Bruce Tretter's "Gotta Eat, Can't Cook" Recipe: Tortilla Wraps

Tortilla Wraps

The recipe you see here for a cold or warm tortilla wrap is a purely text version of one of the step-by-step video and picture book recipes included in a free, fully capable book sample available at the iTunes store (just type either “bruce tretter” or “dorm room food” in the book search box).

Preparation Time: 1-2 minutes

Optional Cooking Time: about 45 seconds

Needed

(for 1 wrap)

1 Tortilla

Favorite Sliced or Grated Cheese

Favorite Cold Cuts

Topping (use your choice or combination of mustard, mayonnaise or favorite sandwich spread, hot sauce, relish, salsa and/or even plain yogurt or sour cream)

Microwave Oven Safe Plate

Tablespoon

Table Knife

1. Spread an even layer of mayonnaise (or your favorite sandwich spread) over the entire tortilla, and put the tortilla on a microwave oven safe plate (if you’re planning to warm the tortilla wrap in the microwave oven).

2. Top with your choice or a combination of cheese, cold cuts, mustard, relish, salsa, and/or plain yogurt.

3. Roll up the tortilla, cut it in half, add an optional shot of hot sauce, and either have the tortilla wrap as is cold or put the tortilla wrap in the middle of the microwave oven and cook using HIGH heat or 100% power for 45 seconds. NOTE: Cooking time will vary depending on microwave watt output power. The tortilla wrap shown here was cooked in a 1200-watt microwave oven for 45 seconds. If your microwave oven puts out less watt power, cooking time will take a little longer. If your microwave oven puts out more watt power, cooking time will be shorter.

4. After cooking, carefully remove the cooked tortilla wrap from the microwave oven. The tortilla wrap is done when the cheese has melted.

To see a full picture demonstration of this recipe and so many others visit Bruce Tretter at www.gotta-eat.com.

(Gotta Eat, Can't Cook) Instant Homemade Salad Dressing

by Bruce Tretter

This very quick & easy fresh salad dressing requires only 5 ingredients, a teaspoon and a 16-ounce jar with a snug fitting lid. The only salt and sugar in this recipe come from mustard, which therefore makes the dressing low in both sodium and sugar, though please do check the ingredients you use to make sure they comply safely if you are on a sodium and/or sugar restricted diet.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes or less

Ingredients
(to make 16 ounces)

1 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder 1/2 - 1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper 3 Teaspoons Mustard  8 Ounces Vinegar
8 Ounces Olive, Vegetable or Canola Oil


Equipment

16 Ounce Jar with Lid
Teaspoon


1. Add the following to a jar:
 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1⁄2 - 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 teaspoons mustard

2. Pour enough vinegar to fill the jar about half way full.

3. Fill the jar the rest of the way with olive or canola oil making sure to leave enough air space at the top of jar so that the dressing can be shaken.

4. Screw the lid on the jar snuggly so that the jar won’t leak. Hold the jar firmly and securely with two hands, and give the jar a vigorous shake, preferably over the sink in case the jar leaks. Shake for 10-15 seconds until the dressing is uniformly mixed together.

5. Use the dressing on salad as is. Store the remaining dressing in a closed jar for at least 1-2 weeks. Just give it a quick shake when you’re ready to use it again.

Stay in contact with more from Bruce Tretter at www.gotta-eat.com. 

"Quick and Easy Cooking" with Bruce Tretter

Turkey Nachos

Talk about quick and easy – and lots of freedom of choice. All it takes to make turkey nachos is your favorite corn (or any) chips, leftover turkey, canned beans (that’s optional) and melted cheese topped with your choice or a combination of sliced avocado, chopped tomato, chopped onion, sour cream or plain yogurt and/or salsa.

Preparation Time: 2-10 minutes depending on number and type of ingredient

choices

Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

(for 2-4)

Cooking Spray

Favorite Corn (or any) Chips

Cooked Turkey

12-Ounce Can of Beans

Favorite Sliced, Shredded or Grated Cheese (I’m using shredded cheddar cheese,

but any cheese will work)

Ripe Avocado (optional)

Medium Sized Tomato (optional)

1/4 Onion (optional - I like using either red or sweet onions for this, but any

onion will work)

Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt (optional)

Salsa (optional)

Equipment

Baking Dish

Colander (if you’re using canned beans)

Can Opener (if you’re using canned beans without a pull tab)

Spatula or Big Spoon

Small Sharp (Paring) Knife

Cutting Board

Tablespoon

Timer

Pot Holder or Folded Dish Towel

1. Place an oven rack half way up from the oven bottom, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180 degrees Celsius).

2. Open, drain and rinse a can of beans (optional) with cold tap water in the sink.

3. Spray a baking dish with a light coat of cooking spray and top with a generous, even layer of your favorite corn (or any) chips.

4. Top the chips with a generous, even layer of shredded turkey meat, beans and shredded cheese.

5. When the oven has warmed to 350 degrees (180 C), put the baking dish in the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes.

6. While the nachos cook, prepare your choice or a combination of ripe avocado, tomato and or onion as follows:

Avocado: Cut a ripe avocado in half lengthwise around the seed and twist the two avocado halves apart. Remove the seed by holding the avocado half with the seed still attached seed side up on the cutting board - making sure your fingers are not in the intended knife path - and driving the knife blade into the seed. Twist and lift the seed from the avocado half. Remove the seed from the knife edge by pinching the down on the seed from the back, dull side of the knife. Cut the avocado half again in half lengthwise into quarters, and peel off the skin. Cut each avocado quarter into slices 1/4 - 1/2 inch (6-12 mm) wide, and cut the slices in cross section into pieces also 1/4 - 1/2 inch (6-12 mm) wide.

Tomato: Rinse and shake a tomato dry in the sink. Then carefully make an upside cone shaped cut around the stem patch to remove the tomato core as shown in the third picture below. Cut the tomato in half lengthwise. Cut each tomato half into lengthwise slices about 1/2 inch (12 mm) wide. Then cut the slices in cross section into pieces also about 1/2 inch (12 mm) wide.

Onion: Cut a red (or any) onion in half, and cut one of the onion halves in half again. Cut off the tough onion stem and root ends and peel the onion skin. Cut slices about 1/4 - 1/2 inch (6-12 mm) wide, making sure not to cut through the back of the onion to keep the slices bound together, and chop those slices into pieces also 1/4 - 1/2 inch (6-12 mm) wide.

7. When the timer sounds, carefully remove the cooked nachos from the oven with a potholder or folded dish towel. The nachos are done when the cheese on top has melted.

8. Scoop the nachos from the baking dish onto a plate with a spatula or big spoon, and either have them as is or top them with your choice or a combination of plain yogurt or sour cream and/or salsa.

And that’s all there is to making turkey nachos quickly & very easily.

As always, if you’re more visually oriented, you can get complete step-by-step picture book directions by visiting the Gotta’ Eat, Can’t Cook site at www.gotta-eat.com.  Just click the downloads tab from the home page, scroll down to “Chicken & Turkey” and click “Turkey Nachos” for a free step-by-step picture book recipe.  

"Quick & Easy Cooking" with Bruce Tretter

I love Fettuccine Alfredo but don’t like the excessively full feeling after eating it, which is largely attributed to the heavy cream in the sauce. The recipe here substitutes evaporated milk for heavy cream, which far reduces the fat content and therefore makes the Alfredo sauce less excessively filling. This recipe also uses garlic to add little more flavor and an optional shot of balsamic vinegar for an added rounding out zing. All together, this pasta with lighter Alfredo sauce recipe provides full-on flavor that tastes at least as good as standard Fettuccine Alfredo without the added heaviness.

Preparation Time: 5-10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients

(for 2-3)

½ Box or 8 Ounces Pasta

12 Ounce Container (unsweetened) Evaporated Milk

1-2 Garlic Cloves

Grated or Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Ground Black Pepper

Balsamic Vinegar (optional)

Equipment

Large Knife

Cutting Board

Can Opener

Large Spoon

Medium Sized Pot

Colander

Timer

1. Fill a medium sized pot about half full with cold tap water. Put the pot on the stove, and turn on the burner to HIGH heat.

2. While the water warms, pull 1-2 garlic cloves from a fresh garlic bulb. Put 1 garlic clove at a time under the flat side of wide bladed (chef’s) knife, and use the heel of your hand to press down on the top flat side of the knife with enough pressure to break the garlic clove open to make peeling the garlic skin much easier. Peel the garlic skin. Then slice and chop the garlic until it looks about coarsely ground salt.

3. Let the water come to a big bubble, rapid boil to help ensure the pasta cooks properly to desired doneness. Check the pasta package for the recommended cooking time, and set a timer for 2 minutes less than the time the package recommends to allow the pasta to soak up some of the evaporated milk that will be added in step 5. Then, add ½ box or 8 ounces of pasta to the boiling water and stir until all the pasta is submerged in the boiling water. Let the water come back to a full boil. Then turn down the burner heat to MEDIUM to prevent the pot from boiling over, and cook until the timer sounds.

4. In the meantime, put a colander in the sink, and shake and open a can of evaporated milk.

5. When the timer sounds, pour the pasta and hot water into the colander in the sink, and lower the burner heat to LOW MEDIUM. Put the pot back on the stove, pour in the entire can of evaporated milk, and add the chopped garlic. Let the evaporated milk warm for a minute or two. Then add the cooked pasta, stir, and let the pot warm until the evaporated milk just starts to bubble and steam. Turn off the stove heat to keep the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pot and add a good pile of grated or shredded Parmesan cheese. Stir with a big spoon until the Parmesan cheese and evaporated milk blend together smoothly.

6. Serve, and either have the pasta with lighter Alfredo sauce as is or topped with your choice or combination of ground black pepper and/or balsamic vinegar to taste.

Bruce Tretter is the resident chef for Conversations LIVE Radio show and the co-host of the weekly show The Conversation. Find out more about him and his quick and easy cooking recipes at www.gotta-eat.com. He can also be found on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gotta_eat. 

Bruce Tretter Presents...Kid-Safe Tortilla Pizza

Here’s a quick and easy tortilla pizza my then 10 year old daughter taught me years ago that kids can make on their own safely for either a snack, lunch or dinner.

Preparation Time: 1 minute

Cooking Time: about 45 seconds

Ingredients

1 Tortilla

Favorite Tomato Sauce

Grated (or sliced) Mozzarella Cheese

Favorite Pizza Topping

Equipment

Microwave Oven Safe Plate

Tablespoon

Table Knife

Potholder or Folded Dishtowel (not really necessary because plate won’t get that hot)

1. Lay a tortilla on a microwave oven safe plate, and use a tablespoon to spread a thin, even layer of tomato sauce over the entire tortilla.

2. Cover the sauce with grated cheese and either leave it as is or top half the cheese with your favorite pizza topping.

3. Quickly and carefully fold the tortilla in half.

4. Put the tortilla pizza in the middle of the microwave oven, and cook using HIGH heat or 100% power for 45 seconds. NOTE: Cooking time may vary depending on microwave watt output power.

5. Use a potholder or folded dishtowel, if needed, to remove the cooked tortilla pizza from the microwave oven. The tortilla pizza is done when the cheese has melted.

6. Use a table knife to cut the tortilla pizza into 2-4 pieces and serve warm.

For visual help with this recipe, you can go to the Gotta’ Eat, Can’t Cook website at www.gotta-eat.com. Just click the “recipe menu” tab from the banner in the middle of the homepage. Click “Kid Friendly Recipes”. Then click the picture of “Tortilla Pizza” to download the step-by-step picture book recipe all entirely for free. 

Kid-Friendly Tuna Melt Tortilla: Quick & Easy

by Conversations' Resident Chef Bruce Tretter*

To make this quick & easy kid-friendly tortilla tuna melt, just add tuna salad and your favorite shredded cheese to a tortilla, and then warm the tortilla in the microwave oven for about 1 minute.

Preparation Time: 2-3 minutes

Needed
(for 1)

Tortilla
Tuna Salad
Favorite Shredded Cheese
Microwave Oven Safe Plate
Fork

1. Spread a generous layer of tuna salad down the middle of a tortilla placed on a microwave oven safe plate. Top the tuna salad with a handful of your favorite shredded cheese.

2. Fold and press the tortilla sides over the middle of the tortilla.

3. Put the plate in the middle of the microwave oven, and cook using your microwave oven 100% power or HIGH heat setting for 1 minute. NOTE: I used a 1200-watt microwave oven and cooked the tortilla shown here for 1 minute. Cooking time will vary depending on your microwave oven watt power.

4. After cooking, carefully remove the plate from the microwave oven by lifting the plate by the outer edge where it’s coolest. The tortilla is properly cooked when the cheese has melted.

*    Bruce Tretter is the founder of Gotta Eat, Can't Cook (www.gotta-eat.com), a place where individuals can learn their way around the kitchen quickly and easily. He is also the host of "Quick & Easy Cooking with Bruce Tretter" on Conversations LIVE (www.conversationsliveradio.com) , co-host of the weekly show The Conversation (www.theconversationshow.com) and a regular contributor to Conversations Magazine.