Weekly Recipe #125: Garden Fresh Green Tomato Pie

Over the coming weeks, the recipes come from Ashley Majer, a nutrition student at St. Catherine University. Ashley became involved with Open Arms last fall when her Food Service Management class participated each week in our morning pack-out. Since then, she's continued volunteering in the kitchen, at the farm and by submitting some of her favorite recipes, like this one below.

Garden Fresh Green Tomato Pie

Ingredients:

Filling

· 5 -7 medium green tomatoes
· 2 small red apples
· 2 tablespoons lemon juice
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1 cinnamon stick
· 3/4 cup brown sugar
· 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
· 2 tablespoons cornstarch
· 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Pie crust

· 2 cups flour
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
· 1 cup solid vegetable shortening
· 1/2 cup ice water

Preparation:
Prepare pie crust by mixing together salt flour and sugar. Knead in vegetable shortening while slowly adding water. Once mixed thoroughly, wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for a hour while preparing filling. 

Wash and slice green tomatoes and apples and put in sauce pan with salt, cinnamon stick and lemon juice. Cook tomato mixture over low heat, constantly stirring. Combine brown and granulated sugar and cornstarch; stir into tomato mixture. Cook the mixture until saucy while still having chunks. Add butter while continuing to stir. Once butter is melted and combined, remove from heat, and let stand to cool while preparing pie pan.

Remove pie dough from fridge and set aside ¼ of your ball. Roll out the larger dough ball and line a 9 inch pie pan. Pour in tomato mixture.

Roll out the smaller dough ball for the top of your pie (you could also cut it into strips), cover and seal edges. If the top is solid, cut several small slits in crust to allow steam to escape. 

Bake at 435° for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Weekly Recipe #124: Savory Breakfast Bread

Open Arms chef, Rita Panton, designed this delightful breakfast bread for our clients during the last rotation of menus. The results are pouring in: EVERYONE LOVES IT. We've had such an overwhelming response for the recipe, we're including it here.

Savory Breakfast Bread 

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 can (15 oz) creamed corn
1/2 cup scallions, finely chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheeses
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 bacon, minced
1/2 green chilies, minced (optional)

**ADDENDUM: the last two ingredients are as follows**
1/2 cup bacon, cooked and minced
1/2 cup green chilies, minced (optional)


Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in cream corn, cheeses, scallions, chilies & bacon.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to corn mixture; stir until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Weekly Recipe #123: Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

by Gwenda Hill, Open Arms Registered Dietitian

I discovered this recipe back when I was in college when I needed a dish for a pot luck party. During those years, anything fresh or healthy was a luxury, so everyone loved it. Today it is still one of my favorites-- and BONUS-- little kids love it too! It can be used as an appetizer, snack or dessert. The fresh fruit is loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, which always makes your body smile!


Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

2 Kiwis, peeled
1- 16oz carton of strawberries
1- 8oz carton of raspberries
2 apples, peeled and cored
1 mango, peeled
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
10 tortillas
Cooking spray or melted butter
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon


Salsa Directions:

1. Dice all fruit into little pieces. Mix together in a bowl.

2. Whisk the sugar and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Pour over fruit and stir.

3. Refrigerate for a minimum of 15 minutes.

4. Stir before serving.


Cinnamon Chip Directions:

5. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

6. Mix sugar and cinnamon together.

7. Coat each tortilla with cooking spray or melted butter.

8. Sprinkle desired amount of the cinnamon sugar mixture on each tortilla.

9. Cut each tortilla into 6 wedges. Place on baking sheet in a single layer.

10. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes.


Serve the chilled salsa and cinnamon chips together. If you don’t have time to make the cinnamon chips, use graham crackers or cinnamon pita chips instead. The real feature here is the fruit!

Weekly Recipe #122: Warm Potato Salad

By Rylee Ahnen, University of Minnesota Nutrition Major

As the warm weather finally holds, I think most of us are trying to spend as much time as we can grilling out with family and friends. A staple of these outdoor gatherings (at least for my family) is a large bowl of potato salad. It’s hard to believe that I might want something other than my Grandma Ozanich’s German Potato Salad, but a recipe I found in Fine Cooking last month might have me hooked on something new.

Instead of covering the potatoes with a heavy mayonnaise-based sauce, the recipe keeps the potato salad light and fresh placing more emphasis on seasonings than a traditional potato salad. It’s good for you and it’s tasty too. I love it.


Warm Potato Salad

Ingredients:

1 ¾ lb. Baby Red Potatoes (Sliced ¼ Inch Thick)
1 large Lemon
2 large Garlic Cloves (Finely Chopped)
1 cup Parsley
1 cup Basil
½ cup Chives (Thinly Sliced)
6 Tbsp. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Black Pepper
Salt



Directions:

1. Fit a large pot with a vegetable steamer and place the potatoes in an even layer. Sprinkle the potatoes with ½ tsp. salt.

2. Steam the potatoes for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl.

4. Grate the zest from the lemon into a food processor (or blender) and add the garlic. Pulse a few times.

5. Add the herbs to the food processor (or blender) and pulse until the mixture is course.

6. Add the Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp black pepper to the mixture and continue to pulse until the dressing is consistent (10-12 times). Scrape down the sides as needed.

7. Add 3 Tbsp. lemon juice to the dressing mixture and pulse one more time.

8. Toss the potatoes in the dressing and serve warm.

Weekly Recipe #121: Fouth of July – Red, White and Blue Food Fun

by Open Arms Registered Dietitian, Gwen Hill

It’s time to celebrate our country’s independence and all of those that fight hard to keep us free. As you dress in red, white and blue for the annual cookout, consider dressing up your food too. Here are a few ideas to make the menu more festive this year:

Potato Salad- when making your coveted potato salad recipe, trade out your regular potatoes for equal parts red, white and blue (purple) potatoes.

Festive Green Salad- Using romaine lettuce as a base, top with strawberries, blueberries and feta cheese.

Kebabs- Alternate cubed chicken breast, blue (purple) potatoes, onions, cherry tomatoes, and red peppers on a skewer and grill.

Bomb Pops- Remember Bomb Pops? The red, white and blue sugary, juicy popsicles found in every ice cream truck? Here is a variation of the classic—slightly healthier and definitely heartier. All you need is a blender, a freezer and a little time. 

Adapted from the honest fare recipe found at honestfare.com. 

Ingredients: 
Makes 10 popsicles
10- 9 oz Dixie cups
10 Popsicle sticks
2 cups strawberries
2 cups cranberry juice
1.5 quarts frozen yogurt
2 cups milk or soy milk
1 cup blueberries


Directions:

1. Blend strawberries and juice together until they create a puree consistency. 
2. Fill 1/3 of each Dixie cup with the strawberry puree.
3. Place in the freezer for 45 minutes, until they are partially frozen.
4. While the first section is freezing, blend 1 part milk with 3 parts frozen yogurt or ice cream. Blend until it’s nice and runny like a milk shake (add more milk if needed).
5. Pour 2-3 TBSP on top of the frozen juice to create a layered look- the juice should be frozen enough to support the weight of the milk/yogurt mixture. (and if not, it will still look swirly and pretty!)
6. Submerge a few blueberries into the milkshake part of each cup. 
7. Put a stick in each cup and place in the freezer. 
8. Freeze for at least an hour. 
9. To serve: Take the cups out of the freezer and let them sit for a few minutes until you are able to pull the popsicle out of the cup. Enjoy!