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An Innovative Resource Housing Nutritionist- and Chef-Created, Kid-Tested Recipes for School Lunch Programs
We make it easy to find healthful recipes that meet the United States Department of Agriculture’s (U.S.D.A.) guidelines for the National School Lunch Program. On the Follow A Meal Plan page, you will find our recommendations for pre-plated meals for grades K-12 (we recommend offering students at least two meal options per day, providing a vegetarian option daily and a fish option at least two times per week). Recipes for entrées, side items, desserts, and sauces and seasonings are organized by week (i.e., weeks 1-4) and day (i.e., days 1-5).
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Review definitions and see pictures of common cooking terms
Al Dente
Italian term used to describe pasta that is cooked until it offers a slight resistance to the bite.
Bake
To cook by dry heat, usually in the oven.
Barbecue
Usually used generally to refer to grilling done outdoors or over an open charcoal or wood fire. More specifically, barbecue refers to long, slow direct-heat cooking, including liberal basting with a barbecue sauce.
Baste
To moisten foods during cooking with pan drippings or special sauce to add flavor and prevent drying.
Batter
A mixture containing flour and liquid, thin enough to pour.
Beat
To mix rapidly in order to make a mixture smooth and light by incorporating as much air as possible.
Blanch
To immerse in rapidly boiling water and allow to cook slightly.
Blend
To incorporate two or more ingredients thoroughly.
Boil
To heat a liquid until bubbles break continually on the surface.
Broil
To cook on a grill (or in an oven) under strong, direct heat.
Caramelize
To heat sugar in order to turn it brown and give it a special taste.
Chiffonade
To finely slice or shred leafy vegetables. To make ribbon-like.
Clarify
To separate and remove solids from a liquid, thus making it clear.
Cream
To soften a fat, especially butter, by beating it at room temperature. Butter and sugar are often creamed together, making a smooth, soft paste.
Cure
To preserve meats by drying and salting and/or smoking.
Deglaze
To dissolve the thin glaze of juices and brown bits on the surface of a pan in which food has been fried, sautéed or roasted. To do this, add liquid and stir and scrape over high heat, thereby adding flavor to the liquid for use as a sauce.
Degrease
To remove fat from the surface of stews, soups, or stock. Usually cooled in the refrigerator so that fat hardens and is easily removed.
Dice
To cut food in small cubes of uniform size and shape.
Dissolve
To cause a dry substance to pass into solution in a liquid.
Dredge
To sprinkle or coat with flour or other fine substance.
Drizzle
To sprinkle drops of liquid lightly over food in a casual manner.
Dust
To sprinkle food with dry ingredients. Use a strainer or a jar with a perforated cover, or try the good, old-fashioned way of shaking things together in a paper bag.
Fillet
As a verb, to remove the bones from meat or fish. A fillet (or filet) is the piece of flesh after it has been boned.
Flake
To break lightly into small pieces.
Flambe’
To flame foods by dousing in some form of potable alcohol and setting alight.
Fold
To incorporate a delicate substance, such as whipped cream or beaten egg whites, into another substance without releasing air bubbles. Cut down through mixture with spoon, whisk, or fork; go across bottom of bowl, up and over, close to surface. The process is repeated, while slowly rotating the bowl, until the ingredients are thoroughly blended.
Fricasse
To cook by braising; usually applied to fowl or rabbit.
Fry
To cook in hot fat. To cook in a fat is called pan-frying or sautéing; to cook in a one-to-two inch layer of hot fat is called shallow-fat frying; to cook in a deep layer of hot fat is called deep-fat frying.
Garnish
To decorate a dish both to enhance its appearance and to provide a flavorful foil. Parsley, lemon slices, raw vegetables, chopped chives, and other herbs are all forms of garnishes.
Glaze
To cook with a thin sugar syrup cooked to crack stage; mixture my be thickened slightly. Also, to cover with a thin, glossy icing.
Grate
To rub on a grater that separates the food in various sizes of bits or shreds.
Gratin
From the French word for “crust.” Term used to describe any oven-baked dish-usually cooked in a shallow oval gratin dish-on which a golden brown crust of bread crumbs, cheese or creamy sauce is formed.
Grill
To cook on a grill over intense heat.
Grind
To process solids by hand or mechanically to reduce them to tiny particles.
Julienne
To cut vegetables, fruits, or cheeses into thin strips.
Knead
To work and press dough with the palms of the hands or mechanically, to develop the gluten in the flour.
Lukewarm
Neither cool nor warm; approximately body temperature.
Marinate
To flavor and moisturize pieces of meat, poultry, seafood or vegetable by soaking them in or brushing them with a liquid mixture of seasonings known as a marinade. Dry marinade mixtures composed of salt, pepper, herbs or spices may also be rubbed into meat, poultry or seafood.
Meuniere
Dredged with flour and sautéed in butter.
Mince
To cut or chop food into extremely small pieces.
Mix
To combine ingredients usually by stirring.
Pan-broil
To cook uncovered in a hot fry pan, pouring off fat as it accumulates.
Pan-fry
To cook in small amounts of fat.
Parboil
To boil until partially cooked; to blanch. Usually this procedure is followed by final cooking in a seasoned sauce.
Pare
To remove the outermost skin of a fruit or vegetable.
Peel
To remove the peels from vegetables or fruits.
Pickle
To preserve meats, vegetables, and fruits in brine.
Pinch
A pinch is the trifling amount you can hold between your thumb and forefinger.
Pit
To remove pits from fruits.
Planked
Cooked on a thick hardwood plank.
Plump
To soak dried fruits in liquid until they swell.
Poach
To cook very gently in hot liquid kept just below the boiling point.
Puree
To mash foods until perfectly smooth by hand, by rubbing through a sieve or food mill, or by whirling in a blender or food processor.
Reduce
To boil down to reduce the volume.
Refresh
To run cold water over food that has been parboiled, to stop the cooking process quickly. The image is of a parboiled egg.
Render
To make solid fat into liquid by melting it slowly.
Roast
To cook by dry heat in an oven.
Sauté
To cook and/or brown food in a small amount of hot fat.
Scald
To bring to a temperature just below the boiling point.
Scallop
To bake a food, usually in a casserole, with sauce or other liquid. Crumbs often are sprinkled over.
Score
To cut narrow grooves or gashes partway through the outer surface of food.
Sear
To brown very quickly by intense heat. This method increases shrinkage but develops flavor and improves appearance.
Segment
To divide (something) into separate parts or sections.
Shred
To cut or tear in small, long, narrow pieces.
Sift
To put one or more dry ingredients through a sieve or sifter.
Simmer
To cook slowly in liquid over low heat at a temperature of about 180°. The surface of the liquid should be barely moving, broken from time to time by slowly rising bubbles.
Skim
To remove impurities, whether scum or fat, from the surface of a liquid during cooking, thereby resulting in a clear, cleaner-tasting final product.
Steam
To cook in steam in a pressure cooker, deep well cooker, double boiler, or a steamer made by fitting a rack in a kettle with a tight cover. A small amount of boiling water is used, more water being added during steaming process, if necessary.
Steep
To extract color, flavor, or other qualities from a substance by leaving it in water just below the boiling point.
Stew
To simmer slowly in a small amount of liquid for a long time.
Stir
To mix ingredients with a circular motion until well blended or of uniform consistency.
Toss
To combine ingredients with a lifting motion.
Truss
To secure poultry with string or skewers, to hold its shape while cooking.
Whip
To beat rapidly to incorporate air and produce expansion, as in heavy cream or egg whites.
Wilt
Cooked very briefly until it has lost its shape.