Orchard Talk

Cherry Chili

Lean ground turkey simmered with fire-roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic, Bell pepper, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, mustard powder and chopped dried cherries

Ingredients:
4 ounces dried tart cherries, chopped (3/4 cup)
2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 roasted red Bell pepper, cut into 1/4″ cubes
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups chopped fire-roasted* tomatoes
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 16-ounce can, rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions:
Heat one cup of the broth. Place cherries in small mixing bowl. Add hot broth and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute for about five minutes or until onion is soft. Add garlic and cook one minute longer. Do not brown garlic. Add turkey and cook until it is no longer pink.

Add roasted Bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, coriander, mustard and oregano. Cook mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally for about two minutes. Add tomatoes and remaining cup of broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes.

Stir in beans, cherries and cilantro. Continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes or until mixture is just heated through. Season with additional salt if desired.

*Used canned fire-roasted tomatoes for optimal flavor; may use regular canned chopped tomatoes

Yield: about 2 quarts or 8 servings

Nutrition Info:
Calories 223, Total Fat g 6, Sat Fat g 2, Chol mg 41, Sodium mg 448, Total Carb g 28, Fiber g 5, Sugars g 14, Protein g 17

Tags: cherry recipes, dried cherries, Powered by Red

Feb. 7 2010
I’m busy with snacks for the super bowl party. The kids love peanuts, dried cherries and chocolate chips for an easy mix. I also made the cherry dumplings with 2 cans of cherries and shortening instead of butter. This recipe seems to be fail proof. Of course we served it warm with a small scoops of vanilla ice cream—great. Eat those cherries!

Tags: dried cherries, snacks

Ellie Krieger is a registered dietitian and host of the Food Network’s “Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger.”  According to Ellie, creating a routine with foods you like is one of the most successful strategies for a long-term, healthful diet plan. And, with heart disease continuing to be the number one killer in America, being able to incorporate heart-healthy foods like cherries into almost any meal or snacktime makes it easy and enjoyable to protect your heart. Substitute any recipes you currently make with berries, from topping your cereal or salad with dried cherries, baking or making yogurt parfaits with frozen cherries. Or, substitute your regular juice by mixing cherry juice  into a smoothie once a day.”

Here is one of Ellie’s heart-healthy and tasty cherry recipes, courtesy of the Cherry Marketing Institute.  Enjoy!

Cherry Pecan Energy Bars

Ingredients:
1 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
¼ cup canola oil
1 large egg, beaten to mix
1 large egg white
3/4 cup chopped dried cherries
½ cup finely chopped pecans
Cooking spray
¼ cup “fruit only” apricot preserves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, wheat germ, cinnamon and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the honey, applesauce, oil, egg and egg white until well combined. Stir in the oatmeal mixture until well combined. Add the dried cherries and pecans.

Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out
clean, 30-35 minutes. Put the preserves in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as the bars come out of the oven, brush with the preserves. Cool completely and cut into 12 bars, about 4 x 1 ½ inches each. Makes 12 servings

Nutrition Info:
230 calories, 10 g total fat, 1 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat, 34 g carbohydrate, 20 mg cholesterol, 4 g protein, 3 g fiber, 60 mg sodium

“Ellie Krieger is a registered dietitian specializing in nutrition and health communications, and author of The Foods You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life. She also is the host of the Food Network’s “Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger” and is a regular contributor to nutrition columns in major women’s and parenting magazines. Krieger says the homegrown advantage, coupled with powerful health benefits, make cherries “America’s Super Fruit.”

“Cherries offer some of the most important attributes people are seeking in their foods today. While exotic berries may be ‘trendy,’ as a chef and dietitian I choose cherries, an all-American favorite, because they deliver a powerful combination of good nutrition, local sourcing and environmental sustainability.”

Ingredients

Nutritional Information

One serving contains the following:
Calories (kcal) 284.77
% Calorie from Fat 62.5
Fat (g) 19.78
Saturated Fat (g) 2.01
Cholesterol (mg) 0
Carbohydrates (g) 24.75
Dietary Fiber (g) 6.09
Total Sugars (g) 14.37
Net Carbs (g) 18.66
Protein (g) 4.51

Tags: dried cherries, gala apples, Recipes

National Pie Championship: Best of Show in the Professional division

Linda Hundt, owner of the Sweetie-licious Pie Pantry in DeWitt, Michigan

Crust:

• 1 ½ cups of flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ cup Crisco shortening

Mix all ingredients in a stand mixer on medium speed swiftly until crust appears “pea like.”   Carefully sprinkle ice cold water in crust mix until it just starts to be fully moistened and gathers together.  Pat into disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least one half hour.  Roll out on floured surface and make and crimp piecrust.  Freeze until ready to use.

Filling:

• 4 ½ cups Montmorency tart cherries –frozen*
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ½ tsp real almond extract
• 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• ½  tsp orange zest
• ½ cup dried Michigan cherries
• 1 ½ cups of frozen blueberries

Combine frozen cherries, dried cherries, sugar, cornstarch.  Stir constantly on med-hi heat until boiling.  Boil for one minute or until thickened. Add almond extract, lemon juice and zest.  Pour blueberries in bottom of pie shell and pour cherry mixture over them.

Crumb Topping

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 stick butter softened

Mix together all crumb topping ingredients by hand or a pastry blender until crumbly.

Cover filling with crumb topping.  Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to one hour or until filling is bubbling over crust.

*Note:  We ship IQF (individually quick frozen) tart cherries during the winter months. Please call 1-877-937-5464 if you’d like information. If you can’t get the frozen cherries, canned tart cherries packed in water make an excellent and affordable substitute.

In Susan Selasky’s Detroit Free Press article, she wrote, “Some people wouldn’t dream of cooking with Honeycrisp apples because they are best eaten out of hand. But for this recipe I wanted to capture those sweet Honeycrisp juices to add moisture and flavor to the stuffing and sweetness to the cream sauce.”

The only thing I would try differently with this recipe is to substitute dried cherries for the optional golden raisins. Dried cherries are an excellent complement to both pork and stuffing, and impart much more flavor than raisins. As John likes to say, “they make ordinary stuffing an event!”

Stuffing
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/3 cup diced onion
• 1/3 cup diced celery
• 2 cups dried bread cubes (or small croutons)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup diced apple
• 1/4 cup golden raisins (or dried cherries), optional
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped sage leaves or 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth

Pork
• 4 bone-in pork chops (at least 1-inch-thick), about 2 pounds trimmed of fat
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped pecans
• 1 large apple (such as Honeycrisp), peeled, diced
• 1/2 cup fat-free or regular half-and-half mixed with 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
To make the stuffing: In a large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Scrape into a bowl and add the bread cubes, salt and pepper, apple, raisins if using, and sage.
Lightly moisten with the broth, mix thoroughly and set aside.
To prepare the pork: Cut a 2-inch-wide slit in the side of the chop opposite the bone, cutting almost but not all the way through, making a pocket. Evenly divide the stuffing mixture and stuff it in each chop. Do not overstuff the chops or the stuffing will fall out. You may have some left over that you can serve on the side. You can secure the pocket closed with toothpicks if needed.
Season both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chops and brown on one side, about 3 minutes. Carefully turn and brown on the other side. Transfer pork chops (set skillet aside) to a baking dish and cover with foil. Bake about 40 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chops, or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 155 degrees. Remove from oven and keep covered.
In the same skillet the chops were browned in, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the pecans and saute 2 minutes. Add the diced apple and saute until it caramelizes. Reduce the heat slightly and slowly whisk in the half-and-half and maple syrup.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the sauce with some of the diced apples and pecans over each pork chop and serve.

Per serving: 398 calories (57 percent from fat ), 25 g fat (6 g saturated fat ), 25 g carbohydrates , 19 g protein , 396 mg sodium , 61 mg cholesterol ,3 g fiber.

recipe courtesy of Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 strips of bacon, finely diced
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup (about 1/3 pound) chopped butternut squash
2/3 cup dried tart cherries
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary or sage leaves, chopped
3 tablespoons almonds or pecans, toasted and finely ground
3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
3 tablespoons or more chicken or vegetable broth, if necessary
Salt and pepper to taste (used 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper)

Directions:
Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove to a large mixing bowl. Add butter, onion and squash to bacon drippings. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until squash is semi-soft. Add cherries and rosemary; continue cooking until squash is soft.

Add squash mixture to bacon. Stir in nuts and bread crumbs. Mix thoroughly. Add broth, one tablespoon at a time, if dressing is dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serving suggestion: Use to stuff pork chops or pork tenderloin. This is also a good stuffing for chicken breasts or Cornish hens.

Makes 1 1/2 cups or 6 (1/4 cup) servings.

Nutrition Info:
Nutrition Facts per 1/4-cup serving: 189 cal., 11 g total fat (5 g sat. fat), 20 g carbo., 20 mg chol., 3 g pro., 2 g fiber, 244 mg sodium. Daily RDA values: 100% vit. A, 15% vit. C, 4% calcium, 6% iron.

Tags: butternut squash, cherry recipes, dried cherries, michigan cherries, Our Websites, tart cherries

Ingredients

Tags: cherry bars, cherry recipes, dried cherries, healthy cherry recipes, Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pound raw unsalted peanuts
• 1 tablespoon mild chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground white pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp cayenne
• 8 ounces King Orchards dried tart cherries

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the peanuts and stir to coat with the melted butter.
2. Mix together the chili powder, cumin, pepper, salt, oregano and cayenne in a small bowl; reserve.
3. Place the peanuts on a large sheet pan and lightly toast in a preheated 300°F oven for about 10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Transfer the peanuts to a large bowl and coat with the dry ingredients. Mix in the cherries until uniformly blended.

Storage: Store the nut mixture in an airtight container.

Adapted The Culinary Institute of America, Hors d’oeuvre at Home (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007)

1 tablespoon dried tart cherries

1 small onion

1 clove garlic

3 tablespoons fruit-flavored vinegar

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon honey

1/3 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Chop cherries, onion and garlic in food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Add fruit-flavored vinegar, orange juice and honey; puree. With food processor on, slowly add olive oil; mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tags: Cherries, cherry recipes, dried cherries, michigan, michigan cherries, tart cherries, tart cherry recipes