Baked Taco Pie

Baked Taco Pie
 with Fat Free Sour Cream on Top

Scrolling through my Twitter feed a couple of weeks ago I spied an interesting recipe from Kraft Foods.  The foodie photo looked so good!  Scanning the ingredients I discovered we like each one!  It looked easy to prepare.  Even the name had the word easy in it!  Easy is good!  It didn't take long to decide this entree would be in our oven later in the week.  It was a Baked Taco Pie!

Tortillas & the filling mixture are layered before baking.  The best casserole baking dish I have to use here was my smaller square rose colored Pyrex baking dish.  That worked great!      

These days I'm substituting Ground Turkey for Ground Beef whenever possible in recipes.  Ohhh, cholesterol has a background with my family.  Genes play a role & choices also play a role! 

So, I've changed the original recipe a bit & we totally liked it!  Yes, servings remained after dinner & they seasoned very well for 2 days when we enjoyed this entree again for dinner.  Tortillas are layered here, so it is filling.  Try it, you'll like it!

Baked Taco Pie
          inspired by Kraft  Foods

Oven Temperature:  375°F        Time:  25- 30 Minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb. Ground Turkey
1 Tablespoon Chopped Onion (dehydrated)
1 teaspoon Chili Powder (more if desired)
Sprinkle of Dried Basil & Sprinkle of Dried Oregano
1 can (14.5 ounces) Diced Tomatoes, drained
1 pkg. (10 ounce) Frozen Mixed Vegetables (Corn, Carrots, Peas, Green Beans), thawed & defrosted
(5) 6 inch Tortillas
1 Cup Low Fat Shredded Cheese
Low Fat Sour Cream

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Brown Ground Turkey in skillet, drain any fat.
3. Add Chopped Onions, Chili Powder, Dried Basil & Oregano to skillet, stir.
4. Add drained Diced Tomatoes & Corn Mixed Veggies, stir.
5. Cook for 5 Minutes.
6.  Spray casserole baking dish with PAM.
7. Place 1 Tortilla on bottom. 
8. Place 1/3 of filling mixture on top, spreading evenly.
9. Then, place 2 Tortillas on filling mixture.
10. Layer another 1/3 mixture on, topping with 1/2 Cup Shredded Cheese.
11. Place 2 Tortillas on top, then filling & sprinkle on Shredded Cheese.
12. Bake 25- 30 Minutes in 375°F oven.
13. Cut & serve with Low Fat Sour Cream.

Tomorrow we will be enjoying a Chicken dish in my Slow Cooker!

Enjoy!
Yummy!

           

Fantastic French Toast

Last Friday morning I envisioned eating French Toast topped with maple syrup for breakfast. Now, I was not planning on taking the milk and the eggs from our fridge to make this breakfast. My plan included the simple act of searching in my freezer to locate Raisin Cinnamon French Toast and heating it in our microwave. Well, that was not in the cards! An additional item was quickly added to my grocery list – Pepperidge Farm Raisin Cinnamon Bread.

On Saturday morning the milk and the eggs were located in our fridge and the griddle was heated. Golden, delicious, sweet Fantastic French Toast was on our breakfast table. Yes, there were extra pieces. After they cooled, each piece was placed in a sandwich bag. The sandwich bags were then placed in a Ziploc Freezer Bag, labelled and stored in the freezer.

***For many years I prepared this scrumptious breakfast using Cinnamon Bread. However, one day my son suggested I just try making it with Raisin Cinnamon Bread. Raisins are tops in my family, as you can guess. I used the bread containing the raisins and found it top notch French Toast. From then on Raisin Cinnamon Bread it was!

There will be another busy morning when I will search for French Toast in our freezer. On that morning the microwave will help with another very tasty breakfast. Yummy!

When making Fantastic French Toast, I use Egg Whites to cut back on the cholesterol. Click here for printable recipe card.

Fantastic French Toast

Ingredients
(1) Loaf Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Bread or Raisin Cinnamon Bread
(2) Whole Eggs
(8) Eggs Whites
(1) Cup Milk (I use Soy or 1% Milk)

Method
1. Place Whole Eggs and Egg Whites in a rectangular container and beat with a fork. (I use a 1 & ½ Qt. CorningWare container.)
2. While beating mixture add in Milk and continue beating to combine.
3. Heat non-stick griddle or skillet on medium heat.
4. Dunk each bread slice in mixture coating both sides and then place on the griddle. (Two or three browning at once)
5. The underside will be golden brown when it is time to turn the bread slice over with a spatula.
6. Turn over and brown other side.
7. Serve with Maple Syrup.

Enjoy!
Yummy!

Fantastic French Toast

At breakfast time on Saturday morning the aroma of cinnamon filled my kitchen. To my family it was a clue that we would be enjoying Fantastic French Toast (click on link). Preparing French Toast with Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Bread is very easy. Keeping in mind that two egg whites equals one whole egg when cooking, I prepared a breakfast with less cholesterol. It is also one of our favorites.

After we had eaten, the extra slices of delicious Fantastic French Toast were packaged and placed in our freezer. On a busier morning they will be reheated in the microwave.

One year my son had a wonderful suggestion – use Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Raisin Bread rather than plain cinnamon bread. I used the idea. Ah, that is so tasty!

Does your family enjoy French Toast? Surprise them on a weekend morning with Fantastic French Toast.

Enjoy!
Yummy!

Is It Blueberry Season, Yet?

Yes, blueberry season is definitely here! The cultivated, ripened, juicy blueberries are now ready to be picked at local farms in Western Massachusetts! Our delicious winter supply of the blue, tasty, nutritious berries were prepared and frozen yesterday.

This morning we enjoyed a hearty breakfast of Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes! (Click on bolded words.) The addition of ¼ tsp. of nutmeg to the batter before placing the batter on the grill resulted in scrumptious pancakes. Topped with a little maple syrup – Yummy! The extra pancakes were placed in our freezer. It is always a wonderful surprise in the morning to open the freezer door and locate them!

Two batches of the Blueberry Freezer Jam are now sitting undisturbed on our table. Today was also a day to make the Freezer Jam. Tomorrow afternoon (after the required 24 hours) the containers will be placed in our freezer next to the Strawberry Freezer Jam. Each batch was prepared carefully and separately.

Enjoying a handful of fresh, mouth-watering, ripe, washed blueberries is part of summer. There may be some fresh berries left in our refrigerator to make Blueberry Delisimo or Yummy Blueberry Muffins. Have you had the opportunity to bake them? Share your comments with us by clicking on Comments.

After blueberry season has passed, we can enjoy our supply in our freezer.

Yummy!

Strawberry Season

Around lunchtime today my husband & I decided to drive to the local strawberry fields to purchase some quarts of strawberries. We would prepare and freeze them to enjoy later this year. There are times when every day aches encourage an individual to seek another method of undertaking a mission. The mission was placing prepared bags of strawberries in our freezer and making freezer jam tomorrow. All year we enjoy defrosted strawberries as a topping on Awesome Oatmeal Pancakes or Strawberry Freezer Jam on toast or with Yummy Yogurt. A supply of strawberries was needed, but purchasing the red, ripened, fresh fruit was a better option for us than picking the berries ourselves.

At Meadowbrook Farm in East Longmeadow, MA we purchased an overflowing 8-quart container for $28. Individual quarts were also available for $4.50/quart. Later this afternoon after some prep work, eleven Ziploc packages containing the newly picked, fragrant, luscious berries were placed on the top shelf of our freezer. Tomorrow, the first batch of Strawberry Freezer Jam will be prepared. Next week we will return to Meadowbrook Farm to purchase another flat of the fresh, red, juicy, delicious strawberries. Yes, we also enjoy eating them, now. Summer is here!

Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes

Awesome Oatmeal Pancakes are light, nutritious and delicious! These yummy pancakes are made in two easy steps. Last night, I prepared Step 1 in the process of making the AWESOME OATMEAL PANCAKES for our breakfast this morning. After completing Step 2 this morning, I poured the batter onto my griddle and added a few BLUEBERRIES on the top of each pancake. What a scrumptious addition! Served with a little maple syrup this is a wonderful breakfast.

I am continuing my quest to lower my cholesterol level even more and still eat a breakfast containing oats every other day, because it has worked for me. Rather than use whole eggs in this recipe, I also substituted Egg Whites. So … I used 4 Egg Whites, remembering that 1 Whole Egg equals 2 Egg Whites.

We did have extra pancakes - After the leftover pancakes cooled, each pancake was placed in a “sandwich bag” and then they were placed in a gallon sized “Ziploc Freezer Bag”. Our freezer contains another delicious breakfast of BLUEBERRY OATMEAL PANCAKES!