Pumpkin Nachos

On this blog, I feel like I give the impression that I have my life together and the time to cook beautiful gourmet dinners every night. That's at least the impression my fiancé has of what he's missing out on. He is in his 3rd year of med school at Brown so we only see each other on the weekends, when I set him up with leftovers for the week. In reality, I get home from lab sometime between 9 and 10pm and microwave whatever leftovers I have in the fridge from whenever the last time I cooked. It's usually less involved than whatever I cooked over the weekend and left for my fiancé. Last week, I didn't even have time to make anything, so subsisted on Trader Joe's Creamy Corn and Roasted Pepper Soup. I added nutritional yeast for protein and it's actually quite good!

Anyways, most people I know (myself included) went through a phase in college or their early 20s where nachos were their standard supper. Heap some corn chips on a plate, sprinkle some cheese on top, and pop it in the microwave. 30 seconds later, a warm dinner is served! Magic! I think my fiancé would still be in nachos-every-night phase if it wasn't for me... Anyways, Saturday the snow was coming down hard and we were feeling lazy. It was dinner time, but I was in the mood for comfort food. So I decided that I would try my hand at making some vegan nachos! The kitchen in RI is primitive at best (i.e. there is no food processor) so I used a simple pumpkin-cheese comprised of pumpkin puree, nutritional yeast, and spices. Believe me, this is better than it sounds! Also, pumpkin is full of antioxidants, and nutritional yeast serves up a ton of complete protein and vitamin B12. This looks amazing nutritionally, when it's matched up against the cholesterol and saturated fat in regular cheese. I also added salsa and black beans, another source of complete protein, to finish off the dish. The result? The best tasting and most nutritionally sound nachos you've ever experienced! And a perfect complement to a night in watching holiday movies.

Pumpkin Nachos

1c pumpkin puree

1/2c nutritional yeast

chili pepper and garlic to taste, dash of cinnamon

1 plate corn tortilla chips (most are gluten free, check to make sure)

1 1/2c black beans 

1c red salsa

In a small bowl, combine pumpkin, nutritional yeast, and spices. Stir to mix. Add tortilla chips to a plate and drop dollops of your pumpkin cheese on top. Add salsa and black beans. Microwave for 1 minute, until warm. Serve with a kale salad and call it dinner!