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September 2010 Food Focus

Categories: 2010, Food Focus | Author: Electric Consumer Editor | Posted: 8/27/2010 | Views: 547

Five reader recipes to liven up lunch

Good ways to save money in this bad economy are to skip the restaurant route for lunch and avoid being nickel and dimed (which has become quarter and dollared) along vending machine row at your office. But if you’re thinking the old brown bag lunch is as mundane as an old brown shoe, think again. Just a little bit of forethought — and some helpful suggestions from readers — can turn your brown bag into the envy of your office’s lunch room. Pictured are Krenta Keller’s “Pimento Cheese Spread,” on whole-wheat bread, and Kimberly Phillips’ “Power-Packed Eggs.”

Food prepared by Emily Schilling/Photo by Richard G. Biever

Pimento Cheese Spread

12 oz. fat-free cheddar cheese, shredded
3 oz. low-fat pasteurized process cheese product, shredded
8 oz. pimentos, chopped
1 cup fat-free mayonnaise or salad dressing

Combine ingredients. Chill and serve on crackers or as a sandwich spread. Serves 8-10.

Krenta Keller
Rossville, Ind.

Power-Packed Eggs

6 hard-boiled eggs
1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
11⁄2 cups crab meat, tuna (drained if canned) or other flaked fish
1⁄4 cup cottage cheese
1 t. Dijon-style mustard
Pickles or thin radish slices to garnish

Halve the hard-boiled eggs and carefully remove the yolks. Mash the yolks. Combine with the remaining ingredients and mix well. Spoon into the egg white halves. Garnish with a pickle or thin radish slices. Wrap in plastic wrap to transport.

Kimberly Phillips
Terre Haute, Ind.

Citrus Honey Salad

1⁄2 seedless grapefruit
1 seedless orange
1 cup seedless grapes
Lettuce, romaine and spinach leaves
1⁄3 cup olive oil
2 T. lemon juice
1⁄4 cup honey (orange blossom if possible)
Pinch of salt

Peel the grapefruit and the orange. Cut them into bite-size pieces. Place in a large bowl. Slice the grapes in half and place in bowl. Tear the greens into small pieces and add to bowl. Toss. Mix together lemon juice, honey and salt in another bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Pour dressing over salad before serving.

Edna Hoffman
Hebron, Ind.

Carrot-Peanut Butter Sandwich Filling

1⁄2 cup peanut butter
1⁄2 cup finely grated carrots
1⁄4 cup mayonnaise-style salad dressing

Combine all and mix well.

Mary Coveyou
French Lick, Ind.

Nutty Marmalade Sandwich Spread
1⁄2 cup peanut butter
1⁄4 cup orange marmalade
1⁄4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 to 2 t. lemon juice

Mix well in a small bowl. Makes 3 sandwiches. Freezes well up to 4 months.

Jalynn Whittymore
Lexington, Ind.

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