Taco Bell Tribute: Nachos Bell Grande

Does anyone else out there crave Taco Bell from time to time? I dig their nachos. On Friday night, rather than "make a run for the border" I decided to imitate Nachos Bell Grande in my kitchen...only I served mine on a plate instead of in a little cardboard box.

I started by browning some lean ground beef and then using a taco seasoning packet and following the directions to make "standard taco meat".



Here are the other nacho toppings: nacho cheese or salsa con queso, sour cream, taco sauce, refried beans, chopped tomatoes and green onions. I heated the beans on the stovetop. I added some beef broth to thin the beans so that I could pour them over the chips. The queso was heated in the microwave. Oh, and I shredded some lettuce too.



To assemble: I made a bed of shredded lettuce on a plate, then arranged a handful or two of chips on top. Then in no particular order I topped the chips with beans, cheese, taco meat and taco sauce. Then I added more chips and topped with more beans, cheese, taco meat, and sauce. Next, I dumped on the chopped tomato. I crowned my knock-off nachos with a generous dollop of light sour cream and sprinkled with the green onions. Ta-dah! Nachos Bell Grande Ala Krista! You might wonder if they really tasted like the Taco Bell version. According to my husband: "Yes, but better!"



They didn't last long, that's for sure!




Nachos

Tortilla chips
3/4 lb - 1 lb ground beef prepared with taco seasoning packet
refried beans
broth
nacho cheese or salsa con queso
taco sauce
1 medium tomato, diced
1 green onion, sliced
light sour cream
shredded lettuce

Brown ground beef and prepare according to taco seasoning packet directions. Heat the refried beans in a small saucepan. Add a little broth or water to thin them to a "pourable" state. Heat cheese in the microwave.

Place shredded lettuce on a serving plate. Top with 1/2 of chips. Add desired amount of beef, cheese, beans, and taco sauce. Top with the rest of your chips. Repeat the beef, bean, cheese, taco sauce layer. Sprinkle with diced tomato. Top with sour cream and green onions.