Recipes for Fresh-Picked Produce
We (in rural MN) are lucky, and a bit spoiled, with the locally grown fresh fruits, veggies and flowers available at the farmers markets and food stands!
Nothing beats fresh-picked corn on the cob or green beans, just to name a few.
Take advantage of the local markets and stands! We are thankful for these people that do the hard work that we all get to enjoy!
Farmers Market Enchiladas
Prep Time: 30 min.
Cook Time: 45 min.
Servings: 7
3 med. zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms
8 oz. cherry tomatoes
1 T. olive oil
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 C. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 C. crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese, divided
1/2 C. minced fresh cilantro, divided
2 T. lime juice
14 corn tortillas (6 in.), warmed
1 can (15 oz.) enchilada sauce
Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine zucchini, poblano, mushrooms and tomatoes; drizzle with oil and sprinkle with cumin, salt and cayenne. Toss to coat. Divide vegetable mixture between 2 lightly greased 15x10x1-in. baking pans. Roast 15 min.; rotate the pans top to bottom. Roast an additional 10 min. or until the vegetables are tender. Return to bowl and cool slightly.
Stir in Monterey Jack cheese, 1/2 C. queso fresco, 1/4 C. cilantro and lime juice. Place a scant 1/2 C. vegetable mixture off center on each tortilla. Roll up and place in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish, seam side down. Top with enchilada sauce; sprinkle with the remaining queso fresco.
Bake, uncovered, until the enchiladas are heated through and cheese is melted, about 20 min. Top with remaining cilantro.
Farmers Market Pasta
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: 20 min.
Servings: 6
9 oz. uncooked whole wheat linguine
1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 med. carrots, thinly sliced
1 sm. red onion, chopped
2 med. zucchini or yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
1/2 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 C. half-and-half cream
2/3 C. reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 C. frozen petite peas
2 C. cubed fully cooked ham
2 T. julienned fresh basil
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese
Optional: Additional fresh basil and Parmesan cheese
In a 6-qt. stockpot, cook linguine according to package directions, adding asparagus and carrots during the last 3-5 min. of cooking. Drain; return to pot.
Place a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir 3 min. Add squash, mushrooms and garlic; cook and stir until crisp-tender, 4-5 min.
Add cream and broth; bring to a boil, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until sauce is thickened slightly, about 5 min. Stir in peas, ham, basil and pepper; heat through.
Add to linguine mixture; stir in cheese. If desired, top with additional basil and cheese.
Zucchini Pizza Casserole
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: 40 min.
Servings: 8
4 C. shredded unpeeled zucchini
1/2 tsp. salt
2 lg. eggs
1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese
2 C. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 C. chopped onion
1 can (15 oz.) Italian tomato sauce
1 med. green or sweet red pepper, chopped
Preheat oven to 400°. Place zucchini in colander; sprinkle with salt. Let stand 10 min., then squeeze out moisture.
Combine zucchini with eggs, Parmesan and half the mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Press into a greased 13x9-in. or 3-qt. baking dish. Bake 20 min.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, breaking meat into crumbles; drain. Add tomato sauce; spoon over zucchini mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; add green pepper. Bake until heated through, about 20 min. longer.
Balsamic Green Bean Salad
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: 10 min.
Servings: 16
2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
1/4 C. olive oil
3 T. lemon juice
3 T. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 lg. red onion, chopped
4 C. cherry tomatoes, halved
1 C. (4 oz.) crumbled feta cheese
Place beans in a 6-qt. stockpot; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Cook, covered, 8-10 min. or until crisp-tender. Drain and immediately place in ice water. Drain and pat dry.
In a small bowl, whisk oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, garlic powder, mustard and pepper. Drizzle over beans. Add onion; toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hour. Just before serving, stir in tomatoes and cheese.
Crisp Cucumber Salsa
Prep Time: 20 min
Yield: 2-1/2 cups
2 C. finely chopped cucumber, peeled and seeded
1/2 C. finely chopped seeded tomato
1/4 C. chopped red onion
2 T. minced fresh parsley
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4-1/2 tsp. minced fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 C. reduced-fat sour cream
1-1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
Baked tortilla chip scoops
In a small bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin and seasoned salt. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with chips.
Colorful Corn Salsa
Prep Time: 30 min.
Cook Time: 20 min.
Yield: 2-1/2 cups
2 med. ears sweet corn in husks
2 med. tomatoes, chopped
1 sm. onion, chopped
2 T. minced fresh cilantro
1 T. lime juice
1 T. finely chopped green pepper
1 T. finely chopped sweet red pepper
1 tsp. minced seeded jalapeno pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
Tortilla chips
Peel back husks of corn but don’t remove; remove silk. Replace husks and tie with kitchen string. Place corn in a bowl and cover with water; soak for 20 minutes. Drain. Grill corn, covered, over medium-high heat for 20-35 minutes or until husks are blackened and corn is tender, turning several times. Cool.
Remove corn from cobs and place in a bowl. Add tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice, peppers, salt and pepper. Serve with tortilla chips.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: 20 min.
Servings: 10
1/3 C. creamy peanut butter
1/4 C. butter, softened
1 C. packed brown sugar
1-1/2 C. all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 lg. egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 C. buttermilk
1 C. shredded zucchini
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 C. semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream peanut butter, butter and brown sugar until blended. In another bowl, whisk 1-1/4 C. flour, salt and baking soda; add to creamed mixture. Beat just until mixture is sandy. Remove 1/2 C. crumb mixture for topping.
To remaining mixture, beat in remaining flour, egg, vanilla and buttermilk. Stir in zucchini. Spread into a greased 9-in. round baking pan. Stir cinnamon into reserved topping. Sprinkle over batter; top with chocolate chips.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs, 20-25 min. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
Warm Peach Cake
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: 40 min.
Servings: 12
1/2 C. butter, softened
3/4 C. sugar
1 lg. egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1-1/4 C. all-purpose flour
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 C. buttermilk
Peaches:
3 T. packed brown sugar
1 T. butter, melted
2 C. sliced peeled fresh peaches
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy, 5-7 min. Beat in egg, vanilla extract and almond extract. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Pour batter into a greased 9-in. springform pan.
In a large bowl, stir together brown sugar and butter to form a wet paste. Stir in peaches. Spoon peach mixture evenly over top of cake batter.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40-45 min. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove sides of springform pan. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Raspberry Pie Squares
Prep Time: 40 min.
Cook Time: 40 min.
Servings: 24
3-3/4 C. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 C. cold butter
1/2 to 1 C. cold water
Filling:
2 C. sugar
2/3 C. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
8 C. fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries
1 T. lemon juice
5 tsp. heavy whipping cream
1 T. coarse sugar
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball.
Divide dough in half so that one portion is slightly larger than the other; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1-1/4 hrs. or until easy to handle.
Preheat oven to 375°. Roll out larger portion of dough between two large sheets of waxed paper into a 17x12-in. rectangle. Transfer to an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Press pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of pan; trim pastry even with edges.
Filling: in a large bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Add raspberries and lemon juice; toss to coat. Spoon over pastry.
Roll out remaining pastry; place over filling. Trim and seal edges. Cut slits in pastry. Brush top with cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares.
Quote of the Week:
“No one can believe that God is not good when the August gardens are in their heyday.”
~ Gladys Taber
