Itās Super Bowl week, and you know what that means: NACHOS!
I mean, come on. It really is all about the nachos.
(Donāt tell the Seahawks and Patriots I said that.)
Hereās the step-by-step recipe for the luscious chicken nachos I made on Saturdayās football-centric episode of my Food Network show! The chicken is super flavorful and every-so-slightly spicy, and piled on chips with a bunch of melted cheese. Itās about the best football food you can ask for. As I pointed out on the show, you can leave the nachos plain and unadorned in their most basic state (as shown above), or you can pile on a bunch of fixins to make them all yours. (And the meat is also perfect for tacos, quesadillas, burritosā¦anything!)
Hereās how to make the nachos, baby.
(Sorry I called you baby.)
Grab 3 or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I only had 3 thawed out, but the recipe calls for 4) and sprinkle them generously with a packet of taco seasoning. If youād rather make your own, just throw together a mix of chili powder, onion salt, cumin, garlic powder, and paprika until it looks right. Either way, you want to coat the heck out of the chicken because the seasoning will also eventually flavor the sauce.
For good measure, I also sprinkled on some additional chili powder. I wanted the chicken to have plenty of kick!
Heat about 1/4 cup olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium to medium-high heat and cook the chicken on both sides until itās totally done in the middle. I actually started it on medium-high and it got a little brown, so I finished it off on medium.
Donāt worry about the chicken getting nice and brown on the outside, though. Weāre a-gonna shred it here in a little bit, and thatāll just give it more flavor.
When itās done, remove the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for a minute.
Without cleaning the skillet at all (you want all that flavor the chicken left behind), pour in an 8-ounce can of tomato sauceā¦
And 2 cups of hot water.
Whisk it around and let it come to a gentle boilā¦
Then reduce the heat to low.
Oh! And hereās where you can taste and doctor the sauce a bit. I added several dashes of my favorite hot sauce in the world, and I also added a little salt.
Next, use two forksā¦
To shred up all that gorgeous chicken. Shred it into bigger chunks if you like, but I like to keep going until itās pretty fine.
Then just plunk all the chickenā¦
Right into the simmering sauce.
Toss the meat to completely coat it in the sauceā¦
It should be fine, but if you think the sauce is a little bit thick, feel free to pour in a little more hot water until it gets to the sauciness you want.
Let it simmer for a bitā¦and poifect! Absolutely poifect. Saucy, slightly spicy, flavorfulā¦and ready to go.
Itāsā¦nacho time!
Make a layer of chips and cheeseā¦
A layer of chickenā¦
(Note: you can get a lot messier with the chicken if you want. I just didnāt want to freak you out.)
Then goes another layer of chips, cheese, and chickenā¦
Then just keep on going, making each layer a little smaller, until you have a chicken nacho mountain in front of you and youāre on the verge of feeling embarrassed, but in a good way.
Now it goes into either a 350 degree oven or a microwaveā¦
Until itās ooey, gooey, and the cheese is all melted.
You want to make my husband happy? Stick this in front of him while heās watching a football game.
Just a little inside tip for you in case it ever comes up.
And okay. It makes me happy, too. And I donāt even need the football game!
Disclaimer: You can definitely doctor up the nachos however you want: pico de gallo, olives, sour cream, guacamole, cilantroā¦anything goes.
But thereās nothing like the original.
And psst. Stick the extra meat in the fridge! It can be used for tacos, pizza, quesadillas, etc.
