Head Cook Barbie Martin and Assistant Cook Miranda Reider provide full bellies and friendly smiles to the students and staff at the Anamoose-Drake Elementary School.
Head Cook Barbie Martin’s scratch-made recipes aren’t the only “favorites” in the Anamoose-Drake Elementary School lunchroom. The cafeteria staff is, too. Martin’s presence and the culture she has set up in the lunchroom is important for the entire school, says Superintendent Steve Heim. Read more here.
Martin shares two lunchroom-favorite recipes with North Dakota Living this month. The beef stew Martin served in January featured potatoes and carrots from the school garden. Produce from the garden can sometimes last until February! The school’s “bread master,” Miranda Reider, makes many different versions of the spiral roll for the students. The cafeteria staff simply change the seasonings to pair with the dish they’re serving.
1-1.5 lbs. ground beef
2 cups potatoes, diced
2 cups carrots, peeled and diced
2 cups celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
1-2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can chicken or beef stock
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper and seasoning salt, to taste
Brown ground beef, drain and set aside. In a large pot, sauté onion and celery. Add stock, tomatoes and seasonings and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and carrots and reduce to a simmer. Once the potatoes and carrots soften a bit, add cooked beef, cream of mushroom and tomato soups, and Worcestershire sauce. Continue to cook until veggies are soft and stew thickens.
BARBIE’S NOTE: You can also make this stew in a crockpot or the oven.
Recipe by Head Cook Barbie Martin, Anamoose-Drake Elementary School
4 cups warm water
¼ cup fast-acting yeast
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
½ cup powdered milk
1/8 cup salt
2 eggs
12-13 cups flour
Shredded cheese
Seasonings of choice
(try garlic powder, oregano, basil, garlic salt and parsley)
In a large mixing bowl, whisk warm water and yeast until dissolved. Whisk in sugar, oil, milk, salt and eggs. Add flour 1 cup at a time. Mix until it becomes too thick for a whisk, then use a spoon and finally switch to hands rubbed with Crisco to form a dough. Knead dough, adding more flour if needed, until a smooth and elastic dough forms. Cover, set in a warm area and let rise until doubled in size. Punch down dough and fold down a couple times. Cover and let rise again.
Spray counter with cooking spray or dust with flour. Roll out dough into large rectangle (as you would for cinnamon or caramel rolls). Top with seasonings and cheese. Roll up into a log, then cut into about 1-inch sections. Transfer rolls to baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper and let rise again. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Brush tops with butter while still hot.
BARBIE’S TIP: This is a great base dough recipe. The school uses it to make buns, too. Be creative with your spiral roll toppings. Try cinnamon and sugar or mozzarella and pizza sauce for instant kid-friendly favorites!
Recipe by Head Cook Barbie Martin, Anamoose-Drake Elementary School
