Homemade Pumpkin Tortillas

Serves 16
Recipe Level: Easy

This recipe stems from my boyfriend's unhealthy obsession with sweet potato tortilla trips. I had some pumpkin I had just roasted and was planning on making tortillas, so why not just throw them together. It's a similar flavor combination to those chips he loves, mixing corn and sweet potato. The experiment was a success. The pumpkin actually added some moisture giving them a softer texture. Plus it's a great way to sneak in some vitamins to what is otherwise a food that is pretty much devoid of nutritional value.

Masa Harina - 2 cups
Roasted  & Peeled Pumpkin - 2/3rd cup (or canned pumpkin)
Warm Water - 3/4 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp.

1. Combine Masa, salt, and pumpkin in a large mixing bowl. Ad water a few tablespoons at a time and mix in with your hands until the dough comes together. You are looking for a stiff consistency that is not too dry and definitely not sticky. If it gets too wet, you can always add more masa, or if it seems too dry you can add more water.

2. Transfer dough onto plastic wrap spread out on your counter. Roll the dough into one large log and cut the log into 16 even pieces. (Cut in half, then cut each of those in half and so on)

3. Take each piece into your hand one at a time and roll into a ball and set the balls aside.

4. Get another piece of plastic wrap and put the ball between the two sheets. Using a rolling pin, flatten and roll until it is about an 1/8th in thick and as round as possible. (If you have a tortilla press, you would use it in place of the rolling pin, with a layer of plastic covering the top and bottom.)

5. Once the tortillas are rolled, transfer to a hot cast iron or non-stick skillet that has not oil. You want to cook the tortilla about one minute on the first side and 30 seconds on the second side. Then transfer to a plate or basket and cover with a towel to keep warm while you cook the rest of the tortillas.

6. Serve with your favorite tacos and toppings.

Nutrition Information per serving from Myfitnesspal.com
Homemade Pumpkin Tortillas - 51 Calories, 1g. fat, 11g. carbs, 2g. protein

Ancho Turkey Tacos

Serves 8 Tacos

Recipe Level: Medium

Okay, I know everyone has a taco recipe, but it is really worth giving these a try. These are so much better than using any powdered taco mix and don't contain all the extra sodium and preservatives. The flavor here is much deeper and hits all the notes on your tongue...a little sweet, tangy, spicy, without being too spicy.

Ground Turkey - 1 pound
Cumin - 1 tsp.
Dried Ancho Peppers - 3 whole large
Chicken Stock - 1 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Yellow Onion - 1 medium
Garlic - 3 cloves
Cherry Tomatoes - 4-5 small or 1/2 of a regular tomato
Serrano or Jalapeno - 1 pepper w/ seeds removed
Agave Nectar or Honey - 1 tbsp.
Red Wine Vinegar - 2 tbsp.
Salt - 1 & 1/2 tsp.

1. Re-hydrate the ancho pepper using the chicken stock and water. This can be done in a sauce pan on the stove top or in the microwave in a microwave safe dish with a tight fitting lid. If doing on the stove top, place water, stock and peppers in pan and bring to boil. Once the water boils, remove from heat and cover with lid, let sit for 20-30 minutes or until the peppers are tender. If doing in the microwave, put peppers, water and stock in dish and microwave for 2 minutes or so, then cover with lid and let sit for 20-30 minutes.

3. Once the anchos are tender, you'll want to remove the stem and seeds but don't discard the water/stock mix you re-hydrated them in. There is tons of flavor here! To remove the seeds, just go to the sink and remove the stem then run them under running water to rinse them out. Once the ancho peppers are seeded, place them in a blender or food processor. Add 1/2 the onion, the garlic, cherry tomatoes, serrano pepper, agave, red wine vinegar and 1 tsp. of the salt. You don't have to worry about chopping because the blender will take care of that for you. For the onion, you may want to cut into big chunks just to help the mixture get going, but everything else can be added whole. Add in about 1/2 cup of the water/stock fluid that you saved to the blender. Pulse and as mixture comes together, add another 1/4 cup if needed. You are looking for a consistency of BBQ sauce. Set mixture aside.

4. Chop the other half of the onion and add to a skillet over medium heat. Then add your pound of ground meat to the pan. Season with 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1 tsp. of cumin. Chop up the meat and continue to stir until it is mostly browned.

5. Add the ancho mixture from the blender to the skillet and mix thoroughly making sure all the meat is coated. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer the meat in the sauce for 15-20 minutes or until any excess moisture is cooked off. Taste it as it is reducing and if you'd like added sweetness, you can add more agave. Do you want more tang? Add more red wine vinegar. Or added heat? Add some cayenne. Tasting your food is the more important I can give to any novice cook!

6. Serve the mixture hot with soft corn tortillas, low-fat shredded cheese, fat-free plain Greek yogurt (in place of sour cream), and load on all the veggies you want....lettuce, tomato, onion, cabbage or slaw, cilantro, and salsa. I highly suggest you try these with my spicy mango salsa if mangos are in season.

Nutrition Information per taco from Myfitnesspal.com
Ancho Turkey Tacos (on soft corn tortilla, with cheese, yogurt and veggies) - 206 calories, 10g. fat, 18g. carbs, 13g. protein

Spicy Mango Salsa

Serves 4

Recipe Level: Easy

Mango - 1 large ripe
Serrano or Jalapeno - 3 small Serrano or 1 Jalapeno
Green Onion - 3 small or 2 large
Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped
Lime - 1 whole
Cayenne Pepper - dash
Chili Powder - dash
Salt - dash

1. Dice mango into small cubes. First peel the mango with a paring knife or vegetable peeler. The mango has a core so it's best to approach it the same way you would an apple. Stand it up and cut it on one side, leaving about 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the center for the core. Rotate the mango and slice down the next side. Doing this should leave you with 4 pieces of mango. Then just dice them into small chunks.

2. Dice the peppers into very small pieces, almost making confetti out of them. If you don't want it too spicy, you can remove the seeds from the pepper. I usually leave them in for an extra bite.

3. Chop the green onions into 1/2 inch pieces, slightly on a bias. I use both the white and green part of the onion, just not the roots and if there are any flimsy tops, I don't use those either.

4. Chop the cilantro as fine as you can. Then add the mango, peppers, green onions, and cilantro to a bowl.

5. Zest the lime and add to the mixture. Then squeeze one half the lime onto the mango mixture. Then taste the mixture. If it is to your liking, you can consume it just like this. If not, you can add a little salt or more lime juice to bring out more flavor and some chili and cayenne to kick up the spice. I use a little of all of them for my taste.

6. Enjoy on tacos (like my Ancho Turkey Tacos), burritos or your favorite Mexican dish or with baked chips or sweet potato tortilla chips or even veggies.

Nutrition Information per serving from Myfitnesspal.com
Spicy Mango Salsa - 38 Calories, 0g. fat, 10g. carbs, 1g. protein

Quacamole Cups

Serves 4 (two little cups each)

Recipe Level: Easy

I have been meaning to post this recipe for a while. It is a great way to class up the classic guacamole. I make this recipe all the time, it is a great Summer dish. Anytime I can find good ripe avocados at the store, I plan to make guacamole. You want them to be a little soft but not mushy. If you can't find any ripe ones, you can speed up the ripening process by placing them in a brown paper bag on the counter for a couple days. Don't refrigerate your avocados! (or your tomatoes for that matter)

This makes a great dip with tortilla chips, veggies or if you want the fancier version you can do the cups too. I also like because it helps with portion control. Otherwise I might want to eat a whole bowl of this stuff.

Avocado - 1 large
Tomato - 1/2 small or 3-4 grape
Jalapeno - 1/4 - 1/2 medium
Onion - 1/4 small
Cilantro - 2 tbsp. chopped
Lime - 1 small
Wonton Wrappers - 8
Salt - To taste
Cayenne Pepper - To taste (optional)
Feta Cheese or Queso Fresco - 4 tbsp.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray a muffin tin with olive oil. If you don't have spray you can drop a bit into each muffin cup and spread around with a basting brush or papertowel. Press one wonton wrapper into each muffin cup so that it covers the bottom and comes partly up the sides. Bake in the over for 6-8 minutes or until the wontons are slightly browned and crispy.

3. I always chop all my veggies before I slice open the avocado since they have a tendency to brown. You want everything diced finely, I usually start with the onion, then tomato, then jalapeno and add them to a bowl. I usually remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapeno because I don't want it too spicy, but feel free to leave them if you like a lot of spice.  Add two tablespoons of chopped cilantro to the mix of vegetables along with the juice of half the lime.

4. Slice the avocado in half. I don't usually worry about removing the pit yet. Once the avocado is cut in half, take a large spoon and slip in around the avocado between the soft flesh and the tough skin. If it is ripe it should come right out. Just scoop the flesh into the bowl with the chopped veggies. Then just pick the pit out.

5. I add the other half of the lime juice on top of the avocado to help keep it from browning then mash all ingredients together with a potato masher. I don't like mine super chunky but I also don't want it to be complete mush, I like a little texture. This is also your opportunity to add cayenne pepper and salt. This is really to taste and depends a little bit on how juicy your lime is. The more juice you get out, the less salt you should need. I usually just do a pinch of cayenne on top for a little color.

6. Once you have the guacamole to the consistency and seasoning level that you like, spoon it into the cooled wonton cups. Top with feta or queso fresco and the remainder of cilantro.

Nutrition Information per serving from Myfitnesspal.com
Two Guacamole Cups - 134 calories, 8g. fat, 15g. carbs, 5g. protein