Lasagna for new mom- bake or take uncooked?

[Anonymous]

Taking a "new baby" meal to some friends- was planning to take lasagna and wondering if I should go ahead and bake it or take "put together" but not yet cooked with instructions on the cooking time? Was thinking maybe it would be easier to bake it, then they could reheat and freeze some if desired. Does cooked lasagna freeze ok??

[Anonymous]

i've always wondered this too! i was brought a bunch of baked stuff, and i've always taken baked. but it seems silly to bake it twice.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't bake it. Your probably isn't the only meal they'll receive, so they may not eat it right away. Besides, it's not hard to put a lasagna in the oven as long as it's already assembled.

BTW, I'm always surprised that lasagna is the go-to meal for many people in this position. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had lasagna at home. Do people make this meal a lot at home and I'm just out of the loop? I cook a fair bit, it's just not in my rotation.

[Anonymous]

I bring them uncooked. The meat is already cooked and it takes just as long to re-cook it so I think it is probably tastier (i.e. less dry, fresher) if they cook for the first time. The amount of work required for the new mom is the same either way.

[Anonymous]

I normally bring them uncooked. I bring it often when I visit friends or my in laws and it's always appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Hrm, I was thinking I would take it already baked. That way they can just cut a piece and heat it up, rather than having to bake the whole thing. Especially if it's only 2 people eating it.

[Anonymous]

I'd call and ask them which they'd prefer! There are good arguments both ways.

[Anonymous]

You could ask. I'm on maternity leave now and especially for those first few weeks it was so much easier to have things cooked and just nuke in the microwave because we were running around like crazy people! But seriously I was so appreciative of any meal or food we got so dont stress too much over it.

[Anonymous]

Team bake!

[Anonymous]

I bring them often and always do them uncooked. I've never really thought about my reasoning, but I guess it is: (1) the prep work is literally just turning on the oven and putting the lasagna in so you're not really putting out the new parents; (2) I think freshly cooked lasagna tastes much better than reheating lasagna; (3) I realize some people actually prefer reheated lasagna, which is fine, but reheated lasgna still feels like leftovers, and I would never bring actual leftovers to someone's house; (4) they could have just received food from three other people and are not going to end up eating your lasagna for days. They may want to toss the lasagna in the freezer or park it in the fridge for a few days without it turning into dried out crap.

[Anonymous]

Also, I received an uncooked lasagna that I parked in the freezer for almost a month. My parents were constantly over cooking dinner and my husband was home. I am glad it was still fresh when he went back to work.

[Anonymous]

I would never consider bringing it unbaked.

Bring it baked, and they can reheat the whole thing, or package it into individual servings and freeze them, then reheat as needed.

All pasta freezes fine. I frequently make a giant tray of mac n cheese and freeze it in single-serve squares.

[Anonymous]

Bake- she might have so much food fro people the day you are there that she might not eat it for a while.

[Anonymous]

I usually bake mine, cut, and then wrap each piece in tin foil and put the sum total in two of three ziploc bags. That makes it easy for the recipient to pull a few pieces out at a time. Sometimes I put together a mini meal consisting of a few pieces of lasagna, a couple piece of garlic bread and some cookie dough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never consider bringing it unbaked.

Bring it baked, and they can reheat the whole thing, or package it into individual servings and freeze them, then reheat as needed.

All pasta freezes fine. I frequently make a giant tray of mac n cheese and freeze it in single-serve squares.

You don't want her to have to bake it but you're ok with her having to repackage it into individual portions? That's 100 times more time consuming.