Tortilla Stacks

Ingredients:
1 package of Italian Turkey Sausage - 5 links, 19.5 ounces (or any flavor sausage)
1 - 16 ounce Jar of Salsa
taco sauce
9 whole wheat tortillas
shredded cheddar cheese (or your choice)
non stick cooking spray
Preheat oven to 425
Serves 6 (or three very hungry people)
1 package of Turkey sausage, there are 5 links in here totaling 19.5 ounces.




You need to remove the sausage from their casings and to do this you simply take a knife and slice down the center of each sausage like this...



Next give the sausages a rough chop to break them up



And put them into a nonstick frying pan on medium high heat. Using an temperature safe spoon or wooden spoon, continue to break up the chunks as it fries.



When its all browned it should look like this. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Return meat to pan.


Next pour in 1 jar of salsa, stir well and sort of divide the meat into 6 pie shaped wedges to make equal portions


Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray and place three 8 inch tortillas on baking pan


Next spoon 1/6 of the meat on to each tortilla and top with 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese on each one. I used low fat cheddar. Sort of spread it out towards the edges a bit.


Add another tortilla to each stack and repeat like above with 1/6 of the meat on each and 2 tablespoons of shredded cheddar



Add the last tortilla to each stack and top with 2 tablespoons of taco sauce and 2 more tablespoons of shredded cheddar.


Next place them in the preheated 425 degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes until they look all bubbly and browned like this...



Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before carefully cutting them in half. I use a pizza cutter. I put shredded lettuce, chopped cucumber, red peppers topped with salsa and a teaspoon of sour cream on the side. The other half reheats nicely for lunch the next day. By the time I put the salad on the other half of the plate, the batteries died and I had to make an executive decision...try to find the extra battery and let my food get cold or just go ahead and eat and let you use your imaginations...I think y'all are pretty creative so imagination it is!

Depending on the calories in the tortillas you use, the calories in the cheese and salsa your calorie count will vary.


Approx:
Calories: 350
Fat: 12g
Cholesterol: 60g
Carbs 27
Fiber 14g
Sugars 4g
Protein 30.5g


Yes, this one is a bit higher on the calorie side of things, my advice would be to look for the lowest calorie tortilla you can find, look for salsa with the least amount of sugar and go for low fat cheese. I used 2 tablespoons between each layer and it was a generous amount, you can reduce that and never miss it or even eliminated it between the layers and just put it on top. Either way, this is a dish you can really play around with and change up. Don't have Italian Turkey sausage, just use ground turkey and add whatever spices you like. We really liked the flavors of the Italian turkey sausage.


To be honest, I came up with this recipe when I was laying in bed one night trying to figure out what to do with that package of Italian Turkey Sausage. I didn't really want pasta and then I remembered that package of tortillas and by the next evening at dinner time, this recipe was born.


You could put taco seasoning in with the meat and layer up the tortillas, you could use corn tortillas, its up to you, just take the calories into consideration and come up with the best combination for you.
Enjoy!

White Bean Carrot Cake

 DC had posted a recipe for black bean brownies and it reminded me of a South Beach sugar free version I had tried and a white bean carrot cake version that I never got around to trying. DC has a black bean brownie recipe using brownie mix. I have a sugar free recipe and I'll post it at the bottom of this post.
Carrot Cake


Preheat Oven: 350
Cooking Time: 30-40

1 15oz. can of great northern white beans - drained and rinsed
4 eggs
½  cup Splenda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp. smart balance, melted
1 Tbs Vanilla (FULL Tablespoon)
1/4 cup low fat cream cheese
1 ½  tsp cinnamon
zest of one orange
¼ t to ½ t fresh nutmeg
1.5 cups grated carrots
½ cup raisins
¼ cup of powdered milk



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Rinse and drain beans very well.
Mix all ingredients except raisins in a food processor, I use a microplane to grate the fresh nutmeg and orange zest
blend very well. Pour into an 8x8 baking pan sprayed with cooking spray or oiled with canola or olive oil.  (I don't have a 9x9 but I have this lovely 6x10, close enough) 
The batter is quite thin, at this point you'd sprinkle in the raisins, by the time I turned around and grabbed the camera, they had sunk to the bottom
Bake for 25 to 30  minutes. (til toothpick pulls out clean).
Mine took 28 minutes.
Serves 9 with 120 calories per piece
Calories 120
Fat 5.6
Cholesterol: 98
Sodium 270
Carbs 13
Fiber 2.7
Protein 6.2
Sugars: 0
And the finished product topped with sugar free cream cheese frosting.... (add 70 calories per slice if you use the frosting recipe below...worth the 70 calories)
 
It looks like its jumping off the plate because the raisins on the bottom are elevating it, lol
Sugar Free Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
1 small package sugar-free instant cheesecake flavored pudding mix
1/2  cup milk
1/2 (4 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 (4 ounce) container lite frozen whipped topping, thawed
In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix and milk. Mix well and let stand until thickened.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pudding and mix well. Finally, mix in cook whip with mixer

The original South Beach diet Phase 1 black bean brownies
Black Bean Brownies
Preheat Oven: 350

1 15oz. can of UNSEASONED black beans - drained and rinsed
4 eggs (extra large)
1/2 cup Splenda
3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. Smart Balance
1 Tbs Vanilla (FULL Tablespoon)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup ricotta cheese or cream cheese


chopped nuts - optional 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender- blend very well. 

2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, melted with
2 Tbs. Smart Balance in the micro..
Add a couple of Tbs. of splenda..
 
Stir this into the batter right before you spread it in the pan.

Pour into an 8x8 baking pan sprayed with cooking spray or oiled with canola or olive oil. 
Then mix this together

Bake for 25-35 minutes. (til toothpick pulls out clean).

Mine took 25 minutes..






Smart Balance NOTE: For Lynne and anyone else who might not have Smart Balance. Smart Balance is a butter/margarine substitute. My family likes the flavor better than any other butter substitute. I'm sure you have something similar in Tesco's or Sainsburys. I think I used something called Florra or Flora when I lived over there.


Cauliflower with Streusel Topping


This is based off of a dish I had while living in the UK. The original dish had a thick cheese sauce on the cauliflower and while it was quite delicious, it didn't fit with my dietary guidelines. This healthfied version does! Its a standard staple with our holiday dinners and at least once a month rotation on the menu. You can prepare it the day before, just allow additional baking time to warm through and don't put the steusel topping on until just before baking or you'll have a soggy mess. This is equally delicious with broccoli.

Enjoy!
Diana


Ingredients:

1 bag of frozen cauliflower
2 Tablespoons Smart Balance
1 medium onion finely chopped
3 TBLS dijon mustard
2 slices Pepperidge farms soft wheat light
1/2 cup of 1% milk
3 TBLS Parmesan cheese
Black pepper to taste


Don't get intimidated, it looks like a lot of steps but this dish is ready to hit the oven in under 12 minutes. Ready to cook? Lets get started.

Toast the bread on the lowest setting of the toaster to dry out, two rounds in the toaster might be necessary. Set aside to cool.

Put a 16 ounce large bag of frozen cauliflower in a microwave safe/oven safe bowl to cook according to package directions...the microwave to cook
Meanwhile put two tablespoons of smart balance or whatever butter you use into a large sautee pan.


Dice the onion and add it to the sautee pan



While the onion cooks and gets all golden brown. Put the two slices of bread in the food processor and make the bread crumbs


Toss in the parmesan cheese and a bit of black pepper and give it another whirl (pulse it for a few seconds)

Now back to our onions...starting to get golden brown...perfect!


Add in the two tablespoons of dijon mustard and a bit more fresh black pepper, no need to use salt, the mustard has enough salt in it.


Add the milk and give it a good stir and then let it simmer until it thickens up, about 3 to 5 minutes


Next drain the excess water from cooked cauli and mix in the sauce and stir it around gently to coat
Pour it back into the microwave safe/oven safe bowl you cooked it in, this one is two quarts because we like a lot of crunchy streusel topping, if you use a smaller bowl, you might not need as much, you don't want too thick of a layer.

Top with the bread crumb and cheese mixture

Put it under the broiler for 2 to 4 minutes or until it looks like this
If your sauce didn't thicken up enough or if you're using the oven anyhow, you can also bake this at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes, just cook the cauliflower for 1 minute less than the microwave directions call for.
This HUGE serving dish serves 4 servings at 116 calories each or serves 6 at 77 calories each. Ken (aka Mr Meat and Potatoes Lover) loved this so much he said I could have skipped the meat and potatoes (thud) and just served this! An ultimate compliment from Mr Meat and Potatoes Lover indeed. You might even get 7 or 8 servings out of this if you have several side dishes and aren't total piglets like us.

Cauliflower with Streusel Topping!



Nutritional information:
Serves 4
Calories: 116
Fat 4.5
Cholesterol: 4.5mg
Sodium: 373mg

Potassium: 250mg

Carbs 12.6g
Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 3.3g
Protein: 6g



Serves 6
77 calories
Fat: 3g
Cholesterol : 3mg
Sodium: 249mg
Potassium: 167mg
Carbs: 8g
Fiber 2.8g
Sugars 2.2g
Protein 4g


Text directions
Toast the bread on the lowest toaster setting, let cool

Cook cauli according to microwave directions on bag

Sautee onion in smart balance until lightly brown and soft, stir in dijon and milk, let simmer until thickened

Pulse bread in food processor until its bread crumbs, pulse in parm cheese and black pepper to taste.

Drain excess water from Cauilflower, add to dijion and mustard sauce mixture.

Place in oven proof bowl.Sprinkle top with bread crumb/cheese mixture and broil for 2 to 4 minutes until golden brown

Alternately you can cook cauli for a minute less in microwave and bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.