The Cupboard Challenge....

Two days of laying in bed, suffering from general malaise due to this cold finally got to me. The short walk to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for tonight's dinner wiped me out. But I was determined to make dinner tonight with things that have been in the house for a while. In the back of the refrigerator was a bag of garbanzo bean flour. In the cupboard there was a can of fat free refried beans with green chilies. That can has been staring at me for a while because I had no ideas floating around in my head what to use it in, now that I was thinking thin. Before going on a diet, I would have made refried beans and chicken burritos with 1/2 pounds of cheese. I would have eaten 3 of them and called it a meal. Those days are long gone. And so is 75 pounds.

Now the challenge is to make something that is healthy and relatively low in calories. And if that isn't enough, it has to taste good too.

One cup of garbanzo bean flour has 356 calories. Fat free refried beans about 200.

Four ounces of cheese about 400,

With the oil, the whole dish combined is about 1100 calories

1 serving, roughly 300 calories

A meal is born...

Mexican Pizza with a Garbanzo Bean flour crust. Yum!

First things first, the crust...

Garbanzo bean (Chickpea) flour crust.

1 cup water

1 cup garbanzo bean flour

1 tsp. baking powder

salt/pepper

parsley or dill weed (optional)

large onion

oil for pan

Combine 1st 4 ingredients, beat with a whisk until top has foam, cover and set on the counter for a minimum of 2 hours. Pre heat oven to 350. In a oven proof pan slowly brown sliced onions in oil with some salt and pepper. Stir batter and add dried herbs if desired. Pour batter over onions, and continue cooking on stove until the batter sets a bit. Transfer pan to oven and bake for 30 minutes.

This is great as is. Many times I have served it as side dish. However tonight, I was making

TA-DAHHHHH Drum Roll Please...

mexican pizza

1/2 a can of Fat Free refried beans with or without green chilies

4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese shredded (with or without jalapeños)

salsa verde to taste.

Spread the refried beans on the top of the garbanzo bean crust, sprinkle with cheese.

Spoon the salsa verde on top of the cheese. Place in broiler until cheese has melted.

Guilt free mexican pizza!

Now I have 1/2 a can of fat free refried beans and salsa verde in the house. I feel shrimps with salsa verde might be on the menu soon. But what am I going to do with those beans???