Cooking up Change at Home: Roasted Corn Relish and Deconstructed Peach and Yogurt Pizza

February 16, 2016 | Written By: Healthy Schools Campaign

Ever wish you could try the winning dishes from Cooking up Change? Well, here’s your chance. Each month, we’ll share a Cooking up Change recipe so you can try the meal at home and taste firsthand how these students are changing the future of school food.

Healthy Schools Campaign’s Cooking up Change contest challenges high school culinary students to create a healthy and delicious school meal that can be served in a school cafeteria. Cooking up Change is not only fun and educational, it also adds student voices to the national conversation about school food. Through Cooking up Change, these young chefs do more than sharpen their culinary skills; they develop leadership, public speaking and team building skills and create relationships and networks that will last a lifetime.

Today, we present the two side dishes from the 2015 Cooking up Change Chicago winners from Washington High School: Jalize, Marshawn, Natalie and Neidy. These fantastic sides—along with the main dish of Cajun Chicken Lettuce Wrap—wowed the judges at the 2015 Cooking up Change Chicago competition. On Wednesday, the meal will be served to all 400,000 Chicago Public Schools students!  

Roasted Corn Relish
Ingredients:

• 4 cups frozen corn
• 1 cup diced green pepper
• ½ cup canned jalapeño slices, drained
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon bottled lime juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread corn on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes or until dark and golden.
2. Place diced green pepper on a second baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, drain and chop jalapeño slices.
4. In a bowl, mix all ingredients together (including the lime juice) and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Deconstructed Peach and Yogurt Pizza
Ingredients:

• 1 frozen, par-baked pizza crust
• 2 cups canned, diced peaches
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 ounces vanilla yogurt

Directions:

1. Cut pizza dough into quarters. Put three of the quarters back in the freezer to use another time.
2. Spray remaining ¼ pizza dough with pan spray then sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. Bake dough at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Cut pizza dough into four equal pieces. Set aside.
4. In a small pot, combine peaches (with juice), the remaining ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and all of the nutmeg. Simmer 5 to 7 minutes, until slightly thickened and heated through..
5. Scoop ¼ of the peach mixture into a cup. Top with ¼ of the yogurt. Repeat with three more cups.
6. Wedge one piece of pizza crust into each cup. Serve and enjoy!

Makes 4 servings