Catfish Out of Water

Fall is almost upon us, which is absolutely my favorite time of year! Not only because the leaves are about to change colors, it's not quite as unbearably hot, and it's the kickoff to my favorite holiday seasons. But because it's the time of the year when peppers and tomatoes begin to ripen! And there is truly nothing better than fresh fruits and vegetables. Now, I must admit that getting all of that fresh produce and then putting it on tortilla chips and smothering it with cheese might not be the most conventional way to utilize them! But rice and black bean nachos are truly one of my favorite foods.

The theme of this week is red chilis. The Brown Rice w/ Ambercup Squash & Red Chilis, Enchilada Sauce w/ Red Chilis & Cherry Tomatoes, and Avocado Dip w/ Greek Yogurt & Red Chilis recipes in this dish all included red chilis that I'd picked fresh from my garden. Along with a couple of fresh tomatoes. If you click on the links, you can see the exact plant that each of them came from.

Red chilis are the first of my peppers to ripen and I'm taking every chance that I get to toss them into absolutely every recipe that I can think of! You don't often find fresh chilis because they tend to shrivel and begin to dry out even on the vine. This makes them a great pepper to dry and use throughout the rest of the year. But they're particularly good fresh. Even if you only have a small window of time to use them! So,

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Variations of Black Bean Nachos

Brown rice and black beans are classic nacho ingredients. When I was a kid, I would always get excited about cracking open a can of refried beans and slathering it with copious amounts of cheese and sour cream. Now that I'm an adult? I feel like it's time to step up the nacho game. While I am still a fan of slathering them with copious amounts of cheese! I do highly recommend making your own rice and beans as well as mixing and matching different flavor profiles.

Nachos w/ Brown Rice, Black Beans, & Lettuce

These black bean nachos consist of homemade black beans, ambercup squash brown rice, Greek yogurt avocado dip, and red chili enchilada sauce. You can easily mix and match in your own versions of rice and beans. But I am particularly fond of this recipe because it utilizes a lot of fresh produce that I grew in my own garden.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Latin American, Mexican

Servings 2 servings

Equipment

• Baking Sheet
• Oven

Ingredients

  

Black Beans

• 1 lbs. black beans ~2 cups
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 red onion minced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pepper
• 2 tsp. coriander
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 limes juiced
• 5 c. water

Brown Rice

• 1/2 c. ambercup squash
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 red onion
• 3 medium tomatoes
• 2 chili peppers
• 1 lime juiced
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• dash cumin
• dash coriander
• dash cayenne pepper
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 1 c. brown rice
• 2 ½ c. water
• 3 bay leaves

Enchilada Sauce

• 20 red chilis
• 20 cherry tomatoes (or 2 large tomatoes)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 tsp. cumin
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 3 c. water

Avocado Dip

• 3 avocados
• 3 red chilis
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 limes
• 2 tbsp. tahini
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 3/4 c. Greek yogurt

Nachos

• ~1/3 c. black beans
• ~1/3 c. brown rice
• ~2 handfulls tortilla chips
• 1/2 c. cheddar cheese shredded
• 1/2 c. lettuce shredded
• 1/3 c. avocado dip
• dollop enchilada sauce

Instructions

 

Prepare Ingredients

• This Slow Cooker Black Beans recipe takes 8 hours to cook. I recommend starting it the night before so that it cooks overnight or in the morning before going to work so that it's ready when you get home. It's also a good quick and easy recipe to start ahead of time and reheat later on.
• Cook Brown Rice w/ Ambercup Squash & Red Chilis. This takes about an hour and requires a rice cooker or stove. You can also easily create a different flavor profile or utilize the produce that you have on hand. I almost always keep a batch of rice or quinoa in the fridge for exactly this purpose.
• For the hot sauce on this, I used Enchilada Sauce w/ Red Chilis & Cherry Tomatoes. These recipes take less than an hour and require an air fryer and a large pot on the stove. You can easily substitute your own salsa or hot sauce of choice. But I am quite fond of making it from scratch!
• I also topped these nachos with Avocado Dip w/ Greek Yogurt & Red Chilis. This is entirely optional. You can easily substitute sour cream, Greek yogurt, or omit entirely. Although this avocado dip is my new favorite thing and I highly recommend giving it a try. It's kind of a mix between hummus and guacamole. And is absolutely delicious!

Cook Nachos

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Meanwhile, lay out tortilla chips across a baking sheet.

  Cover until you can't see the baking sheet any longer. They should be touching, but not overlapping too much. You really just want to be able to add toppings to every chip without it getting too much on the baking sheet!

  Exactly how much chips you use is largely a matter of personal preference as well. I've never sat there carefully measuring chips! Roughly two handfuls usually equates to about a serving. I tend to cook far more than I actually need, though. So, as always, adjust to personal preference!
• Spread beans and rice evenly across the tortilla chips.
• Sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the chips begin to toast.
• Once the nachos are done cooking, remove from the oven and top with lettuce, avocado dip, and enchilada sauce.
• Serve immediately. Once the nachos begin to cool down, the tortilla chips will absorb too much moisture and soften. Once this happens, there isn't a lot that you can do to crisp them up again!

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• For a more in-depth article on nachos, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Making Nachos. I make suggestions on settling the microwave vs. oven debate and give suggestions on serving size, topping order, and potential reheating tips and tricks.