Usually I’m on the up and up when it comes to menu planning and making shopping lists for the grocery store. But yesterday had me at a loss and I ended up at the grocery store with no plans, no lists and no coupons. I grabbed the sales circular and headed in with a short mental list of needs hoping for inspiration.

Stopping by the meat department at the “reduced for quick sale” section, I spied some yummy looking Angus sirloin ground beef for only $.99/pound. Perfect! But for what?

Our talented food editor, Rachel, is my go to person for ideas about what to do with something when I’ve run out of ideas. I told her what I had and here’s what she came up with:

• ground beef (I used about 1 pound)
• onion (I used about 1/4 cup chopped)
• taco seasoning packet (I ended up using a combination of garlic powder, chili powder, cumin & ground pepper)
• canned tomatoes (I had a 14.5 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, I used about 2/3 of the can)
• shredded cheese (I took a block of cheddar & a block of pepper jack and grated what I needed onto to the nachos)
• tortilla chips (I used enough to cover a 13×9 baking sheet)
• sour cream (a dollop for each serving)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Saute the onion in olive oil or butter until tender. Add ground beef.
3. When the beef is browned add your taco seasoning packet (or spices) and your tomatoes. Simmer until it’s all mixed together.
4. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and put a good layer of tortilla chips on it.
5. Spread the beef mixture over the chips and then top with cheese. Place in oven until the cheese is completely melted.
6. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream (and any of your other favorite nacho toppings: black olives, jalepenos, peppers, etc)

This was simple and delicious! I really liked how the tomatoes in the ground beef gave them a saucy texture and full flavor. I also liked how using the oven kept the chips crispy. I usually do nachos in the microwave and end up with either tough or limp chips. Not anymore! Put them in the oven!

Even better was knowing that the inspiration for the meal came from a friend!

Note: My daughter is a vegetarian so I fixed a separate pan for her using the same ingredients substituting a Boca burger for the ground beef. She was quite pleased with the results!

Photos are property of the author.