Episode 4: Spaghetti, Smoked Sausage, and Colby Jack Cheese
DATE: 2/1/2005
PEOPLE: Richard, Derrick, Aaron, John
FOOD 1: Dry Spaghetti
FOOD 2: Smoked Sausages (the Bar 5 hot dog kind)
FOOD 3: Colby Jack Cheese
THE RECIPE:
Hot Dog Spaghetti:
3 smoked sausages, cubed
2 tbsp olive oil
½ cup frozen diced spinach
1 ½ cups milk
1 tsp Italian seasoning
¼ tsp onion powder
½ cup grated Colby Jack cheese
1 package of spaghetti, cooked and ready to eat
Cook the sausage in a moderately deep skillet - one big enough to hold all the ingredients you are going to be putting in. Sautee the spinach in the olive oil and add to the meat. Add the milk and seasonings, bring to a boil, and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the cheese to the sauce, stir to melt, and serve over pasta.
PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes
REFLECTION:
This was an easy meal, quick to prepare, simple and filling. These poor boys had been so long without a home cooked meal, it seems almost sad to me. They were so happy to come home and have dinner ready to eat before 8:00.
EVALUATION:
Difficulty of ingredients? 3
Taste of the meal? 9.5
Would participants eat the meal again? Yes
COMMENTS:
The meal was excellent. Thanks for doing this.
I loved it! The sause was amazing.
Great food, quick. The Jen Challenge for all!
I thought the sauce was great. It is something that is easy, but I would have never guessed how to make it. Thank you!
Episode 3: El Pato, Hash Browns, and Vanilla Yogurt
THE JEN CHALLENGE
Episode 3
DATE: February 23, 2005
LOCATION: Girls’ College Apartment
PEOPLE: Rhapsody, Darnelle, Ashley
FOOD 1: Hash Brown Patties
FOOD 2: El Pato (tomato and chilies as a sauce)
FOOD 3: Vanilla Yogurt
TIME STARTED: 4:30 PM
THE RECIPE:
Chicken filling:
6 chicken tenderloins
3 hash brown patties
1 cup water
½ cup bean flakes (as in dehydrated refried beans)
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
½ cup frozen shredded cheddar
Boil the chicken until cooked; remove from pan and let cool. Drain the water from the pan and replace with hash brown patties and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and stir until the patties have completely dissolved into bits of shredded potato. Shred the chicken and stir into the mixture. Add bean flakes and spices; cook until the flakes dissolve (add more water if necessary). Mix in the cheese to melt it.
Vegetable mix:
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups corn
1 can black olives
1 can El Pato
Sautee the onion in the oil. Add corn. Drain half the olive juice from the can into the pan, the other half in the sink; chop the olives and add them with the El Pato. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has mostly disappeared.
To serve:
Shred some lettuce, break out the sour cream, and warm up 8 tortillas. Fill the tortillas with the chicken filling, vegetable mix, and sour cream and lettuce if you want. Wrap it up like a burrito and enjoy!
Apple Salad (side):
2 granny smith apples, diced
2 sticks celery, sliced
10 baby carrots, shredded
1 serving-size container of vanilla yogurt
1 cup granola
Mix together in a bowl and serve chilled.
TIME FINISHED: 6:00 PM
REFLECTION:
These girls got more creative with their ingredients than past participants have, and it was exhilarating!
EVALUATION (completed by the participants after eating the meal):
Difficulty of ingredients: 9-8-9
Taste of the meal: 9-10-10
Would the participants eat the meal again? Yes-Yes-Yes
COMMENTS:
Delicious! Please come every night because I luv you!
I jus wish there was more!
Delicious & Nutritious. Jen - are you a goddess!?
Episode 2: Curry Powder, Minute Rice, and Peanut Butter
DATE: February 16, 2005
LOCATION: Girls college apartment in Provo, Utah
PARTICIPANTS: Adrian, Maria, Anna and Meagan
FOOD 1: Minute Rice
FOOD 2: Curry Powder
FOOD 3: Peanut Butter
TIME STARTED: 5:30 PM
THE RECIPE:
Curry Sauce:
12 baby carrots, sliced
1 large potato, diced
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup water
1½ Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp seasoning salt
¾ cup peanut butter
2/3 cup rice milk
Cubes of cooked chicken
Sautee carrots and potato in oil until cooked, but still firm. Add peas, corn, and water, and bring to a boil; simmer until vegetables are tender. Mix in the curry powder, lemon juice, and seasoning salt. Melt the peanut butter into the mixture and then add the rice milk. If desired, add the chicken at this time. Heat to boiling again, and serve over rice.
Rice:
3 ½ cups water
½ cup Welch’s Berry Sun Splash (juice)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 green leaf lettuce leaves, shredded
4 cups minute rice
Mix the water, juice, and sugar together in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Add lettuce and boil for two minutes. Then add the rice, turn off the burner, and let the rice set for five minutes.
TIME FINISHED: 6:15 PM
REFLECTION:
It was funny when I first went to the apartment. The girls had not thought much about what ingredients to choose, besides curry. Anna was the only one out in the kitchen when I arrived- Adrian and Meagan were both in classes, and Maria was not feeling well. Anna frantically searched the cupboard looking for the other ingredients.
Curry is not something I have had much experience in, so this was a good challenge for me. The peanut butter took the edge off the curry flavor, and was a pleasant addition. I would have preferred to use spinach instead of lettuce and coconut milk instead of the fruit punch, but I used what was available and it turned out. Each girl had a big bowl that they ate up, so it must have been good.
EVALUATION:
Difficulty of the ingredients: 8-8-9
Taste of the meal: 8-10-8
Would you eat the meal again? Yes, Yes (in smaller portions), Yes
COMMENTS:
Way awesome! Peanut butter & curry, who knew?!?
You are amazing! You can do more w/crazy food than I can even dream of!!
Episode 1: Rice, Goat Cheese, and Montreal Steak Seasoning
DATE: February 3, 2005
LOCATION: Boys’ college apartment in Provo, Utah
PARTICIPANTS: Joe, Matt, Brandon
FOOD 1: Rice
FOOD 2: Goat Cheese
FOOD 3: Montreal Steak Seasoning
TIME STARTED: 9:30 PM
THE RECIPE:
Corn chips:
Find what’s lying around
Rice:
4 cups rice
5 cups water
1 16oz can of tomatoes
Half a 12oz can of corn
½ tsp Montreal Steak Seasoning
Load into a rice cooker or pan and boil until rice is done.
Sauce:
2 medium potatoes, diced
½ onion, diced
1 Tbsp oil
4 hamburger patties
½ cup goat cheese
½ cup shredded cheddar
1 packet cheese powder (from Macaroni and Cheese)
1 cup water
1 small can diced green chilies
1 tsp Montreal Steak Seasoning
Sautee onion and potatoes in oil. Cook and chop up hamburger patties and add to the mix. Add the rest of the ingredients one at a time and stir the mixture until it comes to a boil.
To serve:
Put rice down first, then a layer of crushed corn chips and top with the sauce. Enjoy!
TIME FINISHED: 10:30 PM
REFLECTION:
Boys’ kitchens tend to be scary, and this one was no exception. I found a rotten onion in the fridge - mushy rotten, not just moldy! It was gross. They had enough variety of ingredients that it wasn’t too hard to come up with something. The hardest part was figuring out how on earth to put rice and goat cheese together; they are both good, but generally do not go in the same meal. I do know how I would do it again if I could make changes: use ground beef instead of hamburger patties and just straight Velveeta instead of the three cheeses. However, the point of this challenge is to use what they have on hand, so I did.
EVALUATION:
pending
The Jen Challenge Begins
The Jen Challenge
Jen can cook; it is one of the things she is good at. The purpose of this challenge is to stretch her abilities and test her culinary creativity. College apartments are notorious for a lack of good food, but Jen thinks it is possible to eat well on any income. She has set out to prove that delicious meals - if not gourmet, at least good home style cooking -can come out of a college kitchen.
The rules are as follows: participants are selected from a drawing to see if they can stump Jen. The residents choose three ingredients that have to be included in a meal. Jen goes to their kitchen and has access to the rest of their ingredients, but she has to use these three in the food. There is a two hour time limit (the preparation is timed; most meals take less than half that time). The resulting recipe from each week’s adventure will be posted here along with comments from the cook on what she would have done different and an evaluation by the participants.
So begins the Jen Challenge. Let’s see what happens. . .
