COOK OF THE WEEK - ST. MARY TEACHERS

Last spring, soon after I had interviewed the first graders in Mrs. Amy Gotto’s class, she contacted me to ask if I would like to have the teachers (as a group) be the cook of the week article just before school started. I thought that was a wonderful idea. So we put it on the calendar and when they had their first in-service this past week, they all brought recipes.
Thanks again to Mrs. Gotto for thinking of the Cook of the Week and for another job well done! Anyone can call me anytime with ideas. They are always appreciated! Thank you to Mrs. Edge, Principal, for writing the summary of the school.
St. Mary School in Humboldt operates as part of the educational system of the Catholic Diocese of Sioux City. St. Mary School was first opened by St. Mary Parish in 1920, with grades 1 through 10 staffed by four sisters of the Presentation from Dubuque. The school expanded one grade a year to reach 12 grades. The high school was later discontinued in 1942.
Kindergarten began in August 1983. The earlier school building built in 1920 was torn down in July of 1984 after the move had been made for the current facility in October, 1983. Due to increasing enrollment and need for classroom space, the school library and music room moved to the former convent building in 2008.
Major upgrades include improvement in lower and upper elementary playgrounds, interactive boards with a dedicated laptop, siding of the building, installation of AED, a security system was installed, Chrome books and iPads were added.
The fall 2015 pre-school-grade 6 enrollment was 208 students. The students came from 13 cities or towns and five different public school districts. Currently there are two sections of Rising Stars (3 year-olds) and two sections of Shining Stars (4 year-olds).

Taco Casserole
Melissa Caquelin (Music)
1 tube of crescent rolls
1 to 1-1/2 pounds of
hamburger or turkey
1 package taco seasoning
1/2 cup of water
2 cups crushed taco chips
1 cup of sour cream
1 cup of shredded cheese
Toppings: lettuce, tomatoes, black olives etc.
Brown meat, drain and mix with taco seasoning and water. Spread rolls on bottom of greased 9 by 13 inch pan. Top with 1 cup of chips, meat mixture, sour cream, cheese and the other cup of chips. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Top with lettuce, tomato, black olives etc.

Apple Marinade
over Pork Chops
Father Brian Danner
(Pastor)
(4) 8 ounce pork chops
1-1/2 cups apple cider
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Mix ingredients together. Cover pork chops and marinate 24 to 28 hours in refrigerator. Turn and baste every 10-15 minutes until desired doneness.

Chop Chop Salad
Father Brian Danner
(Pastor)
Broccoli, cauliflower,
mushrooms, pimento,
carrots, black olive
Apply Italian Dressing on vegetables just enough to moisten.

Cottage Cheese Salad
Lois Cibert
(Food Service Assistant)
8 ounce container cottage
cheese
3 ounce box orange flavored
gelatin
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 cup miniature marshmallows
8 ounce container Cool Whip
Mix together well, chill and serve.

Calzones
Amy Gibson (Third Grade)
1 loaf of frozen bread dough,
thawed
3 to 4 slices of provolone
cheese
shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
1/2 pound sausage or Italian
sausage, cooked and drained
1/2 package pepperoni
1/4 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 tablespoon dried parsley
flakes
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 egg yolk, beaten
pizza sauce, optional
Let dough rise according to directions. Punch down loaf and roll out into a rectangle. Place slices of provolone cheese in center of rectangle. Place sausage and pepperoni slices on top of cheese. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and spices. Pull up sides of rectangle over the toppings. Seal seams and ends. Flip over (seam side down) onto a greased baking sheet.
Brush top with beaten egg yolk. Sprinkle top with additional garlic powder, oregano, and parsley flakes. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve with warmed up pizza sauce for dipping (optional).

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Katie Phillips (Sixth Grade)
2-1/2 cups cooked chicken
11 ounce can of Mexi-corn
1 can cream of potato soup
4 ounce can of green chiles
1 tablespoon cilantro
1 package taco seasonings
(I usually use half of a
package)
3 cups chicken broth
Mix ingredients together and heat. Top soup with cheese and serve with tortilla chips.

Summer Spaghetti Salad
Mel Dettmann (Fifth Grade)
1 pound thin spaghetti
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced
in half
1 or 2 zucchini, diced
1 large cucumber, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced (optional)
2 cans (2-1/4 oz. each) sliced
ripe olives, drained
Dressing:
16 ounces Italian salad
dressing (I use the Olive
Garden brand)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
cheese
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Cook pasta according to taste. Toss lightly with a bit of olive oil. In a large bowl, toss noodles with cut vegetables and olives. Whisk dressing together and add over top, then toss. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

Creamy White Bean
and Ham Tortellina Soup
Mel Dettmann (Fifth Grade)
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour
6 cups chicken broth, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups cooked, cubed ham
15 ounce Cannellini beans,
rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
(or 1 tablespoon fresh)
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon
dash to 1/4 teaspoon red
pepper flakes (optional)
1 pound uncooked
REFRIGERATED cheese
tortellini
2-3 cups half and half
Melt butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium high heat. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add carrots and celery. Cook while stirring for 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté. Sprinkle in flour then cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. It will be thick. Turn heat to low and gradually stir in 5-1/2 cups chicken broth. Whisk 2 tablespoons cornstarch with remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth and add to soup. Stir in ham, beans, Dijon mustard, bay leaves, and all remaining herbs and spices.
Bring to a boil; cover, and reduce to a gentle simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add tortellini and boil for 1 or 2 minutes or until cooked al dente. Stir in half and half, adding additional half and half or broth if desired for a less “chunky” soup and warm through.

Broccoli Casserole
Linda Daggy (Art)
Place in large bowl to mix:
1 large bag of frozen broccoli
1 can mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of milk
2 cups cooked chicken
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
sauce
1 cup American cheese cubes
Place into casserole dish and top with buttered bread crumbs. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until bread crumbs are browned.

Peach or Rhubarb Cobbler
Linda Daggy (Art)
3 cups peaches or rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Place fruit on the bottom of baking dish. Cream sugar and butter together. Sift dry ingredients and add alternating with milk to sugar/butter mixture. Batter will be stiff, spread over fruit. Combine: 1 cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon corn starch, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and sprinkle over batter. Boil one cup of water and pour boiling water over all. Bake at 375 for 1 hour.

Crock Pot Creamy Dill
Pork Chops
Sara Bruening
(Kindergarten)
large package of boneless thin
cut pork chops
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of onion soup
1 to 2 cups chicken broth
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
garlic salt
black pepper
dill to season
flour to dredge pork chops in
oil
Lightly season pork chops on both sides, dredge in flour and lightly re-season. Brown in a frying pan with vegetable oil until golden brown on both sides. Then place in the bottom of a crock pot. Pour cream of celery and cream of onion soups and 1 to 2 cups of chicken broth into frying pan, whisk and bring to boil getting all bits of seasoning off the bottom off the pan. Pour soup mixture over pork chops. Sprinkle generously with more dill weed.
Cook in crock pot on low. Turn on in morning before work and it’ll be ready by supper! Serve with mashed potatoes and use creamy sauce as a gravy.

Southwest Salad
Kelly Howard (Pre-school)
1-3/4 cups thawed, frozen or
fresh sweet corn
40 cherry tomatoes, halved
15 ounce can of black beans,
rinsed and drained
2 avocados, diced
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
(optional)
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
(use the stems too)
Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon, juiced or 3
tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black
pepper
Toss veggie ingredients into a large serving bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over the veggies. Toss gently to coat evenly and let rest about 10 minutes. Can be eaten by itself or with tortilla chips.

Baked Spaghetti
Kristyn Mueller
(Pre-kindergarten)
1 cup milk
1 pound spaghetti, cooked and
drained
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella
cheese
Pepperoni
32 ounce jar of Ragu spaghetti
sauce
1 pound hamburger
Add cooked and drained spaghetti to beaten eggs and milk. Put in a greased 9x13 inch pan. Next, pour on spaghetti sauce, add hamburger and pepperoni. Then, spread on grated cheese, bake covered at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Let set 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.
Apple Crisp
Sara Bormann
(Second Grade)
Filling:
4 to 5 Cups of your
favorite baking apple,
peeled and sliced
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Sprinkle apples with the cinnamon and sugar mixture and place in a greased 8x8 baking dish.
Topping:
1/2 cup butter (not too soft)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
Mix together until crumbly and sprinkle over apples Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes until the top crust is golden brown.

Crock Pot Meatballs
Suzanne Shaner
(First Grade Associate)
2 pounds ground beef OR 1
pound ground beef and 1
pound sausage
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
Mix above ingredients and shape into balls.
1 large jar of spaghetti sauce
I can diced tomatoes
(if desired)
Pour just enough spaghetti sauce to cover bottom of crock pot. Place meatballs over sauce and top with remaining sauce and, if desired, can of tomatoes. Set crock pot to low setting and cook for 8-10 hours. Serve with pasta or in buns as meatball sandwiches.

Apple Bars
Cindy Edge (Principal)
Crust:
4 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1-3/4 cups butter flavored
Crisco
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vinegar (mixed in
with buttermilk) OR may
substitute ice cold water for
buttermilk and vinegar
Mix like a pie crust. This makes 2 crusts, one for the bottom and one for the top.
Filling:
10 apples, peeled and sliced
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Crushed Rice Krispies or corn flakes to spread on bottom of crust
Place crushed cereal on bottom of crust. Peel apples and place on crushed cereal. Fill to desired level. Top with sugar and cinnamon. Place crushed cereal on top. Place top crust on dessert. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Insert two metal teaspoons in the dessert to help evenly bake. Cover outside crust with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes with foil covering crust and remove. Finish baking for last 30 minutes.
Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup soft butter
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Mix and spread on bars while warm.

Jambalaya
Cindy Edge (Principal)
1-1/2 pounds boneless,
skinless chicken breast, cut
in one inch cubes
1 pound sausage, cooked
(2) 28 ounce cans crushed
tomatoes
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons parsley
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons seasoning
2 cups quick cooking rice
6 medium potatoes, diced
2 cups carrots, sliced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
Combine all ingredients in crock pot, except rice. Stir well. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5 hours. Stir in rice and cook 15 minutes more. Can use noodles instead of rice. This is also, good with salsa.

Monster Bars
(Gluten Free)
Pam Tecklenburg
(First Grade Associate
and Librarian)
and Anna Tecklenburg
(Kindergarten Associate
and Technology Associate)
1 stick margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1-1/2 cups creamy peanut
butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
4-1/2 cups oatmeal
1 package chocolate chips
12 ounce package M and M’s
Mix in order given in large bowl. Press into large greased jelly roll pan. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chicken and Biscuit
Casserole
Amy Gotto (First Grade)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup shredded cheddar
cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
chopped onion
3/4 bag frozen mixed
vegetables, cooked
3 to 4 cups frozen diced
potatoes, cooked
cooked chicken, shredded or
chunked
20 refrigerator biscuits
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir the soup, milk, cheese, and black pepper in 3-quart shallow baking dish. Stir in veggies and cooked chicken. Bake for 15 minutes or until mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the mixture. Top mixture with evenly spaced biscuits. Bake for 15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

Cream Cheese Squares
Sarah McCullough
(Fourth Grade)
(2) 8 ounce cans of
refrigerated crescent roll
dough
(2) 8 ounce packages of cream
cheese
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup melted margarine
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13 inch pan. Press one can of the crescent rolls into the bottom of the prepared pan. In a medium bowl mix together the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Spread over crescent layer. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and lay then on the top of the cream cheese mixture. Do not press down. Pour the margarine over the entire pan.
Combine the remaining cup of 1/4 sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is crisp and golden.

Baked Crab Rangoon
Michelle George
(Pre-kindergarten Associate)
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire
sauce
1 small green onion
4 ounces imitation crab
3 ounces cream cheese,
softened
14 wonton wrappers
Cut up the crab and mix it in with garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce, green onion and cream cheese. Spoon into wontons. Fold wontons. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Taco Hot Dish
Sondi Harrington
(Food Service Director)
2 pounds hamburger
10.75 ounces cream of chicken
soup
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes
(I usually get the one with
garlic)
1 can tomato sauce
12 ounces water
2 cups Minute Rice, uncooked
flour tortillas
Taco/Mexican cheese,
shredded
Toppings of your choice. I
usually use: salsa, sour
cream, black and green
olives, onion
Brown hamburger. While hamburger is cooking mix together in large bowl, soup, tomato sauces, water and Minute Rice. Once the hamburger is browned put it in a bowl with the other ingredients. Also add onion and olives at this time. Pour into casserole dish, top with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Place desired amount of mixture in flour tortilla and top with sour cream and salsa.

Tailgate Queso Dip
Diane Dix
(Technology Coordinator)
16 ounce box Velveeta cheese
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground Cayenne
pepper
15 ounce can Hormel Chili
(No Beans)
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon Lime Juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Cut the Velveeta into cubes. Combine the cheese with remaining ingredients in medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until the cheese melts. Enjoy with tortilla chips!

Cheesy Chicken and
Wild Rice Casserole
Michelle Havlik
(Technology Associate)
3 tablespoons extra virgin
olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons fresh minced
garlic
2 cups shredded, cooked
chicken breast
2 cups steamed white rice
16 ounces cooked wild rice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground
black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
Cheese Sauce:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground
black pepper
2 cups reduced sodium
chicken broth
2 cups shredded cheddar
cheese
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar
cheese to top over rice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a medium Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Sauté onion, celery and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in chicken, both rice’s, salt, pepper and garlic salt. Reduce heat to low.
To prepare cheese sauce: Melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper then slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously. Whisk until thick and nearly boiling, then stir in 2 cups cheese until melted. Pour cheese sauce into cooked rice mixture then transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with an additional 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted through. Makes 8 Servings.

If you are reading this, then you probably enjoy new recipes. If you would like to share some of your recipes with the community, YOU could be Cook of the Week. Please contact me, Sally Redenius, if you would like to be in this column some week. I can be reached by phone at 515-373-6346 or email me at sacuthbe@msn.com.