comfort of a homemade meal

I love the comfort of a homemade meal. When I was on bed rest with my younger child, friends came out of every corner, delivering meals to nourish and sustain my family during those long months. Perhaps that is why I always jump at the chance to cook for someone who would appreciate a homemade meal. (Either that, or I need someone to save me from myself.) When making these meals, I'll often scale the recipes up, making sure I can offer a second or third meal to others who could use a night off of cooking (and extras for us so I can take the next day off of cooking too). I've noticed there's a little glitch in the search function on full plate right now, so I'm going to link each recipe here. I've categorized this post under "throw a party and get to enjoy it too" because in addition to being a perfect room temp meal to drop off to a friend, all of these dishes are simple and can be made a day ahead, making them great options if you're having friends over some warm summer night too...

Giada's Grilled Chicken with Basil Sauce
Quinoa Salad with Grilled Vegetable, Feta & Pistachios (this link also has the basil sauce)
Lentil-Cucumber-Fennel Salad
and a fruit salad (mangoes, strawberries and blueberries this time) topped with fresh mint

enjoy!