Oven 'Fried' Corn Tortilla Chips

It’s late at night. You’re craving something crunchy to munch on while watching some bad TV. You don’t want to eat just any old junk food, you are health conscience and care about what you feed your body. I have been there, my friends, with nothing in the pantry that fits that bill. Usually, I have a stack of good corn tortillas in my fridge, which brings me to this post.

In my quest for healthy, yet decadent tasting snack foods, I have been experimenting with different ways of making home *fried* corn chips. The key was to have a chip that tasted like it had been put in a deep fryer, with crispy pockets of air and big flavor. After many tests, I arrived at this chip. Crispy and seasoned well, this chip is great with salsa, hummus or just eaten plain. Plus the calories are so much lower than anything you can buy in the store (that are made from natural ingredients, not chemicals). These chips are easy to make and can be baked in advance, although they are best eaten the fresh from the oven. So, the next time the chip munchies come along, try this recipe.

Start with a good corn tortilla. I like Pepitos brand because they don’t use lard and they are super low in calories. At 11 calories a chip they won’t blow your diet.

Make a stack of the tortillas and cut in half.

Now cut the stack in quarters.

Put the wedges in a good size bowl and add about 1 1/2 Tbs. of good oil. Canola is what I like to use.Peanut oil makes the crispiest chips, but the health benefits fly out the window, so I don’t recommend that oil.

Now add your spices. Here, I used a combo of onion and garlic powders, chili powders, seafood seasoning and a bit of salt.

Now toss really well. You need to make sure that all the chips have been fairly well coated to get the maximum crunch.

Lay them out on a non greased baking sheet.

Bake the chips at 425 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Make sure to watch them because they can literally become little coal chips if your oven runs hot.

Serve with your favorite dip and enjoy!

Fried Rice and Baked Wonton Chips

Surprisingly we’d never made fried rice before, so we thought we’d give it a try. We made a vegetarian version of this recipe, omitting the meat. It was decent fried rice, but if we made it again we might try to seek out a different recipe.

Taylor thought the egg was supposed to be scrambled in the rice, rather than before, then removed, cut into pieces, and stirred back in.

Definitely don’t skip the mushrooms, this dish would have been lost without them (though strangely, while I can eat them fine, I can’t stand the smell of them rehydrating.)

We also doubled the sauce (but we tend to do that more often than not).

For the wonton chips – we had some leftover wrappers, and didn’t feel like wasting a quart of oil to fry them. So I cut them into strips, laid them on an oiled baking sheet, and baked them until they got crispy and golden (careful – they go from golden to burnt far too quickly, if anything, err on the side of less-than-golden when you take them out.) Pretty good, not as good as they’d be fried though! But they made for a nice ’scoop’ for the fried rice.

Anyone have a kick-butt recipe for fried rice? This one is more like a nice pat rather than a kick—good but could be so much better.

Fried Rice

Makes 4-6 servings. Recipe from Food Network.

INGREDIENTS
8 dried shiitake mushrooms
3 tablespoons peanut oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten with a pinch of kosher salt
4 scallions (white and green), thinly sliced
1/4 cup minced carrot
1 large clove garlic, minced
Pinch red chile flakes
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
3 cups cooked long-grain rice
1 cup cooked meat cut in 1/2-inch cubes, such as pork, ham, beef, or chicken (optional)
1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted in a strainer at room temperature

DIRECTIONS
Put the mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with boiling water and soak until re-hydrated, about 20 minutes. Drain, squeeze dry, and cut mushrooms in quarters. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil in a well-seasoned wok or large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl to coat the pan. Pour in the eggs, swirl the pan so the egg forms a large thin pancake. (Lift the edge of the egg to allow any uncooked egg to run to the center.) As soon as the egg has set, turn it out of the pan onto a cutting board. Cool, cut into 1 inch pieces.

Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and heat the remaining peanut oil over high heat. Add the scallions and carrots and stir-fry for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, garlic, chile, and ginger, stir-fry for 1 minute more. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil and rice and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the meat, peas, and reserved egg, cook, stirring until heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.