Marshall High School’s Recipe for Success

November 18, 2014 | Written By: Healthy Schools Campaign

Get the details on Marshall High Schools’ winning Cooking up Change meal.

What’s it take to create a winning Cooking up Change recipe?

“This team designed the whole menu themselves — they made some tweaks and that became the winning recipe,” said Marshall Metro High School’s chef mentor, John Abels, from Le Cordon Bleu. “I was just an innocent bystander watching their talent blossom throughout this whole process.”

To be fair, success didn’t come that easy for the Marshall culinary team in winning their first-ever Cooking up Change crown with their menu of Haitian Spice Chicken, Slamming Collard Greens and Pineapple Surprise Parfait.

“It was very hard,” said student chef Zykeria, “We had to make a lot of changes to make it under the budget.”

“You have your ups and downs,” added teammate Autumn. “Your recipes are not going to be exactly what you thought they might be, but you have to keep trying and make the best out of it.”

In the end, the five high school juniors found the recipe for success.

“The students worked hard researching a dish that would be different,” said Marshall culinary instructor Kimberly Minor. “They tested their meal out on all the students at school and everyone liked it. This is a great group of kids and I’m so proud that their hard work paid off.”

If you want to try the meal that wowed the judges and beat out 15 other teams at Chicago’s Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest, here’s the winning recipe:

Haitian Spice Chicken (serving size: 4)
Ingredients:

• 8 chicken drumsticks
• 2 cups brown rice
• 1 cup black beans
• ½ cup canned pineapple chunks, 1 cup juice reserved
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1 tsp. turmeric

Directions:

1. Combine cumin, garlic powder, allspice, 1 cup of reserved pineapple juice and 2 tablespoons soy sauce in a pan. Add drumsticks and toss to coat. Marinate overnight.
2. Remove chicken from marinade and place chicken in a baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees (about 25 minutes).
3. Meanwhile, boil rice in 1 cup of water for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cover.
4. In a separate pan, combine beans and remaining soy sauce. Cook at low heat for 5 minutes.
5. Add turmeric to rice and fluff with fork. Add beans and pineapple to rice and mix to combine.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Slamming Collard Greens (serving size: 4)
Ingredients:

• 4 cups frozen collard greens
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup red onion, sliced
• ⅔ cup carrots, diced
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin

Directions:

1. Rinse greens in cold water to defrost. Dry with towel and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a sauté pan. Add greens, onions and carrots and cook until tender.
3. Add soy sauce, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and cumin to greens. Stir to combine then remove from heat.
4. Serve and enjoy!

Pineapple Surprise Parfait (serving size: 4)
Ingredients:

• 1 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
• 2 cups canned pineapple chunks, drained
• ½ cup granola
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Gather four cups or small bowls. Cover bottom of each cup with layer of yogurt.
2. Add a layer of pineapple, then sprinkle with cinnamon.
3. Add a layer of granola.
4. Add two more alternating layers and finish with a final sprinkle of cinnamon.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Congrats Marshall High School, and thank you for sharing your winning recipe!