Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

My neighbor gave me some fresh rhubarb and I decided to make something with it. I never had rhubarb in my life so I decided on something I've heard of before - strawberry rhubarb pie. I had no experience with rhubarb, so I ended up looking up how big I should chop it even. It was fun. I decided I was too lazy to make my own pie crust so I bought the frozen pre-made dough at Trader Joe's. It's awesome - pretty close to homemade and the ingredients list was a lot more natural that they stuff they sell at Ralph's. Mike was a fan. We whipped up some fresh whipped cream and indulged!

Ingredients

•     1 cup white sugar
•     1/2 cup all-purpose flour
•     1 pound fresh rhubarb, chopped
•     2 pints fresh strawberries
•     1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
•     2 tablespoons butter
•     1 egg yolk
•     2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.     In a large bowl, mix flour and sugar. Add strawberries and chopped rhubarb. Toss with sugar and flour and let stand for 30 minutes.
3.     Pour filling into pie crust. Dot top with butter, and cover with top crust. Seal edges of top and bottom crust with water.
4.     Apply yolk to top of pie, using a pastry brush. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut small holes in top to let steam escape.
5.     Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C), for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly and brown. Cool on rack.

Pie Tips

• Definitely let the mixture from step 2 above stand for at least 30 minutes. You will see the fruit absorb all that flour and sugar.
• Try brushing the bottle of the pie crust w/ egg before putting the fruit mixture in. This will help it from getting too soggy.
• After the pie is done, turn off the oven and leave it in there for 20 minutes to avoid a runny pie. This will help it dry out and gel up...if that makes sense.
• Take out the pie and cool on a rack completely before cutting into it.

Crispy Baked Flautas

I'm always a little skeptical when a recipe is a healthy version of something I shamefully enjoy. I took a chance on it, and what do you know? It actually tastes good! Eric confirmed it (and he hates anything labeled "low fat"... each flauta is a little over 150 calories!).

I made the chicken and the spinach filling ahead of time and I just roll and bake when I'm ready to eat! I tweaked the original ingredients a little, but the great thing about this is that you really can fill the flautas with anything you want! 

Ingredients

-1 pound boneless, skinless Chicken breasts

-1 can chicken stock

-2 cups Water

-1 teaspoon Paprika

-1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

-1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

-1 teaspoon ground Cumin

-1 teaspoon Chili Powder

-2 tablespoon chopped jalepenos (I used the pickled kind)

-3 cups Baby Spinach, chopped

-5 burrito-size Flour Tortillas (9 inches)

-6 ounces Queso Quesadilla or other melting cheese, shredded

-1 tablespoon Olive Oil, or cooking spray

Directions

-Preheat the oven to 450*F.

-Put the chicken in a deep sided saute pan and cover with the beer and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the liquid and shred it. Mix together the chicken and seasonings.

-Pour out all but 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the jalapeno and spinach and cook over low heat until for 2-3 minutes, or until the spinach is wilted.

-Cut the tortillas in half. Spoon 1/10th of the chicken (about 1 tablespoon) along the long edge of a tortilla. Repeat with the spinach and cheese. Roll the tortilla up, starting with the straight edge. Place seam-side down on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

-Brush the flautas with olive oil or spray with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn them over and bake for until 10 minutes, or until crispy (I baked for 7 mins on each side and it was plenty crispy). 

Serve with salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole. Enjoy!!