Fellows Dinner & Hospitality

1. Decide how many casseroles you want to make. It takes 3 9×13″ pans to feed our Fellows students – you can make 1, 2, or all 3 parts of that meal.
2. Sign up for the casserole drive (linked above).
3. Pick up the disposable aluminum pan(s) for the dish you signed up for at the BSC (104 Faculty Street, Blacksburg).
4. Make your dish with the provided easy recipe. The recipe is included with the pan.
5. Drop your pan(s) off at the BSC by the drive date!

P.S. Would you be interested in joining a Fellows dinner as an adult guest? Contact [email protected].

You would not use your 9×13 pan at all!

We know it’s a pain to chase your dishes down (especially if you use that pan often yourself). If you are making something for the casserole drive, sign up and then make the casserole(s) in the disposable aluminum pan provided by the BSC. You can pick up the pan at the BSC at 104 Faculty Street, Blacksburg.

Or, if you found this opportunity through your local church, check with your church contact – they may have the pans available.

If you sign up, we’ll work with you to make sure you can get into the study center and drop it off!

• Drop off location: Bradley Study Center, 104 Faculty Street, Blacksburg, VA 24060.
• Dropping off during regular open hours: After August 21, the study center will be open 9:00am-5:00pm Monday-Thursday and 9:00am-3:00pm Friday. Show up anytime then, and we can help get your cookies or casserole to the freezer.
• Dropping off after hours: Our Director of Operations, Brittany Lattner, will be in touch with you once you sign up to get you an entry code to the front door if you need it! You can let yourself in and take the cookies or casserole to the chest freezer in the basement.

We ask that you steer clear of nuts in general since nut allergies are more common and can be severe. 

For Fellows with other common allergies or diets like vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, etc. we will accommodate as needed. Any necessary accomodations will be already written into your recipe!

If making cookies: Yes, make whatever sounds tasty to you!

If making casseroles: 

• 1-2 casseroles: Please follow the suggested recipe on the pan. This makes sure we can combine your pan with others to make a complete meal.
• 3 casseroles: If you want to make a complete meal’s worth of casseroles, you are welcome to suggest a freezer-friendly recipe besides the one listed on the pans. Email Brittany Lattner ([email protected]) to check your recipe is compatible with the dinner needs.

HOW TO FREEZE A CASSEROLE

1. Air is your enemy in the freezer – air leads to freezer burn. So everything about packing up a casserole for the freezer is about keeping the extra air out of the food. Use professional-strength plastic wrap to do this. Press that plastic wrap down onto the surface of the food. You do not want to just stretch the wrap across the top of the pan. You want to try to get as much contact between the plastic wrap and the top of your casserole as you can. This will keep the air out.
2. Next up, aluminum foil. The plastic wrap by itself isn’t going to quite get the job done. You need another layer to protect your food from the freezer and freezer burn. Use heavy-duty aluminum foil to tightly wrap your casserole, again, press the foil down on the surface of the food.Make sure the entire pan is covered, with enough foil left to wrap around the sides of the pan. Depending on the size of your pan, you might need two layers of aluminum foil to get it completely wrapped.
3. Last but not least, a label. It is so important to label your casseroles before you freeze them. In a solid disposable pan with a foil cover, you can’t tell what’s inside!

HOW TO FREEZE COOKIES

1. Make sure you have freezer bags with zip locks that are designed for freezer use. It’s important to choose bags that are durable, thick, and have a reliable sealing mechanism.
2. Allow your cookies to cool completely before placing them in the freezer bags. This prevents condensation from forming inside the bags, which could lead to freezer burn.
3. Arrange the cookies inside the freezer bag.
4. Starting from the bottom of the bag, gently squeeze out as much air as possible without squishing the cookies. Removing excess air helps minimize the chance of freezer burn.

Casserole how-to adapted from MyFearlessKitchen.com. Cookie how-to adapted from Storables.com.

We’re beyond grateful you’d think to share this opportunity! The easiest way is to send them to this link: bradleystudycenter.org/dinners

Or, you connect them with Brittany Lattner ([email protected]) to talk about how they can be part of the hospitality at the study center!