Taco Cups

Dear Readers,

One of my favorite meals is tacos. However, knowing the amount of fat that is in each taco usually turns me off from eating them. My goal isn't to deprive myself of meals I enjoy, it's recreating them in a healthy way so I can enjoy them. So if I took out the fried corn chips and didn't use fattening ground beef I could make my healthy version of taco cups. I like to portion out the taco filling in cups and eat them as a side. The biggest calorie saver in this recipe is using phyllo dough.

The website about.com-Low fat cooking states: Phyllo, or filo, dough has no saturated fat or trans fat, and no cholesterol. Phyllo dough is light, crisp and flaky, and so long as you use butter-flavored cooking spray between layers rather than real melted butter, it's a perfect low-fat choice for making savory or sweet pies, tarts and strudels. The main criticism of phyllo dough is that it’s hard to use. With a bit of planning, handling phyllo dough needn’t be a problem.

**Remember the trick is to use alittle Pam cooking spray..do not use melted butter. If you don't use the cooking spray the phyllo dough sheets will not stay together**

Taco cups recipe:

Ingredients:
1 roll Phyllo dough (follow instructions..defrost for 2 hours)
1 lb ground turkey breast
1 packet taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup shredded low fat cheese (Mexican blend or cheddar)
1/2 cup salsa

Directions:

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2- Roll out the phyllo dough and cut into squares 3x3inches. Spray the bottom of a muffin pan and then place 1 sheet of phyllo dough in each cup. Spray the dough again and place another phyllo dough sheet. Spray one more time and then place another phyllo square. So in total each muffin cup should have 3 layers of phyllo dough squares. Remember when you are not working with the phyllo dough keep it in between damp clothes. It will dry out very fast. Cook for 10 minutes. Please the cups on a serving dish and set aside.
3- In a pan cook the ground turkey breast until brown. Drain excess liquid that is on bottom of pan. Clean the pan dry of excess liquid and then put the ground meat back in. Add the taco seasoning pack and water and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside.
4- Spoon 1 tbsp of ground turkey into each cup and then sprinkle 1 tsp of cheese and salsa on top.
5- You can always use guacamole instead of salsa. Mix and match your topping just use low fat options and keep it to 1 tsp. I also like fresh cilantro on mine.