Scrambling for Quick Summer Meals?

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Do summer schedules have you scrambling for quick, on-the-go meals? Although summer brings longer days, time is of the essence in warm weather months. There seems to be even less time for the family to sit down and enjoy a meal together. However, just because your family is going a dozen different directions, it doesn’t mean that nutritious meals need to be over looked … they just need to be portable.

Instead of stopping for fast food, stock your refrigerator with versatile, nutritious foods, like eggs. Eggs contain all-natural, high-quality protein, and they go well with many other foods. Scrambled eggs take just minutes to prepare. Add some garden fresh vegetables, pack them in pita pockets or roll them in tortillas, and you have a hand-held meal that your family can take with them to the baseball game or soccer practice.

If you’re looking to grab a quick snack after an afternoon at the pool, be sure that you have vitamin-rich fruits washed and ready to go along with protein-dense foods such as hard-cooked eggs. These hand-held goodies are sure to offer cool pleasure to hungry snackers.

Here’s a recipe for a portable meal that will be sure to a family favorite. Add any garden fresh toppings that your family may like such as onions, green peppers, chopped tomatoes or shredded lettuce.

Scrambled Egg and Chicken Wraps
(Makes: 3 servings)

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3 tablespoons skim or low-fat milk
3 (7- to 9-inch) flour or whole-wheat tortillas
Cooking spray
1/2 cup (about 3 ounces) chopped cooked chicken
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, if desired
3 tablespoons shredded reduced-fat Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
Salsa, taco or pizza sauce


Preparation:
Break eggs into a bowl. Add the milk. Beat the eggs and milk until blended. Set the bowl aside.

Heat tortillas according to package directions. Cover tortillas with a towel to keep them warm.

Coat a 9-inch pan with cooking spray. Heat pan until a few drops of water sizzle in the pan.

Add chicken and chili powder, if desired. Cook and stir the mixture until the chicken is heated all the way through to the middle of each piece, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Pour the egg mixture into the pan over the chicken. The eggs will start to set. Hold a pancake turner upside down and gently pull it across the bottom and sides of the pan. Keep pulling the pancake turner through the eggs and chicken until the eggs are thick and you can’t see any more liquid eggs in the pan. Don’t stir all the time or the eggs will break into tiny pieces. When the eggs are thick and there is no more liquid egg in the pan, remove the pan from the burner.

Spoon the eggs into a 1/3 cup measuring cup. Spoon the eggs into the center of each warm tortilla. Sprinkle each tortilla with 1 tablespoon cheese. Spoon the salsa or taco or pizza sauce on top of the cheese. Add any other toppings you like. Roll up each tortilla.

Nutrition information per serving of 1/3 recipe using 8 inch flour tortilla, 3/8 teaspoon chili powder and Cheddar cheese without salsa or other topping: 273 calories; 12 gm total fat, 243 mg cholesterol, 321 mg sodium, 212 mg potassium, 21 gm protein and 10 percent or more of the RDI for vitamins A and B12, niacin, calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc.

For more egg recipes and quick summer meal ideas visit www.incredibleegg.org.

Courtesy of ARA content
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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.

Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.

The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.

Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is  appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.

Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.

Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.

Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.

The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.

The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.

Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.

Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years. 

He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.

Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.

Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve  a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.

Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.

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