These mini-pepper nachos are probably now one of my favorite either “snacks” or light and easy dinners. I followed the recipe exactly, so I cannot claim it as my own… and the picture was taken on my husbands cell phone late at night with bad lighting… 🙂
BUT… this is one I HIGHLY recommend. The only difference is that we use PLAIN Organic Greek Yogurt instead of Sour Cream.
http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/10/mini-pepper-nachos-with-corn-black.html
This is a DELICIOUS dish that you can actually make with combining leftovers from other dishes! Kind of like a “pantry cleaning out” night… or a refrigerator “clean out” night!
I combined 2 different recipes to come up with the above… totally worth it!
Recipe #1 http://www.food.com/recipe/mexican-casserole-6-5-weight-watcher-points-135814
Recipe #2 http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=674526
Ingredients:
1 lb extra lean ground beef (drained or rinsed!) (I used 1/2 lb. leftover taco meat, already seasoned with taco seasoning)
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
1/2 can Rotel with green chilis (mild) (OR 3/4 cup of salsa from your fridge!!)
1 1/2 cup frozen corn
1 roasted red bell pepper, diced
1 (15 ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained)
(If you don’t have leftover taco meat, you need 1 packet taco seasoning, as well in the list of ingredients… OR, use this to MAKE YOUR OWN taco seasoning! Quite easy!! : http://www.abigmouthful.com/homemade-taco-seasoning-and-turkey-tacos/
3-4 Flour tortillas (depending on how many layers you want to make)
3/4 cup nonfat sour cream
1/3 cup reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend, shredded
1/3 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste (or less (or more)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a deep-dish 9″ pie pan (or Springform cheesecake pan) with foil, then coat with cooking spray.
Place a small saute pan over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray.
Add the onion, corn, and cumin, and cook until corn starts to brown, about five minutes, then remove from heat.
Place one tortilla in the bottom of the prepared pie pan.
Layer on half of the ground beef, diced pepper, black beans, cilantro, corn and onions. Pour on 1/2 cup salsa (or Rotel), sprinkle on 1/3 cup cheese and top with a tortilla.
Repeat for the second layer, then top with the remaining tortilla, 1/2 cup salsa and 1/3 cup cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes.
Let cool for five minutes before slicing into six wedges and serving.
ok, time for some honesty here. I LOVE to cook, and I feel like most of the time, I’m pretty good at it. But, like most people, I have weaknesses. Fish is one of those weaknesses. I recently learned how to properly cook white-fish (aka: tilapia, dover sole, etc). Salmon, is a whole other ball game. Seriously. There are so many different thicknesses of steaks, and cuts etc… so when it comes to cook time, it’s so hard to judge. You also have to time it JUST RIGHT, to take it out of the oven where it’s SLIGHTLY undercooked, and then let it rest in the juices to get just right… and not over cooked.
Tonight… I slightly over cooked it. This recipe is REALLY good… if it wasn’t over cooked. Seriously… I’m working on it! Don’t feel bad if you fail the first time!
Oh, and the dill? Just for the pretty picture… not used in the recipe at all!
I could also call this “Messy Bowl” 🙂
original recipe: http://easyrecipestodo.blogspot.com/2013/11/grilled-corn-avocado-and-tomato-salad.html
INGREDIENTS
1 pint grape tomatoes (I’m not a big tomato fan… I only had a few in there for “garnish”…)
1 ripe avocado
1 bag of Steam Fresh sweet corn (or 2 ears freshly grilled corn from original recipe)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
HONEY LIME DRESSING
Juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp honey
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper
DIRECTIONS
Remove husks from corn and grill over medium heat for 10 minutes. The corn should have some brown spots and be tender and not mushy. Cut the corn off the cob then scrape the cob with the back of your knife to get the juices. Set aside and let cool. Slice the tomatoes in half. Dice the avocado and chop the cilantro.
HONEY LIME DRESSING
1. Add all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. Combine the sliced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and grilled corn and honey lime dressing and mix gently so everything is evenly coated. Be careful not to mash the avocados. Let the salad sit for 10-15 minutes to let flavors mingle. Enjoy.
Dancin' and Cookin' in the Kitchen! 