Nacho Typical Dinner

There was a night years and years ago when my stepmother wasn't going to be home to make dinner and it was up to me to cook for Da. Well, I thought we should eat Chicken Caesar Salads for dinner. Yup, I suggested my meat-loving father eat a big salad for dinner. Surprisingly, my daddy man agreed to the meal. My stepmother was shocked. She couldn't believe that man would eat a salad for dinner and be cool with it. But, lucky for me, he was. 

I couldn't help but think of that night when I told the husband I wanted to make nachos for dinner. I'll admit, even to me, this meal definitely sounded more like happy hour fare than a regular Wednesday night meal, but I really wanted to make it. So I asked the husband pretty, pretty please?

He kind of shrugged but said he didn't think it sounded like a horrible idea. He told me to go for it. Actually, he agreed to eat turkey nachos last night, but he was feeling a little under the weather when I got home (God bless allergy sufferers) and I put it off until tonight. I was happy to hear "You ready to make some nachos?" was one of the first things out of the husband's mouth when I got home tonight.

Dinner was quite easy to throw together, and we both really enjoyed it. The only thing the husband and I agreed I should do differently next time is to cook the tortillas and serve them separately. I followed Christine Avanti's technique tonight, but we thought it made even the crunchiest "chips" get a little soggy. I'll save you the trouble and offer directions as to how I'll do it next time. Because even if it sounds a little odd, I know we'll be eating this dish again - for dinner.

Guilt-Free Turkey Nachos (relatively guiltless, even if you eat half the dish!)
Inspired by Christine Avanti

3 Ole Extreme Wellness High Fiber Wraps (or whole wheat tortillas)
cooking spray
10 ounces lean ground turkey (97/3)
2 teaspoons reduced-sodium taco seasoning
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes

1 cup pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup 2% fat Mexican-blend cheese
2 chile peppers, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Cut each tortilla into 16 slices and bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or lightly browned and crisp.

Cook the turkey in a skillet coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle the taco seasoning onto the turkey and stir. When the turkey has started to brown but it still a little pink, stir in the tomatoes. Simmer the turkey/tomato mixture for about 5 minutes or until the turkey is cooked and the tomato liquid has cooked off.

Like I said, we baked our chips and toppings together; I wouldn't do that again, though.

Spread the beans onto the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Spread the turkey/tomato mixture on top of the beans, followed by the cheese, peppers and onions. Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Serve with the homemade chips and enjoy!

This entire recipe is about 970 calories. Christine suggests it serve four people, but the husband and I were feeling a bit hungry. We killed it.