Dish and serve tiered food "cakes" and Tostada recipe

Let's face it, not everyone loves to cook, if they did there wouldn't be restaurants EVERYWHERE. Morena from Morena's corner happens to be one of those people. She also happens to be super sweet, I can imagine her being very optimistic the kind that it rubs off on all those she is around. Though she did not put together a typical Dish & Serve post it does give those who don't fancy themselves "cookers" as my 6 year old would say a great idea on how to use food to show love to others. I got this post in my e-mail the same day I got an e-mail my daughters teacher asking that those of us who are in a position to donate food for Thanksgiving baskets should. It will go to students and their families at the school who are in need of them. Immediately I thought that using Morena's way of jazzing up food to be donated would be a fun way to present the Thanksgiving food, baskets or not. If they are doing something like this at your child's school volunteer with your kids to put them together and jazz the food to be given out. Or organize something like this at your kids school or church or wherever. Here is what she did...



"I was thrilled when DeAnn invited me to participate in her dish and serve series!  I'm a crafter, not a baker, though, so I put my own little spin on things. My family made tiered food "cakes" to donate to our local food bank.  I hope you like this idea!

My goal with this project was to encourage my children to think about the people receiving our donation and the impact it would have on them. We talked about how it must feel to have to go to a food bank to ask for assistance.  It's scary to not know where your next meal will come from. It's stressful to worry about food and bills.  Some people might even feel a little embarrassed to have to ask for help.  What could we do to help them?

We decided that it would be fun to make our food donation look like tiered cakes.  Hopefully making the recipient smile and feel happy for a bit!   Each child made their own "cake".  We started with a silver platter from Dollar Tree.  Arrange the first layer of cans or cereal boxes, and secure with decorative tape.  Arrange the second layer and secure with tape.  Add a third layer if desired.  Wrap the cake with various ribbons and tie into bows.  Attach hand written notes.

 My children wanted these to look like gifts, so after I took these pictures, we wrapped each tower in paper and tied the top with a bow.  We will deliver them to the food bank this weekend.

My kids are happy to be helping someone in our community, and I'm glad that this activity encouraged them to stop and think about how others are feeling.  I hope it was a great learning experience for them!

Thanks for letting me share with you!

 

Food banks are in desperate need of donations. The demand is going up while donations are shrinking and altogether drying up, a nasty catch 22. Can't donate?  Then donate your time.

I saw that Morena's daughter was making a tired canned bean "cake" and it made me think of one of my favorite bean recipes that is super fast and healthy.

 

I got this recipe out of Cooking Light magazine, I think. I can't remember what they called it so I think I will re-name it Tostada New Mexicana Stick To Your Ribs Deliciousness, Haha.

If I eat two of these bad girls fully loaded I am FULL! So one per kid and 1-2 for adults.

Pre-heat oven to 400. Take 6-9 corn tortillas and spray with cooking spray on each side or olive oil or butter. Place on cookie sheet if you use 9 corn tortillas you will have to overlap them a bit. Place them in the oven for 3-5 mins. When done take them out of the oven and flip the tortillas.Then place your beans and cheese on the tortillas and place them back in the oven for another 5-8 mins or until the cheese is melted. While they are cooking in the oven cook your eggs (two per tortilla was my preference). When done cooking in the oven plate your food and then place the eggs and avocado over the melted cheese. Of course you can add green chile or red chile or both as is my preference :)


Thanks for stopping by and be sure and check out Morena's blog.

Much love :)