Fall is (almost) officially here! If not evidenced by the cooler temperatures, at least by the abrupt interruption of original tv programming (modern day equivalent: Netflix shows on pause) by…football. You can just sense my enthusiasm, right? I mean, I wasn’t a high school cheerleader for nothing, but I have to say, and you probably already guessed it, I’m more in it for the tailgating snacks and socialization. (Especially these days. Can’t believe I’ll be 30 weeks pregnant today!) I get it, I get it. The fight song makes me weep tears of unified joy sometimes too. But then, you’re blocking my strategically deliberated path to Queso (intentionally capitalized for effect. My Texans get it.) So, I cheer on my two teams, the Longhorns and the Cowboys. Getting me to watch anyone else will involve copious amounts of bribery via nachos. Ugh, and why are nachos the very best thing?! Marshall and I share this mutual affection for “chos” (yeah, we’re cool), so some nights I’ll whip up a skillet of them, grab two plates and wonder why I even bothered with the plates. They vanish. And I’m thinking double or tripling the recipe and making these on a baking sheet would do more good than harm. The only labor-intensive part of this is frying the tortillas, but don’t skip it! Buy the chicken and everything else if you have to, but the homemade chips are what make these game day nachos soooo good! Sure, it doesn’t hurt that I used my super simple (slow cooker) spiced pulled pork. But don’t let lack of homemade pulled pork impede your nacho making desires. Rotisserie chicken is your friend here, too.
Happy weekend, happy sports spectatorship and buen provecho!
Amanda
- 5-6 corn tortillas, cut into quarters
- ¼ cup canola or other mild oil
- sea salt
- ¾ cup shredded monterrey jack cheese
- 1 cup shredded pork or chicken
- 1 cup favorite beans (black, baked, refried)
- 4-5 mini bell peppers or 1-2 large bell peppers, thinly sliced
- pickled jalapeños, thinly sliced
- crema mexicana
- fresh cilantro
- chopped scallions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Start by heating a large cast iron skillet to medium/medium high heat. Add oil. Cut corn tortillas into quarters and fry until crisp and golden, about 3 minutes on each side, working in batches. Drain each batch on paper towels and salt when still hot.
- Once you've fried all the tortillas, put them back into the bottom of the cast iron skillet. Sprinkle most of the cheese over the top, then layer meat, beans, bell peppers and jalapeños. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake in oven for about 10-12 minutes, until cheese is melted.
- Add fresh cilantro, chopped scallions and drizzle crema mexicana. Serve hot! (You can easily double or triple this recipe and put nachos on a big baking sheet instead of cast iron before going in the oven!)