Left Over Rice Pudding

In search of breakfast this morning, I discovered that we had a lot of leftover rice.  I'd like to tell you that it was yummy, fluffy brown rice from some healthy home cooked meal.  I can't do that, however, because the reality is that it was hard dry white rice left over from Chinese take out.  Instead of just tossing it, I turned it into something good.  I don't know if this can technically be called rice pudding since traditional rice pudding has butter, eggs, lots more sugar, and is baked in the oven.  My version is vegan, and I did it on the stove top.  Maybe a rice porridge is closer to what this really is. Whatever the case, it's really good; it's really easy, and it uses up left overs, so you don't waste any money.

Fruity Oatmeal Muffins

My goodness.  Forget everyone else, I might fall over from shock!  Two recipes in two days.  Amazing.

Anyway, I had a bunch of odds and ends fruit in the house - bananas, blueberries, oranges, apples, blackberries, and I needed to do something with it. I know I could always freeze it for smoothies, but that's not very creative, and truthfully, we are such avid smoothie people that we already have a ton of frozen ingredients on hand.  

I decided on muffins, because they make for a quick, easy, healthy breakfast or snack, and it's been awhile since we've had any.  I didn't want a dessert muffin though.  I wanted a lightly sweet, hearty breakfast muffin that was appropriate for both me and the toddler.  These are a goldmine of awesome, if I don't say so myself.  There is no added sugar or sweetener of any kind; they're sweetened soley by the fruit, and there's no added fat at all.  They're also vegan.  Win win win, right?  Lastly, I was able to mix up the whole thing in ONE bowl.  Minimal dishes!  I just doesn't get much better than that.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dessert Hummus

I've been (morbidly) intrigued with the whole dessert hummus thing ever since it took the food blog world by storm.  If you Google "dessert hummus" you get dozens of different recipes and variations.  As near as I can tell, it originated with the very talented Evan at The Wannabe Chef.  I used his recipe as a base, and tweaked it a bit to suit my own tastes.

I was incredibly skeptical about this.  While I love hummus, I didn't really believe it could be made into a decent dessert.  It's an appetizer; it's a great snack; it's a fantastic sandwich spread, but beans for dessert just doesn't even sound that appetizing.  I couldn't imagine it being good.  I was SO WRONG.  This stuff rocks my socks.  I actually used my finger to get every last bit out of the food processor.


Usually desserts aren't the healthiest things in the world, but sometimes you can find a dessert that is at least not bad for you.  This is not only not bad for you, it's actually GOOD for you!  Chickpeas are low fat, low cholesterol, high fiber, high protein, and an excellent source of folate and zinc.  They may also assist in lowering cholesterol in the bloodstream.  Natural peanut butter is low in cholesterol and is a good source of niacin and manganese.  It's a good source of protein and is full of mono and poly-unsaturated fats, or the good fats that help lower cholesterol and have heart-protective benefits, and here's an entire article about the health benefits of pure maple syrup.  So yay!  An actual healthy dessert.  I'm so excited.

Apple Nachos

There are recipes for apple nachos all over the internet.  I love apples, and I love them even more now that it's Honeycrisp season, so apple nachos seemed to be just the ticket, but so many of the recipes are soooo unhealthy. I mean come on! Marshmallows? An entire stick of butter? Caramel sauce? Commercial chocolate syrup? Do you have any idea what's even in that sticky, sweet, processed chocolate stuff? I'll give you a hint: high fructose corn syrup is the number one ingredient in the grand majority of them. This is a snack that has such potential to be healthy, so I decided to health it up. I had mine for dinner last night! This recipe is for a single serving, so feel free to up it and make more. Had I done that, I would have eaten the whole thing!

Low Fat Summer Squash Bread

Continuing with my "What the heck do I do with all these summer squash?" theme, I decided to try and bake it into some quick bread.  Zucchini bread is amazing, so why not use summer squash instead, right?  It turned out pretty darned good too, especially for a low fat version.  This is not vegan, as I used Egg Beaters, but with a few tweaks it could easily be veganized.

Really Low Fat Summer Squash Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup summer squash, seeded and shredded
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup egg beaters
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup raw cane sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°.

2.  Grease loaf pan.

3.  Mix together dry ingredients.  If you have to, use your hands to break up any lumps.  It needs to be completely incorporated.

It should look like sand.

4.  Add wet ingredients.  It will seem like there's not enough, but just keep mixing and mixing, and it will eventually make a dough.

5.  Pour into loaf pan.

6.  Bake for 55 minutes.

This made a hearty dense loaf, and it was really good.  In retrospect, however, I could have pureed the squash and used squash puree and a flax egg to make it vegan.  It would have also made it a bit lighter.  Next time...

Enjoy!

Single Ingredient Soft Serve

This recipe is ALL OVER the internet and has been for quite some time.  I've been wanting to try it, but things like a complicated pregnancy and then a newborn kept me from having the opportunity.  The newborn isn't quite so new anymore, and he's getting pretty good at amusing himself for a few minutes, especially if I put him in the kitchen with me, so I decided that I should try this out for breakfast this morning.

All you have to have is a frozen banana or two and a food processor.  I was amazed that a couple of frozen bananas whipped up into such a smooth, sweet, and creamy treat.  I was pretty excited.  Don't get TOO excited though, because while this does have the creamy consistency of soft serve, it doesn't exactly taste like soft serve.  This is good for me actually, because I don't particularly like soft serve, but my love for bananas has been pretty well established by now.

Single Ingredient Soft Serve

Ingredients:

• 3 frozen bananas.  You want them to be pretty ripe, but not so ripe that they're all brown.

Directions:

1.  Place frozen bananas in bowl of food processor fitted with an S blade.

2.  Process until correct consistency, stopping to scrape sides of bowl.

How long this takes will depend on your food processor and on your personal definition of proper consistency.

There you go.  That's it.  Easy peasy, healthy, low calorie, low fat ice cream.  It is fantastic just the way it is, but you can add stuff, as well.  Of course that makes it no longer one ingredient, but still with a base this healthy you can splurge just a tiny bit too.  I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a very liberal shake of cinnamon to mine.  It would be good with a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter or with some fresh mint or even mint extract.  If you are the chocolaty type, you could add a bit of cocoa powder or chocolate chips. Then of course are the combinations...chocolate peanut butter, chocolate mint, etc. etc.  I think this would be good with some dried fruit as well.  You could go tropical and add a bit of shredded coconut and some pineapple, or you could go tart and add cherries and apricots.  I'd soak the fruit for a few hours first though. The possibilities are endless, and the base is only about 80 calories per serving and chock full of potassium! Also, you can totally eat ice cream for breakfast!  Doesn't get much better than that!

Enjoy!

Banana Balls

I love bananas so much.  In fact, I probably eat enough bananas to better qualify as Gorilla Beringei than Homo Sapien.  Draw your own conclusions! ;)  Seriously though, I found THIS recipe last night, and I just knew I had to try it out. 

What's better than a fresh, ripe banana right?  Well maybe some creamy home made peanut butter.  Or maybe oats!  Oh how I love oats.  The beauty of this recipe is that you don't have to pick between these three wonderful things.  You get to combine them all into a healthy, super yummy snack full of fiber and potassium and folic acid.  It's perfect, bite sized, raw snack.

Sadly I don't have any pictures.  I don't tend to step by step document unless the recipe is actually mine, or at least adapted.  These didn't need any adapting whatsoever though, and the real truth of the matter is that I didn't get much of a chance to take pictures, because by the time I thought that I should maybe snap a picture or two, they were gone!

I see this snack often in my future.  I also see a lot of different variations.  I already have some ideas rolling around in my head.  Expect to see some recipes soon!  In the meantime, head on over and check out this amazing little snack!

Banana Nut Bread Oatmeal Cookies

I thought about calling these "Super Healthy, Low Fat, Banana Nut Oatmeal, Stuffed Full of Omega 3s Cookies", but that's kinda long.  People would get tired of reading the title before they got to the super easy cookie recipe.  However, it's also all true.  The only added fat is from the nuts and the flax seeds, and that's the super healthy, full of essential Omega 3s kind of fat.  It's very important that you eat these cookies, actually, because you need those Omega 3s, and your body doesn't make them.  Cookies to the rescue!

Omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential fatty acids: They are necessary for human health but the body can' t make them; you have to get them through food.  Also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), Omega 3 fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development. They have also become popular because they may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and may help lower risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. Omega-3 fatty acids are highly concentrated in the brain and appear to be important for cognitive (brain memory and performance) and behavioral function. In fact, infants who do not get enough omega-3 fatty acids from their mothers during pregnancy are at risk for developing vision and nerve problems. Symptoms of omega-3 fatty acid deficiency include fatigue, poor memory, dry skin, heart problems, mood swings or depression, and poor circulation.

Alright.  That's enough lecturing on why you should eat these cookies.  I also made mine sugar free.  The kiddo doesn't react well when sugar is involved (in fact, his father once termed his behavior on sugar as that of "a spastic robot on speed"), and it's not good for you anyway, so I do my best to limit sugar consumption in this house.  I used a sugar free maple syrup.  Let's not have the artificial sweetener debate right now, okay?  I use the only one deemed pregnancy safe by the FDA and my doctor (who has 12 letters behind his name), so I feel safe enough.  If you don't want to use a sugar free version, then feel free to use pure maple syrup.

Banana Nut Bread Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp flax seeds, ground
• 2 TBSP cold water
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats, ground into flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped or crushed
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 large banana, mashed
• 1 heaping TBSP plain fat free soy yogurt

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375°.

2.  Grind 3/4 cups oats into flour using a food processor or blender.

It should look like this when you're finished.

3.  Mix ground flax (I grind mine in the Tribest Personal Blender with the grinder blade; you can use a coffee grinder, as well) with 2 TBSP cold water and set aside to thicken.

4.  Mix oats, oat flour, wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and walnuts in a large mixing bowl.

5.  To the flax mixture add syrup, vanilla, mashed banana (I just squish it around in the peel until it's mushy, and then drop it into the bowl), and soy yogurt, using a whisk to combine well.

6.  Pour wet mixture into dry mixture.

7.  Stir very well, until you've got a really thick batter.

8.  Drop by heaping TBSP onto a baking sheet that has been lined with lightly sprayed parchment paper.

9.  Flatten and smooth the tops with the back of the measuring spoon.

10.  Bake 10 minutes, or until the cookies are just slightly brown.

Enjoy!

Healthy, Gluten Free Crackers

These crackers aren't so much a cracker in the thin, crispy sense.  They are thicker, chewier, heartier, with a slight crisp around the edges, and they are oh so good.  They're kind of a crackery/bready/cakey texture.  They're wonderful for the spreading of hummus or baba ghanouj.  They're fantastic as a side for soup.  Rolled thicker and cut larger, they make a good flat bread for sandwiches.  They're also pretty darned good just by themselves.  Not that I know this from experience, because I ate half a dozen of them all by myself or anything.

This recipe is a mash up of the (never home)maker's version and the Oh She Glows version, spiced to match my preferences.  Both of those blogs are amazing, and if you don't follow them, you probably should!  I've learned so much from them both.  Anyway, these crackers are also gluten free and vegan.  Win all the way around here!

This recipe offers one last advantage.  It's a way to use up leftovers.  There tends to be both left over quinoa and left over rice pretty often around here.  Unfortunately, today I had neither, so I actually had to cook!

Healthy, Gluten Free Crackers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice, uncooked
• 1/2 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 1 TBSP water
• 2 TBSP nutritional yeast
• 1 TBSP thyme
• 1 TBSP oregano
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 tsp tahini
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp garlic, finely minced

Directions:

1.  Cook rice and quinoa in separate pots.

2.  Cool completely.

Because I was very anxious to make these, I just dumped them both into the bowl of the food processor and shoved it in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

3.  Preheat oven to 350°.

4.  Put all ingredients into bowl of food processor and process until well mixed.

Don't worry when it's not dough-like.  It should look like this.

5.  Dump mixture onto a greased cookie sheet.

6.  Flatten and shape the dough with wet hands.

7.  Cover with plastic wrap and roll with rolling pin to help even out the thickness and smooth the tops.  Don't worry about trying to roll it thin.  These AREN'T supposed to be thin little crackers. However, if you want to work on rolling them thin, they will bake up crispier.

8.  Use a pizza cutter to slice into desired shapes.

9.  Bake 15 minutes, and then carefully flip the crackers over.

10.  Bake 15 to 25 minutes more, until golden.  Watch very carefully after 30 minutes so they won't burn.

11.  Cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet.  They will further firm up while cooling.

Enjoy!

Laura's Healthy No-Bake Breakfast Energy Bars

Whew.  That's a long name.  I didn't think it would be kosher to just call them Laura Bars, though, because that's kinda taken, even if they do spell it wrong!  Anyway, my mother recently sent some Rice Krispy Treats, and I was immediately reminded that they were my favorite childhood treat.  I never wanted a birthday cake; I wanted Rice Krispy Treats.  I'm much wiser now, and I realize that they are nutritionally devoid of ... well, everything.  There's not a single redeeming quality in a Rice Krispy Treat.  Not one.

This got my mind whirring.  Surely I could make some sort of comparable treat that was much much better for me.  What I ended up with didn't resemble the original inspiration in the least.  In fact, the only thing in common ended up being cereal, and it wasn't even the same cereal.  However, my bar is full of healthy yummy things, and it makes a great breakfast on the go or pre-gym snack.  Now all it needs is a shorter name!

Laura's Healthy No-Bake Breakfast Energy Bars

Ingredients:

• 7 cups puffed whole wheat cereal.  This does not have to be an expensive endeavor.  I used the super cheap store brand in a bag.  It cost me 98¢, had no added salt or sugar, and it had no preservatives.  Win!
• 1 cup dried fruit.  I used bananas, apples, and blueberries simply because that's what was hot off the dehydrator this week.  Use any combination you'd like.
• 1/2 cup nuts.  I used a mix.
• 2 TBSP ground flax seeds
• 2 TBSP wheat germ
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 cup almond butter.  I made my own from raw almonds.  I suppose you could roast them first if you wanted.  I suppose you could even buy the kind in the jar; though you know I don't recommend that!
• 3 TBSP unsweetened apple sauce

Directions:

1.  Mix the cereal, fruit, nuts, cinnamon, wheat germ, and ground flax in a large bowl.

2.  Put the honey, almond butter, and apple sauce into a microwave safe bowl, and heat for a minute and a half.

3.  Mix very well, until almond butter is melted and incorporated and pour over cereal/fruit mixture.

4.  Stir very well, making sure all of the cereal mixture is coated.

5.  Press cereal firmly into a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.  I tried using a spatula, but it just didn't work.  I ended up getting my hands wet and pressing it into the dish with my hands.

6.  Stick in freezer for 30 minutes, and then cut into 15 bars.  Store refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Pinch Your Pennies - Home Dehydration

We use a lot of dried fruit around here (apples, bananas, pineapple, mango, guava, pears).  I use it in my oatmeal, in my granola, in my granola bars, just as a snack, etc.  I use a fair amount of dehydrated vegetables, as well (sweet potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, red pepper).  They crisp up into nice "chips" for dipping into hummus or salsa.  It's convenient; it's healthy; it's easy, and it's really quite good for you.

I'll spare you a repeat of my rant on why you shouldn't buy dehydrated fruits in the grocery stores, and just link to it instead.  That way, if you've seen it once, you don't have to see it again.  Along with all of the health reasons you shouldn't buy pre-packaged dehydrated fruits, there's the cost reason as well.  One pound of  banana chips costs $2.70 at my local grocery store.  I can buy 22 pounds of baby bananas at the local Hispanic market for $5.00!  At the same grocery store, a ten ounce bag of dehydrated apple slices costs almost $3.00.  I just paid 59¢ a pound for red delicious apples.  I don't suppose I need to point out that the savings here is HUGE!

You don't need special equipment to dehydrate; you can do it in your oven at a very low temperature.  I even know one guy who dehydrates his fruit in a cardboard box on the dash of his car during the summer months.  I, however, use a simple, no frills, food dehydrator.  It was $40.00 at Target, and it's paid for itself many many times over since I bought it.

The prep can be a tiny bit time consuming, but the end result is more than worth it, and it's not like it's hard or anything.  You just wash up the produce you want to dehydrate, and you cut it into uniform slices.  The thinner they are, the quicker they dehydrate.  If they're thicker, they take longer, but they're also crispier.

My mother-in-law gave me this handy dandy apple slicer and corer gizmo, and it's turned out to be invaluable!  I slice my apples much thinner after the initial cut, but having it already cored is great!

Then you just load up the dehydrator trays and turn it on.  Piece of cake!

In about two days, I'll have a nice big bowlful of dehydrated apple chips.  Then I'll start on the bananas.  I've discovered that there's just no such thing as too many dehydrated banana chips!  Yum.

Store them in an airtight container, and they'll keep pretty much indefinitely.

Sweet Potato Muffins

A good for you muffin?  No way!  It's a dream come true, if you dream about such things.  A perfect handheld snack you can grab on the way out the door to the gym or even as a breakfast if you're running late for work.

I LOVE sweet potatoes.  I could eat them every day of my life and not get tired of them.  It's a real bonus that they're one of the highest ranked vegetables on the nutrition scale.  They're a superfood, high in fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, potassium and manganese. They can also help stabilize blood sugar, which means they're a good choice for diabetics, and by stabilizing blood sugar levels, they curb the appetite longer. They can satisfy a sweet tooth, and they're rich in antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties. There's just nothing bad about a sweet potato, and best of all they're relatively low in calories for all of the nutritional power they pack.

Turning a sweet potato into a healthy muffin is a snap.

Sweet Potato Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup raw sugar (in the name of all that is holy, don't use that refined white crap!)
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 3/4 cups cooked chopped sweet potatoes (baking is the best way to bring out the sweet taste and creamy texture, but if you're in a hurry, boiling them will work)
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
2. Mash sweet potatoes and add to dry ingredients, along with water.
3. Stir until just mixed.  This doesn't look like your typical thinnish muffin batter.  This is thicker.  It's not pourable and must be spooned into muffin tin.
4. Lightly spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray and fill cups to the top.  This will only make nine muffins, so don't even try to get 12 out of it unless you want small, flat muffins.
5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops of the muffins bounce back when pressed.
6. Let stand several minutes before removing from pan.
7. Cool completely and store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Cheesy Cheddar Crackers

I found this recipe all over the internet, but as near as I can tell, it originated at Country Living.  These crackers are so good!  They are light and airy and not greasy at all.  They've got flaky pockets inside, kind of like goldfish crackers.  I cannot say enough good things about these crackers, and that's saying a lot, because I don't really like cheddar cheese.  I made them because my husband asked vehemently.  Several times.  I was pleasantly surprised.

 

The recipe says that you should roll these out directly onto the baking pan.  Well obviously, I don't have enough talent to do that.  I tried.  It went much better when I gave up and rolled them out on a floured counter top.  Also, I had never worked with chilled dough before, and I didn't expect it to be so hard to work with.  I wasn't able to get them quite as thin as they are supposed to be.  Some of them turned out very cracker-like, and others turned out more like tiny cheddar puff-pastries.  Interestingly enough, I liked the puff-pastry like ones the best.

 

So things I learned for next time: 

1. Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit on counter top for about 20 minutes before rolling out. 
2. Do not try to roll out without flouring surface first.
3. Roll between parchment paper so that I can get them thinner.
4. I need a bench scraper
5. I could also use some little cookie cutters.

These are not a low calorie snack, but they are a good for you snack, and they're quite satisfying.  I did the math on the calorie count, because I'm anal that way.  They are not significantly less in calories than actual goldfish crackers; there are only four less calories in the home made version for the same serving size as in goldfish.  However, it's not about saving calories.  It's about not eating added crap that you don't need.  The home made version has FOUR ingredients.  The commercial version has those ingredients plus sunflower, canola, and soybean oil, annatto, autolyzed yeast, sugar, and monocalcium phosphate.  I don't need all of that stuff.  Heck, I don't even know what a lot of that stuff IS!

 

Cheesy Crackers

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper (optional)
• 4 TBSP cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
• 3-4 TBSP water

 Directions:

 

1.  Pulse the flour with the salt and pepper in food processor

 

2.  Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

 

3.  Add grated cheese a little at a time until the mixture again resembles coarse meal.

 

4.  Pulse in 3 to 4 tablespoons of water, one tablespoon at a time, and only enough so that the dough forms a ball and rides the blade.

 

5.  Remove, wrap in plastic, and chill for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.  (Leave for as long as you can, as well chilled dough puffs more in the oven.)

 

 

6.  Roll the dough out to 1/8th-inch thickness directly onto a baking sheet.

 

7.  Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut 1 inch squares.

 

8.  Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until crackers are golden brown.  Watch them closely after ten minutes.

 

(Note that these aren't uniform in size.  Or in shape.  My sixth grade shop teacher once told me that everything I cut looked like someone cross-eyed cut it.  Well, I'm not cross-eyed, but I am left handed!  THIS is why I could use some little cookie cutters.)

 

 9.  Remove from oven and cool completely.

 

Store in an airtight container for up to one week or freeze.
These will NEVER last a week in this house!

 

Enjoy!

Throw It Together Mexican Casserole with Baked Tortilla Chips

I like recipes that are easy, use up left overs, and that everyone in the house will eat, which isn't exactly easy since everyone (else) in the house is really very picky! This one dish recipe fits the bill.

Mexican Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 package veggie crumbles OR 2-3 cups well-cooked beans of your choice OR 1 lb equivalent reconstituted TVP
• 1 cup egg beaters OR four eggs OR equivalent egg replacer
• 2 packets taco seasoning
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• oil or cooking spray to coat baking dish

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine all ingredients (using half of the cheese) and mix thoroughly.
3. Pour mixture into greased casserole dish and cover with remaining cheese.
4. Bake covered for 45 minutes.
5. Remove cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
6. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

 For the tortilla chips:

       1.  Preheat oven to 350°.
       2.  Mist both side of the tortilla (I use corn) with olive oil. 
       3.  Cut into four pieces.
       4.  Place on baking sheet and lightly salt.

       5.  Bake for ten minutes.
       6.  Turn chips over and bake for five more minutes.
       7.  Remove from baking sheet and cool completely.

That's it, and you have tortilla chips that haven't been fried and have 3/4 less calories and fat the the pre-packaged kind.  
 

Serve your casserole and chips with a veggie or green salad, and dinner is served!

Enjoy!