Mexican Tortilla Bake

My version of Taste of Home's Chili Tortilla Bake, which you can find here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chili-Tortilla-Bake Ingredients: 1lb lean ground beef 1 cup chopped onion 1 cup chopped green chili pepper 2 cans (8oz each) tomato sauce 1 1/4 c corn 1 can black beans 2 T chili powder 1/2 t garlic powder 1 t ground cumin 1/2 t oregano 6 flour tortillas 1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese Crumble beef and brown it with the onion and green chili pepper. When browned add in the tomato sauce, beans, corn, and spices. Heat through. Spray two 9in cake pans. In the bottom place 1 tortilla. Spread 1/6 of the beef mixture over the top and sprinkle with cheese lightly. Layer 3 tortillas in each pan and top each with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 350*. Easy, huh? Serves 6. And it's 12 WW+ points for 1/8. (Which I think is a lot..it's 1/4 of one pan.) Not bad if you are good all day. Plus my kids like it... as compared to other "diet" food.

Taco Soup

Beats chili any day of the week. And it's easy!

Ingredients:
2lb hamburger
1 onion, chopped
1 29oz can tomato sauce
2 14.5 oz cans sliced stewed tomatoes
5 cans kidney beans
2 T (or packages) taco seasoning
6 cups water

Brown the hamburger with the onions. Add tomatoe sauce and stewed tomatoes. (I usually cut the stewed tomato slices into fourths to make the chunks more bite friendly.) Add taco seasoning and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Serve with sour cream, grated cheese, and corn chips.

Serves 12
Serving size 2 cups
points per serving 4 (without cheese, sour cream, chips)

"Low Fat Yet Loveable" Banana Bread

Ok, so I'm in LOVE with banana bread-but NOT with how many points (translate: fat) it is! I am skeptical of any and all "low-fat" recipes but when I tried this one (and made some revisions) I fell in love! I think I might even like it better than my full fat recipe! I've already made 5 loaves since I found this recipe! So, if you are like me and think that no low-fat version of banana bread could possibly compare...TRY THIS ONE.

Ingredients:
1/4 c applesauce (obviously, home made is best)
2 T sugar
2 T honey
2 T spenda
2 egg whites
1/4 c water
2 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla
1 c mashed banana (2 bananas)
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
2 T milk

Mix together the applesauce, sugar, honey, splenda, egg whites, cinnamon, vanilla and water. Mix in mashed banana, baking powder, soda, and salt. Then mix in the wheat flour. Gradually add milk and mix until moist.

One slice = 2 pts

Antonich Burgers*

This recipe, again, goes out to Rachel Allen and her family. I love when people ask for my recipes and nothing gets me to post a non-diet recipe faster than the compliment of the request! So, Bill Allen-who has complimented my cooking so often- here is our burger recipe. You may be surprised how simple it really is!

*That * has a * by it. Normally a * means the recipe is strictly non-diet. However, if you follow the instructions to the end, it is only a 5 point burger! Not too bad for how filling it is!

Ingredients:
2lb ground beef*
1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 egg
1 1/4 t liquid smoke

Mix all ingredients well and form into 8 patties. *I prefer "real" cow, meaning its from a cow I knew personally, however, if you must buy your meat at the store, just try to get 90% lean or more. Also, this recipe is only guaranteed when the burgers are done on the barbeque. We never..EVER..do burgers any other way.

To make this burger diet-friendly I use thin buns (available in the bread aisle at Walmart), mustard, ketchup, pickles, onions, tomato, lettuce and low fat cheese. This makes a 5-6 point burger depending on how lean your meat is. Also, we love to toast the buns until they are JUST barely toasted-amazingly delicious!