I like  taco salad and always ate it with tortilla chips.  Also I always put shredded Colby jack cheese on my salad. I like tortilla chips with shredded cheese under the broiler until they get bubbling hot and served them with guacamole. So I created the combination of both my likes. Taco salad with tortilla chips and naturally you have nachos. I like to make a big platter of them and have a more casual meal. It looks like a gloppy mess but I love the taste. For my guacamole I make what some call California guacamole. That is mashed avocado with chopped onion lemon or lime juice salt pepper and your favorite salsa. Mix together and it’s quick and easy. 

Nachos serves 2

Prep time 10-20 min

Cooking time 10-20 min

Ingredients

1/3 – 1/2 pound hamburger browned with taco seasoning

4 oz shredded cheese ( I use Colby jack )

tortilla chips

avocado 1 whole

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/4  – 1/2 cup salsa ( use what you love from mild to hot)

juice of 1 lemon or lime

salt and pepper to taste

romaine lettuce chopped 1 small head

sour cream ( only if you like it)

brown the hamburger in a little oil with a sprinkling of taco seasoning. Meanwhile on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper arrange the tortilla chips in a single layer and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Put under the broiler about 6 inches from the heat and watch carefully. Cook until hot and bubbly. Be careful not to burn. In my very hot oven that just takes a few minutes. Remove from oven. I leave the chips on the parchment paper and lift it onto the serving platter. Then I place the browned hamburger on top. Then add the lettuce.

Make the guacamole in a bowl by smashing the avocado with a fork sprinkle on juice of lemon or lime.  Add chopped onion and salsa. Combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon onto lettuce add sour cream and serve. Enjoy!

This is a great soup to get plenty of nourishment from. It is also a great way to use up the vegetables you have on hand. I use everything from potatoes to Brussels sprouts to frozen corn in this soup. It doesn’t take a lot of each vegetable to get a whole pot full. I start with browning hamburger and then start throwing in the onion and celery and carrots. Let them soften a bit and add all the other ingredients. I eat this soup from only a 30 min simmer to a couple of hours. Great for a slow cooker or instapot. You can make this vegan by just sautéing the onions celery and carrots first in olive oil and leave out the Worcestershire  sauce. 

Hamburger Soup

Prep time 10-15 min

Cooking time 30 min-2 hours

Ingredients

1/2-1 pound ground beef (I like grass fed) browned

onion 1 whole medium

celery 2-3 stalks sliced into bite sized pieces

carrots 2-3 whole sliced in have and cut into bite size

tomatoes 2-3 ( I use Roma and ones that are getting to the end of the shelf life)

potatoes 1-3 depending on size cut to bite sized pieces

add whatever else you have Brussels sprouts, cabbage corn beans, as you can see by the picture above that is what I had that day. To that I added…

1 14-28 oz can diced tomatoes

1 tbs paprika

2 tbs Worcestershire sauce

2 tbs low sugar ketchup

salt and pepper to taste

brown the hamburger and the onion celery and carrots to soften add the remainder of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer to your liking. If you want a softer vegetable then simmer longer. Add liquid can be beef chicken or vegetable stock or water if needed.

This soup gets better the second day. That’s why I make a big batch and eat it many times for different meals in a week.

My last menu and shopping list was April 2012– five years ago. Where does the time go. That is to esoteric for this blog so lets talk about what does $25 buy today. I was reading with interest that too many people are still eating a junk food diet because healthy eating was cost prohibitive. I agree that in some areas food at a value is hard to find. Especially rural areas. However I have found that a number of options exist today that were not available five years ago that are changing food distribution and thus food costs. The one thing I can say is stay away from prepared foods. They are too expensive and too many offer no healthy nutrition. Make your own food. I try to cook using as few ingredients as possible and try to focus on dishes that are fast to prepare.

I went shopping this week and my receipt came to $27.94. A couple of items on the list were those things I had to replace for the pantry. The bulk of the items were fresh vegetables milk eggs cheese and grass fed beef.  Two things I buy that are prepared and I like to use to fill in for those times when I don’t have time to cook are roasted chickens ( a five dollar chicken can feed you for the better part of a week) and precooked turkey breast. I don’t buy the sliced turkey breast but buy one that is a nice sized piece of meat. I like to slice it myself so that I know I am eating turkey or cube it and put it in a dish like the pasta with ham and peas. This week you will notice that I have the recipe listed but with cubed turkey and asparagus instead of the ham and peas.  I had turkey breast from last week. I know hamburger soup is on a number of times. It makes a big batch and I love it so I eat it up. You can freeze it for future meals. Also a platter of nachos isn’t the healthiest meal but you have to have a little fun. I had reserved a little of the hamburger to make them.

SUNDAY
Brunch breakfast hash, toast w/ jam, orange
Dinner chefs salad and tortilla chips with cheese

MONDAY
Breakfast Granola, orange or clementine
Lunch salami sandwich, carrot sticks
Dinner pasta with turkey and asparagus

TUESDAY
Breakfast Granola, orange
Lunch pasta with turkey, fresh or canned fruit
Dinner hamburger soup, fresh or canned fruit

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast granola, orange
Lunch hamburger soup, fruit
Dinner roasted vegetables with sliced turkey, fresh fruit

THURSDAY
Breakfast Breakfast sandwich, orange
Lunch turkey sandwich, carrots
Dinner hamburger soup , fresh or canned fruit

FRIDAY
Breakfast granola  hot or cold, orange or clementine
Lunch cheese sandwich fruit
Dinner hot turkey sandwich (make a big bowl of popcorn and watch a movie)

SATURDAY
Brunch Breakfast hash or poached eggs and toast, orange
Dinner platter of nachos, salad,

SHOPPING LIST

asparagus, cucumber , avocado ,mushrooms, green beans,Roma tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, Colby jack shredded cheese, Hamburger ,12 grain bread, eggs, tortilla chips, pasta