His ‘n Hers Nachos

Not very long ago I devoted some brain power to a food dilemma in my life… my girlfriend likes healthy food–and I do not. Sometimes it causes a predicament (ever try to finish the WHOLE sampler platter?) but it typically causes less problems than I would have thought, occasional corner-eye glares when I eat a Slim Jim, moderate tongue clicking when my meal comes fried, and general sighs when I pound down a cheesesteak… wit’ whiz.

But one day when we were craving an appetizer built for two, and fried buffalo-style anything would not do, I dug into the cupboard, raided the fridge and (gulp) opened the vegetable drawer. His ‘n Hers Nachos were born.

Ingredients:
Shared:
• 1 can of refried beans (16oz or so)
• 1 jar of your favorite tomato-based salsa (mild)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar
• 1 bag of tortilla chips (about 16oz or so)
• 8 oz sour cream
• black olives, sliced

His:

• 1 lb of ground beef
• Jalepeno slices
• 1 small chopped onion
• Tabasco or other hot sauce to step up the salsa

Hers:

• 1 Broccoli crown
• 1 small bag of edamame
• 1 bunch of scallions
• 1 avocado, sliced

Serves: Two Couples

First off, this is Brian’s Belly, so we’re keeping it real… a jar of salsa instead of making salsa, an avocado instead of making guacamole. If you’d like to start completely from scratch, be our guest… but avocado trees take like 13 years to grow.

I would normally make nachos with chili, but these are chick-friendly, so we use re-fried beans and kick up our half of the dish with seasoned ground beef and onions.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large frying pan on medium heat, brown the ground beef with onion, salt, pepper and your favorite seasoning… the beef is on our side, so prepare it as you’d like. After the meat is browned, drain off the watery grease–it won’t help the chips.

In a big oven-friendly pan, place the chips and arrange them flat… you may want to work your nachos in layers since the bottom chips never get to have any fun. Dollop in the refried beans by spoon, spreading them around. Spoon in the sour cream and salsa evenly. Add olive slices.

Pick a side. To it, add the ground beef, jalepenos and hot sauce. To the lighter side add the broccoli and edamame. The avocado slices can happily go down the middle… after all, it’s the main ingredient in guy-friendly guacamole.

Top the whole thing off with the shredded cheddar and bake for 15 minutes or until it looks warm and melty.

The scallions can be chopped and–since a scallion is part of the manly onion–can be sprinkled across the whole dish before serving.