patti

I’ve done pasta salads a few times and they’ve been well received. The only real variation was a pesto pasta salad, and a vegetarian pasta salad. I’ve never considered meat, other than bacon, in potato salad! Interesting idea, thanks. While quiche is not on my working list, I really have been thinking about it for the future. I looked at individual foil containers they could be baked in, but that might add too much cost. I have to ponder and cogitate on that. 🙂 Thank you!

I am most certainly interested in knowing things like that! It is very valuable feedback. I really try to make the food and plates visually appealing, and I may have conveniently not posted pics of the less attractive dishes, like the turkey chili that I just didn’t get thick enough. I felt like I still needed to serve it, and did. I have no idea how it was received, and I didn’t ask! Also, shredded cheese went in the empty spot in those containers. (With apologies to all who love ground turkey, when someone asked how I made ground turkey taste good, I had to say by adding ground pork.) 😉 With regard to food that needs to be put in another container to heat … that is a quandary. Adding coleslaw or other salad to a plate puts a cold item with food that should be hot. I don’t know what else to do that wouldn’t add more packaging and more expense. Some of the recipients of the food are homeless, but many are not, so some have access to eat the food differently, while others have to take it as it comes. I season my food! This is Cajun country, and while all people are certainly not Cajun, the people who live here expect well seasoned food. Also, the food culture here sets expectations of what things go together, which might be unexpected to people from other places. Thank you!

Rancho Gordo bean donations are accepted, but not expected! 😀 And thank you for doing what you can! We are all in this together. 😍

My thinking process is slow, as well. These days I contemplate and weigh my options far too long! I absolutely love broccoli salad and have made it a time or two recently, but I hadn’t considered it for the fridge because I’m not sure if it’s universally appreciated here. I’ve done red beans and rice with smoked sausage (not andouille) & ham, with coleslaw and cornbread. I haven’t done gumbo yet, mostly because I hadn’t figured out the packaging. This will sound very dumb, but I was avoiding soup because I wasn’t sure how to package a deli container of soup with something to go with it, like crackers, or bread, or rice for gumbo. I knew the brown lunch bags I had were too small, and the deli containers wouldn’t fit in a styrofoam container that could hold the accoutrements. And then, duh, it hit me, buy bigger brown bags. I felt like an idiot. So that’s when I was able to do the tortellini soup and the bread to go with. I am now prepared to do gumbo. It would definitely be chicken and sausage. I’ve done chili/cheese baked potatoes and the feedback that week gave me pause, as one family was so excited because it was the first meat they’d had in a week. 🥹(Relayed to me by fridge/pantry manager.) I was also thinking of baked sweet potatoes with a pulled pork or chicken type option. Opinion?

I was just contemplating ham and mac’n cheese! Will be discussing soon. Here’s my current working list of ideas from notes on my phone. Asterisked ones are things I’ve done (which doesn’t mean I won’t do again). The second pic is something called “Hobo Stew,” which looks really good. I’d change the name, though! I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Smithy, thank you so much. I’ve saved the pdf and I’ll be checking out the links! Hobo Stew is a recipe I’ve been looking at, as well.

Yes, and yes.

I have some 2 oz lidded containers, but it would be a paltry amount of fruit, I fear. Adding various containers for condiments or toppings/extras has been on my mind, but added expense and time are the bugaboos.

Thank you! I get feedback from the woman who heads the church’s pantry and fridge because she interacts with the people who are regulars. She said they really look forward to my meals and love them. I’ve also met three or so recipients who were there when food was being delivered. They also gave me very positive feedback. I wish I could get real feedback on specifics of what worked and what didn’t. For instance, I made a salad dressing that I felt (after the fact) was not really very good. The meals are usually gone within a couple of hours. This is one of the hard parts. Leaving the food, and letting go of any preconceived notions of how it will work out. At first, I imagined 24 meals helping 24 people, but then I’ve never had food insecurity. The reality is that the first people there often swoop up as much as they can, and if I’m still around, I need to leave my judgment behind. For all I know it’s a mother with five kids at home and she is thinking she can feed them for a couple of days if she takes them all. Sometimes it’s someone who is also taking some plates for their neighbor who doesn’t have transportation or is disabled. Until people know that there will be food in the community fridge or pantry regularly, they take what they can when it appears. Every single community fridge in my area gets wiped out very soon after being filled. The need is great. I am looking for meal ideas, tips, hacks, advice, feedback, brainstorming, all of the above! Sometimes I can’t figure out how to accomplish what I want to accomplish, and I know the wise people of eGullet have opinions! Also, thanks for the link!

I’m quoting you a second time to say that the reason there aren’t pictures of the biscuit mix/milk going in, or the soup/stock layer … that’s when I was busy cussing. Mostly because of overthinking and looking at different versions of the recipe and confusing myself. Confuzzled is the technical term, I believe. 😀

Thanks! I would love to be able to afford lots of fruit/great produce for these meals. My husband’s help makes this doable, seriously. Oh, and I ended up putting two little oranges in each! 😁

I am not a biscuit maker, either, but this is just milk and the biscuit mix, whisked together and poured over the seasoned vegetable mixture. (I forgot to say that I seasoned that layer.) The box directions are not followed. The next layer is whisked together condensed soup and stock, which is also poured over (not mixed in). The bake time is supposed to be 45 minutes, but that’s for a single recipe.

My husband gets credit for printing and applying labels, taping up the completed plates, bagging and then packing the car, unloading the car at the delivery place, and cleaning the kitchen! And occasionally helping to fill the plates, and/or last minute grocery store runs.

Although the recipe I used for today’s CFM (community fridge meal) called for rotisserie chicken, the manager of the community fridge had given me some rescued frozen chicken breasts, so I poached and then shredded the chicken yesterday. I used 10 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which came out to right under 5 pounds of meat. Melted two sticks of butter per hotel pan, layered the chicken, frozen peas and carrots (2 12 oz bags per pan), two packs of biscuit mix and 4 cups of milk per pan, and then 22 oz of cream of chicken soup (so sue me) and 2 cups of chicken stock (used the poaching liquid) per pan, and then baked at 375 much longer than the recipe said to. I also added a bit of grated cheese to the top. Not done enough! Back in the oven. Car packed for delivery. Delivery made!

Okay, y’all are being just too nice to me. Haha! Thank you.

Thank you! It seems so simple, just four times everything, but it doesn’t actually seem to work out that way. I get flustered and do some major cussing at some point during the prep or cook or when filling the plates. Or all three.

Darienne, you have touched on a few of the many dilemmas I have. I know I’m not helping any vegetarians with my meals. I know my meals are too carb heavy, but I try to add fresh ingredients when I can. A lot of my meal choices have to do with affordability (for me), my cooking skill set, and my desire to give someone a truly filling and satisfying meal. I often put too much meat in the recipe, or I make these gigantic servings. The large servings are actually because of my hope that even the biggest man could feel sated, and maybe those with smaller appetites might get two servings out of the entree. Today’s meal is going to be a chicken cobbler recipe that uses Cheddar Bay biscuit mix in the topping. Broccoli and a cutie will be the sides.

Thank you, but I’m flailing sometimes when I’m trying to quadruple a recipe. Someone with more experience wouldn’t have so many “character building” days!

Thank you, Shelby. And I will definitely be perusing that topic! The community fridges are public refrigerators with a “take what you need, give what you can” motto. The rules for prepared food donations are that you label the food with the date and what it is. They really want you to list possible food allergens. At first, I was listing every ingredient used in the recipes, but the fridge I am donating to does not require that. The budget is all mine because the donations come from me, although occasionally the people who manage this particular fridge get food rescues and offer some of it to me to use in my meals. They’ve given me some ground turkey, ground beef, chicken breasts, and blocks of cheese. I provide the packaging. To give some background, I’ll copy and paste from my Instagram: “In 2021 I kept seeing posts on Facebook about Lafayette’s Community fridge and pantry. The way they work intrigued me because it seemed like such an easy way to do something helpful. At first, I dropped off pantry items, the kind most people give when there’s a food drive. But it was the idea that you could bring cooked items, even leftovers (good leftovers), that led me to making food specifically for fridge donations. From the fall of 21 through April of ‘23 I made over 500 meals. Eventually, something must’ve changed with the management (volunteers, all) and as they stopped promoting it, I stopped cooking for them. But now, the community fridge in Lafayette and Abbeville have been adopted by The Foodies of Lafayette and they are coordinating with restaurants and other businesses for donations, food rescues, etc. So now I’m back, and ready to cook! By starting this page, I hope to encourage others to participate!” In May of 2025 I learned that a Facebook group called Foodies of Lafayette had adopted two community fridges and they were collaborating with restaurants and other food rescue groups to keep the fridges stocked. And then I learned of another community fridge that was connected to a church that has a strong mission to feed others. I decided to get back in the game and sort of adopted that fridge as the place I’d take my donations. I’d been looking for volunteering opportunities, but this one spoke to me. (Isn’t there a preview option before submitting posts? I’ve forgotten how to work eGullet!)

Hi, All! I’ve been away from eGullet for several years, so many of you may not remember me, but perusing current postings, I see many familiar names. 👋 I’m posting because I’ve been doing some cooking for one of our local community fridges, and I need help! Once a week I prepare and package meals for the fridge and my goal each week is 24 meals. While I often achieve that goal, a few times I’ve missed because I’ve miscalculated amounts and/or I make my serving sizes too generous. Also, I don’t get specific critical feedback, and sometimes I need it (she says before actually receiving critical feedback). My idea is to first share some pictures of meals I’ve prepared so y’all can see what I’ve done and then to post more in a sort of weekly blog about the meals each week. Any interest? I know many of you will have great ideas and guidance and feedback. Last week’s meal was a bagged lunch of tortellini soup with Italian sausage and spinach, accompanied by cheese toast. Sheet pan lasagna Sheet pan lasagna, cuke salad, buttered toast. Pasta salad, roasted sweet potatoes, buttered toast. Baked penne, salad, garlic bread. Corn salad Pulled chicken sandwich Pulled chicken sandwich and corn salad. Ham fried rice. Ham fried rice. Tamale pie, salad, dressing. Pork jambalaya, white beans, coleslaw. Chicken fried rice. Baked chicken thigh, baked potato, peas, buttered toast. Baked chicken spaghetti, two ways, broccoli, garlic bread. Red beans & rice with smoked sausage & ham, cornbread, two boiled cookies. Chicken fried rice

A few dinners. Pan grilled catfish with lemon, dill, and grape tomatoes, zucchini, Mexican style street corn. Shrimp lo mein with snow peas, scallions, carrots, and red bell pepper. Chicken and steak tacos. The steak one was from some leftover steak and it wasn’t great. The dogs thoroughly enjoyed the steak pieces, though! For the second time in as many weeks, I made a mushroom galette. The filling on this one was much better than the first, with a combo of shiitake and cremini, onions, a head of roasted garlic, sherry, goat cheese and gruyere. Brisket sandwich and potato salad. The brisket was from Costco, frozen foods, with some added barbecue sauce and pickled onions, on brioche bun. Homemade potato salad. More mushrooms, this time in a mushroom and sausage stuffing, with sourdough bread. Served with a pork chop and baked sweet potato.

Fried rice, rice pilaf, stuffed bell peppers, dirty rice.

My sentiments exactly. In addition, the title of the program that was run most frequently was, “The Cajun Experience in Music, Food, and Dance.”

The first few years that I ran the program, I had a wonderful venue to take the group to in a little town about twenty miles away. The family farmed rice and crawfish. One of the sons of the owner presented a slide show and a talk, explaining their operations and how rice and crawfish farming went together. This was followed by having boiled crawfish for lunch. It was really awesome, although in the fall, those groups were served crawfish etouffee, as it wasn’t crawfish season. I was pleasantly surprised by how many enjoyed the boiled crawfish experience, but thought it was funny when they asked where their utensils were. We don’t use utensils even for the corn and potatoes in the boil. All finger foods. The seasoning blend that was used had bunches of black peppercorns in it. One woman was aghast as she looked at her tray of crawfish. “Look at all the eyes looking back at me!” While it was true, that the crawfish eyes were still attached, a lot of those “eyes” were black peppercorns! 😂 Unfortunately, the patriarch of the operation passed away a few years after we started going there. I had no idea that his son was doing this only because his father wanted him to, and he stopped after his father’s death. His sister took over, but the lecture part was provided by someone else who wasn’t as good, and eventually it closed down altogether.

I found out the folk life village had smothered rabbit on the menu one day, so I requested that my group get that, instead of the usual. So many times people commented on wanting authenticity, and smothered rabbit is beloved by many older Cajuns. Boy, was I wrong! Suddenly, authenticity meant nothing, as people were confronted with eating the Easter bunny. 😳😂 Lesson learned, on my part. Not sure they appreciated my little joke about the method of cooking smothered rabbit. “First you put the pillows over their little faces...”

I never called anyone a moron or a Yankee! 😜 I try not to generalize to a group. But whaddaya mean about the view from up there? That southerners are morons?