Since a solid 75% of what I think about is food related, it’s no surprise that food consumes my thoughts while I run. Ususally during long runs I dream about smoothies, milkshakes, or iced coffee, while on shorter runs during the week I think about my upcoming dinner. Take Thursday night, Cinco de Mayo, for example. In addition to thinking about the nachos I was planning to make all day, those thoughts followed me throughout my run. There were even points where I thought about picking up the pace just so I could finish and get dinner sooner. Totally normal, right?

When I realized it was already May and that Cinco de Mayo was rapidly approaching, I wanted to make something that had a little Mexican flavor, but wasn’t totally typical. I know, nachos are probably in the top 5 of things that come to mind when you hear Mexican food. But I decided to do things a little differently to give them my own twist. For starters, I took some Chi-Chi’s tortillas that had been sent to me with the mole sauce, and used those as my “chips.” I also used crumbled Chiptole Gardenburger instead of your typical chili or ground beef. Aside from that the toppings were typical; refried beans (with chipotles!), diced red onion, diced tomato, shredded lettuce, jalapeno, cheese, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

When I received my fun little Cinco de Mayo package of mole sauce and tortillas, I also received some La Victoria salsa. I saved it until Thursday and finally got to give it a try. I also received a few Tostito’s dip packets from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, and got to put one of the guacamole mix packets to good use. I’m always wary about seasoning packets that claim to bring about authentic guacamole flavors, just because it’s hard to replace the fresh onion, lime juice, ciliantro, etc., but Tostitos does a pretty good job! This is a perfect mix to have on hand just in case you don’t have the other ingredients available to make completely fresh guacamole.

This meal really hit the spot. Of course, it would be great at a party or get together as well. YUM.

Veggie Nachos 

Ingredients:
 Baked tortillas (see recipe below)
1 Chipotle Gardenburger, crumbled
1 cup refried beans 
1 small tomato, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
2 Tbsp cilantro, diced
1 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup guacamole 
1/4 cup sour cream / Greek yogurt 

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Layer baked tortilla chips in a lightly greased 9-inch pie  dish
3. Add refried beans, followed by onion, jalapeno, tomato, and cilantro topping off with cheese 
4. Bake for 10 minutes, serve with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream

Baked Tortillas

Ingredients:
5 burrito sized tortillas
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp sea salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cut tortillas in half, and in half again, and again to make 8 triangles 
3. Layer on a sprayed baking sheet, and lightly top with olive oil and salt
4. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden and crispy 

*Of course you know the opinions stated here on my blog are completely my own. While I received some products (tortillas, salsa, and mole) from Hormel and the seasoning packets from Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker program, I was not required to write a positive review about them – they were good (in my opinion) and deserved a shout-out!