School foodservice professionals across the country jumped at the chance to share their favorite Idahopotato breakfast recipes in the Idaho Potato Commission’s (IPC) first “Wake Up to Excellence” 2011 Recipe Contest.

Stephen Ganser, General Manager at Metz Culinary Management in Elliottsburg, Pennsylvania, won an all-expense-paid trip to the 2011 School Nutrition Association’s Annual Conference (July 10 – 13) for his winning recipe, Idaho Potato Cheesy Biscuit Scramble, a power-packed breakfast that will jump start any student’s day.
“The recipes we received were innovative, delicious and certainly appealing to students of all grades,” says Don Odiorne, vice president, foodservice, IPC. “With the USDA considering a cut back in the number of times potatoes can be served in schools each week, the contest clearly demonstrated how important potatoes are to school foodservice operators from both cost and nutrition perspectives.

“Using thoughtful cooking techniques and healthy added ingredients, potato usage in schools shouldn’t be limited at all,” Odiorne says.

Idaho Potato Cheesy Biscuit Scramble is an easy-to-prepare, “sure-to-be-a-hit” breakfast item that provides a combination of protein and carbohydrates that students need to fuel their bodies and minds.

Muffin tins filled with dough rounds are stuff with scrambled eggs, crisp turkey bacon, and Idahopotato hashbrowns, then mixed with peppers and onions and topped off with a light sprinkle of cheese.

The Wake Up to Excellence 2011 Recipe Contest was open to school foodservice professionals only. Recipes had to include fresh or value-added frozen, refrigerated, or dehydrated processed Idahopotatoes and conform to federal nutrition standards and costs for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. The contest ran from February 1, 2011, through May 31, 2011.

One grand prize winner received airfare, hotel accommodations, and admission to the annual School Nutrition Association’s Conference in Nashville, Tenneessee. Five honorable mention winners were each awarded $250, and all entrants received an Idaho Potato Spuddy Buddy puppet.

The five honorable mentions include:

• Minnie Batten’s Low-Sodium Breakfast Taco (ShawneeHigh School, Shawnee, Oklahoma)
• Sonny Burns’ Breakfast Lasagna (Franklin Regional, Murrysville, Pennsylvania)
• Judith Diane Davis’ Sizzling Spuds (MecklenburgCounty, Charlotte, North Carolina)
• Sylvia Kravitz’s Potato Sun Blast (San Diego, California)
• Jo Ann Moor’s Eye Popping Potatoes (ShawneeSchool District, Shawnee, Oklahoma)