Nachos

Back before I knew how to cook, I'd frequently order nachos at restaurants when I'd eat out.  How silly was that?  Now, nachos is one of my go-to quick and easy meals when I don't really feel like cooking or don't have a lot of time to put something together.  It is a great way to use up partial onions, peppers, and tomatoes, as well as being versatile to suit a number of picky eaters with one meal or able to adjust to what you have on hand.

The picture above actually demonstrates the flexibility of this tasty treat to some extent.  My boys love olives, but my husband, my daughter, and I don't care for them.  When putting this together tonight, I just put olives on half of it to accommodate this varying tastes.  I also put onions and green peppers on the half that didn't have the olives, since my husband, daughter, and I like those veggies.  When serving it, my husband and I got one end, my 6 year old got the far side, and my oldest and youngest boys, as well as my daughter ate more from the middle, so no one got upset if a veggie wandered some place it shouldn't have when the cheese was melting.

Nachos

Tortilla chips
cheese:  monterey jack, cheddar, colby, or some combination
other toppings:  refried beans, ground meat (seasoned or unseasoned), shredded chicken (seasoned or unseasonded), peppers (green, jalapeno or other), onions, olives, green onions, tomatoes, or anything else that sounds good.
condiments:  salsa, sour cream (or plain yogurt), guacamole, taco sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread the tortilla chips on the bottom of a baking pan (9x13 is a good size for a family).  Dollop refried beans on top of the chips.  Spread cheese over beans.  Distribute other toppings over the cheese as desired.  Bake for 10 minutes and serve with condiments of choice.