Food for Thought Meal Project My Meal

Food for Thought Meal Project

My meal for the Food for Thought project is themed around one of my favorite foods: Mexican food. The meal starts with Chicken Quesadilla for an appetizer, a Mexican Burrito Bowl for the main dish and Flan for dessert. I found three recipes online for each part of the meal, and to plan a meal for ten guests I had to do calculations to know how much of each ingredient I needed. Then I created a cookbook, which you can read below, to show how each recipe is prepared and cooked.

Appetizer -- Chicken Quesadilla (Serves 5 People)

You Will Need:

chicken breasts (cook them and shred into small pieces) - $8.99

bag of cheese (use the Mexican blend) - $3.99

dozen soft flour tortillas - $3.50

stick of butter - $0.50

Sides:

jar of salsa - $3.25

tablespoons of sour cream - $0.80

head of lettuce - $0.79

jalapeno peppers - $1.25

TOTAL COST: $23.07 for original recipe, $46.13 for 10 guests ($23.07 x 2 = $46.13)

First, to make this recipe for a party of ten guests, I need to multiply everything by 2 because the original recipe serves 5 people. That means I need 4 chicken breasts (2 x 2 = 4), 2 bags of cheese (1 x 2 = 2), 2 dozen soft flour tortillas (1 x 2 = 2), 2 sticks of butter (1 x 2 = 2), 2 jars of salsa (1 x 2 = 2), 8 tablespoons of sour cream (4 x 2 = 8), 2 heads of lettuce (1 x 2 = 2), and 12 jalapeno peppers (6 x 2 = 12).

To make one quesadilla, warm a pan with butter in it to medium heat, and then take a tortilla and fill one half of it with cheese and chicken. Fold it over to make a half-moon shape, and place the quesadilla in the pan. Next, press down on the quesadilla with a spatula to crisp the other side, then flip it over and press the other side. When the cheese inside has melted and the tortilla becomes brown and crispy, take it out of the pan and cut it into 4 pieces. Each guest can then add salsa, sour cream, lettuce or jalapenos if they like.

Main Dish -- Mexican Burrito Bowl (Serves 3 People)

You Will Need:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter -- $0.25

1 1/3 cups basmati rice - $1.25

2 cups water - Free

2 limes - $1.50

1 onion - $0.59

2 garlic cloves -- $0.35

1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies -- $1.39

1 (14 ounce) can black beans - $1.59

2 cups grilled pork - $4.99

1 bag mexican cheese - $3.99

1 jar of salsa - $3.25

1 package of sour cream - $1.99

1 bag of tortilla chips - $2.99

TOTAL COST: $24.13 for original recipe, $96.52 for 10 guests ($24.13 x 4 = $96.52)

Again, I will need to multiply this recipe out because it only serves 3 people. To get enough food for 10 guests, I need to multiply everything in the recipe by 4, which will leave a little food left over, but that is better than not having enough food for everybody. That means I will need 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter (1 x 4 = 4), 5 1/3 cups of basmati rice (1 1/3 x 4 = 5 1/3), 8 cups of water (2 x 4 = 8), 8 limes (2 x 4 = 8), 4 onions (1 x 4 = 4), 8 cloves of garlic (2 x 4 = 8), 4 cans of diced tomatoes (1 x 4 = 4), 4 cans of black beans (1 x 4 = 4), 8 cups of grilled pork (2 x 4 = 8), 4 bags of Mexican cheese (1 x 4 = 4), 4 jars of salsa (1 x 4 = 4), 4 packages of sour cream (1 x 4 = 4, and 4 bags of tortilla chips (1 x 4 = 4).

In a pan mix the water, rice and juice from the limes, then bring this mix to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer with the pan covered the rice has absorbed the water. While the rice is cooking, chop up the onion and the garlic into small pieces. Melt the butter in another pan, and cook the onions and garlic until the onions become clear, then add the canned tomatoes and beans to the pan. Simmer on low heat until most of the moisture is boiled away. Next, chop up the grilled pork into small pieces. To serve the meal, start with rice in a large bowl, and top with the bean and tomato mix. Then add the pork, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. This dish is best when eaten with tortilla chips.

Dessert -- Flan (Serves 4 People)

You will need:

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk -- $1.99

2 (14 ounce) cans evaporated milk - $3.98

1 1/2 cups of sugar - $0.60

6 large eggs - $1.20

1 teaspoon vanilla - $0.25

TOTAL COST: $8.02 for original recipe, $24.06 for 10 guests ($8.02 x 4 = $24.06)

This dessert recipe serves 4 people, so for a party of 10 guests I will need to multiply the ingredients by 3, which will leave a few extra servings of flan. That means I need 3 cans of sweetened condensed milk (1 x 3 = 3), 6 cans of evaporated milk (2 x 3 = 6), 4 1/2 cups of sugar (1 1/2 x 3 = 4 1/2), 18 large eggs (6 x 3 = 18), and 3 teaspoons of vanilla (1 x 3 = 3).