Georgia Magazine - January 2015 - 43

January 2015

Melt butter in electric skillet preheated to 325 degrees. Add almonds
and sauté until lightly browned. Add
green peppers and onions; sauté until tender, stirring occasionally. Add
remaining ingredients. Reduce temperature to 250 degrees. Cover with
lid vent closed, and cook for 30 min-Elizabeth Andress,
utes. Stir. Open vents and continue
UGA food safety specialist
to cook for 10 to 15 minutes longer.
Serves 6.
From "Cutting Costs with Con"Today we would call for less butter, low-sodium bouillon, low-sodium venience," Carolyn Ainslie, Morgan
canned mushrooms or, better yet, County Extension Agent, 1980
fresh mushrooms because of our em"Turkey Tetrazzini was a popuphasis on health and nutrition," says
lar Extension recipe for many years,"
Andress.
says UGA Extension Family and Consumer agent Carolyn Ainslie.
Electric Skillet Rice Casserole
1 cup butter
1 (2- to 3-ounce) package blanched slivered
almonds
2 green peppers, chopped
1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
1 (5-ounce) can water chestnuts, thinly
sliced
1 (8-ounce) can sliced mushrooms and juice
1 cup chicken broth or bouillon
1/2 cup wild rice
1/2 cup white rice

Turkey Tetrazzini
1 (8-ounce) package spaghetti
1/2 cup sliced onions
1/4 cup fat (margarine or butter)
1/2 cup ﬂour
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
2 cups milk

CAL POWELL / UGA COLLEGE OF FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES

to locally grown foods, community
gardens and food safety, according
to Andress, who says there's been
a parallel increase in consumers asking for hands-on classes on food
preparation.
"There's been such an increase in
interest in the past three years, and it's
quite ironic," says Andress. "We have
this growing interest at the same time
that we have fewer Extension county
educators."
Whereas UGA Extension once
placed a home economist (now called
a family and consumer agent) in each
of the state's 159 counties, currently
only 40 counties have a family and
consumer agent.
"Due to limited funds, we can't
always offer classes," says Andress.
"We have young people who don't
know how to cook but want to know
how. The interest is there, and it
would be a shame not to capitalize
on that and set young people up for
life by teaching them how to cook."
Through the decades, UGA Extension's mission has shifted from
teaching consumers how to use their
new electric appliances to an overall
emphasis on improving their quality
of life and health. Today, UGA Extension administers the Expanded Foods
and Nutrition Education Program
(EFNEP) with agents providing tools
and ideas to help families cut food
costs while offering healthy meals
and snacks.
Here, the food prep and preservation expert shares recipes from
UGA Extension's history, some from
cooking schools or food preparation
programs that were collaborations
between Extension agents and EMC
home economists. Andress points out
that the older recipes are sometimes
high in fat and sodium; through the
years, such recipes evolved to include less fat, low sodium and fresh
ingredients as Extension shifted from
teaching new technologies to encouraging better nutrition.
"Notice," says Andress, "how the
recipes call for an electric skillet and
electric blender."

'It's all about
preserving food,
and our site,
nchfp.uga.edu,
gets about
5 million visits
per year.'

Elizabeth L. Andress, food safety specialist with UGA's College of Family and Consumer
Sciences, co-authored "So Easy to Preserve," the UGA-published expert guide to food
preservation.
More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

http://nchfp.uga.edu http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Georgia Magazine - January 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - January 2015