Red Beans and Rice and Random Bits

Things have been moving right along at the academy...last week we had Red Beans & Rice and I feel it was a 'keeper'. Some of the staff were surprised that the smaller kids knew what it was, they liked it, and ate it up. We served it with Kielbasa.

Pancake Breakfast: from time to time the school has fundraisers and pancake breakfast seems to be a big hit. It runs from 7am to about 830am on a regular school day and the cost is $5 dollars. Parents and grandparents are welcome to come and eat. Its kind of like 'all you can eat' but we don't say that. We start off with two pancakes about 5 inches in circumference and let you know you can come back for more. There is a table set up with toppings such as Redi-Whip (that whipped cream in a can) chocolate syrup, original syrup, mixed berry syrup, fresh strawberries, chocolate chips, and butter. The syrups are kept warm in chafing dishes. We provide milk and orange juice(also on the table). It was pretty successful.

Our next fundraiser is a 'Thanksgiving Dinner for Four'. Our advertisement/announcement for that will probably come out today, or tomorrow until then the following may change at any time.

 

Thanksgiving Meal for Family of Four - $40

• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Cornbread Dressing 
• Green Bean Casserole 
• 2 pounds Roasted Boneless Turkey Breast and 16 oz of gravy

AND then offer a pumpkin pie at $9 OPTIONAL.

 

We have worked out a great meal at a great price. I have researched these food items locally so its pretty competitive, not to high or low.

 

Students Favorite Meals so Far (based on total orders for a single day): First - Taco Salad/Nachos, Second - Baked Ziti, Third - Loaded Baked Potato. I feel like today's lunch will have an increase in orders next time too...'Breakfast for Lunch!' which consisted of scrambled eggs, hash rounds, biscuits, and sausage gravy. All the menu items are doing well so far.

Favorites This Week

Below are a few things I found this week I like. Each picture was borrowed from, and has a link to the original post so hopefully I am not breaking online etiquette. Merely trying to bring attention to some cool ideas and a few new things.[click pics for link back to articles]

Tomato Soup w/Poblano Chiles - Chef Steve, although he would probably call himself  'Camp Cook' over at 'Round the Chuckbox (one of the blogs I read, its on my sidebar) always comes up with, and/or has some great recipes on his site. This one looks like a sure add-in for this Fall.

Yes, even I want to save some money and use coupons. This site starts the first page with -
Top Forty Stores with Awesome Coupons - then on the right in the sidebar it breaks down the coupons by popular categories. Very helpful and quick (smart phone app available too). On The Frugals page it lists helpful sites that can save you more money.

5 Tips for Freezing Pasta - Probably good general knowledge for those of you who want to do that dish ahead of time (like lasagna) and freeze it for later, or freezing leftover pasta dishes.

"Saturated fats have gotten a bad rap over the past few decades, but are they really as dangerous as we have been led to believe?" - Great article on Benefits of Saturated Fats! Detoxinista says "...I have a hard time believing that eating a fresh coconut can possibly lead to heart disease or cancer, even if it is brimming with saturated fat!"

Dish Soap / Hand Soap

This cool set of 'bar type' dispenser bottles by Tablecraft are originally used for oil and balsamic vinegar. Bed Bath & Beyond have them for about $12 but we paid about $7+ at Target, or was it Walmart? Anyway...

My wife came up with a cool idea: We put antibacterial hand soap on the left, and Dawn dish detergent on the right. The bottles are on the window sill right above our kitchen sink (at our house, not at my work...in case there was confusion).

The only problem you may have is some hand soaps are real thick and may not flow from the bottle with this type of dispenser on top. You can thin down the hand soap if possible, but sometimes if you don't do it right you will end up with a lot of suds and frustration.

It looks cool, and its functional! And at our house with the colors involved and location of the bottles you will not be confused and try to use it on your food! LOL! 

Health Department Score

Our first inspection does not get a score since it is the first time to be permitted. An inspection is done and you get a food permit and a paper like this one with no score on it. Then within 30 days they come back to give you a 'scored' inspection. During this time they will look at everything they asked you to do, or suggested that you improve, change, or fix.

We lost 2 points on a ceiling in our pantry/stores that was textured. It has to be smooth and non absorbent. We were given 4 months to fix it but you still get counted off until its done. What happens if it never gets done? I don't know, and won't be finding out! We had it scheduled to be done last Monday which was unfortunately 3 days AFTER she came back. So we probably would have gotten a 100!

But, no matter...we did a great job and she was complimentary of our attentiveness for getting things done and keeping them clean.

Just like an awards ceremony I would like to thank a couple of people: Pastor Will (P-Dub) and Sous Chef Roberto (Robert B.)! Job well done!

P-Dub did most of the maintenance that was involved, or arranged for it to be done. Sous Chef Roberto is...well, he's my sous chef. SO you know I give him the grunt work! LOL!

Thanks everybody!

Favorites This Week

 Below are a few things I found this week I like. Each picture was borrowed from, and has a link to the original post so hopefully I am not breaking online etiquette. Merely trying to bring attention to some cool ideas and a few new things.[click pics for link back to articles]

Use tubing to seal cracks and spaces between appliances and counters to keep food crumbs from falling in between!

How many of you really know what to do with the Humidity Controls in your refrigerator to keep your food fresh? (...don't forget to read the comments after the article too, they are helpful)

New Spatula idea...seems cool, may be worth having one. Great start-up concept using kick-starter to get things rolling.

 

Lodge Cast Iron has a new pan that touts stainless steel handles that stay cool so you don't burn yourself. The pan itself looks like a great modern version of the old cast iron pan...But I don't think at this price point (around $60) it will ever romance you away from mama's or grandma's old set of well taken care of pans. Not to mention buying new pans in the old style is much less than the above mentioned cool design iron pan. - Good luck with that, cast iron pan makers!

Cost your meals!

Second week almost done and things have been great!

Something that you should always know and do, is the cost of each meal down to the mayonnaise pack for a sandwich and the napkin used to wipe their [kids] mouth. I have created a spreadsheet for each menu day (basically a copy of the same spreadsheet with new title and cost information) and have been tracking my costs. This is beneficial to sit down and see where you may be able to add more value and decrease the amount of cost. (among other things...)

Here are two examples:

• Herb Chicken w/Focaccia Bread and chips - buying bread (versus making it) is convenient and saves time and money on labor but the cost is higher and takes up a lot of freezer space. This particular type of bread is also higher in cost than the others available. On a 'personal note' the bread is 'too much' (probably meaning too chewy or not soft enough) and not really appreciated any different from basic white bread on grades k2-3rd or maybe even thru 6th. Possible solutions:
• Do not use the word 'Focaccia' on menu and use a softer bread/bun that costs less for grades k2 thru 6th and only use Focaccia for 7th thru 12th and Staff lunches. Or just go with a 'wheat-berry' or other nice low cost bread for all the sandwiches.
• Purchase dough balls and make your own 'Focaccia' style bread which greatly reduces cost of the bread, keeps the labor cost down, and lets you control the softness of the bread. Added bonus: the smell of the bread baking will probably increase lunch sales that day!

• Baked Ziti and Broccoli - This day was a big hit and cost wise it is probably one of the better menu items. It has Bread/Grain (pasta), Vegetable (tomato sauce, broccoli, onion...), Meat (beef), and Dairy (cheese, and lots of it!). [capital letters added just for emphasis on part of meal] You would probably say "whats wrong with that?". Nothing. We don't need to decrease the cost, and actually it would be hard to do BUT If we spend just a few more pennies we can add value to the meal which may increase the orders.
• Several of us agreed that adding a piece of garlic bread would complete this meal. It seemed like it was lacking that 'sopping it up and licking the plate clean' effect.
• Another thing that we already implemented was adding a layer of Mozzarella in the middle of the pasta as well as on top. Kids always want the cheesiest parts and the way its made at  restaurants and other places there's only a layer of cheese at the top, so when that's gone, they complain.

You can't do this without long term financial effects and that's why you have to know your cost down to the pennies. Its really not that hard once you set up spreadsheets that you can just plug in the numbers.

I have been using Google Drive and Google Documents to make all my spreadsheets, documents, pictures...to be able to sync over all computers, online, and my smart phone so I will always have access to updates and update as needed. I can then download and/or convert to excel or pdf, batch files, or 'as is'.

Later in the school year I want to add another page to my site and be able to share the forms, spreadsheets, or other information that I have created that has helped me with this whole process.

Any good ideas? Drop me a comment or email.

Favorites This Week

Below are a few things I found this week I like. Each picture was borrowed from, and has a link to the original post so hopefully I am not breaking online etiquette. Merely trying to bring attention to some cool ideas and a few new things.[click pics for link back to articles]

 When I was catering in East Texas back in 2006 we used almost exactly the same recipe and technique in batch/bulk for catering parties…we also started making the marinade with orange oil and zest, then garnish the dish with oranges and squeeze a little over the top…flavors where wonderful! 

This idea has resurfaced again...but its great to remember things forgotten and for some of you it may be a new concept. Paper souffle/condiment cup baking for muffins or...? This works good at home to put on flat sheet trays or pans and also commercially for large sheet trays and/or pans. Like muffin cups but sturdier and measurable.

New twist on an old classic, Nutella Krispie Treats! Always great with the recipes and pictures it is no surprise this comes from The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

This gadget seems like the perfect tool for kitchen fanatics with Iphones who want to start filming their-selves and/or taking pictures of their work while slaving over the stove. Une Bobine - For iPhone is a flexible and eclectic stand, sync, and charging cable for iPhone and iPod Touch. Brought to you by [Fuse]Chicken.

 

Fourth Day Lunch Menu

Pulled pork BBQ sandwich, coleslaw, and oven-fried tators. (or, potatoes if I must)

I didn't have a commercial smoker to pull off this feat. But about 15 hours in the oven at 200F was enough to break these Boston Butts down to fall apart, melt in your mouth, fatty goodness! You can still achieve a good 'smoke' taste by applying certain spices and herbs BUT NO, do not use liquid smoke! A lot of times that will make the products taste acrid and the meat ends up tasting like a fake smoke. But I am not going to give up all my 'tricks' and techniques in one posting!

Now I will stop the lunch menu count...I feel the first week kickoff was a success. I will leave you with a few pictures my friend P Dub took on day four. I think I might use the pulled pork picture to use as wallpaper on my iphone!

Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Third Day Lunch Menu

Teriyaki chicken, white rice, and stir-fry vegetables.

Worked out pretty good.  As a whole I think the meal was a 'keeper'. The only additional thing I would add is portioning out more of the 'teriyaki' sauce. We put it on the chicken but some wanted it on the rice and/or vegetables.

The teriyaki sauce was 'made'. Yes we started with Kikkoman's Teriyaki Sauce as base (probably about 20% of whole liquid) but then built the sauce up with additional ingredients.

Roberto and I had a good day! ~ On to prepping the Boston Butts for pulled pork BBQ sandwiches...

Second Day Lunch Menu

Day two, loaded baked potato! Was that a real sentence? Ah, I don't care its my blog.

The word on the street was there were no complaints today that anyone heard. Yesterday there were a few complaints but that was because I was hoping with all the emphasis on food, food shows, health, and Michelle Obama messing with the public school system lunches that these kids taste buds would have evolved to enjoy or try hummus. Not so much. I am not sure about the rest of the country but in the south its "Ranch Nation" or maybe "Ranch Country". We don't even bother saying Hidden Valley Ranch or Ranch Dressing. We love it on about everything!  That, and HOT SAUCE y'all!!!

Ok, back to the spuds. Baked potato, chili, cheese, bacon bits, butter, sour cream, and a side salad! And yes, with ranch! LOL!

My right hand man Roberto has had to learn how I do things at a fast pace. He's holding up well, but it is only day 2...

First Day Lunch Menu

Today was our first day out on the new menu of the new school lunch program! Busy!

**Yeah, this is probably not my best picture. I got some weird looking smile on my face which makes me look goofy! [[Shrug]]**

We had Mediterranean style chicken wraps with veggies and hummus today. Man! I feel kind of embarrassed that I didn't even remember to get a picture! Right now my sous chef Roberto and I are running the show in the kitchen. We feel like everything went pretty smooth today but we know for the office and administration it was pretty crazy trying to get all the orders in!

We have four lunches. The daycare runs infants to k4 and they eat at 11:00am. Then the school runs three lunches as follows: k5-2nd grade 11:25am to 11:55am, 3rd-6th grade 12:00pm to 12:30pm, 7th-12th grade 12:50pm to 1:20pm.

Its a bit unusual to me to have four lunches but I think its an excellent combination of fitting each group of kids thru the cafeteria in an expedient manner and managing the quality & volume of the food for each group. If your running behind this schedule gives you a chance to catch up before the next lunch comes thru and not bottle neck by trying to get the total amount of food out at one time! The kitchen is limited in space in both storage and physical work area.

I wanna give a shout out to my man Roberto! Excellent job today! I know its a steep learning curve...but I'll try my best to keep you from cutting off a finger or two!

Favorites This Week

Below are a few things I found this week I like. Each picture was borrowed from, and has a link to the original post so hopefully I am not breaking online etiquette. Merely trying to bring attention to some cool ideas and a few new things.[click pics for link back to articles]

Cheese & Herb Waffle BLT! Need I say more? Click the link and get the recipe.

The Pioneer Woman really spoke to my stomach on this one...Pepperoni Pizza Burgers!

Sweet Potato Pancakes from The Gingered Whisk!

Home made peanut butter(or any nut)! Love the recipe and instructional over at Michael Ruhlman's and of course all excellent photography done by his wife: Donna Ruhlman!

Kitchen is Open! Lunch Menu - Go!

Awhile back I posted that I started a new job. It was a 'startup' of sorts. I am working for a private academy that has a commercial kitchen but had not been in the position to start a school lunch program. Now they are.

We spent weeks on plans, lunch menus, instructions, manuals, lining up vendors, tweaking the way we do things, 'courting' the health department...I did not want to start posting on this venture till I knew we were in the clear and things were about to kick off. That's why I have not posted much this week. But now...

The kitchen was approved today by the Health Department for its permit to operate! There are still a few things to work on but they are mostly minor.

Starting Monday we will kick off our school lunch program for the Academy...its going to be BUSY, and CRAZY! If you want to check out the school and the lunch menu go HERE! (Right hand corner, read: Lunch Menu)

Woo-Hoo!