Kitchen Sink Nachos

Well, here it is.  Another black bean recipe.  I was recently sharing with my neighbor (who may or may not be reading this) what kinds of recipes I liked to post on rhymeswithsmile.  "Beans," I said.  "Oh, and desserts.  Beans and desserts."  So, in keeping with tradition, here you go.  Another way to use beans.

Kitchen Sink Nachos (because, well, they've got everything but the kitchen sink)

In a 9x13" glass baking dish, place a layer of tortilla chips.  (The more chips you use here, the more likely the nachos are to fall apart when you serve them up.  So maybe spread the chips 2-3 thick in the dish, and serve more chips with the finished product.)
Sprinkle 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese over chips.
Sprinkle 1/2 c. cooked rice and 1/2 c. cooked black beans over cheese.
Chop 1/2 small red onion (about 1/2 c.), 2 cloves garlic, 1 c. fresh spinach, 1/2 sweet red or orange pepper, and 1 small tomato.  Layer in the dish.  Throw some meat on there if you have any you want to use.
If you're feeling adventurous, layer these sweet potatoes on top.
Top it all with more cheese (to your liking) and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Cut into servings (dare I say it?  This usually serves the two of us dinner one night, with one lucky person getting leftovers for lunch the next day.  Eek.).  Top with sour cream and chopped avocado.  Serve with more chips, if desired.

Get rid of any preconceived notions of what "nachos" means ... these are as far from the unidentifiable-meat-chili-and-fluorescent-cheese-sauce nachos as you can get.  And the best part - you can layer whatever you want to in there.  We've scrambled eggs, used pork barbecue, chopped up chicken, and substituted lentils for black beans.  It's a pretty forgiving and flexible recipe.  Which is how I prefer my kitchen experiences ...