Recipe A Day

We all love oven-backed nacho. But if you're not a fan of scraping cheese crisps off your baking sheet, I have another alternative for you: Slow-cooker nachos! Yup, just add all the ingredients you want to go gooey -- bean, cheese, salsa -- into the slow cooker and let it work its melty magic. Then just pour it over your chips.

This recipe is for black beans, but you could pinto beans instead if you like those better. For that matter, if you have some already-browned ground meat (sans pink slime, of course) you could add that in, as well. With a salad on the side I would call this Friday Night Dinner. I would also call it delicious.

Black Bean Nachos from Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 1 can (14 to 19 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed and mashed
• 1 cup salsa
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 roasted peppers (poblanos or sweet), peeled and diced
• 1 roasted jalapeño, seeded and diced, or 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
• Tortilla chips

Small (2 to 3 1/2 quart) slow cooker

Directions:

In slow cooker stoneware, combine beans, salsa, green onions, poblano and jalapeño peppers and cheese. Stir well. Cover and cook on High for 1 1/2 hours, until mixture is hot and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips.

Garnish ideas: Sour cream, guacamole, chopped black olives.

Image via jeffreyw/Flicker