And guess what, all of the ingredients are included in NourishNC’s summer food boxes!
As you all know, we are passionate about collecting food and distributing it to children here at NourishNC. But there are certainly limitations to what we can collect. Fresh vegetables/meat are not an option and often times it seems hard to put together appetizing and wholesome meals. I decided to list some of my personal favorite dishes and low and behold, many of them can be made with the ingredients provided in the summer food boxes.
If you have any recipes using the ingredients below, feel free to shoot me an e-mail (kgw5736@uncw.edu<mailto:kgw5736@uncw.edu>) and I can feature you in another post!
Stewed tomatoes & chicken over rice
1 can of pre-cooked shredded chicken or canned chicken
1 large can of pre-cooked tomatoes
1 cup of dry rice
2 cups of water
1 tsp of olive oil
Mixed vegetables of preference
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder/spices to taste
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for one minute, then add garlic powder and other spices. Immediately add mixed vegetables and cook until done (about five minutes). Next, add the un-drained can of tomatoes, cover and simmer for five minutes.
While that is reducing, begin to cook rice per package directions. Drain the chicken, add to the tomato mixture, cover and simmer for eight minutes.
Once the rice is cooked, transfer it to a serving dish and pour tomato mixture on top. Enjoy!
Savory Grit Cakes
6 packets of grits, cooked and cooled
1/2 cup of flour
3/4 cup of milk
1 (12 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
Salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper to taste
1/4 cups of vegetable oil
The first step is cooking the grits together on a stovetop. After that, mix in garlic powder, cayenne pepper and any other spices. Spread this mixture on a large baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Once cooled, take a biscuit cutter (or top of a glass!) and cut out the grit mix.
Place the flour in a small bowl with 1 tbsp. salt and pepper and mix well. Coat the grit cakes in this mixture.
Heat a skillet to medium heat and add the oil. When the pan is hot, add in the grit cakes and brown both sides. Remove and place on a paper towel to absorb the grease.
Using the remaining oil in the pan, add two tbsp. of flour and whisk briskly for one minute. Add the milk and stir until it boils. Then, add the tomatoes and return the mixture to a boil. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper as needed.
Assemble the dish by pouring the tomato gravy over individual cakes and voila, dinner is served!
