MACARONI & CHEESE WITH SPINACH

1 3/4 c. low-fat (1%) milk

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 c. grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese

1 c. low-fat cottage cheese

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen spinach

2 c. (8 oz.) whole-wheat macaroni

1/4 c. toasted wheat germ

Whisk 1/4 cup of the milk with flour in small bowl until smooth; set aside. Heat remaining milk in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until steaming. Add flour flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until sauce boils and thickens, two – three minutes. Remove from heat; add Cheddar cheese, stirring until melted. Stir in cottage cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook spinach according to package directions. Drain, refresh under cold water and press out excess moisture. Cook macaroni in kettle of lightly salted boiling water, stirring often, until not quite tender, four – five minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, drain again. Mix macaroni with cheese sauce in large bowl. Spread half of macaroni mixture in 8-inch-square baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray. Spoon spinach on top. Spread remaining macaroni mixture over spinach layer; sprinkle with wheat germ. Bake in preheated 400° oven until bubbly and golden, 35-45 minutes. Serves six. (This is a good diabetic version of macaroni and cheese.)

FISH & VEGETABLE SOUP

1 Tbsp. margarine or butter

1/4 c. chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 c. thinly sliced carrots

2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans chicken broth

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. frozen cut green beans

1/2 c. frozen corn

1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. dried oregano leaves

1 lb. firm white fish fillets (cod, hallock, halibut or orange roughy), cut in 1” cubes

Melt margarine in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir two – three minutes or just until garlic begins to brown. Add all remaining ingredients except fish; mix well. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer eight minutes. Add fish; cook, uncovered, five – seven minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Can be garnished with lemon slices and fresh herbs. Makes 4 (1-1/2 cup) servings.

COOKIE DOUGH DIP

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. chocolate chips

1 c. toffee bits

Mix together the cream cheese and butter. Add remaining ingredients. Serve with apple wedges, chocolate graham or honey graham crackers. (from Erin Schlieman)

BAKED CHICKEN WINGS

1 c. hot sauce

1 tsp. garlic sauce

24 chicken drummettes

2 Tbsp. butter or marg.

1 c. baking mix (like Bisquick)

3/4 tsp. onion salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Bleu cheese dressing

Stir together hot sauce and garlic salt until blended. Pour over drummettes; cover and refrigerate at least four hours but no longer then 24 hours. Heat oven to 450°. Melt butter in jelly roll pan (15 1/2-inch by 10 1/2-inch), in oven. Stir together baking mix, onion salt and peppers. Remove chicken from sauce; discard sauce. Coat chicken with baking mixture; place in single layer in pan. Bake 25 minutes; turn and bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and juice is no longer pink when centers of pieces are cut. Serve with dressing and celery sticks.

EASY CHICKEN TACOS  

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

1/2 c. orange juice

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper

3/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp. yellow mustard

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

12 (6”) flour tortillas

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and chipotle and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in orange juice, Worcestershire and 1/2 cup cilantro and bring to boil. Add chicken and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat until meat registers 160°, 10-15 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking. Transfer to plate and tent with foil. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup, about five minutes. Off heat, whisk in mustard. Using two forks, shred chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to skillet. Add remaining cilantro to skillet and toss until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with tortillas. To warm tortillas wrap in foil and heat in 350° oven for 15 minutes. Top tacos with shredded lettuce, grated cheese, diced avocado, tomato and sour cream. Serves six.

I just read your front page  (Jan. 29) article on a Little Falls resident complaining about the “We Support Our Troops” sign.  Is that the one who had that abhorrent sign display on one of our main streets on the south side?  The display that was justifiably taken down?

Don’t you think this issue has had more than its 15 minutes, and the paper shouldn’t get reeled in to help promote  soapbox activities? — Ron Green, Little Falls

When Minnesota Republican leaders were asked on TV about the demotions of Sen. Amy Koch and Rep. Steve Smith because of their improper relationships with staff members, the Republican leaders said, “We’re putting that behind us now.”

That’s the identical response they gave earlier when their state chair resigned after leaving the Minnesota Republican Party somewhere near $2 million in concealed debt: “Put that behind us.”

We hear that phrase over and over from Republicans; even though they themselves continue dredging up distortions from the past election campaigns to use against Democrats.

If they can make us ignore what they “put behind them,” there’s a chance we might believe their promises about how much better they’ll make things in the future.

They’re good at that. Lots of promises and pledges ahead of time. Lots of broken promises and failure to deliver when the time comes. Lots of telling us what to do and not doing it themselves. But they want us to put all that behind us now, so their promises and pledges work again at election time.

Blame problems on others and when you can’t, just “put it behind you.” Great campaign technique, terrible for governing. Terrible for us. — Harvey Hempech, Little Falls

We just marked the end of 2011 – a year lots of people are more than happy to put behind them.

There is no doubt that 2012 is going to be tough, but as we go forward, I think there are reasons to be optimistic, especially in Minnesota.

That’s why I’ve been traveling around the state on a manufacturing tour to visit schools, manufacturers and small businesses to learn more about the workforce needs of manufacturing and how we can prepare our students and workforce to fill these jobs and improve the state’s economy.

And nearly all of them have told me that the number one thing holding them back is that they can’t find enough workers who’ve been trained to perform the high tech manufacturing jobs of the 21st century.

In fact, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development did a survey of manufacturers in our state, and found that nearly half had positions going unfilled because they lacked qualified applicants.

And, to be clear, these jobs require advanced training. These aren’t your grandfather’s manufacturing jobs. They are high-tech precision manufacturing jobs. These jobs require critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and what are known as STEM skills – science, technology, engineering and math.

STEM skills are practically mandatory for any worker looking to succeed in the 21st century economy. Eighteen of our state’s 20 fastest-growing industries require them. And there are thousands of these jobs available right now.

There are some communities around the state that are on top of this. Alexandria Technical and Community College is ranked eighth in the nation among two-year schools. It provides high school graduates with training in industrial arts. And the college partners with the high school to run an industrial arts summer camp, bringing in people from Douglas Machine to help recruit kids and get them excited about learning these skills.

That’s why Douglas County is the Silicon Valley of packaging machines. And it’s part of the reason unemployment there is lower than the statewide average.

Across the state, 16 area Workforce Investment Boards are overseeing 49 workforce centers where workers who have lost their jobs are being retrained in the skills they’ll need to find new ones. These boards are run by businessmen and women. And why? Because they’re the ones who know what employees need to handle these jobs.

The men and women who will hold these advanced manufacturing jobs in the coming years and decades will carry on a middle-class tradition that stretches back to World War II, a tradition in which anyone can put in a good day’s work and earn a paycheck that allows them to participate in their community. That’s good for every business, because even if you aren’t in manufacturing, these are the folks who are spending money in their communities.

Right now, we have many economic challenges to face. Our economy still isn’t where it should be, and although it’s heading in the right direction, it’s heading there way too slowly.

But as we go into 2012, I can’t help but feel we have a lot to be thankful for, and like I said, optimistic about. Yes, we’re in a tough spot. But we’ve gotten out of worse.

And, yes, Washington can be a frustrating place to work. But when I come back to Minnesota, and I see big businesses and small businesses, schools and universities, and labor and community leaders all pulling in the same direction, I know we’ve got bright days ahead.

I’m committed to bringing Minnesota ideas and concerns back with me to Washington so that I can keep fighting to open up new opportunities and make things better for working families across the state. It isn’t going to be easy, but we have a plan of attack in our workforce training programs right here in Minnesota. I know we can do it.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken represents Minnesota in Washington, D.C. 

Our guy in the White House gave his talk the other day, and he stated in his speech, “Where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.” The “same set of rules” seems to be a theme that some people missed or maybe didn’t want to admit, or think about, but has been the issue ever since this Amish thing got started.

Nobody is out picking on the Amish, and nobody is out to make life hard for them; the issue has been that everybody lives by the same set of rules. If that occurred, letters wouldn’t be in the paper about the phantom chicken poop, the horse apples all over all the roads and parking lots, nor about the buildings without permits, the slow-moving vehicle signs on slow-moving vehicles without proper lighting on public roads, nor would anybody complain about unequal enforcement of laws, reverse profiling or about special treatment by the sheriff.

It is great that people want to live a simpler life, but people can live the simpler life and still obey the laws. Either all of us obey all the laws or nobody obeys any of the laws, since we live in a society where all people are equal and live by the same set of rules. — Dan Schilling, Long Prairie