Planning for the Hunger Challenge

Shopping on a tight budget isn't impossible, but it does take work. Yesterday I started planning for the Hunger Challenge, a campaign to help raise awareness about hunger in our community. For one week during Hunger Action Month participants live on a very limited food budget, comparable to what food stamp recipients live on. In 2008 just seven of us participated in the Hunger Challenge and the budget was $3 a day, this year there will be over 50 250 people participating and the budget is $4.72 per day.

Tomorrow I will be shopping with CBS reporter and Hunger Challenge participant Juliette Goodrich at Foods Co. Yesterday I read the Food Co weekly flyer and planned my menu based on sale items and what I know I can afford.

Here is what I plan on cooking and eating, for new dishes I will post the recipes throughout the week:

Dinners:
Panela and Vegetable Kabobs - a new recipe I will be creating for the challenge. Panela is a cheese similar to haloumi but much less expensive.

Chicken and Bacon Quesadillas - another new recipe that I am creating for the challenge.

Chicken and Rice Soup - past participant Vanessa Barrington made this recipe a few years ago l based on a recipe by Andrea Nguyen

Moroccan Chicken & Lentils - I will be modifying a Bon Appetit recipe I found on Epicurious

Pasta Fagioli - truly cucina povera, something I made the first year of the Hunger Challenge, but this time I think I will add some spinach

Chili - I will make this using a variety of beans, corn, onions and peppers

Red beans and rice
For breakfast, I will eat oatmeal or eggs

For lunch I will eat leftovers or quesadillas. In past years, I have eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but I just don't want to do that again.

Of course my plans may change depending upon what I find at the store and how much I can buy...

Creamy Spinach Artichoke Dip with Seasoned Dippers

Great for entertaining hungry guests or spending a lazy Sunday on the couch, spinach artichoke dip is always a classic. By using the right cheeses, garlic and spices, we’ve created a creamy version of this dip that we can’t resist. Pour it in a bread bowl, and add in some seasoned, baked bread squares for dipping, and you’ve got an appetizer that both looks and tastes awesome!

Ingredients
Dip:
5 tablespoons butter
3/8 cups flour
2 cups whole milk
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
½ cup shredded Fontina cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped white onion
10 oz fresh spinach
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (15 0z) can artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained, and julienned
1 tablespoon butter, chopped into small pieces
½ cup parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon pepper

Seasoned Dippers:
round loaf of bread
olive oil
salt
pepper
paprika
cayenne pepper


Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Warm the two cups milk. Melt butter over medium heat and stir in the flour to make a roux. Whisk in the milk and season the liquid with salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne. Whisk the liquid for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the liquid is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cheeses. Set the sauce aside.

In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in handfuls of spinach at a time, until all the spinach is incorporated. Add the garlic and artichokes, and sauté for 2 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne. Remove the vegetables from the heat and turn into a mixing bowl. Fold the cheese sauce into the vegetables. Turn the mixture into a baking pan. Sprinkle the pieces of butter on the top. Sprinkle ½ cup parmesan cheese and about ½ tsp of pepper of on the top as well. Bake the dip for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

To make the dippers, I like using a round loaf of bread so that I can use the hollowed out loaf as a bread bowl for serving. Chop up the bread from the cut-out part of the loaf into bite size pieces. Place in a mixing bowl and coat with oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne. Turn out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until they get toasted.