ArcaMax Recipes 01/04/2004

Super Nachos
Chili with Beans
Tropical Fruit Macaroons

Last week's recipe left off the step that involves the cold water.
You add the water with the flour and sugar.
If you mix the flour with cold water, it prevents
lump from forming.

We hope you enjoy this menu that serves 6 to 8.
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Appetizer
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Super Nachos

1 large bag of tortilla chips
1 pound lean ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 15-oz. can refried beans
1 15-oz. can black olives, sliced
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 15-oz. can black beans
1 8-oz. jar pickled jalapeno pepper slices
1/2 head of lettuce shredded
2 fresh tomatoes chopped
1 onion chopped
8 oz. sour cream
Fresh Guacamole (recipe follows)

Brown lean ground beef in pan. Add taco seasoning and water
per directions on taco seasoning mix. Cover and cook according
to directions. Push taco meat to one side of pan. Add refried
beans other side of pan and spread out over the bottom of the
pan opposite the taco meat. Cover pan and warm on low heat
until refried beans are warm. Cover very large casserole dish
with layer of tortilla chips. Place a few spoonfuls of taco
meat and refried beans over chips. Add 1/4 of each cup of
cheese over meat and beans. Sprinkle on a few black olive and
jalapeno pepper slices and black beans. Add more chips and
repeat process two or three more times with cheese as last
ingredient reserving some of the black beans, olives and
jalapeno pepper slices to sprinkle on the top of the nachos.
Place casserole dish in 300 degree oven and heat until cheese
melts throughout. Remove from oven and add shredded lettuce,
tomatoes, onions and remaining black beans, olives and jalapeno
pickle slices. Add a few scoops of sour cream and Fresh Guacamole
and serve.


Fresh Guacamole

2 ripe avocados
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 small sweet onion chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced

Peel avocados and remove pits, reserving one pit. Mash avocado
meat in bowl. Add lime juice and mix. Add remaining ingredients,
mix well, add avocado pit then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes
before using. Adding the avocado pit helps to prevent the Guacamole
from turning brown.

The Skinny: Use low fat cheese, low fat tortilla chips, the
leanest ground beef you can find and low fat sour cream.
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Main Course
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Chili with Beans

1 pound mixed dry beans
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound stew meat, cut into small chunks
1 large sweet onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
4 Tbsp. chili powder
1 12-oz can lager beer (optional) you may use water or
tomato juice instead
1/4 cup Scotch Whiskey
Hot sauce to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Place beans in a large stock pot and cover with water. Allow beans
to soak for several hours. Meanwhile brown ground beef, stew meat,
onion and garlic in a large skillet. Drain excess fat and set aside.
Rinse and drain water from soaked beans and place in a large pot
and cover with 6 cups of water. Cook over low to medium heat for
about 1 hour. Place meat mixture in a crock pot with cooked beans.
Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, chili powder, beer, Scotch and
hot sauce to the pot and simmer for several hours before serving.
You can adjust the heat in the recipe with both the chili powder
and the hot sauce. Some chili powders come with added ground hot
pepper that can really spice up this dish. Other options are to
use regular chili powder and supplement it with some ground hot
pepper or to float a few whole hot peppers in the chili as it
cooks.

The Skinny: Use the leanest beef you can find. I usually serve
the chili with a few condiment dishes of grated cheese, sour
cream, sliced jalapeno peppers and chopped onions.
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Dessert
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Tropical Fruit Macaroons

2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup dried cherries, chopped
1 cup dried pineapple, chopped
3 egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 cup Macadamia nuts, chopped

Combine sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Beat egg whites until
stiff peaks form. Slowly add sugar mixture and continue
beating. Add coconut, dried cherries, dried pineapple and
nuts and mix well. Drop tablespoons of mixture on greased
cookie sheet. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes at 325 degrees.

The Skinny: Not much you can do to change these
ingredients even if you wanted to. The coconut has
some fat as do the nuts but just eat one or two of the
macaroons and you should be fine.

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