Prepared Meals as Gifts

"Trying to figure out what would be best to help an individual or family in need is a battle and historically has been answered with a simple word - FOOD!!!

Prepared meals are a wonderful way to say you care. The world is a busy place and there are those that are less fortunate or are in a life changing situation, that could use this "gift of caring". We cater to these needs on a regular basis. The calls are usually from a "friend of the family" or an "out of town friend" who just wants to help from afar.

From a Chef Salad to Lasagna, prepared meals can serve as little as 1 or as many as you need. We can individually pack a dinner for a quick reheat for a caregiver to pop in the oven when the loved one decides they are hungry or we can send a whole meal, with the sides and beverages for a house full of family and friends. Maybe consider a turkey dinner sent in disposables for easy storage and reheat.

If you find yourself in a situation that calls for comfort food, here are a couple of thoughts to keep in mind. First, check and see if there are any dietary restricitons, i.e. no spicy, gluten free, salt free, allergies, etc. Secondly, find out if there are children and add something special for the little ones that is a known food that all would like. A good suggestion for this would be mac n cheese or chicken tenders. Our Chicken Pot Pie is a crowd pleaser for all!

My favorite to date is a lovely lady who arranged a single meal to arrive everyday for a week! Her friend had been battling cancer and was home recovering. She lived by herself and had no family in the area so a full meal with dessert was loving prepared fresh in our kitchen for five days and a staff member would call the recipeient to see if she was up and moving to schedule the delivery- everyday!

The smile on her face when she opened the door was so precious. You could see that it was like getting a present everyday and one less thing to worry about. The simple gesture gave her the assurance that she had one meal a day that she did not have to worry about and could eat as she felt up to it. By Wednesday, she would ask energetically, "What is my surprise today?"

We will be happy to work with you planning a single meal or a week of meals and would be honored in assisting in any way that we can.

Can you believe it is almost summer?

Can you believe it is almost summer again? Time flies when you are having fun.

Our kitchen staff has been busy creating cake pops and mini chocolate cup cupcakes, and new salads. Our cake pops come in chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. They are a huge hit and you may find them at the Coffee Central locations or order directly from us! We are doing large flower pots with 12 for $35.95 and small flower pots with 10 pops for $29.95. Several Administrative Assistants recieved these as gifts and were thrilled. These little babies can be purchased by the dozen for $2.50 per pop and this is without the flower pot.

The Mini Chocolate Cup Cupcakes are absolutly adorable and have been a fast moving item, as well. The chocolate cup is freshly made in house and then filled, top dipped and sprinkled. The finished look is that of a tiny storybood cupcake and the flavor packs a huge chocolate bang like no other treat.

The thing that we love about the mini cupcakes is that they you can eat even the cup! It is made with our gourmet chocolate!

The pastry chef has been coming up with new flavors of cupcakes as well. Are you ready for this? Chocolate peanut butter, banana green tea, peanut butter & jelly, chocolate mocha bean, and salted caramel! We have showcased these at several community events and people have gone wild over the originality of the flavors. To make things even more interesting, the banana green tea is garnished with a fortune cookie and the peanut butter & jelly is garnished with a chocolate dipped potato chip!

These are perfect for baby showers, birthdays, Thank You gifts, or just as a "pick me up" for someone who needs a little cheer!

We are so lucky to work with such a talented group of culinary people! They surprise us on a regular basis and continually provide us with a reason to go to the gym....

Until next time.....

To order these little treats or other items, you can go online/ 24/7 - to www.elysescatering.com or give us a call at 360-943-5555, Monday thru Friday from 9AM to 5PM