Meatless Monday Recipe

So I have a slight obsession with a certain food blog.  Today when reading her newest post I noticed that it was actually a meatless post, and since we here in the Valley View participate in the Meatless Monday Movement I thought I might share it with you all so you can enjoy the amazingness of her recipes.  Check it out @ http://pinchofyum.com/butternut-squash-mushroom-enchiladas-with-tomatillo-sauce

Butternut Squash & Mushroom Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce

Author: Pinch of Yum

 Serves: 12

 

Ingredients

For the enchiladas

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 large jalapeño, chopped, seeds and ribs removed
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper (2 peppers)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2-3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 16 ounces fresh chopped mushrooms
• 12-15 corn tortillas
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• Mexican toppings: cilantro, avocado, queso fresco
  

For the sauce

• 2 lbs. tomatillos
• 4 cloves garlic
• ½ cup cilantro
• 2 cups broth
• ½ cup half and half or cream
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Sauce: Remove the husks and place the tomatillos on a greased baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, until the skins have brown or black spots on them and the tomatillos are soft. Place in a blender with the garlic and cilantro and puree until mostly smooth. Transfer to a saucepan and add the broth. Simmer for 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Add the cream and season with salt.
2. Squash Filling: In a large nonstick pan over high heat, roast the jalapeño and bell pepper. Do not stir too often; let the skins get browned and roasted. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes. Add the squash, 1 tablespoon butter, cumin, chili powder, and salt; saute until the squash is fork tender. Set aside.
3. Mushroom Filling: Place 1 tablespoon butter back in the pan; add the mushrooms and saute until soft and browned. Season with salt and additional cumin and chili powder.
4. Assembly: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wrap the tortillas in a moist paper towel and warm in the microwave. Stuff the softened tortillas with a little bit of squash and mushrooms. Roll and place seam-side-down in a baking dish. Repeat until finished; cover with sauce and top with cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Notes

This recipe was perfect for us because even though it makes a ton of enchiladas, you can just keep the filling and sauce for a few days and then make a few enchiladas throughout the week as needed. As written, the filling would stuff about 20-25 small corn tortillas. The size of pan to use will depend on how many you’re baking at one time

*Note the above recipe was taken directly from http://pinchofyum.com/butternut-squash-mushroom-enchiladas-with-tomatillo-sauce

I highly advise you check out her blog and ENJOY the many amazing recipes and stories she has to share.  I have yet to try something of hers that is not amazing.

Pumpkin Carving Contest

It is that time of year again.  Everybody please enter your vote for the best carved pumpkin.  They will be on display in the Valley View until Thursday October 31st.  I will be posting pictures to this post as entries are made and will gladly take votes here (please comment with your favorite below), on our Facebook page (Like your favorite), or in person in the Valley View!

Baked Ziti

Things have been a bit crazy around here this semester.  For the first time Dining Services was invited to participate in Wolverine Wednesday as well as the Zone.  While our gig with Wolverine Wednesday was last month, you can find us down in the Zone every Tuesday from 11-12.  So far we have taken a variety of samples from our different locations and have plans for more samples and some competitions coming up.  Hint hint nudge nudge maybe you should enter the Pumpkin Carving Contest!  Yesterday for the Zone we sampled our Baked Ziti dish from the Valley View.  There was a lot of positive feedback as this is always a popular dish.  Think warm fuzzy feelings and you get the basic flavor profile.  Several customers asked for a recipe concerning this dish and I figured it wouldn't hurt to pass it along to all of you. 

Ziti Pasta Bake

1 bag Rotini

1.25 lb Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 cans Marinara Sauce

Boil pasta to al dente.  Mix pasta with 1 lb of cheese and sauce.  Spray casserole dish with pan spray and pour mixture into dish. Top with remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 until cheese is melted. 

**Play with your measurements if you like your dish with more sauce and cheese as I do, feel free to add more.  Make it your own and most importantly ENJOY!

Dining Services Annual Pumkin Carving Contest

  

Where: Valley View Cafeteria
When: Monday October 28th until Halloween Day, Thursday October 31st.
Who: Students, Faculty, & Staff can enter.

Prizes: We will be selecting a 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place winner with other prizes just for entering....

First place prize is an High Sierra Backpack!
More info on other prizes soon!

Details:
Participants can pick up their pumpkins the week before. We will have the pumpkins un-carved on display in the Valley View Cafeteria and you can stop by any time to save yours.
The pumpkins will be on display the week of Halloween and Students, Faculty, & Staff will be encouraged as they pass through to help vote.
Voting: The winner will be decided through popularity this year. We will have voting boxes near the displayed pumpkins and the customers as well as any one passing by can help vote for their favorite.
Winners will be announced by @ 2 PM Halloween day, October 31st. Participants can retrieve their pumpkins at this time.

RULES:
•All entries are encouraged to be returned by Monday, October 28th due to the popularity voting style.
•We will be providing pumpkins but the participant may provide their own if they so choose.
•Pumpkin must include carving, other crafting techniques ok.
•No open flames are allowed in the Student Center so lit candles inside the pumpkins will not be permitted. •Electronic lighting via battery power ok.
•Any electronics to support the carved pumpkin must be battery powered. We are not accountable for providing power or lighting to your pumpkin.
•Have Fun!

New Year, New Friends

It is a new year here at the UVU.  Things are going pretty great here in the Valley View.  We have new employees, a new seating arrangement, and new merchandise for our new students.  As crazy as this day could have gone it is actually going remarkably well.  Here's hoping the whole semester stays this way!

Summer Blues

Wow, this summer has gone by so fast--one giant heat wave of fastness.  Guess that means it is time to jump back on the band wagon and get updating all of our sites, start spilling forth my thoughts on random topics and attempt to keep up with a few thousand some odd students.  Hope your summers were great, I hope you were able to go on a few small/large trips, visit with friends and family, and in general kick back before going back to the grind stone.  I know that this will not be true for all of you out there, for I see many of you each day studying and working--sometimes both at the same time! 

Here at Dining Services things have not quite calmed down this summer and now that August is here it does not look like it will ever happen.  In attempt to keep up and preemptively prepare for the decent of insanity the first week of school we are actually hiring.  So come apply, tell your friends, tell your family.  There are openings all over here in Dining Services.  You will want to go to the UVU Job Board and apply for job posting #054241.  We look forward to seeing your applications!

Summer Hours

Summer Hours for the Valley View will be as follows:

Monday-Friday
7:45 a.m. -3:00 p.m.

We will observe Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Pioneer Day but other than that will be open each day for your convenience. 

Our blog will be undergoing some much needed renovation this summer and we are working hard on getting all of our nutritional information for our line items up on the blog.

Make sure to check out our facebook, twitter, and instagram pages as well :  www.facebook/uvudining  #UVUDining or Dining@UVU

Warning No Clam Chowder!

Due to a lack of clams we will not be able to serve our traditional Thursday Clam Chowder.  I am sorry for the inconvenience.  We will be substituting a Creamy Cordon Bleu instead.

Easter is Coming

I don't know about you but I just realized that we have another holiday around the corner.  I decided to head to Pinterest for a little bit of 'pin'speration and decided to share some of what I found with you.  Click on the photos below to follow to the blogs on which these items are found.

 

Spring Break Blues

Ya know, other than keeping up with comments and emails I feel like I am really neglecting you guys.  That is if anyone is actually reading this.  Granted I figure we have about twenty plus visitors a day so numerically someone HAS to be reading something.  Just in case you were wondering, YES the Valley View is open today through Thursday.  For those of you here on campus the Valley View, Subway, Scoops, and the Vending machines are the bulk of your food options.  I am not sure if Jamba Juice will be open although I highly doubt it. 

Usually we look forward to these times of the year when we can catch up on projects, do some deep cleaning, and finish paperwork, but for some reason this year I find the silence unsettling.  I am almost hoping that we will get busy during lunch time like we did during Christmas just so I can see some of the friendly faces that stop by each day.  During this down time we will be working on menus' for the rest of the school year.  For this I turn to a myriad of sources, not only do we have a rotation of items we pull from but I also hit up a few Taste of Home cook books, Pinterest, and various food blogs.  Yes, if you had not noticed I am a bloggie.  I blog stalk these two in particular:

Pinch of Yum

Our Best Bites

 

Check 'em out sometime you will never regret it I promise.

 

 

The Perfect Storm

Have you ever just had one of those No Good Very Bad Terrible Days?  Well today is definetly one of those days.  Actually I think I figured out a new word to describe it:  The Perfect Storm.  Yes, I am stealing these titles from other authors/movies but if the name fits...right?  We have had some complaints recently concerning different areas of  Dining Services running out of products.  I would like to personally apologize to you.  We have had some department restructuring and in the process a few things have really slipped through the cracks.  We are most definetly learning from our mistakes and things really should start looking up on Monday.  Wow, never thought I would look forward to a Monday, did you?  I want to say thank you to all of you who actually visit our site.  I love each and every comment, even the negative ones so please keep them coming!

Mardi Gras

It's Fat Tuesday and that means Mardi Gras!  Being Utah and all we don't have any crazy floats or parades, but we can celebrate with some yummy Southern food.  Stop in today for Cajun Chicken Pasta, Jambalaya, or Chicken Gumbo.  I know what I'm having for lunch and dinner, how about you?

New Microwave

All of your prayers have been anwered, not really, but we do have a brand new microwave for your use.  We even remembered to buy some new food covers so it can stay nice and clean for you.  Hope your food tastes great and your day goes well.  The weekend is just around the corner.

Microwave Drama

We would like to apologize for our microwaves.  They have not been working very well in the last week or so.  After having UVU Electrical come check them out we have decided to buy a new microwave for the north wall.  Hopefully it will be here soon and you can keep using them as needed. 

Resolution follow-up

Well, with all other resolutions this one is having a hard time sticking.  We are checking this page more often, and now have two people working on keeping the calendar up to date.  Our current goal is to get our menus out monthly instead of weekly.  Not quite sure how easy this leap will be but we are for sure going to take the lunge. 

I want to personally thank everyone who is posting their questions and comments on our new comment page.  We get excited for each new post be it good or bad.  You will notice that we have purposefully left the previous comments so you can read and know what has been happening around the Valley View.  Please keep it up, we can not progress without your input.  Hope everyone has a great day and drives safe on our slippery roads. 

-Kayde Dexter-Valley View Supervisor

New Year New Resolution

It has been a long cold winter, and I for one can't wait for the warmth and color of Spring to come around again.  I owe everyone an apology as I have completely fallen down on the job when it comes to the Valley View Blog.  So, to make it up to you, because I knew you were really worried about it, my New Year's Resolution for 2013 is:  Keep you up to date with the happenings in UVU Dining Services -mainly the Valley View ;o)  and blog at least once a week.  As always you can check out our Menu as that is updated weekly.  Feel free to post any requests, concerns, or comments along the way.  We are working with our Chef's to get recipes more often and a complete list of our nutritional information for all recipes served here in the Valley View.