Bringing Healthy Back to Navajo Tacos

Mmm, navajo tacos are so good. Warm, buttery fry bread, covered in slimey chili and salad. When they made these for lunch at my old job I got giddy, I frolicked, I didn't think about how bad they are.

But, I've been thinking about that lately, and have come up with a solution.

Start with a low-cal healthy pita bread such as:The best part about them:This isn't a fancy health-food store item, I got it as Super Wal Mart right next to the unhealthy pitas, and the even more unhealthy tortillas.

Healthier Navajo Taco

5 pita breads
2 c. vegetarian chili (I used a red bean and lentil that they're selling in bulk packages at Costco now - Amazing!)
lettuce (I also mixed some fresh cilantro into my lettuce)
black beans, drained rinsed
corn, drained
tomato
cucumber
guacamole
fat free sour cream
a few tortilla chips for crunch, if desired.

Warm the pita bread in your microwave for 30 seconds, it becomes warm, soft, and pliable. Top the pita with vegetarian chili, and every other awesome taco salad food that you like. Sticking with the healthy theme of the evening, I left the cheese off and used only fat-free sour cream.

*Leave off the sour cream for the lactose-free version.

Happy Cooking!

Fudge

1 stick butter or margarine
1/4 c milk
1 T vanilla
1 lb powdered sugar
1/2 c nuts (optional)
flavoring options: 1/2 c cocoa; 1/4 c peanut butter; 1 t extract (maple, mint, citrus...); basically any flavor or mixture of flavors you want

Melt butter in saucepan on stovetop over medium heat. Whisk in milk, vanilla, & flavoring. Turn to low heat. Whisk in powdered sugar til smooth. Mix in nuts. Pour into buttered 9x9 pan. Chill in refrigerator til firm (or freezer for faster time). Store in refrigerator.

Hominy Ranch Casserole

Hominy Ranch Casserole (from Pass the Plate 8-6-09) I accidentally got hominy instead of corn once, and finally found a recipe to use it with, and we love it! I got this from the can of enchilada sauce.

1 can (30 oz) Golden Hominy, drained
1 can (14 oz) Green Chili Enchilada Sauce
½ cup sour cream
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
2 eggs beaten
1 cup shredded Jalapeno Jack Cheese

---Combine all ingredients, excepting the cheese. Evenly spread mixture in 2 quart baking dish. Top with cheese. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes.

Minute Rice Teriyaki Stir Fry

Minute Rice Teriyaki Stir Fry

• 1 lb stir fry steak, cut into strips


• 2 c. brown Minute Rice


• 1 ¼ c. water


• ½ c. teriyaki sauce


• 3-4 c. fresh vegetables (I used broccoli, carrots, and zucchini)

Using a little cooking spray, brown steak strips in a large frying pan until about medium doneness. Next add water and teriyaki sauce, and return to a boil. Once boiling add minute rice, stirring to mix into liquid. Set veggies on top of meat and rice, cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff all together and serve.

Kim’s notes:

• Adding extra veggies means extra moisture. I cut back the original amount of water, but still there was excess – adjust your recipe according to the amount of veggies you use.


• My boys like their veggies a little softer, so steamed them in the microwave for about 3 minutes before adding them to the rice mixture. For crisper veggies don’t bother steaming.


• This recipe is only as good and flavorful as the teriyaki sauce that you pick, so go for one that is rich and flavorful – I used Soy Vay teriyaki sauce and would recommend it. I don’t know if it’s a national brand, so I’d also recommend Mr. Yoshida’s teriyaki sauce.
  

Happy Cooking!

Chocolate Banana Biscotti

Last weekend I was challenged to cutting eggs out of baking. Since I’d never really thought about taking out eggs I decided to give two of the suggestions a try in one recipe – Chocolate Banana Biscotti. These turned out 100 times better than I ever imagined! First out of the oven they have crip outsides, a warm and chewy inside, and a flavor that is sweet, but not too sweet. I could have eaten them all day, but I stopped myself after two. : )

The best part is the calorie count – I sliced my logs to make 19 cookies, and with a little math I discovered that puts the average sized ones at 93.42 calories. And with the fat corners I cut, the only fat involved is what comes in the original batter, and what’s in the chocolate chips. Not a bad treat!

Chocolate Banana Biscotti

• 1 package banana bread mix (I used Pilsbury)


• 3 Tbs water


• ½ banana, mashed


• 4 oz plain, fat free yogurt


• 2 Tbs natural applesauce


• 2 servings of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I actually counted them so that I could do the calorie math and I used 64)

Combine all wet ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until combined. Add wet ingredients to banana bread mix and stir until mixed. Chop half of the chocolate chip pieces until slivered, then add them and the rest of the chocolate chips to the batter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper. Since I took all of the oil out of the recipe, I sprayed the foil with cooking spray until well coated for ease of removing logs. Divide dough in half and form two rectangular logs (about 4.5 inches x 8 inches) – dough will be sticky, but touchable (use wet hands if needed).

Bake logs for 30 minutes, remove from oven and cookie sheet, and allow to cool on wire racks. Once the logs are cooled cut them into ½ inch strips. Put strips back on the cookie sheet, cut side down, and bake for another 10 minutes. Flip strips to other side and bake another 10 minutes.

Kim’s note: Mine were crisp on the outside with a chewy center using the method described above, but have softened even more as I’ve stored them. If you want them to be truly crispy throughout like a coffee house biscotti, I’d suggest baking the strips longer, but still doing the 10-minute flip so that the edges don’t have the chance to burn.

Happy Cooking!