There are a few things I love doing in this life. One of them is cooking and the other is being a nurse. I have been as nurse for almost 13 years now and the past 6 years have been in labor and delivery. I am passionate about women's health and truly love working with women who are walking through the happiest day of their life, welcoming their child into the world. My other passion is cooking. I love being in the kitchen, whether it is trying a new recipe or making an old favorite family meal. The kitchen calms me, I know some people get stressed or overwhelmed when cooking, but I feel like I can think clearly, be creative and just be happy while cooking. I love getting to show love to new mamas by cooking them a meal after they have had a new baby, so really it combines two of my passions into one.
I am going to show you two of my favorite recipes I love to bring to new mamas. They are both is quick, easy and so delicious. It happens to also be my husbands favorite thing I make and it is so easy to make a large batch and feed our family as well as whomever I am bringing dinner to that night. I am also going to let you in on a little secret of mine. I also try and bring over something for breakfast. Whether it is a breakfast casserole, banana bread or a coffee cake that can also be doubled as a dessert for their dinner. I think breakfast gets skipped over a lot. I remember those first few weeks after having both my boys and thinking how does one ever eat anything for breakfast that wasn’t a granola bar or yogurt. It never failed you would get done feeding the baby and changing the baby and washing the bottles etc and it would be 10 am and you were already STARVING from when you woke up at 6am after not sleeping well and breastfeeding. I never produced enough to officially breastfeed my babies, but I tried and man do you constantly feel hungry when you are breastfeeding. Therefore one of my favorite things to surprise new mamas with is breakfast in addition to the meal I have brought over for them.
The two recipes I am going to walk you through today are Chicken Tacos and Sausage Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole.
Shredded Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
- 32 oz Chicken Broth
- 1 can green enchilada sauce
- 1 can salsa verde
- 1 can rotel
- 1 can diced green chiles
- 1 package taco seasoning ( I like the chicken taco one, but it doesn’t have to be)
Optional Toppings
- Shredded Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Shredded lettuce
- Jalapeños
- Guacamole
- Cilantro
Directions
- Pour all the ingredients in a crock pot, covered and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- After the chicken has cooked, pull it out and shred it using either two forks or a fork and knife. The chicken should be very tender and easy to shred. Place the chicken back in the sauce and serve onto tortillas.
When I bring these over to friends I place the chicken in container and bring the fixings. I bring corn and flour tortillas, chips, salsa, guacamole, shredded cheese and sour cream. I also like to bring rice, beans and a berry mint salad. I will either bring a dessert, which is usually either sopapilla cheesecake and a Bundt cake that can also double as a coffee cake for breakfast. Speaking of breaskfast, here is the breakfast casserole recipe.
Leftover shredded chicken that we will eat for leftovers and I will use to make tortilla soup later. Also pictured to the right is a delicious grapefruit margarta. Grapefruit is one of my favorite fruits and it best during winter, citrus season.
Breakfast Casserole
with Hashbrown and Sausage
Ingredients
- 12 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 16 ounce package breakfast sausage roll
- 1 30 ounce frozen Hashbrown package
- 2-4 tablespoons butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
Directions
- Preheat your over to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. Thaw your Hashbrowns.
- In a large skillet brown your sausage, cook until no longer pink. Pour into a separate bowl.
- I do not drain the grease, but rather use the same pan to cook the Hashbrowns. I think it adds a good flavor. Place about 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan, then add the Hashbrowns to the skillet. I sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top and place a few slices of butter on the top for when I am ready to flip the Hashbrowns over to cook the other side. Let the Hashbrowns lightly brown on each side. I like them to get a cook crisp on each side.
- Place the Hashbrowns on the bottom of the lightly greased 9x13 pan and spread to make an even layer. Top with even layer of cooked sausage.
- Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Pour this over the Hashbrown and sausage layers
- Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until it is bubbling and cheese has melted and started to brown.
You can place in the freezer after it has cooled and eat at a later date. Just allow it to completely thaw and warm up a slice. I sometimes make the dish a day or two ahead, stick it in the refrigerator and bake it later. You could also bake it, slice it into square and freeze those individually for quick easy meals to go during the week. Either way it is delicious.
Well now that you know my secrets on how to love on a mama via food. Let me let you in on another secret, you don’t just feed the mama with food. When you show up you feed her love and support and give her a safe place to cry and be heard. Your presence can just be enough for that mama.
Last year sometime I read a blog post by Danielle Sherman-Lazar she titled “ Don’t Forget to Hold the Mother, Not Just the Baby.” I am not going to quote the whole entry, but she gets it!
Danielle says
“ Hold the mother, not the baby.
Because the baby’s being taken care of.
Fed, snuggled, and given all the love in the
world by not only the mother, but her
partner, grandparents, siblings, cousins,
and friends.
So, it’s the mother who needs your love.
And a mother will remember who held her
up.
So instead of, ‘I’m coming to see their baby,”
try saying, ‘I’m coming to see you and meet
the baby, too.’
Because the mother needs to be held more.”
So yes, go see your friends new baby, but don’t forget about your friend, the mama. Bring your friend the dinner because she needs to be fed just as much as that baby, if not more. Feed the mama food so she can literally feed her baby. Give the mama love so her cup is filled so she can pour out love to that baby. Hold the mama tight when you give her a hug because she has done nothing but give love since that baby came. Give the mama the space she needs cry and be heard because these are probably the most trying and exhausting days of her life so far and she can’t see the reward of the good days ahead through the postpartum fog. Feed the mama so she can be there for her older children and her new baby and her husband. Tell the mama you are going to stay for as long as she wants you to stay, whether that is 5 minutes or 5 hours. Do her laundry, clean her kitchen, play with the toddler, let her nap while you hold the baby, ask about how she is healing, run an errand for her, tell her a funny story, hug her, give advice, but only if she asks and listen to her. Tell your friend, the mama, she is doing a great job because whether this is her first baby or her fifth baby she needs to be fed truth. Truth that her role as a mama is the most important and hardest thing she will ever do and that she is loved, supported and seen in the great things she is doing.
So while these recipes are delicious and bringing food is important because we all have to eat. Don’t forget that while you are feeding the mama, you are doing so much more by just showing up.
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