Chips are my weakness. I love them all - potato, tortilla, vegetable; plain, salt and vinegar, olive oil and rosemary - you name it, I probably like it. The light crunchiness of a chip combined with that fatty mouth feel just makes me smile. (Heavy sigh.) Alas, chips are high in carbohydrates, and thus, off my everyday menu. (Please don't misunderstand. I don't foresee a future in which I will never again eat another potato chip, but for now I'm trying to kick the habit. It's a good thing coffee and vodka are still on the okay to eat list!) Ironically, many dips are allowed in a low carb lifestyle, which makes the hankering for chips even harder. So, as I cut up my little cocktail avocados this morning (yes, 10 cents each at Ranch Market - my new favorite store), I knew I needed some chips to seal the deal.
I recently purchased two types of low carb tortillas, and today I discovered that both are excellent for different dishes. I started my quest for chips with a package of Tortilla Factory low carb tortillas which I purchased at WinCo for about $6 (for a package of 20 large tortillas). Last night we enjoyed these puppies with pulled pork from the slow cooker, wrapping the meat up with some sour cream and grated cheese to make carnitas. Generally, I like whole wheat tortillas better than plain flour because the texture is more interesting, and the tortillas seem to have more flavor. (Truthfully, corn tortillas are my favorite followed by whole wheat with plain flour tortillas a distant third. I don't really care for the glueyness I associate with flour tortillas - especially thick ones.) These particular tortillas are thin and a little nutty tasting, and so I assumed (incorrectly) that they would make good chips. As a matter of fact, I was so sure they'd be good, I cut up the whole bag of tortillas while the first batch was in the oven - mistake number one.
When the chips came out, I eagerly popped a warm one into my mouth (after administering a liberal amount of salt, of course), and was disappointed at the chewiness of the chip. (I had been so sure that these thin little tortillas would be crispy and satisfying!) Perhaps, I thought, they require longer baking. But, several more minutes did not improve the lacking crunch factor. After having similar results with different tortillas while visiting my parents recently, I thought that baking could be the problem. So, I dug out the wok and heated some oil, hoping that frying the tortillas would produce the desired result. I actually cooked several small batches at different temperatures, but all to no avail. Even though the tortillas were brown and appeared crunchy, they remained a little soggy and chewy after cooling. Next, I thought a combination of the two approaches might work, but that too failed. I tried baking prior to frying and frying prior to baking, but neither produced a change in the texture.
As my hubby tasted each trial chip and agreed that none were very good, I contemplated the problem. I had assumed that the thinness of the tortilla would lend itself to a crispy chip. However, I have frequently made excellent pita chips from decidedly thick bread. Thus, it seemed reasonable that the thinness of the tortilla might have less to do with its crispiness than the ingredients, so I pulled out a package of low carb plain flour tortillas for further experimentation. These (Mission Carb Balance) tortillas finally provided the taste and crunch I'd been looking for. They emerged from the oven light and crispy, tasting like "real" chips and satisfying my craving. Since the tortillas are a little bland, extra seasoning would make them better. I only added salt today, but in the future I think some interesting seasoning mixes would be great. (I'm especially looking forward to a citrus ginger mix from Pampered Chef.)
With one problem solved, another came to light - what to do with all those whole wheat tortillas I had cut up. My son suggested that if I just pushed them close together on a plate and melted cheese over the top, they would hold together enough for a quesadilla. As we discussed what to make that doesn't require the tortilla to be rolled up, my hubby suggested enchilada casserole. Oh... one of my favorite dishes. Of course, this idea had to be tested immediately, so I pulled out my basic enchilada recipe and went to work on de-carbing it as much as possible. Substitutions of spelt flour, low carb tortillas, and cream dropped the carb count a good deal, and the result was heavenly. Before adaptations, this recipe would be 14.9 grams of carbohydrates per serving made with corn tortillas or 19.4 grams per serving made with flour tortillas. My final count was 8 grams per serving. (I figured on 8 servings from this large casserole dish.) Hubby and I each had a helping for lunch and decided that this dish is worthy of being served to guests. (Add a lovely green salad and a light, low sugar dessert for an excellent meal.)
Here's the recipe:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Make the cheese sauce.
Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. While the butter melts, combine the cream and water in a container with a lid. Stir or shake to mix. Add spelt flour and cover the container. Shake the flour and cream mixture to combine well. Once the butter has completely melted and begins to bubble, add the flour/cream combo all at once. (If you have lumps left after shaking, just use a whisk once the mixture is in the pan.) Stir continuously until the sauce thickens and bubbles. Continue cooking and stirring for one or two minutes after the sauce bubbles. Remove the pan from heat and add grated cheese. (Now is the time to add some chipotle sauce to give it a little more flavor.) Stir until cheese melts completely.
Put together the casserole.
Coat a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1.5 tortillas in a single layer in the bottom of the pan. (Cutting the tortillas into triangles makes it easier to make them fit an oval dish.) Add 1/3 of the cheese sauce, half of the green onions, and half of the chicken. Place another layer of 1.5 tortillas, followed by another 1/3 of the cheese sauce and the remaining chicken and green onions. Place a final layer of 1.5 tortillas on top. Mix the enchilada sauce with the remaining 1/3 of the cheese sauce and pour/spread it over the top of the casserole.
Bake for 30 minutes.
The casserole is easier to cut if it sets up a little after being removed from the oven. Let it rest about 10 minutes, and then enjoy. (It is also great leftover!)
Makes 8 servings @ 8 grams of net carbs per serving.
Of course, you could add chopped tomatoes, black olives, green chilies, etc. Just be sure to check the carb count for each ingredient.
1 package Mission Carb Balance Tortillas (6 net carbs per tortilla - Trust me. Use this brand.)
Salt, pepper, or other seasonings to taste (most are 0 net carbs, but check the label.)
I recently purchased two types of low carb tortillas, and today I discovered that both are excellent for different dishes. I started my quest for chips with a package of Tortilla Factory low carb tortillas which I purchased at WinCo for about $6 (for a package of 20 large tortillas). Last night we enjoyed these puppies with pulled pork from the slow cooker, wrapping the meat up with some sour cream and grated cheese to make carnitas. Generally, I like whole wheat tortillas better than plain flour because the texture is more interesting, and the tortillas seem to have more flavor. (Truthfully, corn tortillas are my favorite followed by whole wheat with plain flour tortillas a distant third. I don't really care for the glueyness I associate with flour tortillas - especially thick ones.) These particular tortillas are thin and a little nutty tasting, and so I assumed (incorrectly) that they would make good chips. As a matter of fact, I was so sure they'd be good, I cut up the whole bag of tortillas while the first batch was in the oven - mistake number one.When the chips came out, I eagerly popped a warm one into my mouth (after administering a liberal amount of salt, of course), and was disappointed at the chewiness of the chip. (I had been so sure that these thin little tortillas would be crispy and satisfying!) Perhaps, I thought, they require longer baking. But, several more minutes did not improve the lacking crunch factor. After having similar results with different tortillas while visiting my parents recently, I thought that baking could be the problem. So, I dug out the wok and heated some oil, hoping that frying the tortillas would produce the desired result. I actually cooked several small batches at different temperatures, but all to no avail. Even though the tortillas were brown and appeared crunchy, they remained a little soggy and chewy after cooling. Next, I thought a combination of the two approaches might work, but that too failed. I tried baking prior to frying and frying prior to baking, but neither produced a change in the texture.
As my hubby tasted each trial chip and agreed that none were very good, I contemplated the problem. I had assumed that the thinness of the tortilla would lend itself to a crispy chip. However, I have frequently made excellent pita chips from decidedly thick bread. Thus, it seemed reasonable that the thinness of the tortilla might have less to do with its crispiness than the ingredients, so I pulled out a package of low carb plain flour tortillas for further experimentation. These (Mission Carb Balance) tortillas finally provided the taste and crunch I'd been looking for. They emerged from the oven light and crispy, tasting like "real" chips and satisfying my craving. Since the tortillas are a little bland, extra seasoning would make them better. I only added salt today, but in the future I think some interesting seasoning mixes would be great. (I'm especially looking forward to a citrus ginger mix from Pampered Chef.)
With one problem solved, another came to light - what to do with all those whole wheat tortillas I had cut up. My son suggested that if I just pushed them close together on a plate and melted cheese over the top, they would hold together enough for a quesadilla. As we discussed what to make that doesn't require the tortilla to be rolled up, my hubby suggested enchilada casserole. Oh... one of my favorite dishes. Of course, this idea had to be tested immediately, so I pulled out my basic enchilada recipe and went to work on de-carbing it as much as possible. Substitutions of spelt flour, low carb tortillas, and cream dropped the carb count a good deal, and the result was heavenly. Before adaptations, this recipe would be 14.9 grams of carbohydrates per serving made with corn tortillas or 19.4 grams per serving made with flour tortillas. My final count was 8 grams per serving. (I figured on 8 servings from this large casserole dish.) Hubby and I each had a helping for lunch and decided that this dish is worthy of being served to guests. (Add a lovely green salad and a light, low sugar dessert for an excellent meal.)Here's the recipe:
Low Carb Enchilada Casserole
- 1/4 butter (0 carbs)
- 1/4 spelt flour (19 net carbs - This is only slightly lower than regular flour, but I purchased the spelt flour yesterday and wanted to try it in a white sauce. It, combined with the cream, made a pretty thick sauce, and so I think this amount could be reduced. Next time, I'll probably try it with an 1/8 of cup to see if that will be enough.)
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (0 carbs)
- 1/2 cup water (0 carbs - The original recipe calls for two cups of milk to make the cheese sauce. However, since the heavy cream is so much thicker than milk, I reduced the cream and added some water to make it closer to the consistency I needed for the sauce.)
- 8 ounces of shredded cheese (0 carbs - I had a package of pre-mixed "pizza" cheese in the fridge, but the Mexican cheese mixture would be good, too. My guys like white cheese in their enchiladas, but cheddar or Colby Jack would also work. The package I had, listed the carb count as less than 1 gram per serving. When I looked up each cheese individually, two were listed as less than 1 gram and the other two were listed as 0 grams. Thus, I counted it as zero, though there could be 1 or 2 grams in the total package.)
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions (2.4 net carbs)
- 1 can of chunk chicken (0 net carbs - I used a 13 ounce can of chicken packed in water, but if you have leftover baked, grilled, or broiled chicken, just shred it instead.)
- 4 1/2 low carb tortillas (27 net carbs - I used Tortilla Factory whole wheat tortillas which have 6 net carbs each. Regular flour tortillas come in at about 22 carbs each, while corn tortillas have about 8 carbs each. While the corn tortillas don't have many more carbs, they are only about half the size of the tortillas I used. Thus, I figured it would take about nine corn tortillas to complete the recipe.)
- 10 ounce enchilada sauce (18 net carbs - I used Old El Paso green sauce.)
- Chipotle sauce to taste (0 carbs)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Make the cheese sauce.
Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. While the butter melts, combine the cream and water in a container with a lid. Stir or shake to mix. Add spelt flour and cover the container. Shake the flour and cream mixture to combine well. Once the butter has completely melted and begins to bubble, add the flour/cream combo all at once. (If you have lumps left after shaking, just use a whisk once the mixture is in the pan.) Stir continuously until the sauce thickens and bubbles. Continue cooking and stirring for one or two minutes after the sauce bubbles. Remove the pan from heat and add grated cheese. (Now is the time to add some chipotle sauce to give it a little more flavor.) Stir until cheese melts completely.
Put together the casserole.
Coat a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1.5 tortillas in a single layer in the bottom of the pan. (Cutting the tortillas into triangles makes it easier to make them fit an oval dish.) Add 1/3 of the cheese sauce, half of the green onions, and half of the chicken. Place another layer of 1.5 tortillas, followed by another 1/3 of the cheese sauce and the remaining chicken and green onions. Place a final layer of 1.5 tortillas on top. Mix the enchilada sauce with the remaining 1/3 of the cheese sauce and pour/spread it over the top of the casserole.
Bake for 30 minutes.
The casserole is easier to cut if it sets up a little after being removed from the oven. Let it rest about 10 minutes, and then enjoy. (It is also great leftover!)
Makes 8 servings @ 8 grams of net carbs per serving.
Of course, you could add chopped tomatoes, black olives, green chilies, etc. Just be sure to check the carb count for each ingredient.
Low Carb Tortilla Chips
1 package Mission Carb Balance Tortillas (6 net carbs per tortilla - Trust me. Use this brand.)
Salt, pepper, or other seasonings to taste (most are 0 net carbs, but check the label.)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Cut the tortillas into 8 pieces.
- Arrange the pieces on the baking sheet. Spray lightly, and salt liberally.
- Bake for 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and turn the chips over. Apply more seasoning if desired. (I usually add pepper or some other flavor at this point to complement the salt on the other side.)
- Bake another 5 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
- Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool.
- These will keep several days in an airtight container.
No comments:
Post a Comment