Loaded Nachos

These nachos are better than Jose's, or any other Mexican restaurant! That may seem like a lauded claim, but as I was eating these, I couldn't help but think of how lucky I am! Jason had been asking me to make him nachos for quite some time and these were so easy and fast to whip up. The key here is crispy tempeh. Tempeh is the most under used gem in the vegan world. Its not a fake meat. Its a fermented soybean cake (sounds appetizing right?) It gets crumbled up and fried to a crisp. I love crispy tempeh kernels! I followed my mother in law's advice and didn't drain the black beans from the can. This gives them that restaurant-like consistency! And of course I had to top it off with the nacho "cheese" sauce from my first post! I hope after making this, tempeh will be your new best friend.

For the tempeh:
Crumble up 1 8oz package of tempeh into a bowl and mix in 1/2 ts each salt, garlic powder, dried minced onion, paprika, and cumin. Heat up 1-2 Tbs coconut oil in a saute pan and wait until it is smoking hot. Drop the crumbled tempeh into the hot oil and leave it undisturbed until the edges are golden brown. Flip the tempeh around a bit and leave it undisturbed for another few minutes. These instructions are essential for those crispy kernels! Don't play with it too much!

For the black beans:
Empty the contents of the can into a pot. Do not drain. Add 1/2 ts each salt, garlic powder, dried minced onion, paprika, and cumin. Mash with a potato masher while bringing to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.

For the salsa:
I kept this simple since everything else is so bold and full of flavor! 2 cups chopped grape tomatoes, 1 small diced red onion. 1 finely diced jalepeno pepper, seeds removed. No lime. No salt.

Top it off with the nacho "cheese" and get ready to be blown away!

*A note about coconut oil. I use coconut oil because its the safest oil to heat! I know what your thinking, coconut oil is expensive! Well can you believe my mom found me a jar of this stuff at Marshalls?! I didn't realize they sell a lot of specialty foods their for half the price that you would get at a grocery store! If you can't find coconut oil, just use canola or peanut oil.