Author: Michael Hetrick

Mini Pizzas

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Mini Pizzas
Total Time
35 mins
 

Image Source/Recipe Source: www.cookingmatters.com

Keyword: Entrée
Servings: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 medium bell pepper (red or green)
  • 8 ounces button mushrooms
  • 1 large tomato
  • 1 chunk part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • 6 whole grain English muffins
  • 1 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1 can tomato sauce, no salt added
  • 12 slices Turkey Pepperoni slices
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450°F.

  2. Rinse bell pepper, mushrooms, and tomato.

  3. Remove core and cut pepper into thin slices. Slice mushrooms ¼-inch thick. Remove core and dice tomato into ¼-inch pieces.

  4. In a small bowl, grate cheese.

  5. Split English muffins in half. Place them on a baking sheet. Bake until edges are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Prepare sauce while muffins cook.

  6. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add peppers and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes. If needed, use a colander to drain vegetables.

  7. Transfer veggies to a medium bowl. Add tomatoes. Stir to combine.

  8. Stir spices into tomato sauce. Do this directly in the can.

  9. When muffins are lightly browned, spoon 1 Tablespoon sauce over each muffin half. Coat evenly.

  10. Layer veggies evenly over sauce. If using pepperoni, place one slice on each muffin half. Top with shredded cheese.

  11. Bake muffins until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 6–8 minutes.

  12. Let pizzas cool for 2 minutes before serving.

Chinese Veggie and Rice Stir-Fry

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Chicken, Veggie and Rice Stir-Fry
Total Time
30 mins
 

Recipe/Image Source: cookingmatters.org

Keyword: Entrée
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 1/2 lb broccoli
  • 2 medium celery stalks
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1 small jalapeño
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 6 ounces boneless chicken
  • 2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
Instructions

  1. Cook rice following package directions. Set aside. Cover to keep warm. While rice is cooking, make veggie mixture.

  2. Rinse and chop broccoli and celery. Peel, rinse, and chop carrots. Rinse and mince jalapeño. Peel and finely chop garlic.

  3. If using chicken, remove any skin. Cut chicken into small pieces.

  4. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, and cornstarch. Add 1 teaspoon of the minced jalapeño. Stir.

  5. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add ground ginger and stir. Add chicken or tofu. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly browned and starting to cook through, about 2 minutes.

  6. Add chopped veggies. Stir frequently. Cook until veggies are tender and chicken is completely cooked but not dry, about 5–7 minutes.

  7. Add soy sauce mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

  8. Serve over warm brown rice.

“We appreciate everything that you have done to help us.”

Rosie

“I got up this morning about 3:30 a.m. and made it here at 4:18 a.m. to be second in line,” Rosie recently told us when we met her at an emergency food distribution. Being an early riser, it was no problem for her and her friendly personality to be in line that early for a 10 a.m. distribution.

Rosie is just one of the thousands of people who have relied on the East Texas Food Bank and our food pantry partners to help them during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Rosie said the food is important to help feed her and her mom.

“Both my mom and I are heart patients,” Rosie said. She added that with her pre-existing condition it makes it more difficult to go out now.  “I wanted to make sure we had the things we needed, so I was able to get boxes for both of us.”

Rosie was very grateful to be able to receive the food during the distribution.

“I thank the East Texas Food Bank for providing the food for us,” she said. “We appreciate everything that you have done to help us.”

With 1 in 4 East Texans facing hunger due to COVID-19, our hunger-relief work is far from over. But thanks to the outpouring of support from the community, we can keep feeding more East Texans like Rosie.

Anyone seeking food assistance can click the “FIND FOOD” at the top of the page to find the closest resource to them.

To support families like Rosie’s, click here to join the fight against hunger.

Volunteers help fight hunger and feed hope during COVID-19 pandemic

Volunteers are an essential part to helping the East Texas Food Bank continue our mission of “fighting hunger and feeding hope in East Texas”.  They have played a much more vital role recently as we have been distributing even more food due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic everyone is facing.

One of our great volunteers, Bertha Viramontes, has been helping with the Tyler produce distribution held at the East Texas State Fairgrounds twice a month for almost a year.

“I’ve seen that there are a lot of people that need food,” she said.  “It’s been good to help others and give them food for their tables.”

Bertha said she sees people smiling and saying thank you often while she is working.

“You get to know people and their situations,” she said.

While COVID-19 has not affected Bertha or her family personally, she understands the hardships many she sees during the distribution are facing.

“Food is getting much more expensive and then you may have (purchase) limits,” she said.

Bertha encourages anyone who wants to help to contact the food bank to find out how to volunteer.

“At the end of the day, you will feel good helping.”

If you would like to volunteer with the East Texas Food Bank, click here to find out more information.

“We feel like someone cares here.”

For the past three months, the East Texas Food Bank has held drive-thru distributions in cities all over our 26 county service area.  The distributions were developed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and we saw an immediate, increased demand for families affected by job loss, school closures and shutdowns.   In fact, between March and May 2020 the East Texas Food Bank provided 6.8 million meals to over 112,000 families.  This is a 40% increase compared to 2019.

Even as Texas begins to reopen and people start returning to work, the need for food assistance is still great.  Texas is dealing with the highest unemployment rate since 1986, and new data from Feeding America indicates that 1 in 3 children in East Texas is facing hunger now.  This is up from 1 in 4 children last year.

We met Binu at the weekly distribution in Tyler recently.  He, his wife and two children are new not only East Texas, but to the United States, arriving during an unprecedented pandemic affecting the country.

“We waited 14 years in India for our immigrant green card,” Binu told us.  “We started (the process) in 2006 and learned a lot of patience.”

Once Binu’s family was here, the pandemic created more problems for them.

“A lot of the offices were closed so we couldn’t get our assistance,” he said.

Binu told us he had been coming to the weekly distribution for the last few weeks, and that the items he received helped tremendously.

“We will not waste any food items,” he said.  “So many are struggling for food in the world.”

It’s a struggle Binu says he has seen in India first hand.

“The problem is there and people are suffering a lot,” he said. “We don’t have all of this in India.  We feel like someone cares here. I saw the military serving and police supporting us.  I’m so proud of that.”

Binu said he was so thankful to the East Texas Food Bank, volunteers and donors who help to support families like his during these times.

“Giving food to somebody is the biggest charity you can do a person,” he said.   “We all need food and water to survive so those who are providing this kind of thing is big.  Nothing is better in the world.”

If you would like to support East Texas families like Binu’s, click here to give.