Hungry Co-Workers do Lunch in Fine Style by Gwen Schoen
The Sacramento Bee
They were six hungry women in search of a good lunch. One was eating a can of soup she found in her desk; one a Lean Cuisine heated up in a microwave oven; and one some nondescript leftovers from the previous night's dinner.
"It was pitiful," says Leslie Dougherty. "The six of us were sitting at the same table and every one of us was eating something weird for lunch. We started making comments about what we were eating and what we could do about it."
That's how the lunch bunch got started. "We started talking about how some families share cooking duties, and in one lunch hour we developed a plan where we would take turns bringing lunch for each other," Dougherty explains.
The women, all employees of Los Rios Community College District in Sacramento, Calif., work in the same office complex. The building has a spacious lounge and a well-equipped kitchen with a full range, two refrigerators with freezers, two microwave ovens and a sink.
During that first lunch hour nine months ago, as they ate their vending-machine sandwiches and leftovers, they quickly formed some sketchy rules for their group:
It doesn't matter what you bring. It can be a pizza from Steve's Pizza next door or it can be a casserole made the night before. The person who brings lunch also cleans up. No desserts except for special occasions. Everyone brings her own beverage. It's OK to eat and dash if you don't have time to socialize.
"We also asked everyone which foods they didn't like and about food allergies. Silvia (Mota) is allergic to mustard and we didn't want to poison her," Dougherty says. The whole idea was that each person would be responsible for lunch once every two weeks. When it isn't your turn to bring lunch, you just show up and eat at the gatherings, which happen on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
"It's wonderful," says Jan Sweeney, who was the cook the day we visited. "It's actually much less expensive than eating out and it's great not having to make lunch at home every day. Besides, it's kind of fun planning what you are going to bring."
The day we joined the bunch for lunch, Sweeney had brought a chicken and broccoli casserole, bran muffins and a bag of salad greens, which she spruced up with mandarin oranges and feta cheese. She dashed over to the kitchen about 30 minutes before lunch and popped the casserole into the oven. Just before lunch she assembled the salad and set the table with paper plates and plastic utensils.
So, what's for lunch?
In the winter, they frequently have dishes prepared in a crockpot, which saves last-minute prep time. Soup, chili with cornbread and pasta with marinara sauce are some of their favorites. Mota, who specializes in Mexican dishes, developed a way of making chicken fajitas in the crockpot. Once she cooked chorizo and eggs for the group. In warmer months, they do a lot of salads, but with plenty of chicken and fruit to keep them from getting hungry.
Cashew Chicken
When there are just the two of you, try this quick-to-the-table dish full of vegetables topped with roasted cashews. This recipe is from Patricia Immethun, a member of the lunch bunch.
Ingredients:
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup regular-strength chicken broth
1 Tbs. each cornstarch and soy sauce
1 lb. chicken breast, skinned, boned and cut in matchstick-size pieces
4 Tbs. peanut oil
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 cup of Chinese snow peas
1 large carrot, cut in 1/4-inch slanting slices
1/4 lb. green beans, cut in 1/2-inch slanting slices
1 small onion cut in half, then in 1/4" slices
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
2 Tbs. water
1/3 cup roasted cashews
Preparation:
Mix the 1 teaspoon cornstarch with chicken broth; set aside. Combine the 1 Tbs. cornstarch, soy sauce and chicken. Mix well to coat chicken thoroughly, set aside.
Place wok on high heat. When wok is hot, add 2 Tbs. of the oil. When oil is hot, add chicken mixture. Stir-fry until chicken is opaque (about 3 minutes). Remove chicken from wok and set aside. Add remaining 2 Tbs. oil to wok. When oil is hot, add celery, Chinese snow peas, carrot, beans, onion, mushrooms and garlic. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add water, cover and cook for three minutes or until vegetables are tender-crisp.
Return chicken and chicken broth mixture to pan. Stir until liquid boils and thickens (about 1 minute). Stir in most of the cashews. Garnish with remaining cashews.
Yield: 2 servings
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 8 minutes
Caeser Chicken Pasta Salad
Leslie Dougherty uses precooked chicken, which makes this salad a snap to prepare.
Ingredients:
3 cups (about 12 oz.) skinned, shredded roasted chicken breast
3 cups hot cooked penne (about 6 oz. uncooked tubular-shaped pasta)
2 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
1-1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup fat-free Caesar dressing
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
one 4-oz. pkg. crumbled feta cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, then toss well to coat.
Yield: 3-4 servings
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 16 minutes
Apricot Nut Turkey Salad Sandwiches
Dougherty also shares this recipe, which makes good use of leftover turkey.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken breast (about 6 oz.)
1/4 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 Tbs. chopped unsalted cashews
2 Tbs. chopped dried apricots
2 Tbs. chopped green onions
2 Tbs. raisins
2 Tbs. plain low-fat yogurt
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
4 lettuce leaves
eight 1-oz. slices pumpernickel or wheat bread
Preparation:
Combine first 10 ingredients (turkey through black pepper) in a bowl. Place a lettuce leaf on each of 4 bread slices. Spread 1/2 cup turkey salad over lettuce, then top with remaining bread slices.
Yield: 4 servings
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cold Summer Chicken Salad
This is another favorite salad recipe from Leslie Dougherty.
Ingredients:
3 cups cooked chicken (4 breasts)
1 can sliced water chestnuts
2 cups grapes or one 10-oz. can mandarin oranges
1-1/2 cups celery
one 20-oz. can pineapple chunks
1 small pkg. slivered almonds
Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbs. soy sauce
1/2 Tbs. curry
1/2 Tbs. onion juice
Preparation:
In a large bowl, combine salad ingredients. In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients. Add dressing to salad just before serving.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Chicken Casserole
Jan Sweeney served this casserole on the day we joined her lunch bunch.
Ingredients:
1/2 onion, chopped
1 stick (1/4 lb.) butter or margarine
2 cups Minute Rice
two 10-oz. pkgs. frozen chopped broccoli
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 small can mushrooms
8 oz. Cheese Whiz
3 to 4 cooked chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
Preparation:
Brown chopped onion in butter. Mix remainder of ingredients together. Add onion and butter and mix. Place in 9 by-13-inch dish and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Yield: 8 servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.)
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