pasta with brie and tomato

Today we served Pasta with brie and tomato, the alternative was plain pasta. Some students like plain pasta and proceed to the salad and fruit bars to get their veggies and that is just fine with me.
Here at McGillis we are all about choices.  Students really have a lot of options at lunch time. Most students at this point in the school year feel like they have figured lunch out.  They have navigated the lunch room and feel comfortable to ask us for alternatives.  I see several students a day who ask for plain turkey slices without bread. They then stop at the fruit or salad bar and have hummus and carrots, even grape tomatoes. This is usually a male student and this has something to do with finger food for them.  For this student, messy soup is never an option. I understand the different eating phases and stages that we all go through and this is why we have so many options. So do not worry if your student is eating plain pasta, its usually just a phase.

chicken noodle soup

 Chicken noodle soup was served today.

The vegetarian option was butternut apple soup.

The chicken noodle soup recipe is a long time McGillis recipe,

 it was given to me from the previous lunch program manager.  

As time goes on, sometimes I try new recipes, but this one is a keeper.

bbq beef sandwich

Monday family group lunch was bbq beef sandwich.  This is the second favorite sandwich.
Not my favorite because of the clean up being a chore.   I use  "Sweet Baby Ray" sauce  and most students really like it.

roasted veggie pasta

                                                Today we served roasted veggie pasta.
 Mushrooms, onions, garlic, brussel sprouts, butternut squash, and tomatoes were the veggies used in the pasta. Plain pasta was offered as an option.  The side dish was roasted carrots sweetened with a bit of maple syrup.  
Oranges and grapes were served at the fruit bar. Popular items at the salad bar today were pepperoncini peppers, and grape tomatoes.

Fish taco or fish sticks

Today we served fish tacos. Real fish fillet sticks are served with mango salsa and coleslaw.
The other options are plain fish sticks, tartar sauce and ketchup are offered.
Side dish was roasted red potatoes. We offered grapes and pears at the fruit bar.

egg salad sandwich

                FOR FAMILY GROUP LUNCH WE SERVED EGG SALAD SANDWICH.

pizza bagels

Friday we served pizza bagels. This is a very popular day, laborious but popular. The side vegetable was caramelized brussel sprouts. We served a treat today, it was apple cobbler. The cobbler was made with a variety of apples from the farmers market.  I believe that occasional treats can be a part of a healthy attitude about food.  At McGillis we  think that a treat should be just that, a treat. This is the first treat that we have served this year. A treat should be made from scratch and so delicious that it is worth the calories. For a few students the apple part of the cobbler was enough to decline the treat . This made me sad.  Hearing their  peers oooh and ahhh sent a few of them back to change their mind.

My favorite quote today was, "I didn't know I liked brussel sprouts, may I have more please?"
Hearing these words from students reminds me of how much I love my job.

vegetable soup and grilled cheese sandwich

Today we served vegetable soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. This soup is delicious and made from scratch. Most students like this soup, but most prefer chicken noodle.  The soups are very popular at McGillis and all are from scratch.  The grilled cheese sandwiches are always a hit.  The cheese used is a natural cheddar and very good.

quesadillas with grilled veggies

Today we served quesadillas. 

This picture shows the peppers, red onions and mushrooms that we

added to the quesadillas for those brave enough to try a quesadilla with veggies. 

 Not quite a third of the students were brave enough to try the veggie quesadilla.                         

Roasted blue potatoes were served as the side dish today.

Oranges and grapes were served on the fruit bar today.

Hummus with celery and carrots were also available on the fruit bar.

Alfredo pasta

Today was alfredo pasta or plain pasta. This is plain pasta pictured. The alfredo is popular, but the trick is that I stir all of the veggies into the creamy sauce.  Students cannot enjoy the creamy sauce unless they also enjoy veggies.  The alfredo sauce  had asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and onions.
 Bananas and farmers market plums were served on the fruit bar today as well as hummus and celery.

We added Jicama to the salad bar today and a few students identified it and had positive comments on it.  Other salad bar toppings include craisins, snap peas, and wonderful red peppers from the farmers market.

chicken pot pie

Chicken pot pie.  Roasted chicken , potato, carrots, celery, onion and peas make up the filling.  A vegetarian version was offered as well. This dish is not popular with the youngest students but we still try to get them to taste it. It really is yummy.

Eggrolls and veggie lo-mein 

Thursday we served veggie eggrolls and veggie lo-mein.

So many veggies make up this lo-mein. Broccoli, cauliflower, green onion, cabbage, carrots, water chestnuts just to name a few of the veggie ingredients. The students really like this and I am so happy because this is a fun dish to make .                                                               

chicken burritos

Today we served chicken burritos. The chicken was marinated in caramelized onion, chipotle and adobe sauces  and diced tomatoes. The burrito was also filled with rice and some pinto beans.
Corn with zucchini made up the vegetable dish today.  Vanilla yogurt and farmers market raspberries were the fruit dish today.  The farmer that gets me the raspberries says he may have them one more week, I have my fingers crossed.   THIS WAS A YUMMY LUNCH.

pasta and marinara from scratch

Today we served pasta with or without marinara sauce this is marinara sauce from scratch as usual and it is yummy.  Caramelized brussel sprouts or roasted broccoli were the veggie options on the serving line. Farmers market pears were sliced for the students at the salad bar, because the students do not waste them if they are sliced.

TURKEY B.L.T. SANDWICH

Today for family group lunch we served turkey bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich.
This is a very popular specialty sandwich and the students rank it third as favorites go.
So the bun is grilled in the oven, followed by the turkey bacon,  a bit of mayo and of
course garden tomatoes and crisp romaine lettuce top it off.  The smell of the smoky turkey bacon must make the entire school hungry because we never have leftovers.
I did not get a picture today because we served every sandwich that we made.

"meatball" sub sandwich

Today we served vegetarian meatball subs. The meatballs are vegetarian sausage and the students say they really can't tell that they are vegetarian.  As a side dish we served corn and zuchini stir fry.

Chicken teriyaki was served today. As you can see,  all items can be served separate from each other. This is a very popular lunch.

Edamame corn chowder was served today. Very good day for soup as the temperature has dropped a bit and it seems we are ready for soup season.  We make all of our soups from scratch and this is an easy one.