mode makes sense with reading). It’s quickly become a favorite take-a-meal recipe because all of my family loves it AND it has earned me—who literally just does what the recipe says—several crowning achievement texts along the lines of: “Can I get that recipe?”
Yep! Make this Creamy Parmesan Italian Sausage Soup and serve it with store-bought or homemade garlic bread. I use Queen Ree’s recipe for “The Bread” and sprinkle a bunch of garlic powder across the top—just follow your heart. If you have extra brain/time capacity for it, you can make banana bread and your friends can use it as either dessert or snacks/breakfast the next day. Queen Joanna’s is delicious or use this nourishing gluten-free option that I got from a JJ Heller newsletter during the pandemic. Don’t forget to double everything so your family is not eating chicken nuggets while you deliver* this delicious meal!
Something I don’t recommend adding to your take-a-meal delivery is confetti, but that’s just because I accept that not everyone appreciates confetti like I do. However, you must know about this stupid easy way to give anything a cheerful vibe.
Standby Confetti
I think everyone should keep some standby confetti on hand. Then when you want to make a moment extra magical, you just sprinkle it on the table or glue it on the card or throw it at your friend (if they’re the type who appreciates this).
On our snow day, I sprinkled confetti and glitter all over a boring (wipeable) table cloth. The kids and their neighbor friends thought it was magical while they sipped their hot cocoa and ate cookies from a box. Yes, my kitchen floor is still kind of shimmering, but that just detracts from the mud and paw prints. Bonus: the chunky sequin confetti stuff just gets saved back in the jar for the next time! Thrifty.
Random Notes for Meal Deliveries
Delivering food to friends always presents the question of: what do you deliver it IN? For soup, I have big inexpensive Rubbermade plastic containers and I tell the friend they can keep it to use for future deliveries. You can also portion the soup into a couple smaller plastic containers, depending on the size of the family. I’ve also used giant glass mason jars, but you have to make sure your soup is cooled enough to do that without risking cracking.
When you’re bringing sides and fixins with your meals, keep empty boxes on hand for keeping it all, get a cube storage crate (office section at Wal Mart has ‘em), or collapsible crate, which easily fits casserole pans (there are tons of options for those on Amazon and it was a game changer when I finally bought two for meal deliveries).