Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #10

 Nachos with Beef and Beans.

 Beef and Beans

• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 j, chopped (seedless for less spice)
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (don't forget the stems!)

Brown all ingredients except the black beans in a skillet over medium high heat.  After all pink is gone from the ground beef, add the can of beans and simmer about five minutes.  Add cilantro and continue to cook until all vegetables are soft.

Serve over nachos with cheese, salsa, olives, lettuce, sour cream...  whatever you like to put on your nachos.

I got this recipe from a show Rachael Ray did at least seven years ago about take-home at home.  She made fresh pico de gallo and cheese sauce based on a white sauce,  but that's too much work for us most days.  The show made me SO hungry that I ran out and bought cilantro and jalapeños, the two ingredients I was missing.  From that day forward, for the rest of the summer, I made the full nachos with the cheese sauce for my kids and their friends in our apartment complex every week.  It's easy to make for a crowd.

The beef and beans is also good inside tacos and burritos.

ENJOY!

P.S.  In case you were wondering...  I couldn't get the actual recipe because my cookbooks are being held hostage by a disassembled bunk bed. :p

Roasted Pork with Black-Eyed-Pea Salad

Roasted Pork with Black-Eyed-Pea Salad
Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine p. 137

I actually followed these recipes exactly. Amazing, I know. :p Both the pork and the salad were AWESOME! I didn't think the teens would like the black-eyed pea salad, but both girls loved it. Flower Child even had it for lunch today.

I tossed the asparagus in olive oil and sprinkled it with parmesan cheese, then roasted it under the broiler for about 12 minutes.  This is also from the Martha Stewart cookbook, but I don't know the page number.  We've been roasting our asparagus for years, but the parmesan made it oh-so-much more yummy!

This one is definitely a keeper!