Casseroles and Mother Sauces Foods II

Summary

Casseroles are an easy and economical main dish, with good nutritional value. Both the Bechamel and Tomato sauce from the Mother Sauces can be used as binders in a casserole. Casseroles will be discussed, Mother Sauces will be reviewed and two labs will be presented.

Materials

• Casserole power point and listening guide
• Simple Marinara Sauce Recipe
• Goulash Casserole Recipe
• Stove Top Mac and Cheese Recipe
  

Background for Teachers

Casseroles are a great way to use up leftovers and to also stretch a budget. This topic presents a great opportunity to reteach FIFO (first in, first out) and re-emphasize the importance of food safety when dealing with using leftovers.

Additional information is available in the FACS filing cabinet on the mother sauces, from a previous FACS conference.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to define casseroles, and the qualities/ nutrients of casseroles: easy, time saver, complete meal in a dish, economical, large variety can be made ahead and stored in refrigerator/freezer, require little supervision during baking: served in same dish as baked in: leftovers easy to use.

Students will identify the binder as the sauce which holds ingredients together (Bechamel or Tomato mother sauces).

Instructional Procedures

Day 1:
Using the Casserole and Mother Sauce power point and making copies of the listening guide for students, proceed with the pre-quiz at the beginning - most students will not know the answers, but reassure them that you are assessing their current knowledge about casseroles. Through the power point, discussing key points about casseroles and how to utilize the mother sauces as binders. At the end of the power point, there is a post-quiz and the students should be able to completely answer all five questions.

When finished with the power point, have the students go to their labs and make the Simple Marinara Sauce recipe. This recipe requires 20 minutes to simmer and meld the flavors. During this time, hand out the Casserole Crossword puzzle and have the students work on this, occasionally having one of their group stir their sauce. The sauce will reduce by about half. When the sauce has cooked for 20 minutes, have the students turn it off and allow it to cool briefly before pouring the sauce into a Ziploc freezer bag. Each lab will need to be labled with the class period and the students lab number. This will be refrigerated until the next lab.

Day 2:
This day will finish the mother sauce casserole lab. Have the students get into their labs and hand out the Goulash recipe. Read through and discuss any student questions about the recipe. Have students gather their supplies - this is a great opportunity to redefine Mis en place - and begin the lab.

The lab requires about 45 minutes to complete. During the simmering time, have the students complete their crossword puzzles and study their listening guide in preparation for the casserole quiz.

When the lab is complete and students have cleaned up, have them turn in their listening guide and completed crossword.

Administer the Casserole Quiz.

If you only have one day, the Macaroni and Cheese lab can be accomplished if the casserole is finished in the microwave. I usually use this casserole in the teens and athletes section of Nutrition Through the Lifecycle as it ties in with getting enough calcium in the diet.

Assessment Plan

After finishing the two day Tomato sauce and Goulash lab, at the end of the second day, administer the 10 question Casserole Quiz. Students will have had the necessary time to study their material while their Goulash cooks.