[mojo]

Nacho Grande

Ingredients

1 lb. hamburger
2 (30 oz.) cans refried beans
2 lg. onions, chopped
1 bell pepper
3 c. grated Cheddar cheese
1 can enchilada sauce
2 (4 oz.) cans chopped green chilies
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1 (6 or 8 oz.) can black pitted olives, sliced
see salsa recipe below

Directions

Saute hamburger and one chopped onion and drain. Set this mixture aside. Mix together well: The refried beans, one chopped onion, and one cup grated cheese. Grease a baking dish and spread in bottom of dish. Spread meat mixture over bean layer. Spread enchilada or taco sauce over meat layer. Sprinkle with two cups grated cheese, two cans green chilies. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and spread guacamole over top layer. Add sour cream over guacamole. Dot with chopped olives. Scoop up with taco chips.

Now I add salsa to it when I put it in the bowl. I put in a handful of corn chips followed by lettuce in shreds, then the cooked mixture above (maybe 5 tablespoons) then salsa, sliced and diced fresh tomatoes, sliced black olives, sour cream, extra jalapeno peppers on top, and eat up. Great stuff. Like Taco Bell's Nacho Bell Grande but at your costs.

Instead of green chilies I use in place of that jalapeno peppers which is bought by the gallon as we use a lot of them. In place of chedder cheese I use shredded pizza and montery jack or 4 cheese packages.

Salsa

1 can of diced tomatoes
1/4 onion, roughly quartered
1/4 bell pepper, roughly quartered
a good dash of lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cilantro
1/4 tsp. chili powder
jalapeno peppers to taste

Directions

Put tomatoes in a blender, add all other ingredients. Key to good salsa is not to blend it too long. You would like to have bits of visible onions and peppers in the mix. Chill for a couple of hours after making so that spices soak in.

Note: Fresh tomatoes are better than canned for this recipe. If they are out of season then canned works.

[mojo]

I see I have left something out. You need the recipe for Guacamole.

Guacamole

Ingredients

1/2 medium onion
1-4 Jalapeno or Serrano peppers seeded and finely diced (leave seeds in for hotter)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
2 medium-size ripe avocados (pitted, peeled, and coarsely chopped)
1/2 cup loosely packed coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbs fresh lime juice
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place onion, peppers, garlic, salt, and avocado in a food processor and run in short bursts to coarsely mix the ingredients. Add cilantro and lime juice, and pulse just to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or lime juice and black pepper to taste; the guacamole should be highly seasoned. Don't over process the guacamole; it should be quite coarse in consistency.

Note: The avocado should be ripe and soft but not squishy. You're looking for Charmin-like squeezablity. You may want to buy the avocado a day or two ahead to let it ripen at room temperature. Normally the avocado will be a medium green when you get it and will be fairly firm...too firm to use. After two days if it is ripened it will turn a dark green and you will be able to feel it softer when you squeeze. Do not squeeze hard. A light touch will do. When it is ready, the best way is to cut around the length of the fruit till it is to the seed, all the way around. Separate the halves and one half will have the seed. Use a spoon to remove the interior, leaving the skin as a shell which you can throw away. Do not throw the seed away. Remove the seed and do the same to the other half. Once the guacamole is finished and made, place the seeds on top of the guacamole and seal in a bowl. The seeds will prevent the guacamole from browning. Either throw the seeds away after the guacamole is finished or put them suspended in a glass of water to sprout. Some seeds will not sprout because they have been irradiated.

[Gay]

I think grande means big in Spanish.

A very pretty picture of guacamole: ^{By Nikodem Nijaki - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16836010}

[mojo]

Guacamole is used in many tex-mex as well as Mexican recipes. It's usually used as an additional ingredient. Guacamole does not have a long shelf life in the fridge and even a shorter one if not cooled and chilled. You'll often find a bit of Guacamole in restaurant servings for salads, sandwiches, and the like.

There is a similar dish served at the Mexican fast food chain called Taco Bell. I find this recipe much better. I've made it many times.

[Alexa]

Oh yes, the tacos are very popular in some states, but not here. In our city and the cities around there is no single taco food. Maybe in the future they will make open some.

This is what I wondered, when I read this recipe a few days ago. I thought it's something like tacos and I see I guess it right.

[mojo]

Tacos come in a shell or wrap of sorts. This doesn't. The chips give it a sort of corn texture in part, but it's not the same. Normally this would be served in a bowl, not wrapped.

The corn chips act sort of like a bed for the rest of the ingredients. It actually tastes quite good to my taste buds.