Hunger Awareness Blog Project - Day Seven: Pinto Beans Two Ways

Today wraps up a week of low-cost, high flavor meals! My Mom, Texas-to-Mexico, and I have been busy preparing meals this week that stick to a very slim budget and that follow the lines of what the average family would receive from the Capital Area Foodbank. At first I was finding it a little tough to be creative with this list:

2 cans spaghetti sauce

4 canned veggies

4 canned fruits

1 meat selection example: 1 lb. of ground beef (the Capital Area Food Bank said they receive everything from hams, chickens to pig trotters)

3 drink items (choice of lg. bottle of cranberry apple juice & or powdered milk

1 bag spaghetti or egg noodles

1 bag of beans

1 bag of white rice

1 package of jalapeno slices

1 ready-made dinner (example: Hamburger Helper)

1 bag/container of oats

1 bag of cheerios

5 lb. bag of potatoes

But after some brainstorming I think she and I came up with some creative uses of some not so creative ingredients. Being involved in this project has been a very interesting experience, seeing the dishes posted by others involved has been great and stretching a dollar and my brain to make something exciting out of simple ingredients was well worth the challenge. My hope is that this becomes an annual event as it's a great way to put yourself in someone else's shoes and open up peoples eyes about what hunger really looks like within your own community.

So, without further ado, here are the final two recipes for this week:

Texas Style Pinto Beans
1 Lb Dry Pinto Beans
Water
1 Large Onion, Diced
1/4 Cup Jalapeno Slices
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1/2 Cup Salsa
1 Tsp Cumin
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
1/2 Tsp Salt
Ham Bones or Ham Hock if available
1 Cup Fresh Chopped Tomato

1. Rinse and soak beans overnight.
2. 24 hours later, drain beans. If using ham, brown the hock/bones a little bit in a large, heavy bottom pot. After hock/bones are sufficiently browned, remove and saute onion and garlic in the pot until slightly caramelized.
3. Add ham hock/bones, beans, salsa, seasoning, jalapenos, tomato and cover with water. Allow it to simmer at a medium heat for at least 2 hours.
















*As a side note, at our local HEB Grocery store I recently found Goya Brande Ham Bullion. I picked it up not really knowing what I would do with it but ended up adding a packet of it to the beans, it added a great flavor and would have stood up on its own just fine even without the ham hock.

















Recipe number two is also a simple one but given the leftover turkey from the Meat & Potato Pancakes on Day Three and the left over pinto beans I figured it was a great, easy way to help clean up the fridge!


Turkey & Pinto Bean Nachos
1 Cup Leftover Ground Turkey (Seasoned with Taco Seasoning)
2 Cups Leftover Texas Style Pinto Beans
4 Chalupa Shells (or a few handfuls of tortilla chips)
1 1/2 Cups Shredded Colby Jack Cheese
Jalapeno Slices to taste

1. Re-heat pinto beans in a small skillet. Stir constantly to avoid beans overcooking, as the beans begin to heat up, add a few tablespoons of water to make the mixture slightly less thick. Mash up beans with the back of a wooden spoon until they are a spreadable texture. Remove from stove.
2. Preheat oven to 400 F. Lay chalupa shells/tortilla chips on a foil-lined baking sheet. Spread beans liberally on the chips.
3. Layer about 1/2 of the cheese over the beans, then add ground turkey. Top with remaining cheese and jalapeno slices.
4. Heat until cheese is bubbling.

Hunger Awareness Blog Project - Day Three: Healthy Dinner ala Leftovers

Last night I surveyed the fridge and decided there was little need to make meal out of raw ingredients when I already had the makings of a good meal tucked away in my fridge and pantry. With a fresh tomato (purchased at the Farmers Market...hothouse tomatoes, yea!), some lettuce, ground turkey (which will be re-purposed in another meal later this week), the seasoning packet from a Hamburger Helper Crunchy Taco package (or taco seasoning), leftover mashed potatoes and a can of black beans, dinner was served!

Meat & Potato Pancakes
1 LB Ground Turkey
1 LB Mashed Potatoes*
1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Egg
Taco Seasoning/Hamburger Helper Crunchy Taco Seasoning Pack*
Vegetable Oil, enough to fill about 1/2 inch of the pan you use to fry the pancakes

1. Brown the turkey, after it is browned, pour seasoning packet over meat, mix thoroughly.
2. Mix mashed potatoes and egg, once egg and potato are incorporated, slowly add flour until mixture is slightly sticky.
3. Mix in 1/2-1 cup of the cooked turkey.
4. Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet, once oil is sufficiently hot, drop large spoonfuls of potato mixture into the oil. Allow it to brown on both sides (approximately 3 minutes per side).
5. Remove from oil after cooked and allow pancakes to drain on paper towels.

*Hamburger Helper and Potatoes are on the list of items from the Foodbank.

Hunger Awareness Blog Project - Day One: Breakfast

Many times we forget what it means to be without, no offense to the great food that my comrades in blogging put together but posting a recipe that involves popcorn and truffle oil (while tasty) is far from the norm. I have been lucky, food was never scarce in my childhood nor has it been in my adult life. In the Austin area that's not always the case, the Capital Area Foodbank (in conjunction with its many partner agencies) provided 18.4 million meals in 2009. Texas has the second highest rate of food insecurity in the nation at 16.3% (USDA - Household Food Security in the United States, 2008). More disturbing is the fact that most of the families served by the Capital Area Foodbank are not without employment, these families struggle to make ends meet and have to make the excruciating decision between paying for necessities like electricity and water or buying food.

Like I said, sometimes we forget. I am embarrassed to admit that I was shocked at the information I heard when at the Foodbank last week and extremely happy to join in an effort spearheaded by Addie Broyles (author of the column Relish Austin published in the Austin American Statesman) to raise awareness of hunger in the Capital Area, Hunger Awarenes Blog Project.

So I have taken up the gauntlet and have joined forces with my Mom to cook within the confines of an average week of food from the Capital Area Foodbank. Here's the list:

2 cans spaghetti sauce

4 canned veggies

4 canned fruits

1 meat selection example: 1 lb. of ground beef (the Capital Area Food Bank said they receive everything from hams, chickens to pig trotters)

3 drink items (choice of lg. bottle of cranberry apple juice & or powdered milk

1 bag spaghetti or egg noodles

1 bag of beans

1 bag of white rice

1 package of jalapeno slices

1 ready-made dinner (example: Hamburger Helper)

1 bag/container of oats

1 bag of cheerios

5 lb. bag of potatoes

This list can be offset by many of the food bank recipients being able to use Lonestar/WIC to help modestly augment the food at local grocery stores or even the Austin Farmer's Market. So Mom and I decided to offset with a small amount of fresh produce and dairy from the Austin Farmers' Market and our local grocery stores. Throughout the recipes I'll denote what comes from the box and what doesn't. I have used small amounts of things that are pantry staples (butter, sugar, flour, salt, pepper, etc.) that one would expect in an average kitchen but even those may be luxuries.

One thing I find extremely intriguing is that the Capital Area Foodbank strives to provide a well balanced and nutritious package to it's customers, even though they get a lot of non-perishable goods those items are all ranked based on their nutritional value and each box is given with health in mind. In the spirit of that idea I have attempted to keep my recipes very healthy, I may fail (we'll see) but that's my plan.

First on the list to tackle, Breakfast!

Oatmeal Pancakes with Brown Sugar Syrup

Pancakes:

3/4 Cup Oatmeal**

1 Cup Prepared Dry Milk**

1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

1 Tsp Vanilla (optional)

1 Egg

2 Tbsp Melted Butter/Margerine

Syrup:

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Water

1 Tbsp Butter

Pinch Salt

1. Mix oats and milk, let stand 5 minutes.

2. While oats are soaking, combine all ingredients for syrup in a small sauce pan, bring to a boil, once sugar is dissolved syrup is ready (approximately 3 minutes). Let sit until you are ready to use it.

3. Combine dry ingredients with oat/milk mixture. Mix well.

4. Add egg and melted butter. After incorporated, pour batter onto hot griddle and allow pancakes to brown on each side, serve immediately.

Items marked with ** are included in the weekly distribution from the Foodbank