New Recipe: Classy Nachos.

“These aren’t just nachos,” I said to LeeLee on the phone as he drove home from work.  “These are classy nachos.”

I know I needn’t justify my choice in menu items tonight; dinners come in all shapes and sizes, as well as various levels of complexity.  But often, the word “nachos” in our house means chips, beans, and cheese – that’s that, simple enough.  Tonight, however, I decided to go a few steps further.  Tonight, I decided to make our nachos classy.

Now, before I go any further, let me just state that this is yet another way to keep up with the conga line of squash that is parading through our home at the moment.  About 15 minutes before serving, I diced up a yellow squash (courtesy of Great Country Farms) and put the pieces in a pan on medium heat – I sprayed said pan with cooking spray first, I should add – and once the squash was becoming translucent, I added a bag of vegetarian burger crumbles, seasoning the mixture with adobo seasoning.  Once the crumbles were heated through and nicely browned, I took them off the heat and prepared my nachos!

First, I laid down a layer of tortilla chips on each of our plates.  Then I spooned a hearty dose of refried beans atop the chips.  Next came the “beef” and squash mixture, and then about half a cup of Mexican blend cheese.  Finally, I topped each plate with sliced black olives and sliced jalapeno peppers, and then it was time to heat everything up.

So into the microwave our plates went, one after the other, for about 90 seconds each.  When the microwave beeped, the cheese was melted and the beans were heated up, and we dug in to eat!

I have to say, I’m a sucker for nachos.  And these were perhaps the best I’ve ever made at home.  They were hearty, filling, flavorful – and classy!  As advertised.

CLASSY NACHOS

Serves two (or more)

What you’ll need:

1 summer squash, diced

1 bag vegetarian burger crumbles

Adobo seasoning, to taste

1 bag tortilla chips

1 can vegetarian refried beans

1 2-cup bag of shredded Mexican cheese

1 small can sliced black olives

1 jar sliced jalapenos

Salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and/or hot sauce, to taste

Coat a nonstick pan with cooking spray and heat it to Medium.  Add the squash and cook until just translucent.  Next, add the burger crumbles and adobo seasoning, and cook until fully heated through.

Assemble your nachos by placing the tortilla chips atop a dinner plate and topping them with the refried beans, bean and squash mixture, half a cup of cheese, olives, and jalapenos.  Cook in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and serve with any assortment of side items (some of my favorites are listed above).

Enjoy!

:)