Boardash: Super Nachos, Chili with Beans, and Tropical Fruit Macaroons

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Recipes: ArcaMax Chef

For You
Friday October 30, 2009

Appetizer -- Super Nachos
Main Course -- Chili with Beans
Dessert -- Tropical Fruit Macaroons
Grocery List
Tales from the ArcaMax Chef

We hope y'all enjoy this menu that serves 6 to 8.

Appetizer -- Super Nachos

1 large bag of tortilla chips
1 pound lean ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 15-oz. can refried beans
1 15-oz. can black olives, sliced
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 15-oz. can black beans
1 8-oz. jar pickled jalapeno pepper slices
One half head of lettuce shredded
2 fresh tomatoes chopped
1 onion chopped
8 oz. sour cream
Fresh Guacamole (recipe follows)

Brown lean ground beef in pan. Add taco seasoning and water per directions on taco seasoning mix. Cover and cook according to directions. Push taco meat to one side of pan. Add refried beans other side of pan and spread out over the bottom of the pan opposite the taco meat. Cover pan and warm on low heat until refried beans are warm. Cover very large casserole dish with layer of tortilla chips. Place a few spoonfuls of taco meat and refried beans over chips. Add one quarter of each cup of cheese over meat and beans. Sprinkle on a few black olive and jalapeno pepper slices and black beans. Add more chips and repeat process two or three more times with cheese as last ingredient reserving some of the black beans, olives and jalapeno pepper slices to sprinkle on the top of the nachos. Place casserole dish in 300 degree oven and heat until cheese melts throughout. Remove from oven and add shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions and remaining black beans, olives and jalapeno pickle slices. Add a few scoops of sour cream and Fresh Guacamole and serve.

Fresh Guacamole

2 ripe avocados
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 small sweet onion chopped
One quarter cup chopped parsley or cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced

Peel avocados and remove pits, reserving one pit. Mash avocado meat in bowl. Add lime juice and mix. Add remaining ingredients, mix well, add avocado pit then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before using. Adding the avocado pit helps to prevent the Guacamole from turning brown.

The Skinny: Use low fat cheese, low fat tortilla chips, the leanest ground beef you can find and low fat sour cream.

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Main Course -- Chili with Beans

1 pound mixed dry beans
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound stew meat, cut into small chunks
1 large sweet onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
4 Tbsp. chili powder
1 12-oz can lager beer, you may use water or tomato juice instead
One quarter cup Scotch Whiskey (optional but highly recommended, both for the chili and the cook)
Hot sauce to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Place beans in a large stock pot and cover with water. Allow beans to soak for several hours. Meanwhile brown ground beef, stew meat, onion and garlic in a large skillet. Drain excess fat and set aside. Rinse and drain water from soaked beans and place in a large pot and cover with 6 cups of water. Cook over low to medium heat for about 1 hour. Place meat mixture in a crock pot with cooked beans. Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, chili powder, beer, Scotch and hot sauce to the pot and simmer for several hours before serving. You can adjust the heat in the recipe with both the chili powder and the hot sauce. Some chili powders come with added ground hot pepper that can really spice up this dish. Other options are to use regular chili powder and supplement it with some ground hot pepper or to float a few whole hot peppers in the chili as it cooks.

The Skinny: Use the leanest beef you can find. I usually serve the chili with a few condiment dishes of grated cheese, sour cream, sliced jalapeno peppers and chopped onions.

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Dessert -- Tropical Fruit Macaroons

2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup dried cherries, chopped
1 cup dried pineapple, chopped
3 egg whites
Two thirds cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
One quarter tsp. ground ginger
One quarter cup Macadamia nuts, chopped

Combine sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Slowly add sugar mixture and continue beating. Add coconut, dried cherries, dried pineapple and nuts and mix well. Drop tablespoons of mixture on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes at 325 degrees.

The Skinny: Not much you can do to change these ingredients even if you wanted to. The coconut has some fat as do the nuts but just eat one or two of the macaroons and you should be fine.

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Grocery List

1 large bag of tortilla chips
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 15-oz. can refried beans
1 15-oz. can black olives, sliced
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 15-oz. can black beans
1 8-oz. jar pickled jalapeno pepper slices
One half head of lettuce shredded
2 fresh tomatoes chopped
3 sweet onions, one small
8 oz. sour cream
2 ripe avocados
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
One quarter cup chopped parsley or cilantro
4 cloves garlic
1 pound mixed dry beans
1 pound stew meat, cut into small chunks
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
4 Tbsp. chili powder
1 12-oz can lager beer, you may use water or tomato juice instead
One quarter cup Scotch Whiskey (optional)
Hot sauce to taste
2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup dried cherries, chopped
1 cup dried pineapple, chopped
3 egg whites
Two thirds cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
One quarter tsp. ground ginger
One quarter cup Macadamia nuts, chopped

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Tales from the ArcaMax Chef

My trees reward me for my love and protection with an abundance of leaves. My trees make leaves faster than our government prints money (and the leaves are probably worth about the same amount on a leaf per dollar basis).

Over the years, I have tried just about every method, gimmick, tool, system and any other type of plan or gadget to make it easier to get rid of the leaves. I have a garage full of blowers, suckers, mulchers, sweepers, tarps, bags, and bins "specially designed for leaf removal".

Unfortunately, none of this stuff works. At the end of the day, as with so many other things in life, there is nothing as effective as hard work with a regular old rake and some clear leaf bags.

I have fought the leaf removal process for years and years. However, over the past few years my position has softened. You see, there is something good and right about spending a few hours raking and bagging in the cool fall air under the trees. I have the free gift of being able to listen to the breeze rustling in the trees and through the leaves on the ground and get a good work out at the same time.

Believe me when I say that I mean nothing political with the next few comments. As our country has been at war over the past eight years, I have seen many of our best and brightest come home terribly maimed and injured. It finally dawned on me that these brave men and women would love to be able to hold a rake with both hands and do the hard work to rake and bag leaves. Given the sacrifice that these patriots have made for all of us, the last thing you will hear me complain about is a little physical labor.

God Bless America.

Enjoy!