You Can Never Go Wrong with Nachos

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I am good for whipping up some incredible nachos on the fly. I usually follow my golden rule: use what you have! Sometimes I actually plan and grocery shop with the express intention of making some bomb ass nachos.

Rules of Thumb

• Spread it wide and low! (No towers of chips over here)
• Sheet pans, cookout disposable pan, oven safe pan, cast iron skillet, etc.
• Generous layers
• CHEESE
• Condiments (pico, guac, sour cream, cilantro, etc.)

I usually opt for a full sheet pan if I’m sharing but if I’m making it just for me then I’d opt for a cast iron skillet or oven safe pan.

Place aluminum foil in the pain and spread out a good layer of chips.

I always prep everything at once because it makes assembling much easier.

There is no recipe here but I’m going to outline a couple of things.

 

Take Care of Your Bird

When I need some quick and tasty chicken to top nachos, or pizza or whatever, I tend to follow the same steps.

• I slice my chicken breasts to be 1/2-1″ thick. Pat dry with a paper towel.
• Heat your skillet to medium high. Your cast iron should be smoking (I recommend cast iron).
• Season the chicken to your liking. For this purpose? I’d use kosher salt, coarse pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, a little sazon, cumin, smoked paprika and finish with lime juice. Use what you like. Gently pat the seasoning into the chicken.
• Use your preferred oil (that can withstand the heat). Add a couple of teaspoons, not a lot of oil. You’re not frying this.
• Add your chicken to the skillet. You should hear that musical SSSSSSSS immediately. LEAVE IT ALONE. Let it cook unbothered. Because you cut them so thin, you should be able to see the white begin to encroach upon the pink chicken facing you. Around 4-6 minutes. Peak under to check on that Maillard reaction. Your chicken should be pretty brown. If it isn’t, no worries. Flip the chicken and let the other side cook, unbothered. After a few minutes, if your chicken is brown enough for your liking then you can flip it around the pan for a couple of minutes. Don’t do this too long, you don’t want a dry bird. (I have never written out how I get such juicy, yummy chicken breasts using this method. If something doesn’t make sense when you try this, don’t hesitate to message me on IG or using the contact form on the site).
• Let the chicken rest on your cutting board. Ain’t no cutting to check or to taste. If you wanted to taste you should have cooked a small piece before cooking the whole breasts! (Pro-tip, by the way).

 

While the chicken is resting, start chopping up and preparing the fixins. My personal go-to’s are a LOT of shredded cheese, fresh pico, guacamole, black beans, chopped jalapenos (fresh or pickled, or both!), cilantro, lime juice and zest, red onion, sometimes lime and cilantro rice, corn. What I use is generally determined by what I have, unless it’s a planned nacho night.

If I’m using pork, I use a very similar method. If I use steak, I sous vide first then season and sear. I use chicken 97% of the time, though.

Once everything is ready to go, slice your chicken. Chop, if desired.

Time to Stack

• Chips
• Cheese
• Beans
• Chicken
• Corn
• Jalapenos

Scoonch your chips around to get the cheese and fixins under the chip too. You don’t want everything just sitting on top and a bunch of naked ass chips on the bottom. Spread a bit of cheese on top the finish, if you want.

Bake on 450 until the cheese is all melty.

Top with pico, guac, sour cream, or anything that shouldn’t necessarily be ‘hot’.

I’ve included pictures of my various forays into nachos and tacos. I use the same methods and rules more or less.

 

Happy munching!

 

 

 

Peach Pico

This isn’t a precise recipe. It can easily be scaled up for a larger amount. This yielded me about two cups which was more than enough for our dinner tonight.

Taste as you go and adjust to suit your preference. If you have a good peach, your pico should be plenty sweet.

You can easily substitute in other fruits like mango or pineapple!

Combine gently in a large mixing bowl:

1/2 large tomato

1 ripe peach chopped

1/4 chopped medium red onion

1/8 c chopped cilantro

1/2 small jalapeño chopped (seeded if you don’t want it too spicy)

1/4 habenero chopped (ditto)

Zest of half of a lime

Juice of a lime

S&P

Sugar/honey/agave as needed if it isn’t sweet enough

Use as dip or on top of some tacos 🐷

© 2019 by Alexa Mason. All Rights Reserved

Simple Black Bean Dip

Super simple, packed with flavor and good for you! Can’t beat that.  This dip makes for a great appetizer or a middle of the afternoon “geez, I need to nosh on something before dinner snack”. I’ve heard…..

2 cans of black beans

2-3 cloves of garlic

Lime

Worcestershire sauce

Rice wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt

Crushed red pepper or jalapeno

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Chili powder

Cumin

Olive oil

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1. In a food processor, place 1 medium red onion, 2 cans of drained and rinsed black beans, 2-3 smashed cloves of garlic, the zest of a lime, the juice of the lime, a splash of Worcestershire sauce and a splash of rice wine vinegar or white balsamic (trust me).
   *(Some recipes call for sweating the garlic, onion and peppers in a pan before pulsing. This is also an option.)
2. Add a liberal pinch of kosher salt, crushed red pepper or chopped jalapeno, ½ tsp of garlic powder, onion powder and chili powder and a tsp of cumin.
3. Pulse the food processor while adding about a tbsp. of olive oil.
4. Transfer to a serving dish or ramekin.
5. Eat with tortilla chips or raw vegetables.

 

 

 

© 2016 by Alexa Mason. All Rights Reserved

#TT: Stacked Chicken Enchiladas

Second installment of the #TT series of dishes that have been previously posted elsewhere without a recipe. I made this a few weeks ago and it was a hit. So many flavors, so much cheese. Because the tortillas (1) do not require rolling and (2) are not pre-dipped in oil  you save time and we’re talking healthier. So you can enjoy more cheese.

 

15-20 corn tortillas

1 15oz can of diced or whole tomato

1 small onion

4-6 cloves of garlic

1-2 chipotle in adobo

1 cup of chicken broth, low sodium

2 scallions (white and green parts)

1 can of black beans, drained

2-3 chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs

2-3 tbsp of oil

garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and cumin

½ tsp of kosher salt and pepper

Juice and zest of half a lime

Shredded cheese

Garnish: (optional)

Cilantro

Queso fresco

Avocado

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. In a large pot, add a tbsp of the oil and the onion. Let it sweat a bit before adding the garlic. Add in the chopped up chipotle pepper.
3. Season with salt and pepper, as well as 1 tsp each of garlic powder, cumin and chili powder.
4. Add tomato and chicken broth
5. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer.
6. In a large bowl, place your chicken and add remaining oil, seasonings (2 tsp of each) and lime. Toss until coated well.
7. Put coated chicken in an oven-safe pan and bake until cooked through, about 20-30 minutes. Internal temp should register at 165 degrees.
8. Let the chicken rest.
9. At this point you want to either use an immersion blender or pour your tomato base into a blender and pulse, some texture is okay.
10. Return to the pot and bring to a boil and return to a simmer. Taste and adjust spices and salt as necessary.
11. Chop up the chicken and the scallions
12. Turn oven down to 375.
13. In a large, oven safe pan, spray with cooking spray
14. Create a single layer of corn tortillas, cutting pieces to fit as needed.
15. Ladle some of the tomato sauce
16. Sprinkle some of the chicken, the beans and the scallions.
17. Top with cheese. Repeat steps 13-16 until the pan is full. You should be able to get 3 layers.
18. Final layer should be sauce and cheese. Bake until bubbling.

© 2016 by Alexa Mason. All Rights Reserved