ArcaMax

School Lunch

President Truman started the National School Lunch Program in 1946. A little over a decade later I was born. I went to a Catholic School as a child. Most every kid stayed at school for lunch. It was an expected part of the program.

My mother fairly regularly volunteered as a “lunch lady” at the school. She went in early in the morning and helped prepare the food, helped serve and clean up, and then ran errands on her way home to cook dinner for the family. She became friends with many of the on-staff ladies who were the full-time pros. Those were the women who designed the menus, ordered the food and supplies and supervised the cooking.

I can remember many of the meals we were served. Each of them contained a protein, a starch or two, a veggie and something for dessert. One of my favorites was chicken with gravy, mashed potatoes, mixed peas and carrots, a dinner roll with butter and freshly made apple crisp. Sure, there were times when something was served that I didn’t like. Sauerkraut comes to mind. We’d have some kind of roasted meat with the sauerkraut on the side. I’d eat the meat and everything else on my plate but the sauerkraut always stayed on my tray. There were plenty of lunch ladies cruising the aisles making sure you ate the majority of your meal, but I could get away with leaving the sauerkraut behind. The drink was always 8 ounces of whole, white milk. In Wisconsin, that was a given.

Now compare that to the average lunch in a grade school today...

Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com

Chicken Alfredo with “Almost Noodles”

Related Recipes at PlanZDiet.com:

French Country Creamy-Cheesy Chicken Casserole
Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

This is a ZReboot recipe. This dish comes together in a flash! You can also make it with steak or even seafood. Any of those options would be good. When I get a hankering for pasta I crave Chicken Alfredo. This one did it for me! Satisfied that craving.

To make “noodles” out of zucchini you need a contraption called a “spiralizer.” You can order them online, or buy one in a kitchen store. They are very inexpensive and super easy to use. If you don’t want to buy one you can make this dish with just zucchini slices but that would defeat the noodle technique.

Servings: Serves 2

Ingredients:

¾ of a pound of chicken tenders
Your favorite meat rub (optional). I use Special Shit (sorry -- that’s what it’s called). That gives me sort of a southwestern feel to the chicken. Any meat rub will work or you can just do yours plain.
1 medium zucchini (about a foot long and 3-inch in diameter) turned into noodles with a spiralizer
2 tbl of olive oil
¾ cup of whipped cream cheese
3 Tbl of sour cream
1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese
A whisper of cayenne (optional)

Instructions:

In a saute pan, add one tablespoon of the olive oil. Begin to heat it to medium high. Add your chicken tenders. If you are going to sprinkle them with meat rub you can do that now. Just sprinkle the top side.

Cook the chicken tenders, turning after three minutes. In about six minutes they should be done. Just make sure all of the pink is gone. Set them aside.

While the chicken is cooking you can also make your sauce. In another medium pan heated to medium, add the other Tbl of olive oil. Put in your spiral noodles. Saute them for about three to five minutes to loosen them up and cook them. Remove the noodles from the saucepan and put them into a bowl. Continue making the sauce in the same pan by adding the whipped cream cheese and the sour cream. Stir them together to mix them up and get them all melty. Add the parmesan. If you want a little heat to the dish, add the cayenne. If it’s a bit thick for you, you can thin the sauce with a bit of cream, milk or even water. Then transfer this to the bowl with the noodles and mix it all in. You want the noodles coated. Then add your meat on top and serve.

My husband does not crave chicken alfredo but he loved this!

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola