2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics - Gold Medal Snacks

With your family and friends gathered around the television avidly following luge, bobsled, hockey, figure and speed skating, skiing, snowboarding and any other Olympic sport you'd care to mention, are you relegated to the kitchen to manage the never-ending flow of snacks and munchies?

Are they cheering while you're waiting for the microwave to ding? Are you seemingly doomed to watch the Olympics on "Instant Replay"?

Try these delicious, spicy, make-ahead Mexican palate-pleasers, and enjoy the games as they were meant to be watched - in the company of other cheering, happy, well-fed fans. These snacks are not only tasty, they are relatively low in fat, and exceedingly high in flavor. All of them can be made ahead, when you have the time, and kept in the freezer in air-tight zip-lock bags, ready for the next batch of hungry Olympic sports fans.

Mexican food, even the spicy, fried snacks can be a far healthier choice than the standard North American chips and dip offering. Most feature members of the capsicum (pepper) family, and various legumes (beans), all of which have been shown to have significant health benefits, and, if prepared from fresh ingredients, can be significantly lower in fat than most processed snacks.

These tasty treats can be made even more healthful and low-fat by a few simple substitutions:

• use turkey bacon in place of pork
• use low-fat cheese instead of full-fat cheese
  
• use extra lean ground beef
• use zero-fat sour cream or low fat yogurt in place of mayonnaise or full-fat sour cream
• serve fresh, sliced raw veggies as a healthful alternative to chips
  

Used as a base for taquitos, nachos and mini tostadas, corn or flour tortillas can be prepared from scratch or purchased ready-made.

Flour tortillas

Ingredients:

• 4 cups all purpose or whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup fat - any will serve equally well: I prefer either extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil, or grape-seed oil, but lard or any solid fat will work just as well.
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• flour for handling

Method:

• Mix dry ingredients together
• Add fat and water, and mix well
• Place dough on lightly floured surface and kneed until soft and smooth
• Divide dough into 18 balls
• Flatten each ball by hand and then use a lightly floured rolling pin to shape the dough into an 8" circle fro tortilla or 6" circle for a soft taco
  
• Place tortilla on 400 F skillet and cook 45 seconds on each side, until lightly speckled - use a clean cloth to push down any bubbles
• Stack cooked tortillas under a clean dish towel and serve warm or let cool for use in other recipes
  

This is a basic ground beef mixture that can be used in tacos, tostadas, taquitos, chile relenos, and enchiladas.

Seasoned Ground Beef

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground chili meat - coarsely ground extra lean beef, or ground turkey
• 1/2 large white onion, chopped fine
• 1 medium potato cut into 1/4" pieces (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup mashed, cooked tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper

Method:

• Brown beef in skillet over medium heat, breaking up the meat and cooking 'til the meat is completely browned
• Drain off any fat
• Add the other ingredients in order and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes
• Use as filling for tacos, tostadas, taquitos, and enchiladas

Mini Tostadas

Ingredients:

• 12 corn or flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup refried beans
• 1/4 cup salsa
• seasoned ground beef mixture (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup shredded lettuce
• 1/2 cup shredded Tex-Mex cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives

Method:

• Make 12 tinfoil balls large enough to fit comfortably into your muffin pan - if your oven is large enough to use two tins at once, make 24 balls
  
• Cut 2 X 3" rounds from each tortillas to make 24 rounds (Cut up the left-over pieces and bake for tortilla chips)
• Heat olive oil in a skillet
• Dip each circle in the hot oil one at a time, just to soften
• Drain on paper towel and immediately place in muffin pan while still warm - press down the center with a foil ball (This will form the crust of your mini tostada)
• Bake in 400F oven for 10 minutes and remove foil balls
• Heat the refried beans over medium heat (If making ahead, leave the beans cold)
  
• Fill the mini tostadas with a layer of refried beans and meat

To serve, top with a shredded cheese, salsa, a dollop of sour cream, and garnish with sliced black olives.

If preparing ahead of time, once the tostadas have cooled, place the cups in a freezing container with wax paper between the layers. Thaw before reheating.

Seven-Layer Bean Dip

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pinto beans
• 1/2 cup diced green chilis (seeds and veins removed)
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise (or substitute 2 Tbsp plain low fat yogurt with a squeeze of lime juice)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 2 avocados, mashed
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon (can substitute turkey bacon)
• 1 cup shredded, sharp cheddar
• 2 tomatoes seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives, sliced

Method:

• Drain beans and mash in skillet over medium heat 'til smooth
• Add mayo (or yogurt) and chili powder
• Mix green onions into sour cream and set aside
• Mix bacon and lime juice into mashed avocado and set aside

To Assemble:

• In an earthenware dish, layer half of refried bean mixture
• Top with half of sour cream mixture
• Top that with half of avocado mixture
• Repeat the layers, starting with the beans to use up the rest of the mixtures
• Top with a final layer of shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, and sliced olives

Serve warm or make ahead or store in fridge and serve cold with tortilla chips or fresh raw veggies for dipping.

Spanish Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1/4 lb raw chorizo sausage
• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 1 tsp each of salt & chili powder
• 1 Tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 egg
• 2 slices white bread, crumbled
• 2 - 3 Tbsp olive oil for browning the meatballs
  

Method:

• Crumble the chorizo and ground beef together in a mixing bowl
• Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well
• Form the mixture into 1" balls (approx. 36 balls)
• Heat skillet over medium heat and gently brown the meatballs on all sides until cooked through (about 20 min)
• Drain on paper towel and serve warm with salsa and sour cream

These can be made a head and frozen in tightly sealed containers. Thaw before using. To reheat, place on parchment lined baking sheet and place in 350 F oven 'til warm (about 20 minutes).

Salsa

This dish is best made with fresh ingredients, including fresh herbs, for the best flavor. Canned or bottled chilies may be substituted, but be sure to carefully remove and discard the seeds before using.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup finely shredded green chilies
• 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 tsp minced oregano leaves
• 1/2 garlic clove, minced
• 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

• Finely chop all ingredients and stir together
• Chill in fridge for several hours to enhance flavor
• Serve as a dipping sauce with chips, tacos, or as a sauce in cooking
  

© Elle Fredine, 2010, All rights reserved