April Showers brings May's Cooking????

On Thursday May 15, 2007 10 Connect Community Kitchen members gathered to cook. We welcomed 2 new members, Steven & Jack and we were very happy to have them. For May, the group prepared Breakfast pizza for the breakfast component, triple mushroom stirfry with tofu, chicken peanut chow mein & chinese 5 spice beef burgers for the upcoming BBQ season!!!!

Connect Community Kitchen would like to thank both Tara & Norah for all their extra help this month with grocery shopping, transportation and cooking expertise! We couldn't have done it without you...our kitchen is so much fun with you there!!!!!

We would also like to thank our sponsors for their support! Big thanks to both Hansen's Independent Grocer and Hayter's Turkey Products....their products are what makes our fares that much more delicious!

Breakfast Pizza

from Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) can reduced-fat refrigerated crescent dinner roll dough

Cooking spray

12 ounces turkey breakfast sausage

1 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

1/4 cup fat-free milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 (8-ounce) carton egg substitute

2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese



Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.
Separate dough into triangles. Press triangles together to form a single round crust on a 12-inch pizza pan coated with cooking spray. Crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim.
Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain.
Top prepared dough with sausage, potatoes, and cheese. Combine milk, salt, pepper, and egg substitute, stirring with a whisk. Carefully pour milk mixture over sausage mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until crust is browned.
Yield
8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)






Triple Mushroom Stir Fry With Tofu

From Cooking Light
Triple mushroom stir fry in progress...btw it was the first time most of our members had tofu...and they loved it!

This is me (Katie) doling out the mushroom stir fry while Steven anxiously awaits

Ingredients
Sauce:

1 1/4 cups organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

Stir-fry:

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

1/2 pound extrafirm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cups presliced button mushrooms

2 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 3 ounces)

1 cup snow peas, trimmed

1/2 cup red bell pepper strips

1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

2 cups sliced oyster mushroom caps (about 4 ounces)

3/4 cup (1-inch) slices green onions


Remaining ingredient: 5 cups hot cooked long-grain rice



Preparation:

To prepare sauce, combine first 10 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk.
Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu; cook 8 minutes or until lightly browned, turning occasionally. Remove from pan. Add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil, button mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until almost tender. Add peas, bell pepper, and water chestnuts; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth mixture, tofu, oyster mushrooms, and onions; cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick. Serve over rice.
Yield
5 servings (serving size: 1 cup mushroom mixture and 1 cup rice)

Chicken Peanut Chow Mein

From Cooking Light
Ingredients
1 cup precut matchstick-cut carrot

1 cup snow peas, trimmed

2 (6-ounce) packages chow mein noodles

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil, divided

1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided

3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 cup presliced mushrooms

2 teaspoons bottled fresh ground ginger (such as Spice World)

1 cup (1-inch) sliced green onions

2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preparation

Cook carrots, snow peas, and noodles in boiling water 3 minutes; drain.
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cut chicken crosswise into thin strips. Add chicken and 1 tablespoon soy sauce to pan; stir-fry 3 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
Combine remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, broth, oyster sauce, sugar, and pepper, stirring well. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and ginger to pan; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add broth mixture, and cook for 1 minute. Add noodle mixture and chicken to pan; cook 1 minute, tossing to combine. Sprinkle with onions and peanuts.
Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups noodle mixture, 1/4 cup onions, and 1 1/2 teaspoons peanuts)

Chinese 5-Spice Burgers

From Sunset

Ingredients
About 1 teaspoon olive or salad oil

1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms

1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions (including tops)

6 tablespoons prepared Chinese plum sauce

1 pound ground lean beef

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon Asian (toasted) sesame oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

4 sesame seed-topped hamburger buns (about 3 oz. each), cut in half horizontally

Lettuce leaves, rinsed and crisped

Salt

Preparation

1. Pour oil into an 8- to 10-inch nonstick frying pan over high heat; when hot, add mushrooms and stir until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in the green onions and plum sauce and remove from heat.
2. In a bowl, gently mix ground beef with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, Chinese five spice, and ginger. Shape beef mixture into four equal patties, each about 1/2 inch thick.
3. Lay patties on a lightly oiled barbecue grill over a solid bed of medium-hot coals or medium-high heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 3 to 4 seconds); close lid on gas grill. Cook patties until no longer pink in the center (cut to test) or a thermometer inserted in center reaches 160°, 6 to 8 minutes total, turning once to brown evenly. After 5 minutes, lay bun halves, cut side down, on grill and toast lightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Lay a lettuce leaf on each toasted bun base, top with a beef patty, and spoon mushroom mixture equally over burgers. Add salt to taste and cover with bun tops.
Yield
Makes 4 servings

Kitchen Member: Anne, smiles for the camera

Janice is so proud of her clean kitchen, thanks for your hard work Jan!

Tara makes a funny face...hope its not reflective of our cooking! lol