I made everything in these dishes from scratch except for the pasta, which I plan to do next time. I also prepared the dishes differently than I normally do, not only to make it low-fat, which I try to accomplish anyhow, but to make it extra healthy as a family with a new baby certainly needs all the energy they can get! So, I went the whole-wheat pasta route, used skim milk and low-fat cheeses.

First up, macaroni cheese steak, a twist on traditional sheppard's pie, with chopped steak on the bottom, a sprinkling of cheese, then a layer of chopped spinach and homemade macaroni and cheese on top, and topped with garlicky bread crumbs. I am not sure if the whole-wheat pasta was a problem at all, but for me at least, the dish was a little too bland, and certainly not at cheesy as it usually comes out. I believe that had I made it with regular cheddar and gruyere like I normally do, instead of the light versions I chose, this dish would have been much better. That said, Fritz thought the dish was delicious.

Second on the list was pork loin stuffed with apricot, cherries, flax seeds and sunflower seeds. I can just say that I am very happy with the results of this meal! It looks fantastic, and for me at least, it tasted great, not too spicy (suitable for a two year old) and cooked until just under done so that when it is ready to be served it will remain moist.

Chicken with lemon and black olives was next on the list. This is exactly what it says, roasted chicken breast covered with slices of lemon, and black olives and sun dried tomatoes. I also made a small tapenade to serve with the chicken. Salty, of course, but for me, this is the kind of dish I enjoy most over white rice.

The vegetarian dish was lasagna. With grilled yellow zucchini, sweet red and yellow bell peppers, this would be great for a summer night, however... I am not sure about the spices again, and I have concerns about the use of low-fat cheeses, and skim milk. Again, the whole wheat pasta does not seem to be the problem. I have not yet tested out the final product, so I will reserve judgement for later in the week.

Finally, for main dishes anyhow, I made fish burgers, using fresh fillet of sole, panko, and a few spices, formed patties and rolled these in bread crumbs, then froze them so they could hold their shape. For the adults I made a kimchi mayo. I have made these with other fish like salmon served with a wasabi mayo and monkfish with garlic mayo, both times they turned out wonderfully, so I cannot imagine that this will be any different. For me, this is one of those dishes that I could eat every night.

Fritz helped me with the roasted chicken as my official "cutter-upper" or "disassembler" as I like to call him, and he made a fabulous chinese cabbage slaw to be served with the fish burgers, or, if you are like me, to devour before fish burger night even gets here.

Along with this I mashed sweet potato with creamy custard, and topped with brown sugar (of course!) and a batch of my flax seed scones which I brushed with maple syrup for a little more sweetness.

I am hoping she and her family likes this set up, I loved doing it, though I know that next week, I would make everything on the Saturday, so that it would be chilled by the time they came to pick up their order! The total cost of making the above dishes with servings for 7-8 people was about 130$.