5-Ingredient Easy Pasta Bake & Other Comforting Meals to Show You Care

~ After sharing our Easy, Cheesy 5-Ingredient Pizza Pasta Bake with you yesterday, we’re so excited to be bringing you even more great comfort food recipes today – from top bloggers across the country! The type of recipes that are absolutely perfect for sharing with friends and neighbors who could use a helping hand … new moms, grieving families, neighbors recovering from surgery … anyone who could use a friendly hug and a warm meal. Read on for delicious recipes, and a great opportunity to join us in helping a very special family in need. ~

You already know that our lives here at THK pretty much completely revolve around food. We’re always testing (and retesting!) recipes, trying new foods, reading about foods … you get it.

Food isn’t just about body fuel, though. It’s also about feelings and memories!

Catching up with an old friend? Let’s do lunch!

Celebrating a birthday? Where’s the cake?

Food can also be incredibly helpful and truly brighten someone’s day during a tough situation.

Taking a meal to a friend who is going through a particularly stressful time can ease a ton of that stress. When someone goes through a big-time life change (having a baby, receiving a medical diagnosis, grieving the loss of a loved one) meals are often the last thing on their mind. But that’s also the time when meals are the most important … to keep up strength. To get through each hectic day.

Those simple dinners that come together in a flash and make amazing leftovers are the perfect meals to take to a friend in need … it really shows you care.

And today, we’re sharing lots of ideas for you to keep tucked away in a safe place for those times when a dear one in your life needs more than a hug.

We’re also helping another blogger along the way …

Ashley Wagner is just like us. She’s a mom and a food blogger. She’s a former teacher turned full-time blogger, and she adores sharing her favorite recipes with her readers.

Her blog is Center Cut Cook … and you’ve gotta check her out! You’ll drool over her recipes! How about Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce? Yes, please! Or maybe Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip, Chopped Thai Chicken Salad, Oven Roasted Asparagus, or Southwest Quinoa Salad. Oh yes! Serious yum!

But Ashley’s dealing with way more stress right now than anyone should have to.

Ashley and her husband, Ryan, had been married for 10 years when they found out they were expecting their first child. They were over-the-moon excited for this miracle baby!

However, within the week, Ryan was suffering with the stomach flu for the third time in two weeks. A trip to the ER resulted in a CT scan with devastating results … Ryan had Stage 4 colon cancer. Talk about a roller coaster of emotions in just one short week …

Because the cancer had spread to his lungs and lymph nodes, surgery was not an option and he’s been on bi-weekly chemotherapy since December 2013. He’s doing pretty well, and his doctors say he’s stable!

When Miles was born in August 2014, he was a ray of perfect sunlight! Happy and healthy … Miles brought so much joy to Ashley and Ryan!

However, when Miles was just 8 weeks old, he was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure. He suffers from a rare disease called Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1, a genetic disorder that affects only one in 5 million.

Miles is in need of a kidney and liver transplant. He currently receives 11 hours of dialysis every single day.

This family needs more than a hug.

That’s why we’re joining with 18 top bloggers to lend a caring hand. We’ve come together today to share tons of delicious recipes that are perfect to take to a friend in need. From healthy to indulgent, these recipes are comfort food at its very best.

By coming together today with our fellow bloggers, we’re also hoping to help raise awareness and monetary support for the Wagner family.

The Wagners also offer another important way that you can help … not just their family, but many other families, as well. They’d like us to encourage everyone to become an organ donor. It will be an organ donor that will save the life of their little boy. An organ donor may someday save your life, too. And eventually, you could help save dozens of lives if you become an organ donor.

Be sure to check out the Team Ryan Facebook Page to follow along and see how Ryan and Miles are doing, and to offer words of encouragement and support.

And we hope we’ve inspired you today with lots of deliciously easy recipes for offering a caring, helping hand to those in your own life who could use a little support.

Whether it’s a new mom or a sick friend, an elderly shut-in neighbor or a loved one struggling through a tough time … we all know people who could use a warm meal to get them through those days when food is the furthest thing from their minds.

Our fellow bloggers have so many wonderful recipes that are just perfect for sharing. We hope these recipel ideas will help not just Ashley’s family, but families you know, too. And remember to give plenty of hugs!

Comforting Meals to Share with a Friend and Show How Much You Care:

Sugar Dish Me made this Easy Chicken Broccoli Bake

That Skinny Chick Can Bake made Mexican Chicken Manicotti

Food Faith & Fitness made a Paleo Casserole with Turkey, Peppers, Zucchini, and Tomato

Spend with Pennies made Chicken Noodle Casserole (from Scratch)

Wishes & Dishes made this Creamy Chicken Tetrazzini

Frugal Foodie Mama made Pizza Pierogi Casserole

Snappy Gourmet made Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Casserole

Miss in the Kitchen made a Chicken and Mushroom Tortellini Bake

Life, Love, and Good Food made this Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

Bless This Mess made Quick and Easy Summer Chicken Salad

Mandy’s Recipe Box collected 30 Freezer Meals

Hugs and Cookies made Baked Parmesan Meatball Casserole

Barbara Bakes made this Veal & Wild Mushroom Stew

A Cedar Spoon made Sausage, Roasted Red Pepper, & Gouda Macaroni & Cheese

It’s Yummi made an Easy Cheese & Sausage Pizza Bake

A Family Feast made these Easy Freezer Meatballs

Stuck on Sweet made Homemade Goulash

Two Healthy Kitchens made a 5-Ingredient Easy Pasta Bake

It Bakes Me Happy made a Peach Skillet Galette