With the Super Bowl came a ton of appetizer recipes — online, on television and in magazines. One that caught my eye was for nachos made with russet potatoes instead of traditional tortilla chips. I had some Yukon Gold potatoes and thought they would work fine. Fresh Market had fresh salsa on sale, and Harris Teeter had avocados for $1.00 apiece, taco seasoning mixes at buy one, get one free, plus shredded cheese, sour cream and ground beef at reduced prices. Great timing!

Even though the list of ingredients is long, this is quite easy to put together, especially after you cook the potatoes and ground beef. It is a nice alternative to the more traditional nachos, especially if you love potatoes like I do.

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

• 5-6 Yukon Gold potatoes
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 package McCormick cheesy taco seasoning
• ¾ cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1 can (15 oz.) seasoned black beans, drained and washed
• Hot sauce to taste
• 1 ½ cups fresh salsa
• 1 avocado, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ¾ cup black olives, sliced
• ¾ cup jarred jalapeños (or to taste)
• 4 green onions, sliced (use green and white parts)
• 1 cup iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (2%)
• Light sour cream to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Scrub the potatoes well and cut them into 1/8” slices. Coat them with the oil. Arrange the potato slices in a single layer on a baking sheet (I had to use two sheets) and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bake the potato slices until they are golden brown. This takes about 15-20 minutes, and I turn them over halfway through the cooking time.

While the potatoes are cooking, brown the ground beef. Drain the grease and add the taco seasoning and milk. Cook for 5 minutes or so, and season to taste with the hot sauce.

Add the drained black beans and heat for several minutes.

Once potatoes are done, place on paper towels to absorb any grease and then arrange half of them on a large platter.

Top with half of the ground beef and bean mixture, and sprinkle with half of the cheese. Add half of the olives, onions, avocado, jalapeños and salsa.

Add another layer with the remaining potatoes, ground beef mixture, olives, onions, avocado and jalapeños. Finish it off with the lettuce and the rest of the salsa and cheese, and garnish with sour cream if desired.

These are messy, so I finally grabbed a fork to save on napkins. I added a few tortilla scoops on the side (old habits die hard) and washed all of this down with an ice cold Corona Light. Yum!

Bon appétit!

Eat, drink and be merry!

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