Use It or Lose It: The Series

Our One Small Change for January was to be more conscious about the food we have in the house, and waste less of it. So, for the past month we have made an extra effort to use up the produce and other perishable foods before they have a chance to rot. With a little imagination, we came up with (and found) some new recipes that include those cast away ingredients in the fridge. I'll be sharing those recipes here in a new series called Use It or Lose It.

I'm starting off the series with this recipe for Savory Tortilla Chips, in an effort to use those tortillas before they turn a fuzzy blue-green.

Start with a handful of tortillas and cut into quarters (the girls love any task that calls for the kitchen scissors).

Coat a baking pan with olive oil (or any cooking oil) and arrange the tortilla pieces in a single layer. Spray the tops of the chips with olive oil and sprinkle with chili powder, curry powder, and salt (use whatever ratios you prefer). Bake at 350° for 4-5 minutes, turn each chip over and return to the oven for another 5-6 minutes. Be sure to watch them closely after 4 minutes, as they can go from perfect to charred in a flash. The chips will be a bit soft when you first take them out but they will crisp as they cool.

The variations to this recipe are endless and, really, you could use whatever spice combo you can come up with. Plain salt and pepper would be great, or a sweet version using butter, sugar and cinnamon sounds delicious, too. Enjoy!

...and February's One Small Change is in the works, stay tuned.