Snackin’ on Nachos
My sister said, ‘Nachos are the easiest way to sneak veggies into my kids.’
Working at Chili’s was one of my many restaurant jobs. I worked in the night kitchen, my section was ‘salad/nachos.’ I swear I made a million orders of nachos. I still love eating nachos but I make them at home.
I love nachos because of their versatility. Even though the ingredients of tacos and nachos are the same, only the corn tortilla changes shape; tacos are dinner, yet nachos are a snack.
Trail’s End Traditional Nachos
Traditionally, nachos are beans, protein, veggies, cheese, and sour cream. We are going to explore that idea, but we are going to steer off course with a few variations.
Let’s gather our ingredients and get stacking. If you do not want to scrape cheese from your tray, I suggest layering the bottom with aluminum foil.
Chips are the base of our dish. The easiest solution is to open a bag of your favorite tortilla chips. Sprinkle a layer of them on the bottom of your sheet pan. Top and add a second layer. Keep adding layers until you have your tower of nachos. I want every chip to have a bite of something on it.
Some folks are cutting their salt intake, so start with whole-round soft corn or flour tortillas and cut them into triangles. Place them on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for about 3 to 5 minutes to firm. These chips will harden flat. I have had success using the toast setting with my counter top oven.
Cheese is the glue that keeps everything stuck to the chip. Grated taco blend, cheddar, and Mexican blend are the top choices. You can either grate your own or buy the bag.
Beans are popular, both whole beans and refried beans. Instead of spooning globs of refried beans on my chips, I use a butter knife to spread the refried beans on random triangle chips like I did at Chili’s. Then cheese, the cheese is the glue, then toppings and a tad more cheese.
Veggie nachos are fantastic. You can add tofu or tempeh. For meat eaters, here are some options: ground beef, pork, chicken, chorizo, and sausage. Go Hawaiin with Spam. Build your dream tower.
Veggies can range from traditional favorites like tomatoes, onions, peppers, olives, avocados, and corn. Be brave. Add broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato, cabbage, green beans, and spinach; you get the idea.
Make your layers, bake your layers, then top with sour cream, guacamole, and any drizzles that will add flavor. Salad dressings are an option.
Boondocking Buffalo Roam Nachos
Boondocking is the art of free camping. Creative boondockers find themselves miles from the next humans in the middle of somewhere exceptional. This is the kind of snack for those who crave spice and adventure twenty-four-seven.
Let’s break the mold and make Buffalo Chicken Nachos. We are going to start with our baked flour tortillas and shredded baked or rotisserie chicken or tofu. I buy Buffalo sauce. I love the new flavors like garlic Buffalo.’ It is easy to drizzle some on.
I like adding caramelized onions and green peppers, and my friend loads on jalapenos. I prefer plain cheese like provolone, mozzarella, or Monterey Jack.
After baking, top with a 1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles, nachos, and thin slices of celery. Blue cheese dressing is a drizzle option.
Serve at your base camp with your friends after a day outside, having fun.
Relaxin’ with Reuben Nachos
Mid-March, grocery stores are filled with corned beef sales, for Saint Patrick’s Day. I skip the corn beef and cabbage. I love making Reuben sandwiches on rye bread. Then, after making sandwiches, I use the small, nubby pieces of corned beef for nachos. Our neighborhood Pub the 3 Legged Crane serves Reuben fries, this is a real treat.
I start with making my flour tortilla triangles. I drizzle the bottom layer of triangles with Thousand Island dressing. I add caramelized onion. I drain and sometimes chop the sauerkraut. I sprinkle on the meat and a Swiss-Mozzarella blend. I top with more Thousand Island dressing. Bake it until is gooey chewy good.
If you have been following my recipes, you know that I love to take traditional food ideas and tweak them into a new and exciting variation. Not everything works… so start small and build.
My last tip of the day is to keep your corn beef water; use it to boil potatoes, for the best mashed potatoes in your life. Make your own Shepard’s pie using these potatoes, and add carrots, corn beef, and onions.
Be a creative eater. Peace, Health & Prosperity, Su*
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
