Turkey Tortilla Pie

Days are escaping me. Work is hectic with travel and classes cutting into my cooking time! Even my volleyball time as suffered this summer- that's unprecedented! I find that most meals are coming from quick sandwich shops, left overs from the freezer or in those worst case scenarios....a bag of chips followed by a bowl of ice cream. Somehow I managed to pull together this tortilla casserole using some random leftovers (I'm not even sure where the left overs came from?! Nachos maybe??)

You could vary this dish by using more eggs and less meat- turning it into more of a quiche-strata breakfast! Or leave the eggs out for a hearty pie. Serve this with a dollop of sour cream and a margarita or a side of guacamole and a lime beer. Again this is just a made up thing, so add whatever you have in the house, change it to your liking and be fat and happy!

Turkey Tortilla Pie
Lightly spray a round glass baking dish with Pam - line the dish with tortillas. I used whole wheat tortillas, and simply cut them up to cover all the spaces of the dish.

Turkey mixture:

In a pan, sautee in olive oil for about 3 minutes:
1/2 diced Onion
4 celery stalks, diced

add, continue to sautee just to get everything mixed together:
1 tlbs chili powder
1/2 tbls cumin
1/2 tbls paprika
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper (add more for spicier dish)
2 cloves chopped garlic

Now add, and sauteee until meat is cooked:
1/2 lb ground turkey meat (I used turkey to keep the fat content down, feel free to substitute hamburger, sausage or chorizo)

Add:
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 can black beans (drained)
1/2 can of chili beans (save the liquid to add to the eggs)

pour meat mixture into the tortilla lined casserole.
top with a layer of salsa(again, use hot or mild to your liking) and shredded cheese (whatever you have will work great - I used cheddar and chihuahua)
top with tortilla chips (don't just lay the tortillas flat, push them into the meat allowing to stick upright)

whisk together and pour egg mixture on top:
6 egg white 1 yolk (I used mainly whites to keep this slightly lower in fat!)
minced sauteed shallot, 1 section (like 2 tbls)
minced sauteed onions, about 2 tbls
chili bean liquid reserves (optional)

top with sprinkling of paprika and shredded cheese, (whatever you have will work great - I used cheddar and chihuahua) bake until set in the middle. Depending on your oven, this could take up to an hour. Let the casserole-pie set for about 10 minutes before serving.