I have such fond memories of the dishes people brought us after our boys were born.

Lasagne was standard and good because it could easily be re-heated in smaller chunks. Once we had a great shepherd's pie, too.

And you can't go wrong with a nice heartly soup.

As a relatively new mom myself, anything you can eat one-handed is awesome. So, puree that soup, make wraps, burritos or sandwiches, customize some trail or snack mix, or put together a wholesome relish tray that can be picked at throughout the afternoon (or late evening).

Also, try to bring something that's appropriate for breakfast -- after feeding a newborn all night, you'd be amazed at how hungry you are in the morning. Breakfast burritos and sandwiches were pretty standard my first few weeks; if you can make a few of them for the freezer, it's easy enough to 'nuke 'em or toast them up in the oven if needed.

If I was on the receiving end, the first thought I had was mac and cheese! Makes a ton and you can customize it to their tastes. Slip in a ton of chopped spinach and some leeks for a green veggie kick or a variety of chopped veggies. Not the healthiest food in the world, but I'm sure any new mom will tell you sometimes, especially now when the weather is cooling, nothing will satisfy like a big plate of creamy comfort food.

Oooh shepherd's pie

If you are bringing a big casserole meant to be used in several meals, it might be worth it to make two small pans instead of one big one so one can be easily frozen. Use aluminum pans or line a pan with foil, assemble casserole, freeze and remove the frozen casserole & wrap in foil so that you do not have to lose All Your Pans.

We often make mac and cheese for new babies, not super healthy but super comforting and you can definitely toss some extra veggies in there at no loss.

Casseroles in general are good, of course, because they are ready to bake and they freeze well and they don't create tons of dishes. Something like this http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/easy-rice-bake-casserole-recipe/index.html could easily be bulked up with extra veggies to make it a full meal.

A premade "taco night"? Tortillas, shredded cheese, salsa, fixins, and some spicy cooked beans, already prepped and packed into small containers or bags so that all they have to do is heat the tortillas & beans, open the lids, assemble and eat? Or burritos you have pre-made and wrapped.

Also just things they can serve with other easy-to-make stuff so they don't have to figure out the timing on a whole meal, cause a newborn can definitely throw off your kitchen timing mojo. A bunch of roasted veggies or some homemade veggie burgers for the freezer? Or even veggies and other snacks already cut up and parceled out into snack sizes for the 3 year old--one less thing to plan and it will make the "old kid" feel special that their aunt was thinking of them when everyone is all about the new baby.

I can say too, from meals I've made for friends, most people don't consider the packaging. Spend the buck to get disposable aluminum baking trays with the plastic lid at the grocery or a pack of toss away-able storage containers at the grocery for your food you make.
You have no idea how grateful a new mom will be, food aside, if she doesn't have to wash/dry/ remember to return your casserole dish or pan.

Frozen burritos. Tortilla filled with rice, beans, veggies, cheese, salsa, etc. wrapped in plastic and frozen. They reheat in the microwave in about 3 minutes. I'm terrible at wrapping them and usually have to eat them with a fork, but I have them for lunches at work all the time. It's fantastic! There was sometime on the site about it pretty recently...

Some of my best-received meals are minestrone soup, fresh homemade bread with butter and jam, individual quiche, individual bean burritos and individual spanikopita. All these can be reheated easily in the microwave and consumed quickly. Also, new parents don't have as much time to grocery shop and fresh fruit and veggies can be so welcome!

Oh, we also got empanadas once...yum.

As mentioned on other threads, prep everything you bring so it can be grabbed and eaten as quickly as possible. If you're going to bring fresh fruit & veggies, for instance (great idea!), wash & cut the produce before you bring it over. Think fruit salad instead of fruit, carrot sticks & broccoli florets instead of veggies.

I also greatly appreciated the loaves of quick breads we received. Banana bread with chocolate chips is a favorite among our new mom and/or convalescing friends.

These quiche cups are a lifesaver! They're easy to freeze or just make and reheat.

Egg and Spinach Quiche Cups
2-3 cups fresh spinach
4 eggs
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 t olive oil
assorted veggies sauteed to remove water (I did spinach and tomatoes)

Saute veggies in olive oil. Line a 12 cup muffin tray with 6 foil baking cups. Spray the cups with cooking spray. Combine the eggs, cheese, and veggies in a bowl.
Divide evenly among the cups.
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.
May then be frozen if desired.

breakfast-y foods and single-serving foods (or foods that can be eaten in single servings) have been hits over here. Pulled pork BBQ w/ mac & cheese (w/spinach), breakfast casserole and homemade muffins/banana bread... I also really appreciated a snack basket a friend brought me - pita chips, hummus, carrot sticks, etc - so nice to have something quick to grab.

I am obsessed with my mom's recipe for Norwegian Frukt Suppe (Fruit Soup). Apparently, it was once the go-to choice for bringing to new moms because it is rich, but good for you.

4 cups dried fruit
8 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons tapioca
1 cinnamon stick

Soak the fruit overnight in the water, then pour into a pot and add sugar, tapioca, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat until tapioca is cooked through and mixture is thickened. Serve plain or especially good with a little heavy cream on top. Serve hot or cold.

You don't have to soak the fruit overnight, but they rehydrate in a wonderful way. My mom always uses 2 cups raisins, 1 cup prunes, and 1 cup apricots. Her grandma used just raisins and prunes because that's what was available. Heck, I'd be okay making this with just raisins! You can also skip the soaking and cook for a bit longer, but it's not as nice, in my opinion.

As for real food, I'd say go with hearty bean soups. They reheat well and are easy to eat. You can sub spanish smoked paprika fairly well for the flavor of a smoked ham hock to go all veggie. And a loaf of fresh-baked bread? That will never go ignored. Especially if you bake it in easy-to-eat rolls. Other lovely ideas could be premade, but not baked calzones that could be thrown in the freezer until needed or hearty vegetable salads like a vinaigrette veggie and potato salad that can be eaten cold for lunch.

I feel like this is a cookbook waiting to happen - "Perfect Foods For New Families."

I recently brought posole to a new mom- it's usually made with pork or chicken but I think would be very good vegetarian as well- it's nice because it's customizable- I gave them tortillas and avocado and cabbage so they could add what they like.

Another hit for a vegan dad were empanadas stuffed with caramelized onion, butternut squash and vegan cheese.

Breakfast burritos. Hands down. I was starving in the morning and they were quick out of the freezer, we hid spinach in them and made our own tasty smokey beans.

Baked oatmeal or breakfast cookies (essentially granola bars). Milk and other nutritious drinks (breastfeeding moms get super thirsty).

Almost more than making food, moms appreciate someone who'll volunteer to make a grocery store or errand run for them too.

I second (or fourth...) the burrito ideas. I make them all the time, and they're crazy quick, handy and tasty. My pal had a baby a few months ago and I made veggie chili, burritos, soups and a pasta casserole type thing. (Even easier than lasagna, just cook noodles add diced peppers, spinach, cheese and tomato sauce.) I put everything I made in aluminum pans with lids (with the exception of the soups, which went in ziploc type containers) and marked 'em with the ingredients and heating instructions. Everything was a big hit!

I always keep baked sweet potatoes on hand. For some reason I always end up mixing them with frozen peas and salt and pepper. I keep peas on hand too.

haha posted this on the wrong page. too many tabs open

One of my fave dishes after my daughter was born last Christmas was chicken pot pie with lots of veggies. I made some in advance and froze them, and then when my mom was here to help me out after baby arrived, we made more. Mmm...