And away we go

Our menu planning meeting was held tonight from 6-8pm in the Connect dining room. We decided on 5 recipes. Breakfast burritos, Nomandy style meat loaf, Burmese chicken curry with yellow lentils, Creamy White Bean and Sausage Soup and Southwestern Pinto Bean Burgers with Chipolte Mayo. Hansen's Independent Grocery store sponsored our first cooking night which will take place on Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006.

Two food advisors from Huron County were present at the meeting. They helped us with costing and organizing the shopping lists. They also provided information on safe food handling.

Three of our recipes came from Cooking Light( CL) , one came from the cover of the February issue of Bon Appetit and the last one came from one of our kitchen members.

Breakfast Burritos
Whole wheat tortillas
scrambled eggs
shreeded cheese
turkey sausage
pan-sauteed potatoes
salsa

whisk eggs with a little milk, salt and pepper. Make scrambled eggs. Lay a tortilla on a flat surface, add a small amount of egg, potato, sausage, cheese and salsa. Roll up and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze. When ready to eat, microwave on high for approx. 30 seconds.

Southwestern Pinto Bean Burgers w/ Chipoltle Mayo

Makes 4 burgers( recipe is tripled for kitchen)
Burgers:1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño pepper
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt1 large egg
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained
1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained
Chipotle Mayonnaise:1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon canned minced chipotle chile in adobo sauce

Remaining ingredients:1 tablespoon canola oil
4 (1 1/2-ounce) whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted
4 romaine lettuce leaves
To prepare burgers, combine the first 10 ingredients in a large bowl. Add pinto beans and corn; partially mash with a fork. Divide bean mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each portion into a 3 1/2-inch patty, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
To prepare chipotle mayonnaise, combine mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon chipotle in a small bowl; set aside.
Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties to pan, and cook 4 minutes on each side or until thoroughly heated. Place patties on bottom halves of buns; top each patty with 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, 1 lettuce leaf, and top half of bun. Yield: 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 411(23% from fat); FAT 10.7g (sat 1.9g,mono 3.2g,poly 3.2g); PROTEIN 15.2g; CHOLESTEROL 57mg; CALCIUM 153mg; SODIUM 837mg; FIBER 9.1g; IRON 3.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 63.1g


Normandy- Style Meat Loaf ( doubled for kitchen)

Vegetable cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon aniseeds
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup port or other sweet red wine
1/2 cup chopped pitted prunes
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 (1-ounce) slices pumpernickel bread, torn into small pieces
1 1/2 pounds lean ground pork
Preheat oven to 375°. Coat a small saucepan with cooking spray, and place over medium heat until hot. Add aniseeds; sauté 1 minute. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add wine and prunes; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine prune mixture, mustard, salt, pepper, and bread in a large bowl; toss well to moisten bread. Let mixture cool slightly.
Crumble pork over prune mixture, and stir just until blended. Pack mixture into a 9 x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until meat loaf registers 160°. Let meat loaf stand in pan 10 minutes.
Remove meat loaf from pan; cut loaf into 16 slices.
Sandwich suggestion: Serve leftover meat loaf slices on pumpernickel bread with herbed mayonnaise and lettuce. Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 2 slices)
writeNutrient
NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 183(31% from fat); FAT 6.4g (sat 2.1g,mono 2.8g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 19.7g; CHOLESTEROL 54mg; CALCIUM 18mg; SODIUM 376mg; FIBER 0.8g; IRON 1.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 6.9g

Burmese Chicken Curry w/ Yellow Lentils( doubled for kitchen)

1 1/2 cups dried yellow lentils
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
3/4 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 3/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 bay leaves
Place lentils in a large saucepan; cover with water to 2 inches above lentils. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.
Combine cumin and next 5 ingredients (through cloves) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken; seal and shake to coat.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add the mixture; sauté 4 minutes. Stir in broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add lentils and bay leaves; cover and simmer 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)

NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 344(21% from fat); FAT 8.2g (sat 1.6g,mono 3.1g,poly 2.4g); PROTEIN 35.8g; CHOLESTEROL 94mg; CALCIUM 50mg; SODIUM 576mg; FIBER 6.3g; IRON 5.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 31.9g

Creamy White bean and sausage soup( doubled for kitchen)
1 pound dried cannellini or Great Northern beans (generous 2 cups)
8 cups water
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves; 1 smashed, 2 chopped
1 large fresh rosemary sprig1 bay leaf1 large onion, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)1 large celery stalk, coarsely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme, divided
4 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
1 pound fresh chorizo link sausages or Italian sausage, casings removed
1/4 cup whipping cream
Place beans in heavy large saucepan. Add enough water to pan to cover beans by 4 inches. Let beans soak overnight at room temperature.Drain and rinse beans; return to same saucepan. Add 8 cups water, 1 tablespoon oil, smashed garlic clove, rosemary, and bay leaf. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer until beans are just tender, 1 to 11/2 hours. Season to taste with salt. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cool slightly, cover, and chill.)Drain beans, reserving cooking liquid. Discard rosemary sprig and bay leaf. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until vegetables are beginning to soften, about 10 minutes. Add chopped garlic and 1 teaspoon thyme; sauté 2 minutes. Add 2 cups reserved bean cooking liquid, 4 cups chicken broth, and beans. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered until vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Cool soup 10 minutes. Meanwhile, sauté chorizo in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking up lumps with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Transfer chorizo to paper towels to drain.Using slotted spoon, remove 1 1/2 cups bean mixture from soup; reserve. Working in batches, puree remaining soup in blender until smooth. Return puree to pot. Stir in reserved whole-bean mixture, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme, chorizo, and cream. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cold. Cover and keep chilled.) Rewarm soup over medium heat, thinning with more broth if desired. Season with salt and pepper. Divide soup among bowls and serve. Makes 6 main-course servings.