Friday, April 30, 2010

Hot Dog



This is our hot dog. We use Hebrew National hot dogs. We put them on a great bun which comes from a local bakery. We served the hot dogs with grapes and roasted potatoes.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

"Chicken" Nuggets



Today we had vegetarian chicken nuggets, vanilla yogurt with fruit fresh frozen berries and raw veggies with ranch.
These "chicken" nuggets are suprisingly good. Most of the kids either can't tell a difference or don't care. Although many of the third graders joked about feeling weird eating chicken in front of their freshly hatched chicks in their classrooms!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Cheese Lasagna



Today we had homemade cheese lasagna. We made 13 pans of lasagna each with 7 layers, this morning, assembly style. We really feel like it tastes so much better then anything we could purchase.
The lasagna was served with applesauce, garlic bread and a spinach salad which had grape tomatoes, sliced cucumber, carrot, croutons, a little Parmesan cheese and ranch dressing.

The portion picture was served to grades 5-8, grades 1-4 received a piece about 25% smaller.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Cheese Enchilada



Today we served cheese enchiladas with Spanish rice, a little re-fried beans, a few tortilla chips and half a banana. Grades 1-3 received one enchilada and grades 4-8 were served two.

To make these enchiladas more kid friendly; we serve the sauce on the side. They're almost like a rolled quesadilla, super cheesy and delicious.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Tuna Sandwich


Today we had tuna sandwiches, with the option of either peanut butter and jelly or cheese sandwich. The sandwiches were served with a piece of cheese, baked lays and a clementine.

Mondays are our weekly family group lunch. I'm sure all of you know about our family groups, but if not...each teacher has about 9-10 students from varying grade levels to have a weekly discussion while eating lunch together.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Chili Beans


Today we had vegetarian chili beans topped with shredded cheddar cheese, and fritos to add to the top. It was served with cornbread, fresh orange wedges, and a variety of cold vegetables to dip in ranch dressing.
As always, instead of the soup, it's condiments and the cornbread; the students could choose a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a cheese sandwich.

We have had several requests for this recipe, so here it is! It's wonderfully flexible. You can make it spicy with ro-tel tomatoes in place of the diced. You could use all black, pinto or white beans or use any beans you like or have handy in your pantry. If you love corn, add extra.

Chili Beans
1 onions, diced
1 bell peppers, diced
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
5 cups stock
1 Tbl chili powder
2 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can diced tomato
1 can crushed tomato
1 cup frozen corn


Sautee peppers and onions until soft. Add stock, seasonings, beans and tomatoes. Heat until boiling. Add corn and bring back to a simmer.
Garnish with Fritos and cheddar cheese.

A parent comment from Our Lady of Lourdes

As many of you may know, we prepare lunch a few blocks down the hill at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School. This afternoon as Bridget and I were cleaning up the kitchen a parent and volunteer poked her head in to the kitchen and said, "I just wanted to thank you ladies. I truly appreciate your lunch. I can sleep at the end of the day knowing my kids have had at least one balanced meal." She went on to talk about how busy their family schedule is, making meals rushed and often eaten in the car, with the exception of our lunch.

This comment really hit home for me personally. I recently blogged about a similar topic, where I said, "I sat back one day and watched what I was doing to my kids.
In the morning I would give them frosted flakes or lucky charms, because it was fast, it was easy, and I knew they would eat it. Then they went to preschool where luckily they received a home cooked meal. When I picked them up from school, they were hungry...nearly starving...and they needed a snack. I was tired because I just got off work, so I gave them what they wanted...fruit snacks.

So this day I'd fed my kids frosted flakes and fruit snacks.

Then dinner time would roll around and I had already cooked all day at work, I didn't feel like doing it again. My kids would be hungry, but I wasn't really hungry yet. So I would make them a frozen pizza.

So this day all I'd fed my kids was frosted flakes, fruit snacks and frozen pizza.

I was shocked when I put into perspective. In my mind I was giving them a treat or being lazy just this once...but it turned out I was doing it all day long and every day. I had created this monster of expectation. My kids expected every meal to be a kid friendly, home run."


I'm sure this is something most of us can relate to. Our lives our busy. We all have jobs, children and all sorts of obligations which fill our days completely. Food frequently ends up being the least important aspect of our day, more of an inconvenience then something to celebrate.

I think it's fair to speak for Bridget when I say, we love the opportunity we have here at McGillis to celebrate food with your children.