Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Print
Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-broccoli-casserole-10000001097034/

Ingredients

  • 3 quarts water
  • 1 (12-ounce) package broccoli florets
  • 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated fat-free milk
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Dash of nutmeg
  • 1 cup fat-free mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
  • 1/4 cup dry sherry
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed 30% reduced-sodium 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
  • Cooking spray

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Bring water to a boil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add broccoli, and cook 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Transfer broccoli to a large bowl with a slotted spoon. Add chicken to boiling water; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until done. Transfer chicken to a cutting board; cool slightly. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, and add chicken to bowl with broccoli.
  3. Combine evaporated milk, flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a saucepan, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add mayonnaise, next 4 ingredients (through soup), and 1/2 cup cheese, stirring until well combined. Add mayonnaise mixture to broccoli mixture; stir gently until combined.
  4. Spoon mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 50 minutes or until mixture bubbles at the edges and cheese begins to brown. Remove from oven; let cool on a wire rack 5 minutes.
http://www.knowyourfarms.com/chicken-and-broccoli-casserole/

An inspiring talk about local food.

By |April 5th, 2013|Know Your Farms|0 Comments
Read More

Restaurants Lease Farmland

barbeefarms_fieldThe idea of restaurants “leasing” farmland from local farmers for certain produce items is not new but may be something for our Charlotte area restaurants to consider.  One of the stumbling blocks in restaurant supported agriculture (RSA), where food businesses buy from local farmers for resale, is the forecasting that farmers must do at planting times throughout the year.  They have to use data from previous years and increase their intended yields based on estimated future sales.  There is a lot of risk and unpredictability for the local farmers around Charlotte.  Sometimes when food businesses ask farmers to grow a certain amount of food with a promise to buy it four months later at harvest time, the promises are broken and farmers can be left without much-needed sales.

Restaurants Can Reduce Farmer Risk

One of the interesting and high-impact ways restaurants can help local farmers and get great food to their customers at the same time is to help farmers reduce the risk of losing future sales.  We think it would be great for restaurants to provide secured future sales to local farmers in exchange for foods that chefs would like to have in their kitchens.  The idea is not simple but can be done.

If a restaurant(s) offered to “lease” a certain amount of land from local farmers to grow certain things in certain quantities, farmers might feel more comfortable dedicating a portion of their growing space for this transaction.  We will throw in a word of caution here: 

Please, please do not consider this option unless you really are dedicated to following through.  Farmers can sadly recount past experiences where they grew for people who guaranteed future sales, only to find out the sales had vanished when the crops were ready to be harvested. 
Toggle

Restaurants Plus a CSA Offer Farmers Low Risk

Know Your Farms CSaThere is also an even more secure way for both restaurants and farmers to accomplish this mutually beneficial restaurant supported agriculture.  Know Your Farms CSA could act as a backup for these guaranteed crops so restaurants could request a whole row of produce but only have to use less than the whole row if things changed in the future.  Our goal is to protect the farmers from negative impacts of this kind of change.  It also gives chefs a safety net with their credibility with the farmers so if they do fall short of their purchase estimates, the excess will still be purchased from the farmer by the CSA.  We hope both parties will want to begin a dialogue about how to use our CSA as a safety net to facilitate the connection between restaurants and farmers.

 

By |March 27th, 2013|CSA Contents, CSA Partners, Know Your Farms, Local Food Systems|0 Comments
Read More

Partner Highlight – Fintastic

Partner Highlight -Fintastic

fintasticFintastic opened in 1992 as the Carolinas’ first full-service aquarium retailer, specializing in quality freshwater and marine fish.Our new high-tech store showcases over 10,000 square ft. of aquariums, fish, plants and corals. We have 425 aquariums displaying over 18,000 gallons of unique living nature. The store is filled with new products including a custom design center where you can create the system of your dreams.

Fintastic is located in Ayrsley and is a public Know Your Farms CSA drop site.

Location:

2135 – C Ayrsley Town Boulevard
Charlotte, NC 28273

Phone: (704) 525 – 0049
Web: www.fintastic.us

Hours of Operation:

Mon-Sat: 11am-8pm

Sun: 1pm-6pm.

By |March 19th, 2013|CSA Partners, Did You Know?, Know Your Farms|0 Comments
Read More

Partner Highlight – Common Market South End

CM_logoCommon Market – South End is now a CSA drop option for those in that neighborhood interested in getting convenient and fresh local foods from local farms.  Know Your Farms CSA is happy to have a strong community partner like The Common Market.  Common Market is your stop for for eclectic, neighborhood convenience!  We hope our service will only enhance our community partners in South End.

Common Market – South End is located in South End and is a public Know Your Farms CSA drop site.

Location:

The Common Market
1515 South Tryon St
Charlotte, NC 28203

Phone: 704-332-7783
Email: info@commonmarketisgood.com

Hours of Operation:

Sun: 12pm-4pm

Mon-Tues: 6:30am-10pm

Wed – Fri: 6:30am-Midnight

Sat: 6:30am-Midnight

Sun: 6:30am-10pm

 

By |March 14th, 2013|CSA Partners, Did You Know?, Know Your Farms|0 Comments
Read More

NC Cotton

Did you know?  NC has a thriving (and growing!) cotton industry and TS Designs is a large part of the movement to bring back textiles to our state.  The NC Cotton Club invests in the Cotton of Carolinas Project designed to rebuild the necessary infrastructure that we lost along the way.  This effort is heavily supported by Slow Money NC.

Are you familiar with Slow Money NC’s impact?  They strive to finance North Carolina’s sustainable food and farming economy.

For those of you with one of our “I Eat Local” t-shirts, TS Designs is the company we use.

By |March 12th, 2013|CSA Partners, Did You Know?, Know Your Farms, NC Cotton, Slow Money NC|0 Comments
Read More

Workplace CSA

What do we mean by workplace CSA?  Our workplace CSA is a great option for business partners that want to give employees the option to get fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables delivered to their offices.  And the best part is that it is all local!  We can help employers increase the healthy options available to employees through our workplace CSA.  There is so much flexibility built into the Know Your Farms service. Employees in the workplace CSA can:

  •  customize the delivery schedule (skip a week or any number you need!)
  • change share sizes if the initial size does not suit you
  • switch pickup locations to any public site if needed
  • control their account details online
  • see what’s coming each week online in multiple places
  • receive and share recipes each week
  • meet wellness goals by getting healthier food options

The workplace CSA helps employees meet wellness goals and gives employers a way to offer a unique benefit.  Know Your Farms Workplace CSA is the most convenient way to get local foods from local farms to your office.  Call or email us if you want to learn more or invite us to your office to speak to employees about this program.

 

 

By |March 11th, 2013|CSA Partners, Did You Know?, Know Your Farms, Workplace CSA|0 Comments
Read More

Partner Highlight – Pura Vida Worldly Art

Partner Highlight – Pura Vida Worldly Art

puravidalogoYour senses are in for a multicultural treat! Pura Vida Worldly Art is colorful, eclectic and fun. Come visit and you’ll find yourself spending hours exploring!

You’ll enjoy discovering a variety of treasures from all over the world. From Latin American folk art such as Day of the Dead art and Catholic saint carvings to Asian, Middle-Eastern, and African pottery, textiles and prayer items. As you browse through the Mexican wrestler masks, musical toys, and all the good luck amulets and spiritual items you’ll be glad you stopped by.

Pura Vida Worldly Art is located in NoDA and is a public Know Your Farms CSA drop site.

Location:

Pura Vida Worldly Art
3202a North Davidson St
Charlotte, NC 28205

Phone: 704-335-8587
Email: info@puravidaart.com

Hours of Operation:

Sun: 12pm-4pm

Mon-Thurs: 10am-2pm/4pm-6pm

Fri: 10am-2pm/4pm-8pm

Sat: 10am-8pm.

By |March 10th, 2013|CSA Partners, Did You Know?, Know Your Farms, Local Food Systems|0 Comments
Read More
  • organicsoverview
    Organics – Who is behind it? Organics – Who is behind it?

    Organics – Who is behind it?

Organics – Who is behind it?

For those of you who have ever spoken to the KYF crew about organic foods, you may have been surprised by our comment that this is a tricky subject.  First, we do support the ideals that food should be grown in a healthy way, free from toxins that we would not want in our bodies either.  However, our need for labels has made our search for healthy foods slightly more of a gray area.  Labels may not necessarily mean what you think!

The word organic conjures up different meanings for everyone.  One of the common preconceptions is that it implies a certain level of cleanliness or wholesomeness.  To some, it may even evoke a feeling of the way things used to be in agriculture…a sort of mom-n-pop farm with a roadside stand and so little produce that it just has to be free of the “bad stuff.”  Whatever you definition is of organic, we would like to provide this information to you so you can continue to form educated opinions about what it means to you.  We are not defining it for you!

Did you know that a large number of the familiar organic brands are actually owned by someone else?  Did you know that some of the organic brands we all recognize have sibling products that are negating any of the good that their organic siblings might provide?

organicsoverview

Click the image for the full version of the diagram.  This diagram is a large part of why the KYF crew will sort of stumble around when asked if the CSA is organic.  So, we wanted to post this for your consumption and hope you will find it useful in your journey for finding the best foods for you and your family!

By |March 9th, 2013|Did You Know?, Know Your Farms, Local Food Systems|0 Comments
Read More

Partner Highlight – EcoLicious

Partner Highlight – Eco-Licious

ecolicious_logo1Marley and Fiona recognized the need for a vegan retail presence in the big little city of Charlotte after traveling and being inspired by the presence of such stores in larger cities. The abundance of vegan and eco-friendly options were almost overwhelming in these locations. Back home, we were tired of having to research and order products which we couldn’t touch, taste or smell before purchasing online. It was like playing the lottery, most of the time you lose.

Eco-licious was finally formed in January of 2011, filling that missing need for cruelty free and eco-friendly products.

Eco-licous is located in Plaza-midwood and is a public Know Your Farms CSA drop site.

Location:

Eco-licious
1916 Commonwealth Ave
Charlotte, NC 28205

Phone: 704-966-7030
Email: ecolicious.charlotte@gmail.com

Hours of Operation:

Monday Closed
Tuesday 10-8
Wednesday 10-8
Thursday 10-8
Friday 10-8
Saturday 10-8
Sunday 12-6

By |March 8th, 2013|CSA Partners, Did You Know?, Know Your Farms|0 Comments
Read More

Young Farmers in Local Food Growing

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent statistics, the average age of farmers in the United States is 57. In 1982, 16 percent of head farmers were younger than 35, but by 2007 that number had declined to 5 percent. But behind the aging industry an even larger force is at work: the consolidation of U.S. farmland, experts say.

In order to remain competitive, farmers had to grow larger amounts of commodity crops over the past century to make up for the decreasing value of food.  This subsidized part of the food system has decreased the number of farmers as farmland has been consolidated to grow more commodities.  The difficulty in achieving an income consistent and large enough to support families has also made farming a less appealing career to many of the next generation growing up under the current farmers.

However, not all hope is lost.  A growing national trend of learning where our food comes from is rejuvenating the local food system – on a national scale.  There are a growing number of younger farmers (and former professionals interested in turning farmer) who are creatively breaking down barriers to entry in small-scale agriculture.  The biggest barrier to start farming is land cost versus the expected value a young farmer can expect to get out of a farming operation.  Land has simply become too expensive if it can actually produce something useful for us.  But, this new wave of farmers is taking a lean approach to growing, which makes it more affordable.  It actually costs very little to grow vegetables in small-scale and there are lots of creative ways to make small pieces of land produce quite a bit of food.  Bowing out of the commodity rat-race helps new and young farmers find niche markets for less expensive foods.

We have seen and learned so much from our local farmers here in the Charlotte area.  The creativity they have to circumvent problems in farming is amazing and inspiring.  We are lucky to be in an area with such potential for a healthy, sustainable food system.

 

By |March 8th, 2013|CSA Contents, Did You Know?, Know Your Farms, Local Food Systems|0 Comments
Read More