Jason, my husband, loves tacos. Every week when I'm making up the menu I ask him what he wants, and he always says "tacos." Instead of making tacos every week I decided we would have Mexican Mondays, so he does get his tacos about every other week and something with similar flavors when I don't make tacos. Last Monday I decided it would be fun to make nachos. I made up different ingredients, and we made our own plates. Of the available toppings we had: roast chicken, pork chorizo, homemade refried beans (see recipe below), grated cheese, lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, green onions, and black olives. The nachos were really tasty, and I think this would be fun to have at a party. If I was having a party, I would probably offer some kind of cheese sauce along with the grated cheese.
I've been making refried beans quite often lately. They are very easy, and they are so much better than store bought. They do take a little planning in advance because I use dried beans, but I always make my dried beans in the crock pot, so it's really not a hassle. You can serve these lightly mashed (I use a potato masher) or creamy in a blender or food processor. If I use them on nachos or in a burrito I will blend them, and if they are a side dish I leave them mostly unmashed. Last time I made these, I made a double batch, and we had more leftovers than we could eat. They are currently in the freezer, and when I thaw them out I will let you know if they freeze well.
Refried Beans
1 cup dry pinto beans (soaked and cooked), reserve a cup of cooking liquid
4 strips bacon
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 to 2 tsp. salt
1. Cook bacon until crispy. Reserve grease. Crumble bacon into beans.
2. Cook chopped onion in bacon grease. Add grease and onion to beans.
3. Add salt, starting with 1/2 tsp. to beans
4. Mash or blend beans. If the beans seem to dry add some of the cooking liquid. Blended beans tend to require more liquid.
5. Taste for salt; add more if necessary.
My plate of nachos
One of my new obsessions: Ginger Beer
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