Irish Nachos

I had never heard of Irish Nachos until about a week ago when the daily Hungry Girl email featured a recipe for them. Traditionally, potatoes are used in Irish Nachos but Hungry Girl's version utilized the often overlooked turnip instead. In the dish, turnip slices are roasted until crisp then piled with typical nacho toppings like salsa and melted cheese. I was very intrigued by the recipe and knew I needed to make my own variation as soon as possible. The ending result  was wonderfully gooey, cheesy, and spicy. I'm not sure if they really reminds me of nachos but Irish Nachos are still a success in my book.

Irish Nachos
Gluten Free
Serves One

Ingredients:
2 roma tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 poblano pepper, cut into a large dice
1 medium turnip (about 12 oz), cut into thin half moon slices
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. chili powder
Dash black pepper
2 slices fat-free white cheddar cheese
1/4 cup salsa
salt and pepper
Optional Toppings- hot sauce, additional salsa

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place tomatoes and peppers on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Spray vegetables thoroughly with olive oil spray and season with salt and pepper.

2. Roast vegetables 25-30 minutes, or until tomatoes begin to split and peppers begin to blister. Stir vegetables halfway through cooking.

3. Set aside roasted vegetables and raise oven temperature to 450 degrees. Respray baking sheet with nonstick spray.

4. Lay turnip slices on the baking sheet, and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 12 minutes.

5. Flip slices, and bake until tender on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside, about 12 more minutes.

6. Remove turnip slices from oven but leave oven on.

7. Spray a oven safe plate or dish with nonstick spray and closely arrange turnip slices on the plate. Sprinkle with garlic powder and chili powder. Tear cheese slices into pieces and place on top of turnips. Evenly distribute roasted tomatoes, pepper, and salsa on top of cheese

8. Transfer plate to oven and bake until cheese has melted, 1 - 2 minutes.

9. Top nachos with any desired optional toppings.

Nutrition Information--approximately 205 calories per serving (entire recipe)