Thursday, October 3, 2013

NOritos Night...the Healthiest Non-junk Food You Will Ever Munch

Today was a semi-crazy busy day for me most of the day. When I got home, I wanted to unwind a bit...and how do I unwind you ask??? Well, by creating some healthy non-junk food, of course (as opposed to unhealthy junk food). Hubby had a conference to attend this evening and won't be home until late...which leaves me plenty of time to focus on playing around in the kitchen rather than preparing a meal. I had 1 leftover tortilla in the fridge that I took out and just kept staring at...LOL. And all of a sudden I had a vision of what was to come...and my vision was pretty awesome! I began looking at the tortilla and thinking....hmmm, Doritos? And then I thought....nah, NOritos...as in "no these are not Doritos"....they just look and taste a lot like them! They were so simple to make that they might actually make you cry a little (as in tears of joy, of course)!  ;-)  

I cut the tortilla in half (making 2 semi-circles). I then cut each half into 6 pie-shaped wedges and placed them on a parchment covered baking sheet. I preheated my oven to 350 degrees F and then tried to recreate what I thought might taste "Dorito-ish". I just sort of winged it -- I wanted them to be kinda spicy and cheesy since that was the kind I ate in my previous wheat-riddled life. Into a small bowl, I placed a rounded and slightly heaping tablespoon of finely grated Parmesan cheese (powdery style), a generous dash of ground chipotle chile powder (you could substitute regular chili powder, ancho chile powder, or your favorite taco seasoning), a dash of onion powder, a dash of garlic powder, a little pinch of salt and then mixed it all together. I sprayed the top of each little tortilla triangle lightly with olive oil spray to help the seasoning stick and the chips crisp as they baked. I sprinkled my seasoning combo evenly on top of my "NOritos to be"...and then added a light dusting of paprika to give them the characteristic redd-ish orange-ish glow we are so familiar with seeing (use as much or as little seasoning as you prefer). I popped them into a 350 degree oven and baked for 10 minutes; opened the door and checked their crispness and turned the oven off and kept them in the hot oven another 5 minutes to dry out a bit more (do not burn). In less than 15 minutes I was having crispy healthy non-junky baked NOritos chips...instead of unhealthy junky baked Doritos chips. Mine were wheat-free, grain-free and actually provided some protein to boot!  One 10" tortilla made 12 NOritos -- that's 1 dozen wedges of crunchy munchy goodness to snack on! I snapped a few photos for you to see below and will re-post my tortilla recipe below that I used to make this super simple "munchy-curing" snack! Enjoy!



These were light and crispy "munchie-curing" heaven!

Grain-free Tortillas (makes one 8-inch tortilla)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup egg whites or Egg Beaters
2 tablespoons blanched almond flour
2 teaspoons ground golden flax
1 teaspoon finely grated Parmesan
Dash of sea salt
Generous dash of ground chipotle chile (or seasoning of choice such as smoked paprika, etc.)

Directions:
Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl to form a smooth, thin batter. Lightly spray a 10-inch non-stick skillet with olive oil spray and heat over medium-high heat. Pour batter into hot skillet, tilting the pan and using a circular motion to evenly distribute the batter in the bottom. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until very lightly browned and cooked around edges. Carefully loosen and flip using a rubber spatula; cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Serve and fill with your favorite fajita, taco or sandwich fixings.

*Note: To make 4 tortillas, use the following amounts: 1 cup egg whites/egg substitute, 1/2 cup blanched almond flour, 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoon of ground golden flax, 4 teaspoons finely grated Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon seasoning (or to taste). Pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter in hot skillet to make each tortilla.

6 comments:

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

W-e-l-l ..... don't you ever have your Thinking Cap on! :-) This is a "Good Thing," as Martha S. used to say. In fact, a *Very* Good Thing! Come to think about it, I'll bet a person could even make *Nachos* out of these NOritos! And to think that I thought I'd seen my last nacho! Never say "never," eh? :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis! LOL...I really enjoyed the simple modification that turned them into "chips"...I went a little haywire on the chipotle -- but nothing a couple gallons of water didn't take care of! ;-)

patricia said...

I just think it's so cool that tortillas can be made out of almond flour! Yippee!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Patricia...LOL -- I had to try it -- I just can't do coconut flour with most savory dishes! :-)

Paula WF said...

My hubby and I use to have nacho Sundays for the Packer game each week, this is my first WB football season and I haven't been able to indulge in our ritual..........until I made your NOritos!!! They made a good base for getting all the good stuff from plate to mouth! So good!

I have to admit, as with my first try with most recipes, I had a hard time cooking the tortilla, but my second try at it I had it all figured out! I need more practice at them but it see these in my future often!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Paula! So glad you enjoyed them -- you will get better each time you make one. Also, it's kind of like making pancakes -- my first pancake usually isn't then nicest one - but as I make the next ones, they get better for some reason. It also helps to have a nice slick non-stick pan -- one that doesn't have scrapes from utensils, etc. -- the smoother the surface, usually the easier they are to make and flip because there is no rough surface to catch on. Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed them. :-)