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Tuesday, February 26, 2002

Students are bound to get hungry during those late-night study sessions. Here are a few tasty, nutritious snacks you can whip up in your microwave.

Potato Nachos

1 large Idaho potato, unpeeled and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup taco sauce or salsa
2 tablespoons canned chopped green chilies, drained
3/4 cup (3 ounces) low-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Arrange potato slices in a microwave-safe pie plate or shallow baking dish. Sprinkle slices with salt; brush with half of taco sauce. Cover with microwaveable plastic wrap; microwave at HIGH 4 to 5 minutes, or until potatoes are tender, rotating pie plate a half-turn after 2 minutes.

Brush potato slices with remaining taco sauce. Sprinkle with green chilies, green onions and cheese. Cover and microwave at HIGH 30 seconds or 1 minute, or until cheese melts. Makes 2 servings.

Source: Idaho Potato Board (www.idahopotato.com)

No-Mystery Tuna Melt

1 can tuna, drained
1 piece celery, sliced into little pieces
2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise
1 slice bread
1 slice cheese

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Put the drained tuna and the sliced celery into a bowl and add mayonnaise. Mix it around. (You can eat this on bread, with crackers or by itself.) If your dorm allows toasters, toast a slice of bread. If not, spread the tuna salad on the untoasted bread and cover it with a piece of cheese. Put it on a microwave-safe plate and nuke it for 10 to 20 seconds until the cheese is nicely melted. Before you eat it, make sure it's not hot enough to burn you.

Source: Food Rules! By Bill Haduch (HarperCollins, $10.99)

Easy Microwave Applesauce

Basic Applesauce
8 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Flavorings
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 tsp. ground nutmeg

In 2-qt. microwave-safe dish, combine apples and water. Cover with lid or vented plastic wrap and microwave on HIGH 12 to 14 minutes or until apples are tender. (If microwave does not have a carousel, rotate dish every 4 minutes.) Stir in sugar and choice of flavorings.

Microwave on HIGH 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Stir and set aside to cool before serving. IF finer texture is desired, mash or puree apple mixture and put through a strainer. Makes 4 cups.

Source: Washington Apple Commission